This Saturday, I was going down one of the main roads in Nashville. I was going around 30 mph and had the green light. This Toyota camry turned right in front of me and when they saw me, they came to a dead stop directly in front of me. It was too late to react at the speed I was going. I grabbed my brakes as hard as I could, like that was going to do much good. I then dropped my head down so that the helmet would take the brunt of the blow. When I hit the car, it threw me off the bike and my head went right through the passenger side window. The man's wife was on that side and my head hit her in the side of the face. The worst thing about it was when I hit her, my head had already shattered the glass and it just pushed it right into her face. They had to take her to the hospital for all the cuts down her face.
My injuries were minor. Of course, I went to the hospital, and they did a ct scan and kept me there for a little while and finally said taht everything looked ok. I have a bruised right leg, a minor bruise of my left elbow, and my butt is really sore. My bicycle only took scratches of the brake levers. The gears have started to rattle when I put the in high gear afterwards. ** Amazing ** I know that I am extremely lucky on this that I wasn't hurt more. God must have been with me.
The police definitely said that I had the right of way.
The BikeForums Team
-adv-
This is an archived thread, you can find the full version of this thread, with images, links and more content here.
Glad you are OK.
Good thing you were wearing your helmet.
I've noticed, in my area, that when I am riding faster than 20 mph, the cars around me present a MUCH greater hazard. I assume that this is because they see a bicycle and pre-judge the speed of the bicycle without actually watching to see how fast you are going.
Jeepbikerun
WOW- Glad to hear your okay.
pletcgm
You are exactly right! Most people think that bicycles are just creeping down the road. Sometimes when I have come down that same road keeping right up with cars, people will just be staring at me in awe. It's like, wow, he is keeping up with cars???
greg360
That was awful, pletcgm.
I'm glad you came out better than expected.
Originally posted by ChipRGW
... I assume that this is because they see a bicycle and pre-judge the speed of the bicycle without actually watching to see how fast you are going. Hmmm... when I took a beginning riders course from the Motorcycle Safety Foundation, they mentioned (this was 20+ years ago) that the small size of an MC relative to a car, will mislead a drivers perception. Drivers tend to equate the small size of a bicycle or motorcycle with increased distance (ie they think you are further away than you really are), and slower speed (ie they think you are going slower than you really are), since they use the car as a reference for their decisions. The bottom line - drivers are prone to misjudge your speed and position if you are on two wheels.
Pletcgm, you sound like you're in good shape. I hope you're back in the saddle soon. What happened to you could happen to any of us.
D*Alex
At this point, you should talk to a good injury attorney. I'll bet you could sue him for an easy $200k.
Chris L
Originally posted by pletcgm
The worst thing about it was when I hit her, my head had already shattered the glass and it just pushed it right into her face. They had to take her to the hospital for all the cuts down her face.
How is that the worst thing? Seems to me like this turkey was the one in the wrong for trying to cut you off - maybe they could use a lesson or two. Personally I think your injuries - however minor - are the worst thing to come from this because they were clearly in the wrong (and yes, it does make a difference to me).
I get people 'underestimating' my speed all the time. In fact, it happens so often that I'm convinced that quite often it's not an error after all, it's just them using the "I'm bigger than he is so he better stop for me regardless" assumption.
NZLcyclist
jeepers...... at least get the money out of him to replace the gears that are "rattling"........ and get him to have to go on a defensive driving course :p
Brendon
:beer:
Bentimes2
It's good that you came out ok. This is exactly why I am terrified of riding on public roads. However if I want to ride close to home I really have no choice but to get out in traffic, fortunately there is not quite as much to deal with between 9am and 4pm so I have a pretty decent window to work with. I am also extremely cautious of the cars around me so hopefully if an accident presents itself I will be able to avoid it.
aerobat
That was using your head!:D
Glad you came out of it OK!
IowaParamedic
pletcgm,
What kind of lane position did you have? Were you near the white line, or more towards the center?
Just trying to do a little crash anaylsis....
John E
To increase motorists' visual estimates of your speed, use low gears, spin the cranks at 90-120 RPM, and DO NOT COAST in traffic, lest you appear to be moving slowly. Pedaling "furiously" gives the illusion of speed, and the added motion enhances your visibility. Your knees will thank you, as well.
The motorist clearly compounded his original error by stopping across your path. I am glad you fared better than I did 27 years ago, in my one, very similar, close encounter with a motor vehicle.
Dougmt
Glad to here your relatively OK. You should talk to a lawyer. As much as I generally despise lawyers I would imagine in this day and age that you may be a target of a lawsuit. Call me crazy if you'd like but you just never know...
Doug
Tom_The_Bikeman
oh man...
been there, did that...glad that you aren't hurt!
What about the others? Do you have personal insurance? What about the driver? Has he offered to pay damages?
Think about a lawyer...sad, but true. It took me over 6 months for the insurance company to pay me a pittance here in Europe...*snif*
take care, ride safely,
Tom
chewa
If you hit straight on, get your forks checked out too.
MichaelW
After my hit with a car, I had my bike checked over and a whole lot of bits replaced, then sent the bill to the guy. He paid cash rather than lose his no-claims insurance bonus, but it was big enough for him not to forget.
BTW, helmets are not intended to protect against 30mph headbutts, you were "very lucky" to get away with a few bruises. A more survivable option may have been to jump the car (leaving your bike behind), and dissipate your kinetic energy by sliding or rolling on the ground.
One crash like that is enough to highten your sense of paranoia, and slow down a bit through conflict points. In my crash, the driver was looking right through me for about 10 seconds before he made his move.
greywolf
Wow, glad your OK . your guardian angel must have been riding with you that day !!!. Buy a lotto ticket:D
regards g/wolf
pletcgm
Originally posted by IowaParamedic
pletcgm,
What kind of lane position did you have? Were you near the white line, or more towards the center?
Just trying to do a little crash anaylsis....
The road that I was on has three lanes on each side and I was riding in the very right lane, which also functions as a parking lane too.
oscaregg
I have heard John E's advice before and try to follow it. It also helped that I was a junior racing on restricted gears at the time that the advice was given.
Melt
Just read this thread and I too am glad you came out of it with minor injuries. However, I disagree with a couple of the views expressed here.
"Sue him for 200k" -- Why? Im sure a lot of you drive cars and could easily make the same mistake. When I drive on small 2 lane roads, I generally will go all the way to the other side of the road to give people room, but I feel that when you road bikers choose to take up an entire lane of traffic, this is wrong. If you are going the speed limit thats fine, but most around here will be going approx 25 in a 55 zone ... I have had a couple of near misses out in the country when I come around a corner and all of a sudden there is a lot of bicyclists. I understand everyones desire for safety out on the roads, but trying to screw over a hardworking person simply because he made a mistake isnt right. I am not saying you shouldnt have him pay to fix your equipment and hospital bills, but to use a misfortune like this for personal gain is ludacris.
"Why do you care about the passengers injuries, the car was in the wrong here" -- This attitude to me is unacceptable. The passenger wasnt driving, and whats wrong with showing a little compassion for your fellow human being. I remember the time I was riding with my friend in his pickup truck, and we were rear ended by a small car. Even though it was completly her fault, our first thoughts werent about the damage to the truck, we both ran out to make sure she was ok. She suffered a cut and some bruising from the seatbelt holding her back in her seat, but other than that she was ok. And the truck was undamaged.
Chris L
Originally posted by Melt
"Why do you care about the passengers injuries, the car was in the wrong here" -- This attitude to me is unacceptable. The passenger wasnt driving, and whats wrong with showing a little compassion for your fellow human being. I remember the time I was riding with my friend in his pickup truck, and we were rear ended by a small car. Even though it was completly her fault, our first thoughts werent about the damage to the truck, we both ran out to make sure she was ok. She suffered a cut and some bruising from the seatbelt holding her back in her seat, but other than that she was ok. And the truck was undamaged.
On reflection, you are right. My original post did go a little further than it should have done. I retract my first point. Having said that, I still stand by my second point. I've seen too many of these 'accidents' to believe they result from anything other than complete negigence. Negligence that would not be tolerated in any other facet of life.
caloso
I agree that you might want to talk to a lawyer, especially one who specializes in bike plaintiffs (if you can find one in your town). Just a consult to see where you are and to establish a contact in case you find yourself the defendant.
And ignore the post about scoring $200K. It is ludicrous.
Justen
Originally posted by pletcgm
You are exactly right! Most people think that bicycles are just creeping down the road. Sometimes when I have come down that same road keeping right up with cars, people will just be staring at me in awe. It's like, wow, he is keeping up with cars???
I think they are surprised, especially when they have passed you at the lights initially but then see you at the next light. We have a really long stretch of busy road which goes about 50 city blocks with lots of lights. Because alot of it is sloped, it isn't that hard to maintain a good pace and keep up with or pass cars in traffic but they always seem so surprised that you can keep up.
Justen
Justen
Originally posted by pletcgm
My injuries were minor. Of course, I went to the hospital, and they did a ct scan and kept me there for a little while and finally said taht everything looked ok. I have a bruised right leg, a minor bruise of my left elbow, and my butt is really sore. My bicycle only took scratches of the brake levers. The gears have started to rattle when I put the in high gear afterwards. ** Amazing ** I know that I am extremely lucky on this that I wasn't hurt more. God must have been with me.
The police definitely said that I had the right of way.
Wow..I am really glad that you didn't have worse injuries !
A couple of years ago, I had a major collision with a car and went through his window. I was proceeding through a green light and the guy pulled out on a red light, right into my path. I was going down a hill and was going too fast to be able to slow down. I went right into his side window breaking my arm and clavicle, dislocating my shoulder, and getting a couple of pretty deep gashes. It was kinda nasty. I was wearing a helmet of course and it got crushed on one side.
I was fortunate that there were two off-duty officers in the car right behind me so they saw the whole thing and helped me out, calling the medics and police to attend.
Believe or not the driver was raging that it was my fault and that I damaged his car so they had to restrain him !! Loser !! Anyway, I got a good settlement out of it, a new bike and the guy got tons of citations and a criminal charge also because he assaulted one of the police officers.
Make sure you get a good lawyer to at least cover your medical costs, the cost of repairs and possible future medical costs. I had to go to physio for more than 6 months afterwards and it can get pretty expensive when you are going 3 times a week.
Again, glad you were not hurt more seriously.
Justen
Justen
Originally posted by IowaParamedic
pletcgm,
What kind of lane position did you have? Were you near the white line, or more towards the center?
Just trying to do a little crash anaylsis....
Hi,
I am just wondering - my dad is a paramedic and sees tons of crashes where people have not been wearing their helmets and sustain fairly bad head injuries. From your username, it would appear you are a medic too :-)
Do the majority of the cyclist accidents you deal with involve just the cyclist and a car, or cyclists crashing themselves (i.e. over handlebars, off railings, etc etc) ?
Justen
Justen
Originally posted by Dougmt
Glad to here your relatively OK. You should talk to a lawyer. As much as I generally despise lawyers I would imagine in this day and age that you may be a target of a lawsuit. Call me crazy if you'd like but you just never know...
Doug
Consulting a lawyer would be a good idea in this fellow's case. After I got out of hospital, we got a good lawyer. The settlement I ended up with after my accident (other guys' fault) was really good. I was able to easily cover the costs of my medical treatment, physio, a new bike and to cover my time off work as I could not work for 6 months after. Even two years after this accident, I still get pain in my shoulder.
I may go to a private surgery center to get more surgery on it and will have the money to do that thanks to the settlement.