But cyclists also do incredibly stupid things, and I witness this almost every time I ride. I’ve had to make extreme evasive maneuvers on my bike to avoid a serious accident caused by inattention or dangerous choices made by other cyclists.
One day, I was driving my car, and after stopping at a stop sign, began to make my way through the intersection.
A moment later, a cyclist landed on my hood. They had - at full speed - gone the wrong way around a roundabout covered by dense foliage in the middle, and exited the roundabout the wrong way down a one way street, where my car was just beginning to roll.
Maybe this circumstance doesn’t fit the “if a car driver hits a cyclist” criteria (the responding police officer and later, the insurance company agreed), but every collision is unique, and the cyclist plays a part.
Cars are overwhelmingly at fault in most cases. Cyclists often contribute to or directly cause extremely dangerous interactions.
I find I spend an inordinate amount of time looking for bicycles. They're small, fast, and often not where they are supposed to be.
Also there is a lot of talk about cars but in my extended friends groups I know of a number of non-car related accidents. And a couple of cyclist hitting other cyclists. And I think we don't keep statistics on those.
My take is the system wasn't set up for bicycles and it'll take a lot of time and money to fix that.
If a cyclist hits a pedestrian, they have failed in that duty.
If a car driver hits a cyclist, they too have failed.