Most common hit?

[Flying Merkel]

In your experience, what is the most common car vs. bike hit?

Mine has been the "car making a right turn into a parking lot or driveway, ignoring me on the shoulder of the road." Narrowly avoided a serious accident last weekend. I suspect the driver saw me, but he didn't want to let me go ahead or he thought he could beat me by a safe margin.

In the above paragraph, the words "accident" and "thought" are used loosely.

Motorcycles are usually taken out by the left-turning car. Bicyclists, which is it?

[-=£em in Pa=-]

I havent been hit yet but Im sure it only a matter of time.
When it is it will be a right hook from an indicatorless driver.

The indictor using righthookers (potential) are easy to deal with
as are the ones who start beeping about 20 yards behind you
meaning you are to stop so they can make their turn without
using brakes but the last-second ones are in my opinion the
most treacherous.

[ChipSeal]

All of my close calls were left cross's. (Two near miss, one collision- no injury)

Because nearly all the roads around here are of the narrow right lane variety, I always take the lane. That is why I have never experienced a right hook in Texas. (About 7,000 miles now.)

I had four or five right hooks each year in the Los Angeles area. (4,000 to 6,000 miles a year) I attribute that to the wide outside lanes found there.

[MetalClydesdale]

I've had the right cross a couple of times but I'm sad to say that most of my accidents have been t-bones. Either the driver has run a red light and hit me while I was crossing, or they've neglected to come to a stop before making a right hand turn against the red and hit me.

I've also been hit from behind twice, both times while in the bike lane. I'm fairly positive that one of them was intentional.

[shmooth]

i wonder if any or puts together a nice composition of real data on safety. what do 'bicycle safety' courses teach from?

i kinda thought riding a bike was common sense, but if you want to live, it's really not. there are so many situations, especially in the city, where you really need to know what you're doing. that is - what is legal, and what is common sense and practical and safe - folks don't know that stuff - at least, i know i don't. i'm concerned with new riders, and wants who want to ride but don't think it's safe (which i'd agree with, in general).

[twinquad]

I think I've avoided the left and right hook so far because that's what I'm most on the alert for. Had a near-miss right hook once when I passed a non-signaling SUV and actually brushed the fender with my leg.

Actual accidents: t-boned once (from the left), doored once.

[pirate]

I've never been right hooked, but I've been damn close. Never ride alongside a car.

I've been in 3 crashes involving cars. Two were left crosses, the other one was a sideswipe from some guy who was speeding and talking on his cellphone. I was in the right lane on a 3 lane road because there were broken bottles in the bike lane, and he tried to weasel his way between me and a car in the middle lane. the ****ing scumbag pulled the "I didn't even see you" card even though he obviously slowed down a little bit and tried (and failed) to manouver around me. When I finally got him to admit that he had, in fact, seen me he said "Well, wrong place, wrong time huh?" I told him he had 3 seconds to leave before he would be picking his teeth up off the ground.

[San Rensho]

From purely unscientific anecdotal evidence, I would say right hook, followed by the left hook and the t-bone, which are probably equal. Then maybe getting hit from behind? But getting hit from behind is pretty rare I think, although probably the scariest because its the hit you have the least control over.

[closetbiker]

for me, I'd say it'd be a left hook, but I know I read a lot about people being right hooked.

this page, http://bikesense.bc.ca went through over 6,000 collisions between cars and bikes in BC and found most cyclists were riding straight ahead and motorists turned either right or left in collisions. Most motorists failed to yield right of way when they were at fault and most cyclists failed to ride with due care when they were at fault

this page http://bicyclesafe.com/ shows the top 10 types of collisions between motorists and cyclists and shows ways to avoid them

[maddyfish]

In your experience, what is the most common car vs. bike hit?

Mine has been the "car making a right turn into a parking lot or driveway, ignoring me on the shoulder of the road."

That one has never happened to me, see sig.

[maddyfish]

That being said the ones I see most often are stop light running bikes nearly getting splattered. Thankfully I've only seen close calls, no hits.

[BarracksSi]

... or he thought he could beat me by a safe margin.

That's my guess, since bikes usually aren't very fast (or at least that's the perception), and drivers forget how long it takes for their car to slow down and make the turn.

I haven't really had any close calls, fortunately (knock on wood!). The moments that make me nervous are when someone's about to pull out in front of me or a right hook. Those are the first two things that I expect to happen, so I try to ride so that I could avoid them if necessary.

[BarracksSi]

That being said the ones I see most often are stop light running bikes nearly getting splattered. Thankfully I've only seen close calls, no hits.

Me too. Just a reminder that there are dumbasses using all kinds of vehicles, including bicycles.

[AlmostTrick]

In your experience, what is the most common car vs. bike hit?

Well, "in my experience" it was being t-boned when when riding in a crosswalk:

http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=357795&highlight=

This was my only car/bike crash as an adult. When on the road (which is almost always) I enter all intersections in the center of the lane and have not had a close right hook or left cross yet. Side paths and sidewalks seem to add danger if you ask me.

[ghettocruiser]

In your experience, what is the most common car vs. bike hit?

Mine has been the "car making a right turn into a parking lot or driveway, ignoring me on the shoulder of the road." Narrowly avoided a serious accident last weekend. I suspect the driver saw me, but he didn't want to let me go ahead or he thought he could beat me by a safe margin.

In the above paragraph, the words "accident" and "thought" are used loosely.

Motorcycles are usually taken out by the left-turning car. Bicyclists, which is it?

Clipped by passing cars.

[closetbiker]

Well, in "my experience" it was being t-boned when when riding in a crosswalk...

I've been t-boned three times while I was just riding down the road. Once by a bike and twice by cars.

Actually one time, the car t-bone was just the start of a left turn, so was it a left turn or a t-bone?

Still have had more close calls with left turns than anything else.

[joejack951]

Never been hit but here is my list of almosts while cycling:

right hook (twice), I never use the shoulder in that area any more
distracted driver from behind (guy was watching traffic merging from the right just as I was and overlooked me)

In a car, the only time I've been hit (with any damage) was a left hook/t-bone. I've been rolled into at intersections while trying to make a right turn twice but no damage. In both cases, the guy behind me thought I went and rolled forward while looking left only to find me still there.

[John E]

My only collision with a motor vehicle was a left-cross. Riding farther from the curb arguably makes one more visible to oncoming traffic and therefore less susceptible to left-crosses as well as to right-hooks.

[closetbiker]

being more towards the center forces a motorist to make a wide turn to make the right turn and they're less likely to try it.

I find the left hook/cross to be the most unpredictable of motorist moves. They just wait and sometimes, despite good reason, they inexplicably go.

I find, if I'm alone on the street and a motorist is waiting to make the left turn into my path, it's most likely they'll try. They almost never turn left if there's traffic at my shoulder. Most times, if I'm in that situation, i'll angle myself so that I'm almost riding at the turner. That seems to help.

[BarracksSi]

I find the left hook/cross to be the most unpredictable of motorist moves. They just wait and sometimes, despite good reason, they inexplicably go.

I'm watching a movie called "Two For The Money", in which Matthew McConaughey's character is a bike commuter. When the notification of your post came into my inbox, Matthew was riding straight towards the camera, cresting a hill.

The ONLY way I could tell that he was moving closer was because of his pedaling. Well, besides him coming higher over the hill, of course, and it was shot with a long lens zoomed-in... but if I only had a glance, and if he weren't pedaling at all, he might as well have been standing still.

So here's my new question -- do motorists take better notice of us if we're pedaling versus coasting? If we look like we're going fast, are they better at estimating our speed?

(I'm only watching this flick because I can't get to sleep yet and I'm not getting Formula 1 coverage ;) )

[AlmostTrick]

I find the left hook/cross to be the most unpredictable of motorist moves.

I agree, plus there is a brief window of time where if they do go, it will be nearly impossible to avoid the collision.

I find, if I'm alone on the street and a motorist is waiting to make the left turn into my path, it's most likely they'll try. They almost never turn left if there's traffic at my shoulder. Most times, if I'm in that situation, i'll angle myself so that I'm almost riding at the turner. That seems to help.

This sounds like helpful advice. I've also had success holding up an open palm "stop" signal while looking right at the motorist if I thought they were going to try turning into me. I would only do this early on though. Once I'm near that danger window, I want two hands on the bars and brakes.

[AlmostTrick]

So here's my new question -- do motorists take better notice of us if we're pedaling versus coasting? If we look like we're going fast, are they better at estimating our speed?

If you're not pedaling they may take that as yielding or stopping. I like to keep pedaling so they think I'm not going to stop.

[BarracksSi]

If you're not pedaling they may take that as yielding or stopping. I like to keep pedaling so they think I'm not going to stop.

Conversely, if I want to make it obvious that I'm coming to a stop myself, I unclip one foot and dangle it, hopefully also looking like I'm about to dismount and wait my turn.

[maximan1]

If you're not pedaling they may take that as yielding or stopping. I like to keep pedaling so they think I'm not going to stop.

Fixie :D

[pirate]

So here's my new question -- do motorists take better notice of us if we're pedaling versus coasting? If we look like we're going fast, are they better at estimating our speed?



When I ride my fixed gear, I notice that people seem to yield to me at intersections, probably because it looks like I am going to blow the stopsign or light.

[irabidfish]

My nearest thing to a crash was sort of a "modified right hook". I was approaching a busy intersection and running past a line of traffic. Suddenly a car pulled out of the line of traffic and into the turn lane right as I was approaching it. Somehow I managed to stop my bike and veer into a small gap between a line of parked cars and avoid slamming into the car.
I yelled "HEY!" as I skidded into my small safe spot in the line of parked cars. And here is where the obliviousness gets better. The driver stops his car in the middle of traffic and tries to apologize to me while I try to wave him on, because he is holding up 30-40 cars now that the light has turned green. The driver eventually moved on after people start hoking their horns, and I move through the intersection. After I make it 100ft up the road, I hear the sound of a car accident behind me.
It seems the collision gods were angry that I avoided a crash and imposed their wrath on a couple of other cars at that intersection. I was very shaken by the time I finally made it home.

[JohnBrooking]

I don't know what this scenario is called, or how common it is, but it is my only real close call in 6 years of commuting. I was turning left, and a line of cars opposite me were also turning left at the same time. As I was turning, a car pulled out from behind those turning left opposite me and accelerated straight through, towards me. I braked hard, and being a beginner at the time and not knowing the proper way to brake hard, went over the bars and landed in the road. Fortunately, I was not hit and was able to get up and walk with the bike to the side of the road. The car that almost hit me did not stop, but a few other motorists who saw it happen did slow or stop to make sure I was okay, thankfully. I escaped with just some road rash and bruises.

So watch out for that one! :eek:

[noisebeam]

When I ride my fixed gear, I notice that people seem to yield to me at intersections, probably because it looks like I am going to blow the stopsign or light.

I've never had a motorist assume I am not going to stop except at 4-way's. The best thing to do is to signal slow/stopping - other motorists approaching if they look at you can see that and note you are planning to slow/stop.

Al

[CdCf]

In Sweden, the most common, by far, is being hit from the side while following a bike path where it crosses a street. Almost all bike-car accident deaths here follow from that accident type.

The cyclists ride along on the bike paths, out of view of the drivers, and then suddenly appear in front of the car, seemingly out of nowhere, when a bike path crosses the regular street. Cars always have right of way in this situation, but most cyclists assume cars have to yield and act accordingly. This is reinforced both by the inconsistency in the legislation where peds have right of way in the same situation, and also by drivers who incorrectly assume that bikes have right of way and so let them pass. If enough drivers let bikes cross, the rare driver who follows the law will then likely hit the cyclist that doesn't...

[Manetheren]

The one time I was hit was while I was on a bike path that runs past several fitness / raquet clubs. A guy coming out of one of the clubs decided to stop ON the bike path instead of in front of it when I was about 30 feet away doing around 20 mph. I locked up the rear brake and bounced off his fender. I just had a bad scrape on my leg, and my bar end put a nice gouge in his hood (not intentional, but it was nice that he got some damage out of it). Within a few weeks a yield sign was put up in front of the path, and I'm now much more aware of cars approaching the path.

[aley]

The one time I've tangled with a car was a right cross. I was toward the right edge of a fairly wide street with one lane each direction, and she started to pull out from a parking lot on my right. I immediately braked hard. She saw me and stopped, and I hit her front tire at perhaps one mile per hour. The impact damaged nothing on the bike, but by that time I had the rear wheel in the air and my feet still in the clips, so I fell over. It was actually pretty comical, even at the time, although had I been going a bit faster it would have been far less comical. She was very apologetic, and tried to get me to come into the doctor's office where she worked to get checked out. I politely declined, asked her to watch more carefully for bikes, and went on my way.

I had a near miss with a right hook when I first started commuting regularly on my bike. I took the lane at a stop light (two lanes going straight, I took the right lane with three or four cars in front of me at the light), and started to go straight through the intersection when the light changed. A guy in a Suburban that was behind me at the light changed lanes, passed me in the left lane, then made a right turn at the light from the left lane. There was less than an inch between his truck and my front wheel, but I did manage to get stopped in time. It still shocks me that he went to the trouble of changing lanes to get past me, and fifteen feet later made his right turn from the left lane. Did he think I'd cease to exist once I was behind his passenger-side door, or what?

[genec]

In Sweden, the most common, by far, is being hit from the side while following a bike path where it crosses a street. Almost all bike-car accident deaths here follow from that accident type.

The cyclists ride along on the bike paths, out of view of the drivers, and then suddenly appear in front of the car, seemingly out of nowhere, when a bike path crosses the regular street. Cars always have right of way in this situation, but most cyclists assume cars have to yield and act accordingly. This is reinforced both by the inconsistency in the legislation where peds have right of way in the same situation, and also by drivers who incorrectly assume that bikes have right of way and so let them pass. If enough drivers let bikes cross, the rare driver who follows the law will then likely hit the cyclist that doesn't...

Guess a stop sign on the bike path is just too much to ask for?

[Keith99]

I have very good spider sense (read the old spiderman comics). Only been hit once, no injury to me, my rear wheel gave its life protecting me. Yup hit from behind. Driver looking for an address. The really ironic part is the group I had been riding with had been really pushing it as far as going through lights at the last second and I decided to drop off the back rather than risk getting t-boned. Of course I would not have been the same place at teh same time, but besides that I think the guy would have seen a group of 5 or 6 riders where he missed just one.

The only real close call I remember (I'm sure more will come to me eventually) I think would eb called a right cross. I was on a 4 lane road that goes under a freeway. In addition to the 4 lanes a very wide shoulder, eg enough for a lane and shopulder. Actually good design, allowing for expansion. This only lasted for about 10 feet past the freeway offramp. Then down to a narrow 4 lanes (2 each way). Many cars take the outside lane and turn right immediatly after the freeway offramp. That is just what I was doing on the bike. I had the green, a car turning against the red forced me all the way over into the number 1 lane (basically forced me over 2 lanes).

Oh it does have a happy ending!! There was police activity on the other side of the street. I never really saw what. I told you I have pretty good spider sense and it said that car was trouble so I was focused on it, not even a glance over at the cops and whatever. But when he forced me over and I clipped out I yelled pretty loudly and profanely and a motor officer hear, looked and a second or 2 later took off after the car.

Yup found a cop when I wanted one.

[fordfasterr]

Had my first right hook today, made it out with just a few scratches...

I've had at least 2 other right hook near misses in the past... this time I was not so lucky !

[Yan]

No collisions so far, two close calls.

One right hook, one left lane merge (by me, my fault, brief glance, didn't see the car, signalled, and then turned immediately, car stopped just in time).

[ken cummings]

I've had 3 hits. One pulled out from the right side of the road without looking back and knocked me onto the icy road, one pulled out of a driveway on the right without seeing me and I went over her hood and one was passing on my left when another car came into our lane and he pushed me into a snow bank rather then hitting the other car head-on.

[OldRoadGuy]

I was right hooked last summer. I've had xrays, an MRI a couple of crowns on my teeth and am still not 100%.
His comments were.. "didn't you see my signal?", "I turn here everyday" and "did you come off a side street or the sidewalk?".
Be defensive.

[InTheRain]

I haven't been hit. However, my close calls have always come where the MUP crosses the street. These areas are clearly marked as crosswalks and many have neon yellow signs that show a bike crossing. The most dangerous spot on the MUP route is where you are required to cross the road at a traffic circle. The crosswalk is at the end of the traffic circle right where drivers prefer to start speeding up. There are also two lanes in the traffic circle, a drive in one lane may stop but the drivers in the other just continue to blow through the crosswalk. I've had so many close calls that I'm just tempted to drive on the road... and let the city know that there design of crosswalks has made there MUP's useless for cyclists.

[BarracksSi]

I haven't been hit. However, my close calls have always come where the MUP crosses the street. These areas are clearly marked as crosswalks and many have neon yellow signs that show a bike crossing.

Do you stop and look both ways before crossing the street?

[Flying Merkel]

........... A guy in a Suburban that was behind me at the light changed lanes, passed me in the left lane, then made a right turn at the light from the left lane. There was less than an inch between his truck and my front wheel, but I did manage to get stopped in time. It still shocks me that he went to the trouble of changing lanes to get past me, and fifteen feet later made his right turn from the left lane. Did he think I'd cease to exist once I was behind his passenger-side door, or what?

That trick has almost got me a number of times. Just about got nailed last summer by a left turning van. She came out of a driveway behind me, floored the minivan to get around me, and turned into the next driveway. Same sceneario, hard braking saved me barely.

[DataJunkie]

I have avoided several attempted right hooks over the last year until last Wed.
Generally, they tend to occur when the motorist has passed me and pulled ahead. Then turns. At that point a cyclist can see what is occurring and grab a couple fist fulls of brakes.
The one that took me out last Wed was more of a parallel right hook where the motorist was alongside me while I was in a bike lane. No chance for me to avoid it and I went flying.
I think if the motorist had put on her turn signal earlier and I had a mirror it is possible it could have been avoided. Knowing how few motorists use their turn signals around here I doubt it.

[CdCf]

Guess a stop sign on the bike path is just too much to ask for?

Most cyclists ignore stop/yield signs and often also red lights, unfortunately. Only heavy cross traffic will stop them.

[Eli_Damon]

I think it depends critically on the way the person rides. In my area, people put too much faith in bike lanes in my opinion. I would guess that the most common types of car-bike collisions are right hooks and what I call "scrapes", when the car passes the bicycle too closely and scrapes its side along the side of the bicycle. In fact, I know someone who was scraped. She way riding in the bike lane and the car passed her at full speed without even noticing that she was there. Fortunately, a snowband cushioned her fall so she was not seriously hurt.

[noisebeam]

n my area, people put too much faith in bike lanes in my opinion.
There are bike lanes in Amherst now? Not when I grew up and cycled there (80's)

[mattotoole]

I don't know what an LCI might say about it, but to me right hooks are completely avoidable. Be alert, don't ride in drivers' blind spots or even alongside them, and don't expect to be able to hammer at 25mph through traffic. Leave yourself plenty of braking margin to avoid a right-hooker. Actually I think you have to be pretty stupid to get right-hooked, but what seems obvious to me after 35 years of riding in traffic might not be so obvious to others.

Left hooks may be more problematic, but are still avoidable. Again, be alert, and don't expect to hammer in traffic on commercial strips where drivers are turning in and out of traffic.

A lot of cyclists are hurt riding against traffic, at driveways and side streets, often on sidewalks and in crosswalks. Obviously this is because they're coming from the opposite direction that drivers are looking.

Hit from behind accidents, which cyclists may fear the most, are actually quite rare. Unfortunately this fear makes them ride against (facing) traffic, putting themselves into much greater danger.

[Eli_Damon]

There are bike lanes in Amherst now? Not when I grew up and cycled there (80's)

There are "bike lanes" in Amherst. I recommend staying out of them. They are horribly flawed in many, many, many ways.

[zeytoun]

Never been hit, my "near" misses have been...

Almost right-hooked a couple times, once from riding next to a car (blind spot), another time from not being vigilant.

Almost left-hooked a couple times, once because my headlight turned itself off in the evening (well-lit area, but still...), other times because of a**hole drivers.

Had quite a few right turners roll partially into the intersection (and into a typical bicyclist's path) before looking.

The only one that I can not seem to prevent by my riding behavior now, is the left hooks. I just cover the breaks whenever there is a potential on-coming left-turner.

[noisebeam]

The only one that I can not seem to prevent by my riding behavior now, is the left hooks. I just cover the breaks whenever there is a potential on-coming left-turner.

This is where I have ended up as well. Of course a bright headlight and conspicuous position help reduce left hooks, but they are not preventable.

They are also the #1 issue motorcyclists must deal with - typically they have a bright front light even in daytime and a conspicuous position. However the normally higher travel speeds of motorcyclists increases chance of being overlooked or underestimated relative to pedal cyclists.

Al

[girljen]

The only near miss I've ever had was a guy who ran a stop sign and would have t-boned me had I not slammed on my brakes and screamed like a sissy. The next day, I went out and bought a reflective vest, 4 arm/leg reflectors, and a couple more lights.

[Scubachisteve]

I get pulled out on here by cars turning right and left (http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=92606&ie=UTF8&ll=33.703885,-117.817039&spn=0.01196,0.021286&t=p&z=15&layer=c&cbll=33.69789,-117.81851&cbp=1,304.97599475229714,,0,5). I ride from the opposing view up to the intersection and there's a lot of traffic because of an on-ramp on the other side of the road, so cars dodge out quickly and don't account for my speed.

Frequently get close-crossed left to right here by fast movers hitting the onramp as a I continue straight. (http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=92606&ie=UTF8&t=p&layer=c&cbll=33.703378,-117.805421&cbp=1,350.2356432768272,,0,5&ll=33.711775,-117.805109&spn=0.015636,0.029182&z=15) Lots of signaling and assertiveness on this one. You need it on 55mph arterials.