CTR

I love riding but I have have heard so many stories about people getting seriously hurt in car accidents. Just yesterday my parents saw a biker get side swiped. The driver was in the left lane and cut across the right lane and hit the biker while the driver was trying to turn into a Hardys. The bike was thrown about 10 feet into the parking lot. His fork was broken and so was his leg and probably his arm. He was still clipped into his pedals and the bike landed on top of him. My parents and their friend helped him get unclipped and called an ambulance. Now I know sh*t happens in anything you do, but road biking seems like one of the most dangerous sports...This won't stop me from riding but sure will make me more observant. Just out of curiousity how many of you have been hit by a car and had to go to the hospital??

The Octopus 

Lady entering a roundabout didn't yield. Somehow I missed her but went down. Hard. She never stopped. Ride from the EMS to the local ER fortunately revealed only a busted rib, bruising.

Got smacked by a Mac truck in Boston on Atlantic Ave. -- driver changed lanes right into me. Bike pretty much destroyed. Five years later, still have scars from the road rash. Somehow I walked away from that one, though. Didn't want to kill the rest of the day at Mass General so I declined transportation.

Broke a finger last winter descending a steep, icy, gravel road on 23C tires (never did claim to be smart, did I?). Neighbor who is an NP took care of me. Does that count as a half visit to the hospital?

Three bad wrecks, one that sent me to the hospital, in the span of 10 years and tens of thousands of miles.

!!Comatoa$ted

How about a tree?

belowzero

I have been hit by a car but at very low velocity, the old geezer slowly accelerated into my leg then stopped, no injury. Is that counted?

Otherwise no ...and I don't intend to!

Reynolds 

I've been hit twice by cars but not seriously.

n4zou

My bike and me got stomped into the ground by a mule and it's not quite in control rider on a MUP. Does that count?

In (Red neck) Alabama it's perfectly acceptable to use equine on the bike and walking paths even if the rules say not to do it.

spunky

T-Boned by car at 40 mph.......broken knee.

ollo_ollo

Mine was very similar to that in post#1, lady in minivan overtook then cut over from 1 lane away to turn into a business parking lot. I was in the middle of my lane, but she never saw me. She sideswiped me while I was swerving to avoid her & then trapped me between her van & a parked car. I was braking hard & took a hit on the back of my right hand from the parked car's mirror that also tore my glove. Meanwhile, my left bar end was denting & scratching her rear quarter panel. I managed to turn with her & stay up. Bike was ok except for a bent bar end & I was ok except for some bleeding & a big lump on my right hand & wrist. I was just so glad to be alive & basically sound that I just rode on home after I got her info. Accidents like this happen so fast, you are acting on pure reflex. No time to think, just react. Got checked out next day & nothing broken, just a contusion. Don

dsb137

I've ridden in Florida for 30+ years, there are valid reasons why that state is number one in cycling fatalities. I've been hit twice, hospitalize both times... I live in N. Georgia now...

merlinextraligh

Same reasons we're number one in lightning strike fatalities 1) lots of people, 2) lots of warm weather so people are outside a lot, doing things like riding.


By the way, don't draw any conclusion from the poll results, which will be incredibly skewed by a self selction bias. If you want some data on the risk of cycling, look here:

https://www.kenkifer.com/bikepages/health/risks.htm

dsb137

So your saying that while FL has the highest number of cyclist fatalities, their fatalities per capita is the same or less than anywhere else?

cuda2k

There needs to be a third option: "What, you think I'm going to jinx myself!"

John Wilke

Me.

Run over from behind by an SUV and left for dead in a field of poison ivy.

Two weeks in the hospital for broken pelvis, busted bladder, and bad infections. Off work for three months, peed through a tube for two months, and used a walker for one month.

It can happen to anyone. Be careful out there.

jw

RB1-luvr

guy hit me with his pickup (t-boned) pulling into a business. was worried he was going to be hit from behind by a car and was looking in his rear view mirror instead of directly in front of him. no broken bones, just a massive goose egg in my thigh and on my shin, cuts bruises and road rash.

similar thing happened to me on my motorcycle, old man pulling into his driveway, forced me to ride up onto his lawn. no injuries.

Chad's Colnago

Thankfully never.

DocRay

hit by a cab in a bike lane, struck a cement light pole with my head.
Cab driver was charged with "driving in marked lane" $53 fine .

I have no doubt I would have been killed without the helmet.

cydewaze

I've been hit, but not while on a bicycle.

recursive

I was left crossed. Went to the hospital for xrays, nothing broken.

Driver's insurance covered the $3k+ bill.

merlinextraligh

I haven't seen that data, but I'd be willing to assume its still high on a per capita basis. But my bet is on a miles ridden basis, its not far off the average. Its a warm weather state. Lots of people ride, and lots of people ride year round. If a larger percentage of the population rides, and rides more miles, the fatalities are likely to be higher.

Mariner Fan

I was thinking the same thing! Wow, 23 riders have been hit by cars. Scary!

mollusk

How about spending the day in the hospital because my wife was hit by a car while riding: Broken radial head in left elbow with eventual radial head excision and ligament repairs.

I have only been slightly bumped twice by cars without any serious harm, but there have been a number of close calls.

dsb137

I stand corrected... According to this document:

https://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/pdf/nrd...02pcyfacts.pdf

In 2002 California was first in cyclist fatalities with 116, and Florida was second with 110. Interestingly, the fatalities per million population have Florida first at 6.58. Almost exactly double that of California at 3.30 fatalities per million population. Oddly, Delaware was second in cyclist fatalities per million population at 4.95... Go figure...

R-Wells

Never myself.

Both of my younger brothers were hit by cars and had extensive stays in the hospital.
1 was over a 7 days the other was over 2 months.
Which gives me my own personal group of interesting statistics.

2 out of three siblings were hit by cars.
Of those 2 50% were Motorist fault and 50% was rider fault.
3 out of 3 siblings have suffered minor non hospital visit injurys.
3 out of 3 siblings are friking Idiots
2 out of 3 siblings are dumber than me.

ovoleg

I've never been hit but had a few close ones.

I once hit a parked car, I wasn't hospitalized

zacster

I had a car pull out from a parking space directly into a u-turn while I was going downhill last year. Broke both wrists, one required surgery. Didn't spend a night in the hospital though, I went home with one arm in a cast after the accident, went back for day surgery, then had a Catscan on the other which showed a break that didn't appear on the xray, so they put the other in a cast too. I did my first century in 20 years last weekend, so no lasting damage.