phillydcbiker

26 hours ago I was laying on the road, waiting for police and ems to arrive. 20 hours ago I left the hospital.

I am very thankful to be alive. I was wearing my helmet.

I was traveling on a two lane road (one lane in each direction) with parked cars on both sides. The road was fairly wide, probably wide enough to have a center turn lane and 1 travel lane in each direction (along with the parked cars). At any rate, it is stripped for only one lane in each direction.

I was traveling roughly 5 feet from the parked cars, and had probably another 5 feet between me and the cars moving to my left. Upon coming upon an intersection (no stop sign or traffic light for the main road), A car was stopped. The following drive went around (on the right) to pass, accelerated, but then slammed on the brakes.

Before they stopped it looked like they were going to pass the car as any other normal person would. But they didn't. I had no escape to my right or to my left. I applied full brakes but knew I wouldn't stop in time.

What happened? I went face first into the SUV at 20 MPH. Then I fell to the ground. After all that, the person then started to drive off. I yelled for the person to stop and standbyers got the person to stop. Guess what the first words were "I didn't see him".

Of course. You had just passed me maybe 10 seconds before. I was wearing my bright neon green/yellow jersery. You couldn't miss me.

I'm just happy to be alive still. I ended up only having 2 teeth knocked back (but not out), some lost gum, a black eye and a bruised (but not broken knee).

I've since had my teeth put back into place and x-rays all around and I'm fine.

This message was longer than I wanted it to be, and I do have pictures which I will post later, but I just wanted to say sometimes people do survive and I am thankful to be one of them.

Edit:
I had no idea of the condition of the bike when I went to the hospital. I was able to pick up the bike from a witness who stored it for me. Upon a quick visual inspection it appears the damage appears to be an out of true front wheel (but not bent), a few scratches on the pedals and the shift/brake lever unit is pushed over (but not broken). Everything else appears to be fine, I'll find out when I take it to the shop.

-=(8)=-

We are happy you are alive as well.
Bad stuff.
Was this in Philly ?

77Univega

--- Congratulations on your survival and recovery. Was your helmet instrumental in protecting you?
I'm having trouble picturing the accident: Did you run into the back of the SUV that went around the stopped car?

Bikepacker67

Thank God (or whatever you believe in) that you're OK.
Life is precious.

Ok.. Now comes the "but".

I think you were CLEARLY wrong.
Once a car passes you, it's YOUR responsibility (as a vehicle) to maintain a speed and distance to stop safely, even if they SLAM on the brakes for no other reason then they thought they saw a squirrel.

phillydcbiker

I left out a few things. This was in Longport, New Jersery.

I was a bit unclear. I will edit my message above. The motorist said she thought the person was making a left (therefore was stopped in the travel lane.) The person went around (on the left, no turn signal) and after speeding up, saw a pedersterian in the crosswalk (which driver A had stopped for) and slammed on her brakes. That is where driver C, me, met the rear window of her SUV.

I do not think the helmet was of much use, but I'm not sure. I know that my face in fact made the inital contact. I had thought I had lost teeth and my jaw/gums were disformed. I may have landed on my helmet because I know when ems arrivived my head was on the ground laying on the helmet.

I don't know if the helmet took any impact but I'm not going to be taking any chances. I will replace that before I ride again.

phillydcbiker

Yes, before I wrote this I was pretty certain people were going to say that.

I agree with you for the most part. I am very alert and pay attention to all of my surroundings. The only analogy I can come up with is if a person cuts you off (i.e. cuts into your lane before reaching a safe distance) and then slams on the brakes. You do what you can (slam on the brakes) but after you factor in reaction time (maybe 1 second) ~ which at 20 MPH is ~ 30 feet, its already too late. I am very certain this lady cut me off, which put me in a precarious situation (my only option was to brake and hope for the best). But as soon as I applied my brakes fully (front brake) I knew I wasn't going to make it.

atbman

Sorry, but there wasn't enough info given to come to that conclusion. If someone overtakes you and cuts in front and brakes, leaving insufficient time or space for you to stop, it's the fault of the overtaker, not the overtaken.

It is still not clear if that was the case.

Bikepacker67

A good rule of thumb is to treat every motorist whose hood passes your shoulder, as a car "ahead" of you.

Ohh ya... it's not gonna give you Lance like numbers at the end of the day. But at least you'll see the end of the day.

7stitches

I had a similar accident with a drunk driver. Thankfully I was out cold and don't remember it.

What doesn't kill you, makes you stronger

Bikepacker67

I don't really give a crap whose fault it was legally

What the hell kinda pleasurable "self righteous indignation" can ya get when your in the coroners exam room?

He was in the wrong for one simple reason. He was riding in a way that put his life in danger.

Cars taking right turns (or cutting off) after they pass cyclists is not an anomaly. It's standard procedure for the roadway.

Is it right?
No.
But is it an immutable truth that we as cyclists should adjust to, accordingly?
A resounding pragmatic YES.

holicow

Nearly the same type of crash for me 1 year ago (7/31/04 to be exact). I spent 3 days in the hospital, and broke 4 vertebrae in my neck, and 2 in my back. I woke up in the ambulance, and don't remember what happened to this day. The backs of cars are at least as hard as the front, eh?

My helmet hit first, though, and was well broken, but saved my melon. I'm still me. It's on display at my office.

phillydcbiker

I don't feel a need to defend myself. As atbman states, when someone overtakes you then stops right in front of you, but without enough time or space its probably their fault. Fault really doesn't matter though. When I'm out riding, whether it be for pleasure or on my way to work, safety is my #1 concern. I want to return in one peice. I pay attention to cars around me, and I'm not here to challenge anyone. I understand my right to use the road, but I also understand that in order for everyone to be happy there has to be some giving and taking from everyone.

I don't have a self-righteous attitude and I don't ever want to purposely challenge a 4000# SUV or car with my 20# bike. Sometimes other people put you into a situation where you have no options other than to brake as effectively as you can and hope for the best. It was pretty aparent yesterday that I didn't get the winning end of the battle.

Bikepacker67

I'm sorry, I didn't mean for you to think that I was implying you have a self-righteous attitude.
Just that that's a common theme in these threads, and I'm left scratching my head by the lack of realism.

You survived this, and whether or not the car was at fault is moot.
The question you need to ask yourself is what you could have done to avoid the stupid (but totally typical) move by that driver.

slvoid

He was cut off. It wasn't his responsibility if someone just cuts him off. If he were a truck, the SUV would've been hauled away as debris.
I hope the sucker pays.

Bikepacker67

You just don't get it, do ya?
He ISN'T A TRUCK. And he's DAMN LUCKY that he wasn't scooped up for final disposal.

Recite this mantra over and over:

"Every hood that passes me is a vehicle in front of me."

EDIT: Once the hood passes you, they can't see you, and FORGET about you.

phinney

Glad to hear you're going to be ok. You probably did the best you could given the situation. Sounds like she cut in front of you - not anything you can control. If you'd been in a car and it happened you may have pushed her into the pedestrian.

slvoid

Ok... according to your little mantra, if I pass you then cut in front of you and slam on my brakes (btw, 4 wheel ABS brakes a lot faster at 20mph than you ever can with your skinny bike tires), it's YOUR fault? Or MY fault? Which one is it going to be? Do you get it?

-=(8)=-

I believe(?) Georgia is one state that has laws about the 'cut-in' phenomenon.
They use it mostly for rearenders on merge lanes but Im sure it applies
on other stuff. I bring this up only to show that the line that separates
right and wrong is a blurry one and open to interpritation depending on where
you are. Regardless, whenever I read this stuff it is a sobering reminder that
you are always vulnerable.
Hopes for speedy recovery too..........

Bikepacker67

Of course it's something we can control.

It takes a bit of humility, and the acceptance that the average speed may take a hit.

But cars forgetting about cyclists that they JUST passed isn't an unheard of situation. At intersections, you should be TAKING THE LANE and staying in queue, and you SHOULD be treating every car that passes you at a relative speed as someone whom you should be aware of for right turns and cutoffs

anders

I don't think you get it. You stated he was clearly wrong with no basis for saying that.

anders

Here is what you wrote in case you forgot.

Bikepacker67

Who's dead?

I'm simply reiterating that "Discretion is the better part of valor"

Bikepacker67

And I stand by that.

He WAS clearly wrong, if he values his life.

cc_rider

Any accident that you can walk away from.....
Now go out and buy a lottery ticket while your luck holds.

anders

Bikepacker, try re-reading this.