Crashed again

[lph]

*sigh* so I crashed again. No real harm done, except to my psyche. It's hard having to accept that biking in traffic is dangerous, no matter how well you follow the rules.

The gory details: I came down a steep hill in the empty bus lane, with a line of cars waiting in the car lane on my left. It's a right of way street, but I always hang back and keep my hands on the brakes just in case somebody feels like jumping out and using the bus lane to sneak in line.

I hadn't counted on somebody suddenly crossing from my left, to get to the small street up on my right. Apparently somebody in the car lane gave him a "friendly" gap, he couldn't see any buses and presumed the bus lane was empty.

He noticed me pretty fast when I barreled into the side of his car, though. I went up on his hood and down again the same side. Checked my bike first, of course ;) my main concern was that she'd have a flat or be otherwise unfit to complete my commute! Bike is ok, I'm ok, poor driver is about to implode with guilt and the black stares the passers-by were giving him, so I capitulated and told him everything was fine, and that things just happen. He was completely in shock, tried to hug me :D and then I just rode off.

But man - it bugs me that I can do everything "right" - and still get into stuff like this! The only way I could have avoided this was by riding on the sidewalk, and when there's a completely empty bus lane that I'm allowed to use that's not a good option. I'm allowed to be in the road - at the speed I'm going I'm SUPPOSED to be in the road. But then I will get hit from time to time. We all make mistakes sometime, but "small" mistakes by a driver can mean big crashes for us. I hate having to admit that.

[quint41]

Wow! I hope you're ok! I don't know about Norway, but in the US bikes are not supposed to be on the sidewalk -- they are vehicles and you can be ticketed for riding on the sidewalk. (Not that it ever happens, but I have a neighbor who made a stink about kids riding on the sidewalk in front of her house, and the police said it is true that bikes are not supposed to ride there.) So, you are right, you can't really ride your bike anywhere safely or within the law.

Sounds like drivers in Norway need to be educated about bikes just as badly as drivers in the US.

I do wish you had gotten yourself checked by a doctor, though. It's always better to be safe than sorry.

[quint41]

Is there anything we, the members of TE, can do to try to lobby our states to make traveling safer for bicyclists?? Lobby for more bike lanes, for more signs warning drivers to share the road with bikes? To educate drivers?

How many TE members are there? Is there any way of telling how many of us are active in these forums??? Seems like a lot to me.

[mimitabby]

well, we can join clubs (like Cascade bike club) who ARE lobbying for safer streets and better laws; or we can write letters to the editor and to the mayor.
The more of us that do that, the better it will be.
but #1 ride DEFENSIVELY!

[mimitabby]

LPH

I am so sorry you crashed, I hope you are okay!

[divingbiker]

Wow, that's scary, lph! I think the cars coming out of driveways and cutting through lanes of stopped traffic are among the biggest dangers we face when commuting. I do a lot of yelling at people doing that. :o

[Geonz]

If you were on the sidewalk, you'd have driveways and cars not expecting you there, either.
The more I commute, the more I am sensitive to places like that... would another option have been to be a car, not a bus and use the car lane and wait with them?
But that's the biggest problem... "small" mistakes of inattention are big deals. Getting that concept through to auto culture is a real challenge. However, there's more sensitivity about drunk driving, right?
Personally I think I can have the biggest effect being out there riding - because the more people see bicycles, the more they expect to see them - and participating in teh planning process, and sometimes writing letters to editors, etc. However, dealing with "the general public" is very tricky because sometimes all that does is activate and solidify bad attitudes towards us and get some drivers thinking we need to be put in our place... which doesn't mean we should capitulate - the same story is true of any oppressed minority, after all... but well-timed, well-placed courage is teh order of the day. (Makes me want to go read the Power of One again ;))

[sbctwin]

Wow, just reading about your mishap created knots in my stomach. I go down a very steep hill on my commute home and it is plagued by people making right and left turns in front of me. I too, try to be as careful as possible, knowing that at anytime, I could be hit. Once I am down the hill, I have found, for my safety, I ride the sidewalk in this short stretch till I can get to a side road. Everyday there seems to be a new "challenge" that has presented itself. I am glad you were able to stand up after your collision and that your bike is ok.

[lph]

Ah well, I dunno.
Riding in the car lane isn't really an option there, in morning traffic the line there is several hundred metres long and it takes several light changes to get over the intersection. Staying back in line with the cars would take the patience of a saint, and kind of defeat the point of biking in the first place.

The sidewalk is narrow, goes up and down over driveways, and has a lot of pedestrians.

I know I'd be safer just riding slower, but if I really feel I have to brake down all the time just in case of a driver doing something strange I'd want to stop biking altogether. I think I'm going to have to look for an alternative route.

To add insult to injury - the only place I'm hurt is IN MY EAR! It's swollen with dark bruising. Couldn't it be someplace notcieable so I could get a little sympathy?? ;)

[RoadRaven]

Bad luck, lph, and great to see you still have a sense of humour

Road~ wishingyouanincreasinglyswollenearand muchsympathy :p ~Raven

[Jenn]

OMG, I am so glad you are ok, how scary!!

[Tri Girl]

Wow- super scary! I can't imagine how frightening it was to see that car coming and know you're going down (well, up then over then down ;) ).
Soooo glad you're OK!!!
You have our sympathies, whether we can see your ear or not. Hugs to you. Keep on biking defensively- one way or another people will notice us and take note. I just know it'll happen one day...

[Geonz]

Patience *is* a virtue :) We expect it of cars when they're behind us... but yea, I'd be scouting routes, too. That one just don't feel right.

[plantluvver]

I am so glad that you were not seriously hurt.

I had a similar accident (luckily I was in a car). I was out of work for two weeks, due to torn muscles in my shoulder, thanks to my shoulder harness. (This was good, it saved my face:D .)

In my case I was driving in the right automobile lane. The road would narrow before the next intersection, so most traffic wouldn't want to be in that lane, because they would need to merge with other traffic. The other car was coming from the opposite direction and turned left in front of me. I was going 40 miles per hour (the allowed speed on that road.)

I think that when people see noone in that lane is moving, they assume that the other lane must be backed up also. Even if you had been a bus, I don't know if they would have noticed you.

Oh, now that I read your story again, the car didn't come from a road, it came from between two cars from a driveway or something. There is no way you could have anticipated that. However, I will bet that now you will unconsciously monitor for gaps between cars like that. Thank you for sharing your story, you may well have saved one of our lives, by alerting us to this possibility.

I hope you had taken the insurance information from the driver. When I have been in accidents, the pain often doesn't start until hours later.

Let's all hope for the day when we need to worry more about crashes between two cyclists, than with a car. (At least it will be a fair fight;) )

Please spend the next few days resting, you have gone through a trauma, even if you only have a lumpy ear to show for it.

Mary M.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

When we are in a free lane, passing a line of cars that is waiting and idling, we have to anticipate that somewhere along the line a car is going to either suddenly pull out of the line right in front of us to pass ahead or a car will cross the idling line through a gap and cross in front of us. Neither car is likely to see a bike coming along, as their vision will be partially blocked until they are actually half out in your lane. They are looking for buses or trucks or other cars. They may well not see a bike- you are in a blind spot.
It's up to us to anticipate this because this traffic situation comes up regularly- it is not a freak occurance. When passing a line of idling cars we have to go slow and be ready to veer or brake suddenly at a moment's notice. Maybe not the first time or the fifth time, but sooner or later a car WILL unexpectedly pull out through that line right in front of us as we are happily zooming along.

[lph]

OK, I sort of feel I have to get into details. I was in fact ready to brake, and veer to the right - because I expect a car someday to pull out and use the bus lane. The car would still be heading forward though, and if I brake and veer right I'd go to the right shoulder or up on the sidewalk.

But I checked today. There are a couple of driveways on the left side of the road, presumably where he came from. Or he could have come up the hill of course. There's a small road up on my right, which is where he was heading. I always check twice that no-ones coming that way either, even though they're supposed to yield.

Because he was actually *crossing* my lane it was impossible to not hit him.
But it's illegal to cross the right-of-way street I was on at all, along that stretch.

Sorry if I'm a bit sensitive about this point right now. I've stopped telling people that don't bike about crashes like this, because they immediately assume I was at fault. Because "bikers are idiots in traffic".

I'm looking for an alternative route :)

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Sorry if I'm a bit sensitive about this point right now. I've stopped telling people that don't bike about crashes like this, because they immediately assume I was at fault. Because "bikers are idiots in traffic".

I'm looking for an alternative route :)

You were not at fault, the car was. :) But we must always look for whatever ways work to avoid having cars hit us when they are at fault. ;) That might mean either going extremely slowly, or looking for a less hazardous route, or perhaps other choices too. :)
In addition, bus lanes are always a bit hazardous by their very nature.

[crumpincommuter]

Is there anything we, the members of TE, can do to try to lobby our states to make traveling safer for bicyclists?? Lobby for more bike lanes, for more signs warning drivers to share the road with bikes? To educate drivers?

How many TE members are there? Is there any way of telling how many of us are active in these forums??? Seems like a lot to me.

Hey Quint-- to kind of answer your question-- if you're not already associated with CCBA ( Central Connecticut Bicycle Alliance) www.wecyclect.org, then that would be a good place to offer your voice. CCBA is making headway in making CT a more biker friendly state; but every voice is needed. The site also offers links to state and federal legislation under consideration and often links to petitions to elected officials ( what better way to let them know your vote counts).. Ok I'll step down from the soap box now--- hope this helped..:D

[quint41]

Hey Crump! Thanks for pointing me in the right direction! I was on that site a couple of weeks ago poking around, but didn't get to the part about joining the group. I'll be adding my name to the mix today!

Hey, Iph! I hope you're mending quickly. The problem with non-bikers is that they see everything from behind the windshield. They don't ever look down at that 1" wide tire and the hard asphalt just a couple of feet below them whizzing by at 25 mph. They have never had a 1" tire hit a crack in the road, or a little piece of trap rock. They've never had a dog or turkey suddenly appear in front of them and feel fear. In short, they do not have a CLUE. They think it's all riding up and down the dead-end street on their Schwinn Stingray with cards on the spokes.

If everyone rode a bike, there would be very few of these problems. Unfortunately, even $6.00 per gallon gasoline won't force these people out of their cars and onto a bike. I'd still see 99.99% of the vehicles driving to work with one occupant. TALK ABOUT YOUR SOAPBOX!! DON'T EVEN GET ME STARTED!!! :eek:

[KnottedYet]

Am I the only one dorky enough to think that bike flags that stick up above car roof level are cool? I've seen folding ones, so you can fold it down when you're out of bad traffic.

I also really like the reflector paddles that make the bike look wider (stick out on the car side about 1 1/2 feet) so it is clear the bike vehicle as a whole is as wide as the person riding it, not just as wide as the bike itself.

I've been lucky so far in my commutes that I have been on quiet bike-laned side streets, but I am really thinking about getting a folding flag for my more urban errands and my new commute.

Does anyone know if flags actually make bikes more visible to cars?

[Duck on Wheels]

OMG lph! I just saw this post. Are you still feeling ok?
I hope so! That sounds very much like the accident my DH had a few years back. He was definitely NOT ok, what with 7 broken bones, a concussion and some internal bleeding. He did not get up and ride off on the rest of his commute. But he was lucky too and is back in the saddle now. So even he was lucky. Sounds like you were luckier. Whew!

I hope you at least got the drivers' name and number, in case you find some damage you didn't notice at the moment. The driver was definitely at fault here, and since there was an accident with possible personal injury, you were strictly speaking supposed to stay there and make a police report. All in all, the driver was incredibly lucky too!

[lph]

Your poor DH, Duck! If I'd suffered that kind of injury I'm not sure I'd be out biking again... :eek:

No, I'm fine. The driver looked about to suffer a heart attack, so I figured he'd learned his lesson. He's sure not going to do that exact stunt again.

And I think maybe it was a good thing to show him that bikers - even though they come from "nowhere"... - can be decent and friendly people. If I'd started kicking up a huge fuss he might have come out of it feeling put-upon and annoyed.

[Zen]

I haven't seen those flags in ages! I doubt they'd do much good in rural areas but probably would in urban riding.
Better than a flag would be a Blue Light Special type flashing strobe on an antenna (except not blue).

[Geonz]

at the hardware store I found some battery powered glo-sticks about 8 inches long... and put a red and blue one on the back of the bike. They can be steady or flashing, so I flash. Seems people automatically slow down and give me a little more room....

[crumpincommuter]

Glo- sticks a great idea!

To take it another step further..the other day I was behind a guy and immediately I thought I've got to do this myself..

This guy had taken his commuter jacket and arranged reflective stickers in the shape of a large hazard triangle. He also had ankle reflectors, handlebar drop insert blinking lights on both sides, and another 2 sets of blicking lights on either side of his saddle and someplace around the area of his rear hub... THERE WAS NO MISSING this guy and it was a gloomy, dark rainy day...

Las Vegas would be envious of the light display this guy put on..:D