Jump to content

Cycling In The City


Recommended Posts

As I mentioned in my fitness journal I have just recently survived a cycling accident. But this is not the first time my safety has been jeopardized. I wanted to post this thread to see if others have experianced problems with this?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yes. I commute to work on a bike, and one day returning home, a woman looked directly at me, waved at me, I took this as "go ahead and go" She started moving (we were both at dead stops), and plowed right into me, tossing me 20ft into a busy intersection. Three knee surgeries later, the woman never called me back to see if I was alright. She was drunk, and I had to miss two months of work because she was an idiot.

 

I get panic attacks still when I ride past that intersection.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yes. I commute to work on a bike, and one day returning home, a woman looked directly at me, waved at me, I took this as "go ahead and go" She started moving (we were both at dead stops), and plowed right into me, tossing me 20ft into a busy intersection. Three knee surgeries later, the woman never called me back to see if I was alright. She was drunk, and I had to miss two months of work because she was an idiot.

 

I get panic attacks still when I ride past that intersection.

 

Fucking Shit Dude! Drunk or not that woman is a terrible person.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yes. I commute to work on a bike, and one day returning home, a woman looked directly at me, waved at me, I took this as "go ahead and go" She started moving (we were both at dead stops), and plowed right into me, tossing me 20ft into a busy intersection. Three knee surgeries later, the woman never called me back to see if I was alright. She was drunk, and I had to miss two months of work because she was an idiot.

 

I get panic attacks still when I ride past that intersection.

 

Fucking Shit Dude! Drunk or not that woman is a terrible person.

 

 

No kidding. I'm a personal trainer, and I have so many knee limitations now. I can't do a lot with my knees, because my patella dislocates because it's not really attached to anything anymore. So When I need a client to do something, I have to grab someone else to demonstrate a lot of the stuff. It's a freaking nightmare, that I will have for the rest of my life.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 months later...

That's super shitty. There are some really good bicycling attorneys out there who specialize in this kind of case. Might be too late in your case, but I think it's good to know that we cyclists have some great resources to protect us.

I commute by bike 24/7/365 here in Portland, Oregon. And while it's constantly getting recognition as one of the top 5 bike-friendly cities in the Nation, there are still plenty of motorists and pedestrians here who are oblivious or just antagonistic toward cyclists.

I have yet to be personally involved in a collision or incident, but I know that as a full-time bike commuter, it's just around the corner.

I do everything I can to protect myself, including but not limited to wearing my helmet, lights, bright clothing, riding safely and consistently, and making eye contact and communicating whenever possible with other commuters/pedestrians. But all of these things only protect me from the foreseeable and avoidable. Chaos will come to play at some point.

It's very reassuring for me to know that I have resources and steps I can take when something does happen to protect myself and my livelihood.

Look into it if you ride your bike anywhere near traffic, ever.

Make a list of what to do in the case of an accident or incident, and memorize it.

Keep the info of a well-known bicycle attorney on you at all times.

Keep the info for your local BTA and cycling groups handy as well.

These resources prove invaluable when they are needed.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 weeks later...

I fell trying to skid down a massive hill. I'm ok but I have a scar that my tattoo artist is probably going to have to avoid for a few months, fuck...

 

I empathize with both drivers and cyclists because I am smart in both realms. I see a cyclist coming from the left I expect him to blast the stop sign if he's jamming hard, no big deal. If some fixie guy trys to beat me as I'm making a left turn, that's just moronic, especially when he goes "whoa-oh-oh-oh-0h" to let me know he's in my blind side trying to get past me.

 

edit: if you can't stop correctly mount a brake. I am not being passive aggressive.

Edited by Saulo
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sorry to hear about that Lyric.

 

Closes I've gotten was last month (July 9th) a foreigner (male) in a red dodge minivan with his kids inside was at a stop sign on the side road, I was on the main strip (I had the right of way) and had this weird feeling when I was about to pass this van. Van accelerates, I sticked out my foot and kick off the vans grill/hood while he's slamming on his brakes, I was 2-3 blocks away from arriving to work in the morning. Local motorist are so impatient/always in a hurry they never consider the consequences of there actions *sad*

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I like in Auckland, New Zealand. Our 'bike lanes' are actually the bus lanes that we are expected to 'share'. Now try that on a busy four lane road with busses coming down the lane two at a time. Scary as. And the pavement is way too small and crowded at many areas to cycle on - and you get sh*t for riding on the pavement anyhow.

 

I've had a few close calls but nothing major with a car. My worst has been recently when I plowed into a pedestrian who walked out in front of me, it really was my fault - paid for a doctor visit, some band-aids and a new tee shirt for him. And a few weeks before that I was cycling on the pavement with my daughter (no way am I having her on the road) and I rode into a pedestrian who was walking out of a doorway :/

 

Just last week I was turning right and someone drove straight around their left turn into the lane I was entering without even looking. Very very close.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

I'm gonna use this thread to announce that I have a bad knee. Boo hoo me. I'm gonna take time off from pedaling around and get x rays of my knee. I will be very upset if I can never ride again but I think it's just the skidding and the track stances that hurt my knee. Perhaps I should just run a brake on my fixie and/or get a butch road bike.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've been commuting in London for 2 years and amazingly have never had any kind of collision or even any really close calls. I've had people do stupid things near me, but I've always had time to comfortably avoid them or yell and get them to stop.

 

People are far more considerate than I expected they would be when I first started. Especially black cab drivers (minicab drivers not so much). Some bus drivers are really considerate and some are not at all, but they are pretty predictable even when they are assholes, so I manage to work around them.

 

Ironically, some of the most annoying people to share the road with are fellow cyclists. My least favourite categories at the moment are the ones who ride slowly but don't stop at lights, so I have to pass them over and over (I pass them while we're cycling, they pass me while I'm waiting at a light, I pass them again once I get going, and so on), and the ones who get in front of me when I am waiting at a light and was there first, then set off slowly and wobble in front of me.

 

Most of my closer calls have been with pedestrians stepping into the road without looking. I don't understand how lots of people aren't run down in this city every day, with how careless many pedestrians are!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

i commute as much as possible (to work, to the gym, the store, basically anything in distance that is during light hours or where i don't need to carry really heavy items). Mainly I use my road bike, although sometimes I will take my mountain bike. I haven't had any serious accidents but i've had lots of incidents. I get things yelled at me. another common one is a car passing me and then leaving no room for me to pass them. One that really annoys me is when I car passes me and then proceeds to make a right hand turn in front of me as if i could just stop immediately. Ive had that happen with people making left hand turns too.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 weeks later...

I ride around Orlando and I've never been hit by a car or anything like that. One time when I was a rookie I pedaled into a sharp left going 20 something. My friend said I did a couple flips with the bike and then the bike flew away from me and hit a fence. I stood up right away because of the rush. Banged up my knees, ankles, chest and back (I ride topless) but no serious injuries luckily. And of course I wasn't wearing my helmet.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
 Share

×
×
  • Create New...