I hit someone today.

one of my worst fears was realized today on my usual 2 1/2 hr ride. i hit a pedestrian. a kid!!!! we are both ok. not sure about the bike. don't have much of an internet connection right now, but i need to get this off my chest.

it was about 15 mins into my ride. i was on a bike path that is used by pedestrians as well. i have a bell, and my policy is to ring twice when i am far back, to give people time to look behind them and react, and then decide which side of the road they want to move to, and then ring about 2 to 4 times more as i approach. i always slow down, but how much i slow down depends on who i am passing and how aware they are of me.
today, as i just went over a small bridge, i saw 2 young men and a boy walking ahead. i did my usual ring ring, and the two older ones moved off the path altogether. (there are little walking trails all along the sides of the paved trail that ppl walk on) the young one, about 11 or 12, quickly jumped to one side, then another. i slowed way down and kept ringing the bell even though he was watching me, and he froze right in the middle of the path. i'm not sure how fast i was going, maybe 5 mph? but as i went to pass him, he for some reason started darting from one side to the other and then froze right in front of me. i barely had enough time to turn the wheel away when i hit him, and because i was already on the edge of the path, me and bike fell into the grass and dirt.

the boy was ok. i asked him over and over and he kept saying that yes he really was ok. i can't believe i did that. you should have seen his sweet little shocked face. i don't know if he is a nervous kid or had a lot on his mind or whatever was going on with him but i don't think he intentionally stepped in front of me, i think it was some sort of nervous reaction. if i had been going faster though, i could have really hurt him. that poor boy.

surprisingly that fall didn't hurt at all. not even a little. but my bike got hurt. :(

well, i think it could have been worse, though. after that happened, i rode for about a minute more and then stopped because i felt guilty and weird. i've never hit anyone or anything with my bike before. i looked over the bike again and didn't see anything wrong other than the handlebars are bent. :( on the right side, just the top part where the shifter is. everything still works ok though. at least it didn't hit the cement. after calling some people and confessing my sin, i turned around and went home.

should i have the bike checked over? it just got a tune-up. how much do you think it will cost the get the handlebars fixed....and is it safe to ride with them like that in the meantime? am i going to cyclist hell when i die? i hope you all don't hate me after this.

The good news: you won't go to hell :p - the kid was old enough to react appropriately, and he clearly saw you - and did something stupid.
Next time maybe come to a stop but you can't be made to - after all it was a MUP. I always say they wouldn't be that stupid if it was a car, but somehow they think they can with a cyclist.

The bad: at the very worst you're infor a new handlebar. Get the bike checked if you don't feel safe.

Are your handlebars actually bent - or did the shifter just twist a bit on the bars? The shifter isn't actually a part of the bar, so it can rotate, in fact if the person who installed them was savvy they didn't crank down too hard on them as it is better for the shifter to twist in a fall - then it doesn't break the shifter or the handlebars and you can just rotate it back into place.

As far as the kid goes - don't beat yourself up too much. You gave him ample warning and he sounds quite old enough to have been in control of himself.

I'm sorry this happened to you. Your strategy for alerting and passing pedestrians sounds good, and the event will probably help the kid develop a better strategy for getting out of the way.

Kids scare me on the MUPs more than dogs. They're completely unpredictable. Don't beat yourself up. As AlpineRabit said, he was old enough to make the right choice but didn't. And what about the adults with him? It's also their responsibility to watch out. I think you did all you could. Thankfully neither of you were hurt.

Maybe it's because I teach in middle school (me? jaded? nah, they're all darlings), but it seems to me that he was intentionally messing with you and found out he took it too far. He misjudged his prankster ability. Yes, a fifth/sixth grader (11/12 years old) is perfectly capable of that sort of "doofusness". Don't beat yourself up, and I'm glad everyone's OK.

You know, I kind of agree with WiteOwl: I think he was messing with you. Jumping back and forth on the path sounds fishy. But even he wasn't, it sounds to me like you did everything you could to avoid a collision.

Glad both parties are okay!

Yup, could have been messing with you. I had a kid do that once. I missed him, but barely, but before I went by I saw the gleam in his eye, and I knew it was on purpose. Your kid was darned lucky it was you and not somebody going 30 mph. On the other hand, you can't always tell by looking at someone that they are "normal". The adults with him had some responsibility too.
I rode yesterday too, and had a completely different experience with kids. There was a family, mom and dad and three kids, all three kids on little bikes, maybe 4,6, and 8 y/o's, with dad bringing up the rear. They were all on the right side as I approaced from behind, but you never know with kids. I rang my bell and the dad told them all to get over someone's coming. I think it was a game for them to see how close to the edge they could get without going off the trail. Would that they all were like that.

I've had kids pretend to jump out in front of my car. It seems to be a middle school thing. I think he was totally messing with you.

Veronica

>hug<
Some days are definately better than others when it comes to pedestrians...I had my problems with them this morning too...
I was a little late getting out the door for my morning ride so the MUP was more crowded than usual. Now, I can understand how an accident *could* happen if I'm behind and passing the pedestrians and for some reason do something unexpected, but for the life of me I do not understand walkers that take up the whole path and refuse to move while walking towards me! I was on the far far right side only inches from the grass with the walkers three abreast across the path FACING ME and the one closest to me would not move in so that I could go by-and she saw me coming from yards away!
Not only that but... on the way to the path, I have to cross a few intersections and I get off and walk my bike across and along the sidewalk for a bit. This morning, the opposite corner at one of them had about 6 people waiting for a bus. I got off my bike, waited for the signal, and walked across as usual. When I got to the other side there was a woman standing right in front of me blocking the sidewalk, looking me in the eye as I am walking (walking! like I'm supposed to!) the few steps towards her, and not moving (the other ppl had shifted over). Not wanting to have to step out into the traffic on the busy street, I stopped, said, "excuse me", and squeezed by her, all the while with her looking at me with the most puzzled annoyed look on her face, like she had never seen a person on a bike before and who was *I* to ask her to move. I smiled and said, "thank you" and rode off (I go about a block or two on the sidewalk at this point-its a very busy road and the bike lane resumes a little ways up from there-its not the best solution but I really don't want to get flattened) but I was baffled. I am an average size person with an bright copper colored MTB and this morning I was wearing a pink and orange jersey-there is no way any of those people could not have seen me (perhaps they were dazed by the weird color combo-lol)!!!
I am sorry you had this unfortunate incident, but glad no one involved was hurt.

Some situations leave us w an icky feeling. I've had two icky feeling producing cycling experiences.

1) A few months after I learned to ride, I hit a jogger. I was in a park during an organized runner's race when she suddenly turned off the course, went perpendicular to the clearly marked runner's lane and into my path. I braked sharply but couldn't avoid her entirely. She skinned her knees. I went down, lost consciousness twice (concussion), had a lump the size of an egg on my head that took over a month to resolve, cuts, road rash, scapes and bruises from my face to my calves. I did get the experience of being "boarded" by the EMTs, got an ambulance ride, brought in via Trauma and having folks strip me to check for damage. Also got to buy a great new helmet! I would rather have had a few more cuts and bruises myself and missed her entirely but that's not the way it went.

2) Once on a path, a boy of approx 4 years broke away from his dad's grasp and ran right in front of me. I opted for the concrete wall on the other side. Fortunately I was going fairly slowly so it only resulted in a few scratches to my bike and an astonishingly large dark bruise on my inner thigh where my saddle jammed into my leg. I'll never forget the look the dad and I exchanged, both recognizing that it could have had a very different outcome.

Now I give pedestrians and joggers the widest berth possible even if it means stopping and/or walking my bike. Takes longer time to get places but pedestrians and joggers are too unpredictable.

PS, I'm pretty confident that I'm not going to hell because of either of the above.

+1 with whiteowl and Veronica. I work with almost all men (engineering company). They are always needling one another and tweaking one another. I guess they haven't stopped from their middle school years. I say he was messing with you completely and took it bit too far. I guess he was hoping you would stop. Hitting him like that probably taught him a valuable lesson, not to mess with cyclists or cars.

Yup you don't want the brake/brifter lever bar cranked down too hard on the handle bar. It's always better if they can twist away in a crash in stead of breaking the lever. I can't imagine your handle bar was tweaked from a slow speed fall. Even at high speed crash I rarely see a twisted handlebar.

don't be too hard on yourself. You're not seriously hurt, nor the boy.

If I recall correctly, that's the age when boys think it's hilarious to do things like pretend to slam their faces into doors and so forth. Whether he intentionally caused you to hit him or not, he was probably trying to scare you and misjudged the situation. Even if his intentions were good and he got confused, I'd say he was old enough to know to stay in one place as you went by. You definitely did everything you could to warn him of your presence and intention, and if he chooses to channel chipmunk behavior instead of acting like a moderately intelligent human being, that's his decision.

<<HUG>>
I'm not sure which scares me most, dogs not on leashes (even though it is marked that they need to be), or tiny kids on bikes. I usually have to opt for the grass on the side of the path, or stop and wait until they go by, or walk my bike. Sometimes the parents have the kids move over, teaching them the correct etiquette for the MUP. Actually, now that I think of it, the people with the iPods who can't hear my bell, or my "Behind you on your left" scare me too.

Deb

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Originally Posted by blackhillsbiker

<<HUG>>
I'm not sure which scares me most, dogs not on leashes (even though it is marked that they need to be), or tiny kids on bikes. I usually have to opt for the grass on the side of the path, or stop and wait until they go by, or walk my bike. Sometimes the parents have the kids move over, teaching them the correct etiquette for the MUP. Actually, now that I think of it, the people with the iPods who can't hear my bell, or my "Behind you on your left" scare me too.

Deb

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I crashed because of one of those people with iPods. She was walking in the middle of the path (too narrow to get by her), so I ended up ditching into a flowerbed. I also nearly hit someone on my way back from the library on my last ride. The man was heading in the opposite direction. How do you miss a big red, white and blue blob yelling at you? :confused: I wound up braking hard and missing him by an inch. I hate riding to places on a college campus...

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Originally Posted by Owlie

I crashed because of one of those people with iPods. She was walking in the middle of the path (too narrow to get by her), so I ended up ditching into a flowerbed. I also nearly hit someone on my way back from the library on my last ride. The man was heading in the opposite direction. How do you miss a big red, white and blue blob yelling at you? :confused: I wound up braking hard and missing him by an inch. I hate riding to places on a college campus...

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Sometimes it is the peds fault, and sometimes it's just a sheer accident. But you can get really hurt when you hit one on your bike. My elderly landlord now has a metal rod in his thigh bone because a pedestrian stepped out into the street from behind a big bush. He was going slow, and I can't imagine how badly he'd have been hurt if he was going faster.

I'm glad I don't have to use shared bike-pedestrian paths very much. I'm sure I would log more crashes. They seem clueless, especially the ones with the iPods in their ears.

The thing about it is, we all KNOW they're clueless.

We're not 12-year-old boys who, on the rare occasion when we're actually paying attention, are using that attention to tempt fate.

We're mostly adults, mostly women, all of us trying to ride safely and sensibly.

And that means being prepared for people to do exactly what that kid did.

I've really been trying to stay out of this thread - I said what I wanted to say on the thread about the crash on the Chicago MUP. But I didn't get close to 5,000 posts by standing on the sidelines holding my fingers. :rolleyes:

Wherever we ride - whether we're on a MUP where the risk is about equal for everyone, or on the road where the risk is much greater to ourselves - we need to be prepared for the likely contingencies. It isn't about fault. It's about safety. We need to be prepared for the right-hook, the door, the left-turner, AND the deranged pedestrian. Because we're just as dead, or just as injured, when we crash with one of those people, as we are when we crash through our own violation of traffic laws.

Inatree, you're not going to hell. And I hope you don't take what I'm saying the wrong way, because I know how scary your crash was, and I know it wasn't your fault.

But the kid was behaving unpredictably and moving quickly. If it had been an uncontrolled dog, you would've come to a complete stop. As I said in the other thread, a lot of pedestrians seem to have less common sense than your average squirrel, yet they weigh more than an average deer. Riding on a MUP means being prepared to come to a complete stop at any moment. (Really, that's true for riding anywhere, but the quarters are so much narrower and more crowded on most MUPs that you have less of an opportunity to swerve or accelerate to avoid a collision.)

I'm very glad you're okay, and that your bike is basically okay (although I agree that getting it checked over is always a good idea after a crash). Take care - and again, please take this as advice and not criticism. :)

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Originally Posted by SlowButSteady

They seem clueless, especially the ones with the iPods in their ears.

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Kind of the way I feel when I'm driving my car and dealing with cyclists with iPods in their ears.

I think the weirdest almost-collision with a pedestrian I ever had when I was biking years ago was when I was coming up on a woman on the Mt. Vernon bike trail and I called out "Passing on your left!" and pulled to the left, as had always been standard practice. Instead of just letting me go by, she yelled "No! Right!" and stepped into my path. I was able to jerk the bike to the right and not hit her, but it was a near thing.

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Originally Posted by Owlie

I hate riding to places on a college campus...

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I'm in a college town too. The students came back over the weekend, and the nature of the MUP has changed noticeably, bless their hearts. The roads too, for that matter. <sigh> I have to remind myself that without them DH wouldn't have a job.

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Originally Posted by WVGeo

I think the weirdest almost-collision with a pedestrian I ever had when I was biking years ago was when I was coming up on a woman on the Mt. Vernon bike trail and I called out "Passing on your left!" and pulled to the left, as had always been standard practice. Instead of just letting me go by, she yelled "No! Right!" and stepped into my path. I was able to jerk the bike to the right and not hit her, but it was a near thing.

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Wow, that is bizarre.

But it points up what I was saying in the other thread. It's obvious which lane cyclists are supposed to be in on a MUP. But for pedestrians, it's unnatural to be in the right lane with their back to traffic. If there are no posted rules stating that all traffic should keep right except to pass, it's no wonder if pedestrians get confused about that.

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Originally Posted by WVGeo

I think the weirdest almost-collision with a pedestrian I ever had when I was biking years ago was when I was coming up on a woman on the Mt. Vernon bike trail and I called out "Passing on your left!" and pulled to the left, as had always been standard practice. Instead of just letting me go by, she yelled "No! Right!" and stepped into my path. I was able to jerk the bike to the right and not hit her, but it was a near thing.

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:eek: That is totally bizarre!

I actually had an experience similar to that, but I was the ped. When I was in junior high, I was rollerblading along with my dad, who was training for a marathon. Dad was on the right and I was on the left. Rollerblading, as you probably know, takes up a lot of side-to-side space, so I spent a lot of time moving to the right when bicyclists came up behind and called "On your left." I did it so many times that it became habit: I heard somebody call anything behind me, and I immediately moved right.

Then came the bicyclist who called "Down the middle!" and started to ride right between me and my Dad. I, however, had heard a voice and had started moving to the right to get out of the way. Of course we crashed: Dad got out of the way, but the bicyclist hit the ground and so did I. I was a little scraped up but not terribly so, thanks to all my knee-, elbow-, and wrist-pads; the bicyclist wasn't badly injured but he was bleeding. (Now I wonder if his bike was damaged -- probably so.) Most of all, he was incredibly pissed off at me for running into him. I distinctly recall how angry he was that I had moved to the right when he clearly said "Down the middle" or "in between" or something like that.

Being 13 years old, I took it deeply to heart and burst into tears. The bicyclist went on his angry way, and Dad and I went home. I still have never forgotten the cyclist, though, and I think of that experience every time I go to pass somebody going slower than me. Clearly sometimes -- like in the OP -- you can't be predictable enough for some peds. But sometimes a little predictability goes a long way.

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"Down the middle"

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This is a strange thing to call out and expect any particular response. Who or what is down the middle?

I can imagine a 13 year-old thinking "but I was so good keeping to the right! why is he yelling at me?"

Around here the most interesting MUPs are on the North side of town. There the pedestrians are most likely to be inebriated, very unpredictable, and sometimes panhandling. Once I crashed going around a couple (I misjudged the edge of the path getting back on). I was pretty banged up. They at least made sure I was okay before asking me if I had any money.

Deb

wow, thanks for all of the replies. i'm feeling a little better about it now, mostly. my handlebars weren't bent, just the shifter, which a nice person at the lbs clicked back in place in about 2 seconds.

i've been even more cautious with the peds now. i was grateful for that today when on my ride i slowed down a great deal for parents with a 4 yr old girl. the mom had pulled her to herself but the girl saw me, and literally broke away from her mom to run right into my path. why do they do that? it was ok tho because i was prepared for it and stopped easily. a little later i passed a family with a 2 or 3 yr old boy, i was walking the bike by him because his dad had to literally grab him by the arms to keep him from running into my path. i am so glad i am not a parent. i don't know how you parents do not go insane. well, it actually appears that some of you do sometimes.

after hearing some of your stories, i am even more glad that no one got hurt in my little incident.