robberry

I'm fine, but the NYPD are completely useless.

Of course there is no shoulder and no bike lane at this intersection with a four way traffic light. There are two left turning lanes and the right lane is for straight and right hand turns. I just missed the left lights, so I stopped in the center lane (only for turning left), as the right lane had a green light for going straight and for right hand turns. There was a minivan to the left of me and a beige sedan behind me (it's a long light, so I noticed those cars).

I signaled left (just to be "safe") as the light turned and proceeded to go left. The minivan turned and passed me while turning. The left lane turns into a forward only lane and the right lane splits into forward and right lanes. I took the forward lane and a second later a black Nissan came into my lane and their right mirror hit my left elbow. I screamed a second before it hit me, hit me, swerved out of my lane, and sped off. I only got the color, make and first three letters of the NJ plate.

I stopped when safe, called the police non-emergency (I didn't need an ambulance or any medical assistance). I told the operator what happened and they said we can send an ambulance and an officer. I told them I didn't need an ambulance. They said in order to file a report, I would have to go to the hospital. I asked the "stupid" question of, "can they bring my bike along" and they said, "no, you'd have to leave it there." I again asked if I could just file a report on the driver, and they said, "it will be at least an hour if it's a non-emergency, and since you don't have the complete information there's probably nothing they can do."

Is this normal? Don't they have a database of this information? How many black Nissan sedans have the same first three letters? It should only take three seconds to pull this information up. If they did, I would have waited. I wasn't going to wait an hour for nothing. My elbow is definitely sore, but no blood and no bruising (yet).

dynodonn 

One of the reasons why I took steps in gathering the best information possible, partial info just doesn't really get law enforcement motivated unless a serious injury or a death has occurred.

1nterceptor

From what I read in the area, your experience is the norm.

https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...hrowing-Bricks

https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...-t-do-anything

If this sort of thing happens a lot, you may want to start recording these offenders with a camcorder.

robberry

Besides cars never giving me the right of way when it's mine, the only other "incident" that's happened to me in my six years of NYC cycling was the time I was traveling northbound on a one lane street slowing down towards a red traffic light. The car (Pennsylvania plates) was behind me honking incessantly and then came up along side of me and swerved into me twice trying to "threatening me" to "get off the road." I just yelled back at him. He didn't hit me, so I figured that would definitely be a waste of time if I called the NYPD.

I wonder if "NY" drivers are the same as the article I read about Times Square tourists. I can't find the link, but I read a few years ago that out-of-towners have the preconceived nothing that New Yorkers are a'holes and rude, so when they "come to NYC (Times Square is NOT NYC)" they "play the part of the rude and obnoxious "NY'er" making other tourists think that "all NY'ers are a'holes."

Do you have any recommendations on a "cheap" helmet cam?

Chris516

Sadly, That is 'par for the course'. I was hit earlier this year. I only had a couple scratches despite being hit. But I didn't want to incur a $700 ambulance bill for something that just needed Neosporin. While I was in physical shock, it wore off as I walked around a little bit. When I asked the EMS crew if I were to be transported to the hospital, could they take my bike to the hospital since it was my sole form of transportation(I don't use public transportation by choice), I was told I couldn't do that. So I asked the fire department, since they obviously had a bigger vehicle. They also refused. I was a more annoyed that the fire department refused to take my bike back to the station(but I didn't tell them that), to be picked up after I had been checked out at the hospital. So I just checked my bike, signed the refusal to go to the hospital that EMS and the fire department needed, and just left.

Chris516

Look for quality video recording recommendations, instead of cost. I am not saying, if you have $1,000,000 to spend, spend it all on a good helmetcam. I am just saying, don't let cost absolutely hinder getting a good quality helmetcam.

My preference is https://www.gopro.com because, instead of fixing the camera to your helmet, you can buy a chest strap that looks similar to the belts' worn by a racecar driver, astronaut, and fighter pilot. The only difference is, the belt is not strapped to your legs.

I haven't seen any other camera makers that offer that chest strap as an option.

robberry

What happened? Did the driver stop? Did you sue for the price of your bike?

If you get taken to the hospital after a car accident, they tow your car (at your expense) the nearest lot. If you get taken to the hospital after a bike accident, your bike is left there? How much BS it that?

robberry

What good is a $300 camera if the NYPD won't do anything about it anyway? I read the above link about Greenpoint couple, and that's SO MESSED UP!

1nterceptor

I saw this recommended by other posters on another thread, $50:

limeylew

I have a couple of these cameras and find them to work very well.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/260795655778...84.m1423.l2649

The shipping if FREE and, consequently, kind of slow but the company seems honest and reliable to me.

If you buy one and find the instructions difficult to understand, contact me and I will give you the REAL ENGLISH version.

Digital_Cowboy

Don't ya just "love" the "no harm, no foul" way of thinking that so many take when dealing with car v bike crashes?!?

Digital_Cowboy

Just playing "Devil's Advocate" here, but why should the ambulance crew, fire department or police on the scene take responsibility for transporting a crash victim's bicycle? Yes, it would be nice if they would do so. But is it their responsibility?

Wouldn't it be better so long as the victim is conscious to call a friend or family member to come and take custody of their bike so that it doesn't have to be left at the scene? Or even to secure it at the scene until the victim who can come back for it?

Part of the problem is where exactly on/in an ambulance or firetruck or a police car (not SUV) are they suppose to carry a crash victims bicycle? And no pun intended, should the bicycle rider get a "free ride" on having their vehicle transported? Where are the police, ambulance crew or firetruck crew suppose to transport the bicycle to?

Don't get me wrong, I agree that it would be nice if as a matter of courtesy that they transported it alone with the victim, or at the very least if the police would secure it as evidence in the hopefully criminal investigation.

SBRDude

I got hit a long time ago - must have been around 1990. I got sideswiped by a mirror about 15 miles from home. Lots of road rash and the bike was broken up a bit and couldn't be ridden. I refused the ambulance ride for the same reason - didn't want to leave my bike by the side of the road. The CHP (I lived in CA at the time) was nice enough to give me and my bike a ride home. He kept telling me I should get checked out at the hospital so I had my roommate take me and I ended up having a broken leg.

Chris516

The driver stopped. I didn't sue for the price of my bike, because apart from the brake lever, nothing was out of alignment that I couldn't fix myself. I just had to straighten the brake lever and, the brake. The time before that, when I was in an accident, a family member had to pick it up. But I definitely agree with you, that it is unfair for a car to be towed, yet nothing will be done for a bike.

Chris516

Well, I was speaking in terms of not deciding which helmetcam to get, based solely on cost. At the same time, a $300 camera could actually have worse video recording quality than a $50 camera. So it comes down to the best video.

Chris516

I just asked them, because, if a towing company will tow a car/truck/van, why couldn't my bike be stored until any medical treatment would have been completed. I thought the hospital or the firehouse would be a safer place to keep it, were I to have some form of medical treatment requiring a stay in the hospital. Because, While I do have family members that drive, who live in the area of the accident, they are next to impossible to get help from. As for my friends at the bike shop, I couldn't ask them to leave work.

robberry

So I'm expected to just toss thousands of dollars on the ground and "hope" it's still there? They will tow your car, but not a bike. That's BS.

Not everyone has a car in NYC, and no one (except me) that I know does.

robberry

I guess the lessons learned are, fight for more NYC bike lanes, bring a lock with you on every ride (even though they are heavy), and don't expect anything from the NYPD!

I guess it might make sense to pick up two of those cheap cameras, as from what I watched, the batter only lasts for 90 minutes.

Chris516

Responsibility, no. Nice gesture, yes. But I guess 'nice' is cardinal no-no for them, beyond absolute EMS matters.

At first it would be. At the same time, if no family or friend is available, no EMS/fire/police officer, is going to wait for a long time for someone to get there.

A police cruiser can put it in the trunk with lid partially tied down and keep it at the station. A fire truck can tie it down to the top of the fire truck, taking it to the fire station. An ambulance would be a problem, since there would be no way of tying the bike down. But apart from their respective jobs, compassion and/or consideration is a 'sin'.

The sky would fall, before that happens. Even if a cyclist became a fatality, the probability that a criminal investigation would be done, would be just as good as the odds of winning the lottery.

Digital_Cowboy

Chris,

I fully agree that if the LEO's, or firefighters, ambulance crew etc. can call a tow truck for a car that something similar can be done for a person who is riding a bicycle. And as if you say they have to spend any amount of time in the hospital it'd be nice to have a way home provided that the bike isn't destroyed.

Digital_Cowboy

You do know what it means to "play devils advocate," don't you?

Digital_Cowboy

I agree, it would be a really nice gesture on their part to do so.

Agreed, it would be nice if a friend or family member could be contacted to come and take custody of the bike. If that can't be done it would be nice if one of the officers on the scene would throw it in the trunk of his/her cruiser and secure it at the police station.

Agreed, there is the trunk of the cruiser (if there is room with the gear that they have to carry) or it could be secured somehow to the firetruck. The ambulance would be the hardest option for securing and transporting a bike. One would also think that given that the officers responding to a scene know what kind of investigation they're going to be taking part of. So it wouldn't be unreasonable to have them swing by the station and pick up a bike carrier.

Sadly, that is all too true.

Digital_Cowboy

Living in NYC you should know better then those who don't what you can and can't expect from your local LEOs.

Chris516

I am not necessarily referring to having a way home. But that if a tow truck will be called for a car, the least that can be done for cyclist, is storing their bike for them. But I guess EMS feels that is either, beneath them or, a cardinal sin to even ask.

A perfect example would be someone like:

professional cyclists' Mark Cavendish, Mark Renshaw, Andre Greipl, Jens Voigt, etc.; who go on a training ride alone, without someone following them in a car. What if they get injured on their bike and need to have their bike transported.

Digital_Cowboy

True, or even as we saw in the case with the other two cyclists in Ohio who were arrested. The police just left their bikes on the side of the road. Fortunately someone in the crowd recognized them and was willing to store their bikes. But given that a tow truck would be called and a car impounded when someone is arrested the same should be done for someone riding a bike.

It's just another sign/indicator of how autocentric we are as a society.