Someone deliberately ran me (cyclist) over last night and sped off. Be safe out there!

Submitted by BreakTheCyclist1 t3_y6hsai in washingtondc

Last night (10/16), shortly after 7 p.m., I was riding my bike eastward on N Street NW. Just after crossing 11th St. after a red light, a white sedan pulled up beside me, cursed me out and demanded I get off the road. He then deliberately ran me over and sped off down N Street. I am largely fine, and filed a police report last night. I guess I'm posting here just to remind people to be aware of their surroundings and to be safe out there. And also to see if anyone knows of a street camera in the area that might have captured the incident or gotten a license plate and to see if anyone knows of any steps I should take after this ( like if any local groups collect data on these types of incidents and i should share this with them) other than the police report.

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Comments

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SSSS_car_go t1_ispox3a wrote

That’s bad to hear. When people are angry with bicycles I wonder if they just don’t realize that traffic is lighter—fewer cars—when more people are biking or walking. Duh, but somehow all they see is the Other, so, the Enemy.

WABA has a Crash Reporting Form.

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TheWerkingWonk t1_isppoyc wrote

I swear crazy drivers like this probably haven’t rode a bike since they were a child and only rode on the sidewalks…

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Margie_Star t1_isqovcr wrote

Any idea what the vehicle was? I live in that area and commute that street almost daily.

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efthfj t1_isqxsvs wrote

Really sorry!! Hope you’re ok!!

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ItchyArticle t1_isrbc26 wrote

Drivers are awful!!!! Glad you okay. I’m so sorry.

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turnip-taker t1_isrdxjv wrote

This is precisely why we need the city to actually enforce its laws! Traffic fatalities in the district are the highest they’ve been since 2007, despite the fact we have so many traffic calming measures that weren’t present in years prior. Enforcing the law doesn’t equate to sending the cops out. It just means recognizing that a law that goes unenforced is a mere suggestion, not a law.

Unfortunately, Metro PD doesn’t give a rat’s ass about tackling crime; they just care about preserving their already tarnished reputation. They’ll interrogate felons and let them walk around our city with guns. They’ll race each other and total their squad cars in Ward 6, but they sure as hell won’t take a hit and run seriously—I say that from my own experience as a cyclist in a hit and run earlier this summer that learned this the hard way. I even had a photo of the license plate and face of the perp.

If you really care about the safety of cyclists, write or email your councilmember and tell them the city needs a photo-submission enforcement program. I’ve got a template if anyone would like!

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The_Cars93 t1_isrexrj wrote

Call the police and ask them if they can check traffic cameras in the area. They did that for me when I was involved in a hit and run.

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Cosmosof t1_isrgceb wrote

I think we all bikers need 360 cam in looping mode. I gonna get one soon hopefully

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TheDeHymenizer t1_isstq7y wrote

This is why I exclusively ride on the side walk. DC is EXTREMELY bike unfriendly. Go on the road, get on the sidewalk, get on the sidewalk go on the road. An 80 year old guy tried to sucker punch me a few weeks back too. But I'd rather get in a fist fight with someone then have that guy behind 2 tons of steel and moving at 40 mph's.

All that being said everyone is an environmentalist until you ask them to take 1 step to their right so you can get by them. Be safe out there and know the law. You have the same right to the sidewalk as any pedestrian you just have to give them the right of way (even if there is a bike lane). While it will annoy them they won't be any better to you behind the wheel of a car and in the road. Your going to piss everyone off no matter what you do the second you sit on that bicycle so you might as well be as safe as you possibly can.

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GlobalHumanatarian t1_ist9leg wrote

Does anyone really think an MPD officer sitting in their car waiting to hear gunshots is going to enforce the upcoming “no right turn on red” law when they already watch people blow through red lights and speed through the streets? I drive in DC everyday and see so many near misses with bicycles it frightens me. And being a cyclist it discourages me from riding from even riding there.

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Beneficial_Ad2561 t1_isto3gc wrote

goodness im so sorry to hear that. i was riding southbound past petworth metro on Saturday broad daylight 3 pm, and some bushy haired potentially Caucasian or Hispanic man told me to "GTF off the road" and honked their horn inches behind me for about 1/4 mile. scariest thing that has happened to me in a while.

people always talk about laws and bike lines, DC has both of them. but we can not do anything about these maniacal people.

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oladiamante t1_isu6uwq wrote

Replying to TheDeHymenizer (#132,083)

Interesting take, and rings true. Though I encounter enough reckless cyclists on sidewalks to understand why people might be reflexively angry at them. But we're usually talking bruises/minor fractures at worst in the event of a bike/pedestrian collision, rather than catastrophic/debilitating injuries which occur from collisions with cars. Everyone's better off dealing with bikes even if they annoy you on sidewalks sometimes.

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HamCroquette t1_isvq19d wrote

There’s a big apartment building one block west of where you were hit on 12th and N, maybe they got the car on camera if they were on N St for a little bit. It’s called Mondrian. Might be worth giving them a call!

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