Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - Bad month for fixie riders.... my accident today.

So.... I got into an accident today. This afternoon i was riding to work as usual on my fuji fixed gear... singing songs in my head, probably whistling as I usually do, when suddenly... bing boom bam.. I am on the ground.

I was riding along side of the cars on South Street as I usually do, riding very slow because I am in my shirt and tie and I dont want to break a sweat before getting to my office when suddenly I got doored... someone didnt look and opened their door into my face. my handlebars turned and I went sideways off the bike into a Moving car. so needless to say I ****ed up my bike... ****ed up the guys door a little bit... and TOTALLY ****ed up the people car who I hit. When my body flew off the bike I somehow dented in their door with either my shoulder, knee, or hipbone... all of which hurt pretty bad. The people whos car I ****ed up were REALLY nice. The dude who doored me was a dick.

My first instinct was to get on my bike and ride the **** out of there. I dont have money to replace a car door and paint the side of a car that has also been scratched by my bike as it went down.... along with the Jerk Guys car whos door is now a little bit looser from the impact. (so he says).

Anyway, I got up and right away I asked if the people in the car were ok (yeah, real smart, I fly into their car and ask if THEY are ok) but I really was concerned because I didnt know if maybe my arm went in the open window or something like that. Everyone was ok and they pulled off to the side of the road. They kept asking if I was ok and called an ambulance because I guess they thought I was in shock when I said I was fine. They kept saying "look at the car, you are not fine, you probably broke something" but really, I was ok. The dude who hit me with his door kept yelling in my face and getting all jerky like "you should not be riding in the road, you were speeding, you did this you did this" and the man and woman with the damaged car got in his face and said "shut up, this was YOUR fault, you hit HIM with your door, you should have been more careful. ....I said nothing. I just stood there with them for a while and finally the ranting and raving guy called the police and said "we will see we will see" I was really hoping the people with the ****ed up car would just tell me to ride away because they felt bad, but I knew that wasnt going to happen since they had some damage. They said "well, someone is going to have to pay for this damage and I think it should be YOU sir (to the man who hit me)... the police were called and about 30 min. later they showed up. an ambulance came by and stopped for about 4.5 seconds. They asked if I was ok and I stupidly said "yes" so they drove away... all the time I was thinking "I should really get checked out just in case, but I dont have the money for a hospital, so I just want to get to work". As we were waiting for the police I started talking to the nice couple with the ****ed up car. I found out she was a school teacher in south philly, I told her that I am a Child and Family Therapist in South Philly and I have some clients that attend her school and how it was a small world and this and that. She then told her boyfriend "honey, he knows my badass students" We all got along really well and I think I am going to send them a "Thank you" card for being so nice and understanding even though my body ****ed up their car.

The police came and the jerk guy started in on how this was all my fault and got in my face again... I just smiled and said "Man, I am not getting into this with you, when you can speak calmly I will talk to you" (the therapist in me... or shock, who knows) the cop kind of laughed and smiled at me. Luckily for me... the cop that showed up was a BIKE COP!!! hooray!!

Bike Cop took all our info and I told him "listen, if this IS my fault because I actually came in contact with the car, I have no problem paying, these people are really nice and I dont want them to get screwed because I have no insurance" he smiled again and said "no way man, this is all the [jerk guys] fault, you have to look when you are opening your door. Jerk guy came up again and started yelling and whatnot and the cop turned into super stern cop and was like "Listen! the report is going to say its your fault, he was riding where he is SUPPOSED to ride on the STREET and the fact that you hit him with your door is what caused this accident" he then gave me the number to the district office and said I could leave. I went back to the nice couple and gave them my contact info and apologized again for the whole incident and they just said "Man, this was not your fault, I would sue that guy if I were you, he really ****ed you up" I got on my bike, but everything was crooked on it so I just kinda rode it slowly to my office.

I just kept thinking for the rest of the ride "Kevin, you keep reading the forums everyday about all these accidents people are having, you keep saying you are going to buy a helmet and you never do... why dont you learn" Needless to say, this weekend I am buying a helmet....

On a side note I am also going to make an appointment to see the doctor tomorrow if I wake up in more pain... right now my whole left side is killing me and my knee feels like there is an inflated balloon in it. bah.

glad to hear that you're relatively okay. glad to hear the jerk got put in his place.

The cop is right. A friend of mine got doored a while back, she got it bad, and the doorer got a huge citation for failing to check his side mirror before opening. Get yourself checked out tomorrow if you can, and take it easy.

wow glad you're alright. Its also cool that the bike cops were on your side. I see them around south st all the time but never interacted with them.

Sounds like it was a tough scene all around, hope you aren't too sore the next day. I know when i goto work the main street here is a little narrow, 4 lane. People park on the right side narrowing the lane more and i dont weave in and out. My ass sits right in the middle of the lane when there are parked cars and i don't feel even slightly bad about it. Because of the possibility of being doored or squeezed into a parked car.

Give a driver an inch they will squeeze a mini van into it.

And dude, sucks about ur bike. :-(

yeah, I was injured in a bike/car crash also, except I was cut off by a driver on his cell phone. I sprained both knees and was out for a while. I got almost $800 for bike damage, and another $5000 for pain and suffering, and missed work. That was all through the insurance company. I don't think it was worth it though. I would have preferred not to get hit. The cop who came to my crash was in a car, but he also happened to ride a single speed road bike (an IRO), and now we hang out at the velodrome on race nights. That is crazy luck!

{sorry, off topic**


The cop who came to my crash was in a car, but he also happened to ride a single speed road bike (an IRO), and now we hang out at the velodrome on race nights.

I wonder how many cops ride a single or fix? I've heard that a lot of them end up with bad knees because of all the running and chasing people they do, so I'm guessing not many?

After I was hit by a car and my bike was ruined to the tune of about $1000 I contacted a lawyer. I didn't want to "sue" in the common sense, I just wanted my bike back and my hospital bills paid. All it took was a letter to the driver that hit me and everything was paid.

I don't think it's too late for you to consider this.

you did the right thing

i would definately go see a doctor.. you might be in pain later on if not treated now even tho seemingly nothing was hurt

turning down ambulance was right..those mofos are $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$!

good going on the helmet.. my friend's wrecked twice and he hasn't learned his lesson... bad drivers dont discriminate between a short jaunt down the street and a serious 2 hour ride

After I was hit by a car and my bike was ruined to the tune of about $1000 I contacted a lawyer. I didn't want to "sue" in the common sense, I just wanted my bike back and my hospital bills paid. All it took was a letter to the driver that hit me and everything was paid.

I don't think it's too late for you to consider this.


I straighted everything out on the bike last night, and I just rode it a few min. ago and it seems to be alright. when he hit me he knocked my handlebars/front wheel out of alignment, also twisted the brake (i ride with a front brake), my homemade fender was also twisted, but aside from that, everything seems good. my knee hurts today, but everything else feels fine. I dont think I am going to do the hospital sueing thing... although I am sure the guy is going to try and come after me once he gets the bill to fix the other damaged car. oh well.

i would definately go see a doctor.. you might be in pain later on if not treated now even tho seemingly nothing was hurt

YES. I got hit by a car (while in a car, not on a bike) several years ago, and seemed fine until 2 days later when I felt like my shoulder was being ripped off by a torture device--a sprained back, technically.

Glad to hear (read) you came out of it "unscathed". I would still go see the doctor as things don't usually pop up right away. Glad to hear the cop and the other driver had your back! Although nothing was damaged on your bike you may still want to contact a lawyer, not necessarily to sue the bastard but to protect yourself when he comes around looking for the money. I highly doubt he will do that with the support you had from the cop and the other driver.

You don't necessarily need a lawyer, but you need to get checked out by a doctor and open up a claim with the guy's insurance, and get in touch with the adjustor. Even if you don't need/want the money, this ass will only learn his lesson when he gets hit in the pocketbook with higher premiums. Keep a paper trail, log every minute you spend dealing with this mess. If the police report says the driver is at fault, then the insurance company should offer you a settlement even if you have no serious injury. Its worth a thousand or two to them just to get it off their books.

For what it's worth, the dooring guy's insurance should be paying for your medical visits. You've got a copy of the police report stating he's responsible, right? Call and get yourself some coverage - the cops will give you his insurance info if he didn't, and under the law he's absolutely at fault.

-chris

Sorry to hear about your wreck. Glad you had witnesses and the cop was rational. And like everyone said, get checked out, the jerk's insurance *should* cover it.

So what is the verdict? Should you go into the ambulance when you are hit? or not??
I think you should. You never know how bad you are hurt until the next day. Why take a chance?

So what is the verdict? Should you go into the ambulance when you are hit? or not??
I think you should. You never know how bad you are hurt until the next day. Why take a chance?

Didn't someone here (maybe it was on another forum) have an incident where after an accident, he went into the ambulance, even though he felt he didn't need to and the EMT, after putting the intravenous line in, forgot to take out the tourniquette? I think he said it caused some major problems healthwise for him. Very rare but he was very adament that people should not get help from an ambulance.

In the state of California if you open your car door and someone hits it (a bike or another car) it's automatically your falt for not looking before opening your car door. So the jerk is definately at fault. Hope you can get some cash out of the guy. If the bike was damaged at all, his insurance should fix it.

My question is: if you're riding brakeless and you get in an accident, is it possible for the person you hit to claim that it's your fault because you didn't have breaks even if they were at fault. Has this ever happened to anyone?

also, since he was deemed at fault, get a new bike... no need to take a risk on a wrecked frame... my friend did and went flip-o over the handlebars when it broke :D

My question is: if you're riding brakeless and you get in an accident, is it possible for the person you hit to claim that it's your fault because you didn't have breaks even if they were at fault. Has this ever happened to anyone?

I met an old guy one day that asked me how I could ride my bike on the street - I started out on how it was fixed and I could stop it just by thinking. He then told me he used to race on the velodromes, and that if you get in any kind of an accident here in Minneapolis, you are at fault for not having the brakes - no matter who would have been at fault. I guess it's not exactly legal to even be riding them (this was on just a converted road bike BTW)

I don't think that getting doored is really avoidable in any way if you don't have anywhere to swerve, though. Every time it's come close to happening to me, the door was opening less than 5 feet in front of me...

In the state of California if you open your car door and someone hits it (a bike or another car) it's automatically your falt for not looking before opening your car door. So the jerk is definately at fault. Hope you can get some cash out of the guy. If the bike was damaged at all, his insurance should fix it.

My question is: if you're riding brakeless and you get in an accident, is it possible for the person you hit to claim that it's your fault because you didn't have breaks even if they were at fault. Has this ever happened to anyone?

The technical definition of a "brake" varies, but I recall reading that in many places a brake is any device capable of skidding a rear tire over flat ground. You are definitely NOT required to have a front brake. The CPSC standards are very ambiguous so I don't know that there's any hard and fast rule about what constitutes a rear brake.

So.... I got into an accident today. This afternoon i was riding to work as usual on my fuji fixed gear... singing songs in my head, probably whistling as I usually do, when suddenly... bing boom bam.. I am on the ground.


The dick who doored you should THANK you. It should be a wake up call to him. He's lucky you were on a bike and not in a car doing 30.

Nice to see some justice in the world.

I only hope that the guy had insurance and that those people get their car taken car of, because as a teacher myself, I know how it goes.

The doctor would be a good idea either way, pain or not. You won't want something to heal incorrectly, ever.

Also: glad to hear you are ok.

i was doored once while skating. got pinned on the guys huge caddy door for about 10 seconds while my board just kept rolling down the street. im sure it looked hilarious. my wrist was busted for a week though.

damn..I'm finally getting around to reading this.. glad you're ok, kevin :(

damn..I'm finally getting around to reading this.. glad you're ok, kevin :(

THANKS!

I am feeling good except I think I have arthritis in that knee now. It hurts when I get up, it hurts when its about to rain, and it hurts after a long ride. It doesnt hurt enough to make me stop riding though, and usually once I get it moving, it feels a lot better.

I actually passed the guy who hit me with the door on the street the other day, I was SO tempted to say something to him... but I decided to leave it alone... now that I know this guy is in Philly a lot, man.... it would just be nice to get some justice.... just a little. Good thing I am not the vengeful type. heh heh heh. I will probably call that other couple this week and make sure their car damage got paid for. My friend who started up the Fixed Gear team for the MS Ride doesnt have a computer anymore (long story) so I am not sure how to "invite" you onto the team. Maybe the best thing for me to do is make up a Tshirt for you and bring it by one of these days... if you are still interested in riding as a group... at least for a LITTLE while (we are proabably all at different skill levels) I can email you the design I made for the Tshirt and if you know of other fixie riders who would want to ride along, we can make up more tshirts for them as well. I will try and send you an Instant Message this week if I see you online.

good deal.. somebody at work wanted me to join her team and couldnt figure it out either...I dont know why its so difficult..haha... yeah..let me get a preview of that design :) I've got one other singlespeeder riding with me..I'll see if he wants a shirt.. I'm on AIM all day at work.. marked003