Commuting - crash!

Hi commuters,
i got in a crash yesterday, and i thought it might be helpful to some other riders to know what happened. so here goes:

i was riding home from work in a bike lane to the right of trafic. the section of road i was on was going downhill, so i was moving at a pretty good clip(but not "hauling ass" or anything). traffic was backed up, so i was passing unmoving cars. on my right was a curb and a rail about 2-3 feet high(i had just crossed a bridge). so i noticed a car that was sticking a little further out to the right than the rest. it was a cab. i didn't see any blinkers or anything else going on so i didn't really think much of it. i just kept going. then as i got to up to the car, right as i was going to pass it the rear passenger door opened up as someone was getting out. i had no time to stop and had nowhere to go on the right so i had to hit the door. *hard*. somehow i'm more or less fine. banged up. my bike is banged up as well, but i was able to ride it home. but i did about as much damage to the car door as it did to me. i bent it too far in the direction it's not supposed to go, and it couldn't close.

now at the time, i was kind of out of it and just surprised i was still alive, so i wasn't thinking too clearly. but i do remember the taxi passenger was a girl in medical scrubbs clothing, and she was saying "the door won't shut". then the cabbie said "you broke my door" to her, and she said, "yeah, i broke your door. me (she flexed ironically)." then she said, "you people, you're all alike" to the cabbie, and took off. she was out of there in no time. she never even asked me if i was ok. i think if i almost got run over by a big guy on a bike moving at probably 20 mph, and then he ran into a car and broke a door, i would be a little less eager to get out and rather make sure everyone was ok, but she just took off. it hit me later in the evening, her remark about the all being alike wasn't a comment about cabbies, but rather this cabbie was a "brown" man. maybe indian or muslim, or something of that sort. she mad a very racist comment. i wish her considerable ill. lots and lots of ill.

so, i guess the point is: be careful, even if you're in a bike lane it doesn't mean your safe. incidentally, does anyone know who was legally at fault here? doesn't matter b/c i'm ok, but...? i mean, it was the girl who opened the door, but she didn't exactly have a mirror to check behind her for bikes closing on the cab. the cabbie had the mirror, but he wasn't opening the door. me, well, i didn't know anyone was going to open the door. no indicators. maybe i should have been more careful?

dan

girls are *****es

girls are *****es

you misread: i obviously meant doctors are *****es. :)

dan

I'm glad you are not banged up too badly, but you always have to be vary careful riding next to a line of cars like that, anything is possible and I do not trust other people to stay out of my way. Be careful, slow it down in close quarters, and always try to have an exit strategy.

I'm glad you are not banged up too badly, but you always have to be vary careful riding next to a line of cars like that, anything is possible and I do not trust other people to stay out of my way. Be careful, slow it down in close quarters, and always try to have an exit strategy.

you are correct. i certainly learned my lesson.

No i read correctly, girls are *****es, ask them they will all agree. You never had one cut you off and then get mad because you beep at them, or they change lanes into you and get mad because your there in the way. they do nothing wrong, just because she was in scrubs doesnt mean ****, the hygenist at the dentist wears them and so does the receptionist who answers phones.

what?

what dont you get

why do you assume some girl in scrubs is a doctor?

Most docs don't ware scrubs to and from work

and good job taking out the door :p

Dan, I'm glad you're OK.

It's another example of why bike lanes are hazardous, and why you never ride in a "door zone," no matter where it is.

The taxi driver was responsible, as the vehicle operator. Further, as a licensed taxi driver, he's directly responsible for providing safe egress for his passengers. Had the incident injured the passenger, the driver would have been responsible for that as well.

I'm not going to get into the other ridiculous sub-thread here. Let's let Koffee deal with it, eh? :D

RichC

why is it nobody sees what is wrong with this, some guy gets wacked by a car door and the girl who does it does nothing and walks away. What the hell!

And that quote is fake, he manipulated what was written.

why is it nobody sees what is wrong with this, some guy gets wacked by a car door and the girl who does it does nothing and walks away. What the hell!

I totally agree, I also assume no one else out there is paying any attention what so ever, right and wrong go out the window when you can't ride because of an injury.

Most docs don't ware scrubs to and from work

and good job taking out the door :p

yeah, i must admit, stupid as it may be, that i'm pretty proud of taking out the car door. it feels good to take on, and not exactly lose to, a car.

and i'm kind of, kind of, joking about the whole doctor thing. for those who know philly, this was at 2400 chestnut, a building where many upenn students live. so it's likely that this girl was either a nursing student(we've got a good nursing school), or a med student. i don't mean to single out any group here, but i'm just plaing odds. that is all.

dan

And that quote is fake, he manipulated what was written.

djbowen1, i'm sorry if i did something incorrect in this thread, but i'm kind of confused by your posts. all i wanted to do w/ this post was alert other bike rider's to a potential threat. i somehow got lucky and didn't get hurt. if someone can learn from this and not put themselves into a similar situation, i'll be happy. i certainly didn't want to make it into a man v. woman, bike rider v. doctor thing. although i do wish that female scrub wearer particular harm. :)

dan

..my bike is banged up as well, but i was able to ride it home...

Dude, what kink of wheels do you have?

Glade you're ok. And again, good job on the door.

Dude, what kink of wheels do you have?

Glade you're ok. And again, good job on the door.

i think my wheels are mavic's w/ shimano hubs? they're whatever came on my GT mountain bike about 10 years ago when i bought it. overall, i'm really impressed that the bike has held up so well. it's going to need a new crankset and bottom bracket now(kind of screwed up before the crash, and now it's almost shot), but the whole bike is by and large pretty much bombproof. but that's why i bought this particular bike. i tend to be pretty tough on bikes and stuff. happens when you're about 220 pounds and play like you're 170.

dan