Collision: Gas Pipe Peugeot vs. Jeep Cherokee
 

Was heading South in the Bike Lane of a 3 lane one way street. The bike lane is on the left side of the road. It was rainy and I'm guessing I was doing around 20 mph.

Jeep Cherokee turns left right in front of me. I slam on the brakes and turn left too but quickly realize an impact is not going to be avoided. Not knowing what else to do, I throw the jeep a stiff arm and probably kick it with my right foot.

Surprisingly, I was still on the bike when we both stop moving. I roll over to the curb to check everything out. Not a scratch on me or the bike. Front wheel still true. Lucky, Lucky, Lucky.

The driver felt bad and ended up with a crease in his drivers door as a reminder to be more careful. Whether the dent was caused by the aero/handle bars or the stiff arm, I'm not sure.

As much as I'd like to completely fault the driver, I wonder if I was as alert as I should have been, -if I should have a newer bike with better brakes or if I should have been going slower given the conditions. Most of all I question the wisdom of bike lanes where automobiles regularly make left hand turns across them, not used to looking behind them to see if a bike is coming.

Just a little wake up call for me I guess.

Admit it, you were all hoping to see a pic of a mangled Peugeot ;-)

Frankly...yes!:)

:roflmao:

Yes, . . yes I was! :p

The only time to trust and expect drivers to look for you is never. Actually, I was expecting to see a picture of a mangled Jeep. Don't mess with a gas piper!

Ah, I was just glad to hear that you're all right. Who cares about the Peugeot (tolfan, pay no attention to this post).

East Hill

Here in Atlanta, I assume that every driver I see is on the phone. Its like counting cards in blackjack. You don't win every hand, but you are right eight times out of eleven. Nuff said?

Hmm, maybe partially at fault? If it's rainy and I see a car w/o headlights on, my first thought is, "What a dolt" and the second is "What an idiot". As a casual cyclist, I know in the past I've done plenty of riding in light rain w/o a thought about lights or being overtly visible--after a few years of commuting in a car, though, I now think a bit more about these more minor things. Darker colored cars are hard to pick out in rain/drizzle when they are w/o headlights. A bicyclist in a darker shirt on a darker color bike is an even smaller object than the typical SUV.

Not saying that if you had xenon strobes going on that he would have noticed you--but as a "vehicle", you were technically w/o lights in what was probably low(er) visibility conditions. I'm not sure what the best solution would be, as I'd think you'd need alot of candlepower in order to be visible in the daytime. Maybe next time at least ride with some blinky red lights, front and rear?

About 1/3 of my commute is on an old rail throughway that's been converted to a bike trail. It's nice. I can can get down into the aero bars and just go for a couple of miles before I have to get off the trail and head downtown.

As I go by those in less of a hurry I always yell "On your left!". Something very disturbing I've noticed on that trail is an increasing number of cyclists talking on a cellphone and biking at the same time. Some obviously don't hear me and I question how much control they have over their bike.

I've thought about that some too. I wish I could remember more details. He was heading the same way as I was and he essentially cut me off when he took a left in front of me. Rush hour traffic is such that I maybe moving faster than the autos, they me be moving faster than me, or we might be going roughly the same speed. So I don't remember if he came from behind and then turned or if I was moving up on him before he turned. It could have been that I was maintaining a position slightly behind him in a blind spot.

My guess is he turned without ever looking, -like a lot of drivers. People here aren't really taught how to drive with respect to bike lines. I'm going to have be more careful to make sure I'm noticed.

I ride mainly city streets, and I can tell you that I hardly ever ride fast on them as I know that the vehicles that are looking out for me are almost non existant, I feel its the responsibility of the biker to keep themselves safe from the vehicles as the drivers of said vehicles are not, not saying that they dont have the responsibility to look out for us, just that they dont :( I can tell you this, if it were me instead of you, I would have counted on the idiot to do what he did, and adjusted my speed and position before the intersection, even if he didnt turn its better to be safe, especially in the rain :rolleyes: ;) remember, no ones going to keep you safe on a bike but you ;) :)

Is this a Steel rims in the rain issue?

No. If I would have had steel rims, it would probably would have not turned out so well. My right pectoral and stomach muscles are sore from absorbing the impact with my arm and shoulder but otherwise I'm unhurt. My bike must have barely made contact because I can't find a mark on it.

Not only that, but around here we don't have one-way streets, much less one's with bikes lanes on the left. Were I visiting a place that did, I wouldn't be programmed to look on my left for cyclists.

Yikes! Good tidbit to file away.....

I think that's a big part of the problem. I've had a few close calls before. The bike lanes encourage more bike traffic because they feel safer to the cyclist, but in reality since the cyclist is in their own lane instead of right front of the driver, they're less visible, - and not where a driver would be inclined to see them anyway.

That particular lane is normally filled with bikes heading out of downtown that time of day and that probably helps keeps drivers more aware, but it had been extremely hot earlier, and then started to rain, so yesterday there weren't many bikes out.

I wanted to see a picture of a mangled Jeep and an unscathed Peugeot!

Glad you and the bike are OK!

[QUOTE=tjspiel;4941360]

Surprisingly, I was still on the bike when we both stop moving. I roll over to the curb to check everything out. Not a scratch on me or the bike. Front wheel still true. QUOTE]

I think we should all ride peugeots

Quote:

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Originally Posted by rk1963

I think we should all ride peugeots

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Yup, it might as well be the Volvo of bicycles! :)

+1