Originally Posted by NeezyDeezy
I have been biking to work from brooklyn to chelsea and back for a while now, and I've had a lot of close calls, but today it finally happened. I was in Chinatown on my way back home, obeying all traffic laws, NOT WEAVING through cars, and BOOM, the driver of a van opened his door right in front of me. I was going quickly, and I didn't have to time to even apply the breaks.
Full on collision.
It knocked me out and I found myself on the pavement with a bunch of people around. I got up and checked myself out. My ribs felt funny, and I couldn't breathe that well. I moved my bike out of the street.
The person who had been in the driver's seat had disappeared, and a woman had taken his place. I thought this was very shady. I motioned for her to get out, and she proceeds to cuss me out. I was shocked, but surprisingly calm and civil. While I am gathering my surroundings, she's yelling over and over, "you're fault! you're fault!"
To make a long story short, I calmly demanded that we call the police and file a report because I wasn't sure if I would end up having any injuries. At this point she got very nervous. She told me that I ****ed up her car and had to pay. When I told her that she was not even in a position to see what had happened because she wasn't on the driver's side, and she told me that she had been driving and saw exactly what had happened. She claimed that I was weaving through cars and slammed into her car to avoid traffic. There actually had not been another car anywhere near us (THANK GOD). The police came, and several witnesses corroborated my story. It turned out the driver didn't have a license.
I have 3 bruised ribs and a terribly scraped up bruised wrist.
At this point, I am not sure what is going to happen next, but I do know that I won't be commuting by bicycle any more. I do not mean this as advice, it's only a personal decision.
I got lucky.
I absolutely hate it, but I just can't take any more risks like this. For a while now, in the back of my mind I knew I had been throwing the dice everytime I biked, but I have to own up to it: this city just doesn't have the infrastructure or willpower to support this way of life I'd like. It's not my fault, but I have to look out for my best interests. Until it's safer, I'll take the subway.
The only advice I give to other people is that if you are EVER in ANY kind of accident, always contact the police, no exceptions. Because of the adrenaline, I didn't even realize I had hurt my wrist until several minutes later. Calling the police will be your one and only recourse. Also, make sure one or two witnesses stick around in case you encounter one of these people who will tell any lie to protect their own interests.
Sorry to make a thread that is such a bummer, but I thought you might prefer that I shared it. Goodnight, and be safe.
If you were unconsious, even for a couple of seconds, you should be checked for a possible concussion, before you quit all together, wait until you heal up, then go do the same ride, it's one of the best things you can do for your own mind.
You need to always assume, that if you can not see inside a vehicle, that it is occupied, that the driver is not paying attention, and that they will open their door, just before you pass. A car door takes up 1m, so you need to make sure that the right side handlebar is over 1m (3'3") from the door. If that means being in the middle of the travel lane, and blocking traffic behind you, then so be it. It's one of the problems with bike lanes, they often occupy the door zone, so in places where there are bike lanes, there should not be on street parking, or there needs to be a 1m DMZ between the parked cars and the bike lane.