“Just go around!” is a common refrain from double-parking motorists. The problem with just going around for a cyclist is that it increases their chances of getting doored, being hit from behind by an inattentive driver, or colliding with a motorist who emerges from the blind spot created in front of the double-parked car or truck. Perhaps one of the most tragic examples of this occurred in Chicago in 2023. Lily Shambrook, 3, was riding on the back of her mother’s bike. Her mom tried to go around an illegally parked utility truck when they were hit by a second truck. The child died in the crash.
Last Friday, a cyclist lost their leg at 7th and Irving in the Inner Sunset neighborhood of San Francisco. My son’s preschool is half a block from the site of the horrific crash, which occurred right around the time the kids take their afternoon walk. It’s an intersection I bike my children through daily. I was at the dentist when I got the text about an incident at that intersection. My heart hit the floor until I got word the kids were ok. But for the woman on her bike, life instantly changed. And it was a tragedy that could have been prevented.
I have a major concern that the U.S. Foods delivery truck that was double-parked has not been discussed as having a role in the incident. But from the photos I took of the crime scene, the collision appears to have happened right where the delivery truck was blocking the road…