Bike vs truck

[indysteel]

OMG; that sounds awful. I hope Nell recovers quickly and completely and that you recover from the shock of seeing your child injured right in front of you. Did you or the cops talk to the driver? Was there some confusion on the driver's part or was she/he just intent on not sharing the road?

This scenario hits home for me because we have to turn left from most of our rides into our driveway and live on a street where motorists seem REALLY intent on ignoring the 20 mph speed limit. Even when I'm not on my bike, I get incredibly angry about it. The local park is on the same street so there are usually a fair number of kids in the area.

[OakLeaf]

I am NOT NOT NOT saying this was in any way, shape or form your fault or Nell's.

But when I'm turning left on a road with traffic, I signal for a LONG time, and I usually point my finger and waggle my wrist up and down (point to the sky while leaving my elbow extended, then point left, repeat several times). Figuring that the movement will make my signal more visible. Plus I'm always wearing either hi-viz yellow, or a couple of my older winter things are bright red.

Just my practice ... and if it helps someone avoid this situation in the future, that's all I mean by sharing it here.

[Cataboo]

Oh Mel, I'm so sorry I hope your daughter recovers quickly.

[hebe]

oh no. I hope that Nell makes a full and fast recovery, and that you are ok too, I think I would be in pieces. Please be gentle on yourself for a little while, won't you? I can't imagine that the shock will fade quickly and you'll need to give yourself a little time.

[Biciclista]

wow, amazing... heh, you sound SO CALM here. I'm so sorry your daughter got so scratched up and i'm glad it's "only" a skull fracture too.

what i want to know is why is the truck in a ditch? what wasthe driver doing that ended up off the road?

[Melalvai]

17 year old kid, 55 mph speed limit. (The neighbors have already said they're going to city council to get the speed limit lowered.) He drove off the road because he swerved to miss Nell, then lost control. He actually went back across the road and ended up in the ditch on the other side. He ran up to us saying "I'm sorry I'm sorry" and he said she turned in front of him. I wonder if perhaps he saw me signaling and was looking at me thinking "Why is she pointing left?" and maybe didn't see Nell at all. Turns out he is the nephew of someone I work with.

As far as Nell's cycling, she has had Bike Pro and although she has not had the formal Traffic Cycling 101 class, she knows all the material and has extensive cycling experience with me. Therefore I know her common faults and I know how she contributed to this wreck.

1. She didn't scan again before that left turn. Making the turn means you scan, scan, and scan again. She was tired & hungry at that point, and she is not very good about scanning. I think she relies on me to scan for her and alert her. Since I had said "Wait for this white car," I think she thought I meant that after the white car it was clear. In fact, I scanned and saw the truck in the distance and thought we had plenty of time. I would have been able to make the turn ok, but she takes her turns more slowly than I do. Even though he was going faster than I realized, I think I would have been able to make the turn--or I would have scanned that last time and not committed to the turn.

2. She didn't signal her turn. Again, I think she relies on me to do her signaling for her.

It's possible if she'd been biking by herself that she would have done those things instead of relying on me.

What I learned from this is that I think children are safer BEHIND the parent instead of in front of us. We like to keep them in front of us so we can see them. Well, I saw her all right. I saw it all happen right in front of me and nothing I could do about it but scream and scream. Which I did. But it happened so fast the first scream didn't come out until it was all over!

I think the driver is a good kid and as far as 17 yr old boys go, he is not a reckless driver. I think he was within the speed limit, but he should have slowed down to let us finish the turn.

Yeah, this might be a little traumatic for the parents!! Certainly has made for a memorable week.

They're keeping her here another night. The skull fracture is not a concern but there is a hematoma and some swelling.

[kimikaw]

Wishes to Nell for a speedy recovery!

Same to you...seeing your child get in an accident like that has to be terrifying/horrifying. So glad it sounds like the injuries aren't too bad, and that she'll be home soon.

[spokewench]

How awful! I just saw this post. Though a skull fracture is serious, I'm really glad it was not worse. Hang in there and I hope your daughter, once she is recovered, will ride again.

[pfunk12]

Not sure how I missed this original post - given the subject line. I'm glad to hear that you are both doing much better.