I got smooshed by a car today! :D
 

Oh, that was flippant. I got hit by a car today. In a nutshell:

Cole (whose schwinn I fixed up, see that other thread) and I woke up at his house this morning. (I'd spent the night because it was raining.) So, I decided to ride with him to his school before going home, and drop some flowers off for Ms. Banjo Mole along the way.

Didn't see the lady, so I gave the flowers to Cole to give to her. I then proceeded to continue downhill, riding with traffic.

Upcoming was a right hand turn into the campus for kids being dropped off. The SUV beside me started to slow down for a turn, so I shifted up and zipped ahead, to get across the turn before the SUV went right. (And oh my, was I haulin'...) Unfortunately..

As I was crossing the turn, a car from the oncoming traffic turned left into the same turn I was concerned about being hit from by the SUV turning right!

So, sprinting, to avoid being hit (probably at about 20 mph) I rode straight into the side of a car which turned into me.

Umm... I flew forward into the car, knocked the beanie and glasses right off my head.

I bounced back off the car and the bike (thank god the toeclips weren't too tight) and fell on my left side.

The wind was knocked out of me, very badly, and my insides still feel wierd/sore. (I sure hope nothing inside me is effed up, that'd be scary) My knee is abraised and mostly just extremely sore, as is my left shoulder and neck.

I recall then the principal running out and stopping the car (was it going to drive off? I dunno, I was shocked) and I was searching for my glasses, which had stuck to the car... (Unharmed! :)) I walked up and waited, a nurse took a look at me, took my blood pressure and all that, vague simple school-nurse things; and then a cop arrived.

He took everything down about the incident (the people in the other car insisted I'd been riding on the sidewalk, possibly to cover their hides, but that's bull, I don't ride on the sidewalk and if I had I wouldn't have crashed in the first place!) and then I got a ride home, after he took down the info on my frame.

Centurion
Pink/White (It's fuschia!)
Serial Number
Damages:

Top Tube
Brake

The top tube's paint had flaked in a spot, I feel no noticeable ripple in the steel, but...
The brake doesn't work now, I need a new cable and adjustment, etc.
The fork isn't bent, because the wheel just twisted instead, my stem wasn't tight so that saved the fork.

Well, now the Centurion needs a repaint before I can sell it, defeating the purpose of having it clean to sell.

Anyway, you almost lost Banjo_mole today.

Crap... I'm kind of shocked.

-Nick

Also... Any thoughts on how to check for internal injury? I feel fine, but the idea of a ruptured [insert organ here] scares me quite a bit, and I have neither the cash nor means to get to a checkup center..

-Nick

**** glad you're ok. Hold off on deciding what you're gonna do with the police report for a day or two and see how your body feels. If you're hurting, get checked out and consider filing damages.

Go see a doctor.

ER if you can't afford a doctor. They will treat you and if you can't pay its not a big problem.

Glad to hear you are in one piece, now go make sure you are ok.

Edit: was it a helmet that saved your life? (couldn't resist)

Yeah. Well, I feel that if anything starts acting funny at all, I won't hesitate to stop by a doctor. For now, I think I'm going to rest, treat my body carefully, and rest my sore muscles. And... Sadly, skip out on tomorrow's 40-mile ride.

I'm suprised no one has chided me yet about that other safety-related device that I've been heckled about... That I may very well buy soon. (It starts with an "h" and ends with a "t" and it isn't "hat.")

Nevermind. Thank you mkeller. :lol: No, I think it was the beanie that saved me. But seriously, a 20/25mph crash into a car was rough.

Go to the ER and get checked out. X-rays and all that. I had a similar crash when I was 18, and it took 20 years for the side affects to start showing up. I found out 10 years later that I had broken 4 ribs and will have some nasty arthritis as a result. I also had to have knee sugery that was from tissue damage caused by the crash.

I know this sounds lame, but you might want to speak with a personal injury attorney too. I did not, and have had many missed work days due to back issues caused by the crash.

Makes me glad to be living in Canada.

Seriously, I hope there's nothing wrong with the OP. I've been hit 5 times by cars. I sympathize with you, buddy.

If the officer assigned blame to the driver I certainly hope you got their insurance information. Their insurance should cover your medical expenses.

Go get checked out.

Edit: I bet the police report has their insurance info.

Glad you are alive, go get checked out to make sure you stay that way!

+1

This is absolutely essential. First, adrenaline can mask injuries. You need to get checked up in case you have serious injuries (internal bleeding, for example). Second, injuries sometimes manifest later, after the adrenaline wears off. You will need to establish a medical record now to document that any injuries you received were received as a result of this collision, and that means going to a doctor and getting checked for injuries. Go to emergency; the driver's insurance will cover the cost of the ER visit. If you don't have any injuries, no harm, no foul. if you do have injuries, you'll be glad you went to the doctor.

So, go see a doctor.

Glad you weren't hurt worse!

If the driver insists on this:

Do this:

+ a bazillion
Go see a Doctor, ER, doc in a box anything but go get yourself checked out.

Marty

Doctor first, lawyer second, LBS for a helmet, third.

Get thee to a doc, glad it wasn't worse...and...

wear a helmet, mmK?

....ah the helmet debate begins :rolleyes:

No it doesn't.

I'll forego the lecture and questioning statements and simply say glad that you seem to be okay so far. Note that I did not say you were okay, instead said that you appear to be okay so far.

Do nothing with the bike yet, don't even straighten the handlebars, delete anything saying that anything wasn't tight above, and get yourself to a doctor or ER or clinic for a full exam and post crash checkover. And if the driver's insurance company contacts you then say nothing and just ask for contact info and their claim number in case you or someone else needs to contact them. Say nothing. Say nothing about the bike. Say nothing to them about how you feel.

I'm still feeling the effects of a wreck where I was rearended by a pickup truck while on a motorcycle several years ago. I never signed off on anything and never signed the medical release and to this day I still mention the continuing discomfort to my doctor during my annual physical just in case anything gets worse.

Don't be surprised if the car driver's insurance company comes after you for damages to the car. Were you riding prudently? This gets all A&S at this point and I try to avoid that section of the web site here.

"I'm glad that you seem to be okay so far", and sorry to hear about the crash. Glad that it wasn't worse.

I'm glad to hear it was not more serious. Unfortunately, you may feel worse tomorrow. A lot worse.

Excellent advice.


Another excellent point.

Nah this is C&V the land beyond debating helmets.

He DID ask for some heckling, tho...:D

Definitely - Doctor today. Lawyer tomorrow. Then play it by ear.

Actually, I already straightened the handlebars to get the bike moving, I probably shouldn't've. *sigh*

And I was riding quite prudently. I'll tell them that if they want to make me pay for damages to their car, they need to pay for me to have my top tube replaced. And repainted. :p :thumb: Which would cost more than the thing is worth, heehee.

As for the helmet thing... I've been heckled for a long time about that by my darling C&V friends, which doesn't bother me, but I think today God snickered and said, "I'll teach nick his lesson..."

Good. Now sign off and go see a doctor.