Bicycle Rider Injured In West Bend

From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

A 44-year-old bicyclist suffered minor injuries when he stopped short to avoid hitting a motor vehicle on Rivershores Drive in West Bend and flew over his bicycle shortly after 4 p.m. Friday.

West Bend Police said the unnamed bicyclist was riding northbound on the sidewalk of N. Main St., but veered onto a crosswalk to cross Rivershores Drive.

A motorist heading southbound on N. Main St. and turning onto Rivershores had to stop abruptly to avoid hitting the cyclist.

Police cited the bicyclist for failing to yield.

Maybe there is more to the story. If we can assume that the reporter has shared all of the relevant facts, then this one is on the bike rider and not on the motorist. This is a pretty hard intersection to screw up:

Google Maps Street View

It’s a two-way stop for traffic on Silverbrook/Rivershores; traffic on Main has the right-of-way. Sight lines are excellent and there are turning lanes on Main Street. In the picture above you can see the intersection from roughly the point of view of the southbound driver.

Just four weeks ago I explained West Bend’s rules for sidewalk riding. On Friday the injured rider wasn’t doing anything unlawful by being on the sidewalk in that part of town. But had he been on the road itself, then he would have had the right-of-way and it would have fallen to the motorist to yield. Riding on the sidewalk turns every cross street into an intersection at which a bike rider must stop. Riders who utilize the sidewalk already are less visible to motorists than they would be on the road. Sounds like the rider in this case was lucky not to be more seriously injured. Let’s hope this becomes a lesson learned.