I got hit by a car 38 yrs. ago and I still remember it as if it was yesterday. I was hit while commuting to work. I had stopped to pick up a newspaper to get the results of the Italian Grande Prix. I had my left foot on the pedal and my right foot on the curb turning my head to check on traffic before restarting. I heard a crunch and it sounded close. I remember thinking that was a very bad sign. The bike popped out between my legs and the hood of the car hit me in the hamstrings. I was flattened on my back against the hood. I slid up the hood and windshield and I remember sliding across the windshield wipers. I closed my eyes as I was flying through the air. I landed on my back on grass. I pulled my head up to look to see if my arms or legs were bent in a way suggesting breakage. They were ok. I was numb all over, so I laid back down. I knew in about 20 min I would be sore and I would know where I was hurt. I got picked up by an ambulance and taken to the hospital where I was x-rayed from head to toe. Nothing was broken, but I was bruised from head to toe. This was before the hard helmets were available. The accident was about 6:40 am. By 10:00 I was on my way home. I laid around the house for a few days before going back to work.

Later I went back to the scene of the accident to see what happened. I had a pretty good idea where I was when I got hit and where I ended up. I was carried/thrown by the car about 75 feet, went between a steel street sign and a telephone pole to land on grass. I lucked out. Others haven’t been as lucky.