nausjl

This afternoon found out that my training partner was hit by a car while out for a ride. The car turned in front of him, and flipped him over the hood. He broke his leg and has a variety of other damage around his body. After talking to him about his accident, I started to think about all my close calls over the years and how I could have very well been the one in the hospital.

So, my question to the group is how do you deal with the mental aspect of these situations? Do you find it difficult to get back on a bike? Nervous?

Stay safe!

Roody

Yeah, it can be hard. I had trouble riding again after a fall that had me in a cast for 5 months. It was even harder after I was chased by a bikejacker. In fact, I'm still a little nervous about riding after dark since that happened.

It helped me to set a date when I would start riding and then forced myself to stick to the date. It also helped to talk myself through it--it only happened once, it was a freak thing, I'll be safe from now on.

uke

Accept that your next ride could be your last. Do what you can to minimize the risks. Beyond that, embrace the reality that it's not up to you.

dobber

Does the fact that somebody died of a heart attack or in a terrorist attack impact your life in a negative manner?

Life rolls on.

alicestrong

I've had a couple of injury crashes that left me with some post-crash anxiety. Several friends have been hit by cars, I've been spared that, so far.

All you can do is be as careful as you can be when you ride and try to focus on the positive. I remind myself of the many, many happy miles that I and friends have ridden without incident.

Nothing comes without cost...

I also advocate in my community for cyclists as much as I can, that helps to make me feel less powerless.

maddyfish

1. Roody- you ought not to ride after dark in Michigan. To travel after dark there you need a Hummer--an armored Hummer. Not kidding. My wife's bank does some buisness in Detroit, and it is company policy that employees staying in Detroit absolutely do not go outdoors after dark.

2. After a friend had an accident, I thought about how he rides, looked at the scene and applied it to my own riding strategy. He was on a 4 lane road with 25 mph speed limit in the right lane, he turned across the left lane to turn left onto a side street and got clipped by a car that was passsing him on the left. I determined he should have-signalled, looked, looked in a mirror, then moved to the left lane, then signalled and turned

Heifzilla

If it was someone close to me, like it was for OP, yes it would impact my life in a negative manner. It makes it a little closer to home that way. Otherwise I can understand your point.

John E

1972: A valued friend, career mentor, and bicycling coach went into a 3-week coma, then expired, following two low-speed falls in which his (unhelmeted) head struck the pavement or a curb.

1976: I was hit by an oncoming car when the driver abruptly turned left into her driveway and "didn't see" me.

1997: A friend suffered traumatic brain injury when he went over the handlebars on a 12% descent and hit his (helmeted) head against a curb.

The first and last incidents were clearly the cyclist's own fault -- drafting too closely in the first case, speeding and not knowing how to use the front brake properly in the second. Although my own crash was clearly the motorist's fault, I have subsequently done a great deal to reduce the odds of a repeat performance, such as wearing a much better helmet (Giro Xen) than my old school Kucharik (heavily) padded "hairnet," switching to KoolStop salmon brake pads, and enhancing my visibility to motorists by riding farther from the curb and wearing brighter-colored clothing.

I concur with the others. In every activity in life, there are no guarantees, but there are always plenty of ways we can influence our own odds of a good versus a bad outcome.

Chris516

I dealt with a situation, slightly similar to this, on May 14, 2008. I was originally 'taking the lane'. But I moved over to the shoulder, so they could pass me. Instead of passing me, they knocked me onto the curb.

I didn't find it difficult to get back on my bike(once it was repaired)

Ever since then, I 'take the lane' without reservation. I only move for emergency vehicles. Everyone else has to wait.

Speedo

+1

I was hit by a car in March. I know there will be some nerves when I get back on the bike, but I can't wait to get clearance to ride again.

This is one of those things that "Just do it" is the right answer.

Speedo

genec

I examine the situation to see how I might avoid a similar situation in the future.

A co-worker of mine was hit in a left hook 2 years ago... turned out he was doing stuff I simply would not do... it reinforced my methods.

brotherj

Similar situation. Trying to be the nice guy made a left turn at a light with a line of other left turns behind me. I moved to the far right to the others could get past and a car squeezed me into the gutter and curb. Dislocated shoulder.

I got up rode home then had wife drive to me to hospital. No problem with riding, but I am a lot more protective of my lane. I don't move over unless it the lane is very wide and/or there is a wide paved shoulder. Sorry, but sometimes being considerate works against you.

John E

Yup. Cyclists need to learn why moving farther from the curb is often the safest way to ride. Motorists need to learn why we so frequently find it necessary to hog the lane.

Camilo

The best thing you can do is figure out exactly what happened - not what your friend said happened, but what really happened (could be the same, but could be different). Then figure out what it would take to avoid the problem, no matter who is at fault. It really doesn't matter. You need to learn from his misfortune and avoid it if you can. Good luck to both of you.

Commando303

Being in an accident or witnessing one (especially one involving a person one knows), I agree, can have psychological repercussions. A lot of people may say, "Get on with it," but, truly, that's much easier said than it is done. I think time is the best healer of this sort of worry, but one must also push oneself to get back on the road (unless one really wishes never to do so again). Time will help, but you'll just have to push yourself a little, too.

P.S. I don't mean to look for a "silver lining" in a bad situation, but, oddly, something like this can have the positive effect of re-alerting one of one's surroundings on the road, if one might have become too lax in one's alertness.