Crashed again

[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 .)

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]

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..