Joined: Jul 2010
Posts: 814
Likes: 0
From: Fairfax, VA commuting to Washington DC
Bikes: 2010 Kona Dew Drop (the daily driver),'07 Specialized Roubaix (the sports car), '99 ish Kona NuNu MTB (the SUV), Schwinn High Plains (circa 1992?) (the beater)
I've been commuting regularly (but not every day) since 2010, and I've made contact with vehicles on 3 occasions, all within the past year (yes, I changed routes - why do you ask?).
1 was completely my fault - I was trying to squeeze past a stopped bus, and the space was too tight. No injury or harm to bus, bike or me.
2 was a taxi who right hooked me at very low speed. I was in the bike lane, approaching the intersection and clearly heading straight (okay, clearly to me, and given that 95% of the bike traffic at that intersection goes straight to follow the bike route, should have been to him, too). I was bounced into the curb, stayed on my feet. No real damage to bike or me, except raising my BP and ire.
3 was back in April: I made contact with a vehicle that pulled extremely suddenly into the parking 'lane' while moving very quickly down a hill. I was unable to swerve/stop/slow enough to avoid the contact. minor injury, though lingering residual effects (my pinky tendon was damaged, and I still can't bend my pinky completely).
I will freely admit that I am a bit too aggressive in the urban environs. I get annoyed at being blocked by other vehicles using my streets (and esp. my bike lanes).