Hit by car again
 

I was hit today in a similar way to 3 months ago. As I'm recovering from an Achilles tendinitis in my left ankle, went for an easy ride with my brother-in-law to a friend's home, about 30 kms round trip. We were some 10km into our ride, going at about 15kph, on a sunny Sunday afternoon, when at a T intersection a car came from our right, made a left turn and hit me head-on, narrowly missing my BIL. Luckily she wasn't going fast and braked at the last second, I estimated the car speed at about 10kph.
I fell, my bike was under the bumper, the driver came out and apologized. I was very angry and asked her how could she be so reckless, hitting me that way. My BIL is a MD, he checked me out on the spot and found nothing broken, only a big bump on my right calf where the bumper hit. The bike had a tacoed front wheel.
The driver offered to take me to the hospital, said she was nervous because she was going to see her sister who was just admitted there. I declined and asked her to pay for my wheel, which she did without any complain and left.
My BIL called his wife who took both of us home. I was prescribed rest, ice and elevation and I'm doing OK, only a little pain, glad not to had my leg broken, but what worries me is she didn't notice me on a clear day, no other traffic around, wearing a bright yellow and black jersey (me) and a bright green/white one (my BIL)!

Glad you're okay. I'm glad everyone else is okay too. Glad that she paid for the wheel and everyone is cared for. I know it was her fault, but think about anything you could have done to prevent it. Maybe there was nothing.

Concierge medicine at its finest! I wish I could bring an MD with me every time I went riding :)

wow . you should have took down her info, just incase any problems arise later ... im sure your BIL is a qualified Md and can asses your immediate injuries, but he didn't have proper machines (x ray, mri, ekg , etc.. etc..) to be able to tell if there is an underlying injury .. would still go to a hospital and get checked out ... all in all tho THANK GOD YOU ARE ALIVE !!!!!

Police report of the accident? Got all the driver's info, etc?
Glad you seem to be minimally damaged.

By all means, if something hurts a lot or doesn't seem right later, get it checked out.
But don't agree that medical care is always required, especially since you had an MD on the spot. (If something hurts a lot or doesn't seem right later, get it checked out.)
Your call.

Thanks all! I really should've asked the driver's info, but I didn't. Anyway, my (helmeted) head never hit the ground, and it seems unlikely there's any further issues. I think I can find her if needed, this was in a small village.
I've had harder falls riding by myself, but what shocked me in this case was I felt helpless - just riding along, a car turns and suddenly hits me.
Guess I have to be more careful in the future, always brake for cars that could have even the slightest chance to hit me. This I could have avoided if I didn't assume that the driver had seen me and would brake. Instead, she went along and only braked at the last second.

oh yeah i learned along time ago. ALWAYS assume drivers cant see you. even if they can , and ride super defensively ... ive been hit 2 times in my life, once when i was 11 ,just riding around, not paying attention, and again 2 summers ago... the most recent one is cause the guy wanted to hit me ... road rage incident basically ... nothing i could do to avoid it .... but i have avoided 100's of other possible incidents by anticipating what drivers might do, riding defensively, and assuming they cant see me... just yesterday i was riding on the shoulder with a guy in a convertible on my left... traffic and me cruising along about 20 mph ...... im keeping up wit him... he looks at me and smirks.... it was right then i knew he was going to cut in front of me to either make a turn or just overtake the lane and pass cars and sure enough he did ... but i was able to break before he did ... if i wasnt paying attention i woulda ran into him .....

I said that to a motorcyclist friend of mine and he said, "ride like they CAN see you and WANT to kill you." Also, I am getting old, so when biking or driving by hospitals I take into consideration that drivers may be panicked, distraught or otherwise distracted and to be extra observant in these areas as stops may be missed, turns may be sudden, and unusually aggressive maneuvers may happen. (I realize the OP didn't say his incident didn't say it happened by a hospital, but it reminded me of hospital area traffic concerns since the woman said she was headed there).

I put a lot of miles in crossing some of the most heavily congest areas of los angeles with only a few "close calls". My advice is always assume that drivers don't see you. glad you are okay!

yeah its basically all along the same way of thinking and riding, as in to assume either way cars are out to hit you whether intentional or not .. if a car really really wants to hit you tho it will , so just gotta stay out road rage situations as much as possible ... some you can't avoid . one time my chain broke while riding in a dedicated, but not separated by dividers, bike lane , which made me stop ... at the time a guy in a suv was attempting to go around slow moving traffic cutting in the bike lane... my stopping blocked that and he got pissed and jumped out his car wanting to fight . i grabbed my u lock to defend my self .. but 2 cops was walking by and he just got back in his truck and drove off.... in that case i was in the right , but still could have ended badly for me... or him... ........

This is what I thought too. Sounds like the driver was distracted, which of course is unacceptable in drivers, whether because of family in the hospital, or texting.

Glad you were only harmed a little bit, and able to come here and tell us about it! I always read these incident reports because I want to keep myself sharp, so I appreciate it.

Confused here, riding in the USA? Were you crossing the intersection at the time? I like bright blinky lights, 24/7.

how is your bruise? not too late for an xray, maybe check for a hairline fracture, who "prescribed" rest, ice and elevation?

Glad you weren't more seriously injured. Too bad about your wheel, but good that she agreed to replace it. You never know what a person will do, especially if her mind is somewhere else (probably thinking about her sister in the hospital).

I'm having trouble picturing how she could have hit you head-on after turning left from your right. Could you elaborate?

I'm doing OK, the swelling is gone and the pain almost too. My BIL prescribed that, called me yesterday and today to make sure I was doing well.

You have to assume at all times that a driver doesn’t see you and thus ride accordingly.

Glad to hear you're basically o.k.

Glad you're OK. I've found London Pride* to do wonders for me after such events. Or a bit of Auchentoshan.

The sad reality of the roads is that there are and will be distracted drivers and people who drive beyond their brains ability to think. They are the cause of something like 60% of all crashes and likely about 90% of bicyclists deaths. As one Dutch engineer told me, "we design for the idiots."

* If the pub has a sparkler on get them to remove it. Amazing difference.

Glad your ok!

I tried everything to make myself more visible. Bright yellow safety vests. Powerful daytime running lights. But there was no difference whatsoever. I still kept getting those close calls.

Then I began riding a recumbent. Lower to the ground, should be harder to spot right? Wrong! Using my rear view mirror I spot vehicle reactions from way back. Drivers give me more room than I know what to do with. And I don't even use a flag!

Riding a regular bike a driver will see you, but at the same time you will be taken for granted. Your presence is shoved into the subconcious and what happens there who knows.

My theory is that to stay safe we all need to ride something that looks different.

Edit: My other theory is to look as though you are falling apart. Baggies hanging from various parts of the bike. Pieces of this and that sticking out from here and there. Look totally unsafe. Was mildly effective.

Cute blondes also get noticed and given 5" of additional room according to Univ Bath.

That really sucks man, glad it wasn't worse! Keep that ice on & you'll be back in form before ya know it. As for the motorist, I can only say that I've nearly been hit dozens of times on clear days with sun high overhead not in anyone's eyes. I notice many of these people are using cell phone or just plain don't look.

- Andy

Hmmm, different and ghetto? Like this?

Thanks all again! Today I did my usual commute at a slow pace (well, even slower than usual) and very carefully, no problems.

I hate the advice "ride like other people can't see you and are out to hit you". No, just no. If you really thought that way, you wouldn't be on the road at all, ever, in any type of vehicle. Pretty much no one WANTS to hit another road user, despite what they may say or do. Even if they say they want to hit a cyclist, only a truly psychopathic person actually goes through with it. It's almost always an issue of distraction or not seeing the cyclist, which really boils down to negligence on the motorist's part, unless the cyclist was doing something blatantly wrong like running a red light or salmoning.

No, the best thing to do is ride so that other motorists CAN see you. Make yourself as visible as possible through use of lights and lane positioning. When it comes to a motorist pulling out from the right as in the OP's case, riding farther left in the right lane makes you more conspicuous. It also helps to try to make eye contact, and keep your hands on the brakes when riding past areas like this where motorists may pull out. Always be aware and alert.