When you’re a cyclist, you know that you have every right to be on the road as anyone else. In some areas, you’ll be allowed on highways and busy roads, but that doesn’t give a driver the right to hit you if you’re not moving fast enough or need to be passed.
It’s important to make yourself stand out when you ride, so you don’t get hit by a car. If you are, though, it isn’t entirely your fault and may not be at all. Drivers aren’t always accustomed to seeing cyclists, but that doesn’t mean they can’t be held liable for hitting them as they cycle to work, school or activities.
A 39-year-old cyclist was injured after being hit by a vehicle on U.S. Highway 126, according to a report from Dec. 18. The man had been heading east in the middle lane of the highway when he was struck at around 3:54 a.m. It’s not been reported where he was going or if he was keeping up with traffic.
According to the police, the driver was unable to avoid the cyclist, but it’s not clear why. Cyclists in Oregon do have to obey the same laws as drivers, which means that as long as the cyclist was traveling up to speed on the highway and was using lighting, he should have been avoided on the highway. The police, who are still investigating, have said that the driver wasn’t impaired at the time of the accident, and speed didn’t appear to be a factor.
Source: The Bulletin, “Cyclist injured in early morning accident,” Dec. 18, 2015
