Advocacy & Safety - You can add me to the "hit by a car list"...

Well.. just 6 weeks into this wonderful journey of biking- I had my first experience on a bike today, that I never want to have again. First off- I am not hurt in any way (didnt even go down), and the bike looks like it will be fine with just swapping out a bar end plug (is that what you call the thing that holds the bar tape in place?) and bar tape. But here is the story-

I am out with a buddy, here in central NJ, biking away. The two of us are doing about 28-29mph, down a hill through a town, where the SL is 30mph. We are about 2 feet out in the lane, and I was directly behind him. Of course, being NJ, no one can do the speed limit- especially if there is a biker in front of you, so people are passing us- most giving us plenty of room.

Then comes the psycho that hit me.. it was almost as if she was going to cut it as close as possible to try to teach us a lesson or something. Well, she cut it too close, and I think it was her mirror that clipped my drop bar. LUCKILY it was one of those side mirrors that folds back, and I think she just grazed me.

Basically it went so fast, I didnt realize exactly what happened until after the fact.. I am tooling along behind my buddy, when suddenly there is a car going real close to me, I hear a "pop", then feel like I am getting pushed off the road real sharp (there was a bit of a shoulder). I compensate, and straighten back out, thinking at first "damn that car came close", and see my buddy in front of me swerving over as well.

I shouted a few not so nice words, and noticed that the mirror was folded back. Unfortunately she got through the next stop light (and I didnt get the darn license number), and it turned red, so we stopped, and gathered out thoughts, and I made sure my shorts were still clean ;). I looked at the end of my handlebar, and the plug had been punched in, with the chrome stuff stripped off, and the bar tape was ripped up a bit.

So thats the story- just a reminder to everyone- BE CAREFUL out there.. there are some crazies, and I lucked out!!

-BlueDevil

Wow that was too close!!

Glad you came through alright though!!

where in central nj? i havent had too many problems with drivers around here....

Originally posted by sshock4
where in central nj? i havent had too many problems with drivers around here....

Princeton.. wow.. thats where I am too!! :)

This was actually on Rte 518, in Rocky Hill. I was coming from Hopewell, at the top of the hill, down town.. just before the bridge over the Millstone River.

How often do you ride?? We should hit the roads together sometime.

-BlueDevil

Join the club, I've actually been hit by cars four times. I think the worst damage I ever suffered that way was a broken spoke when some silly cow turned into me in June 97. I think the only way to avoid things like this is to give yourself plenty of room between your riding line and the kerb.

I'd say that at least three of my incidents would have been prevented by claiming the lane (interestingly I haven't been hit by a car now since 1999 - about the time I started that practice). Allowing plenty of room between yourself and the kerb gives you space to back off if you need to. It's not always perfect, but it's better than nothing. And if there isn't room to pass in the lane - claim the whole damn thing.

Chris-

That is actually what annoyed the hell out of me with this whole situation. The lane I was in is HUGE, and there is plenty of room to pass, even being a couple feet out into the lane. There were no oncomming cars.. the lady had all the room in the world, but the way she cut it as close as can be, it was almost as if she was trying to graze us..

I tend to be a very defensive rider, but in an offensive way- I am aware of traffic, and take the lane if it is safer to do so.. In this case, the ammount of space on the shoulder is what saved me. After she clipped my handle bar, I had a good 6-7 feet or so to straighten out.

-BlueDevil

Originally posted by BlueDevil
I tend to be a very defensive rider, but in an offensive way- I am aware of traffic, and take the lane if it is safer to do so.. In this case, the ammount of space on the shoulder is what saved me. After she clipped my handle bar, I had a good 6-7 feet or so to straighten out.

That's kind of what I was getting at. Just imagine if you'd been riding in or near the gutter in that situation... :eek:

Originally posted by Chris L
I think the worst damage I ever suffered that way was a broken spoke when some silly cow turned into me in June 97.

Yes, those darn COWS!

Chris, you crack me up.

Dave

Originally posted by hayneda
Yes, those darn COWS!

Chris, you crack me up.

Dave
Yet another point in the argument that cows should not be driving!!!

I ran INTO a car once. I was leaving my work (an Air Force base) and was hauling butt out of the gate, turning left and immediately getting into the right lane for a turn, when this woman in an Airport Shuttle van whips around me. That's fine, she gave me enough room, but what I wasn't expecting, since I was watching the light ahead was green, was that she would stop before turning. I was accelerating to build up momentum to make the turn and go up over some RR tracks. I slammed into the back of the van with enough force to twist the handlebars 45 degrees off center. I hit the door with the top of my helmet, but it (surprisingly) didn't do any damage to the helmet. the door got pushed in a little.The woman pulled over on the other side of the tracks to check on me and the van. She was nervous that I was going to sue the company for her mistake, and she couldn't give me an answer why she stopped on a green light to make a right turn.

Originally posted by pointyhead
I ran INTO a car once. I was leaving my work (an Air Force base) and was hauling butt out of the gate, turning left and immediately getting into the right lane for a turn, when this woman in an Airport Shuttle van whips around me.

I can top that one - I ran into the back of a parked car once. :blush: