I hit a cyclist this morning. Seeking advice.
I'm mainly posting this to get advice.
I was driving on my college campus on a two-way street. I was going to turn left into a parking lot, so l turned on my signal and stopped while waiting for oncoming cars to pass. Once they were gone, I began to start turning. At the same time, a person on their bicycle was riding on the left side of me and I accidentally hit him. He was going straight and was probably trying to drive past me.
He fell on the floor. I parked in a safe spot and asked if he was ok. He said he was fine and said as long as his bike wasn't damaged everything was ok. I kept insisting we exchange information but he continued to say it was fine. I was apologizing profusely.
Eventually he left and I just sat in the parking lot in shock. Usually I'm pretty cautious of pedestrians and cyclists, but I didn't expect to have one driving to the left of me and so close to the center line. I feel so guilty about the whole thing.
Do cyclists usually ride in the middle of the road? Is this common and something I should keep in mind for the future?