Originally Posted by
TransitBiker
The last few seconds before a crash of any kind, my single thought is "how do i minimize injury?"
- Andy
This. I was almost hit by an SUV who decided to run his red light (after waiting for it to change) as I was approaching the intersection, fast on my green light. What saved me was 1) situational awareness - I watch intersections and vehicles approaching the roadways from either direction all the time 2) good reflexes - I know what it takes to handle my bike and trust my body to do what I need it to do quickly 3) disc brakes - I wouldn't have been able to scrub speed in such a fast and controlled manner with my other bike that has standard rim brakes.
After I saw the idiot start to cross in front of me and with literally seconds to impact, my only thought was to not hit the side of the vehicle head on; try for a glancing blow off the side at the best. I was able to lean to the right, turning sharply and praying that he would stop (also yelling the whole way...which attracted a whole bevy of witnesses at the bar on the corner). I was fully expecting that the front of the vehicle would hit me and that I needed to tuck into the roll upon impact. Then he hit his brakes, I straightened up and continued yelling at him.
I can only hope he learned something, but likely not.