Thought I'd share my experience from today:

On the ride into work today a young man in a blue Malibu t-boned me and the AWOL. I was heading west on a main artery and he was trying to make a left hand turn to go east. He was pulling out of a side road with a stop sign and while he had slowed down, he never came to a complete stop. I saw him look in my direction and then look west. I thought he saw me. I even remember thinking, "he saw me" in my head. After he looks to the west he pulls out and hits me square.

He wasn't going very fast. I'm guessing in the neighborhood of 5-10 miles an hour. The car hit me just below my right knee and knocked me off the bike and flat on my back. My left foot didn't unclip so the bike landed on top of me, protecting the brand new selle anatomica seat that I installed last night.

My front wheel is totaled and the disc brake may be warped but otherwise the bike is fine. No scratches and nothing but the wheel bent or twisted. It looks like I was able to protect its fall with my body (resourceful right??? ) My helmet took a big hit and needs to be replaced but my head is fine. I'm very glad I was wearing my helmet. I sometimes skip it when it's hot out and it's supposed to get really warm this afternoon so I had considered not wearing it this morning.

The driver stopped and assisted me in getting myself and the bike off the road. He gave me all of his contact information and offered to pay for all the damages. He apologized about three hundred times and offered to drive me to work or the hospital. He claims that he just simply didn't see me. I had my blinking front light on, and was wearing a bright blue shirt. I was traveling on the correct side of the road in the bike lane and it was clear and sunny outside.

The most curious thing about the whole incident to me is that I'm not upset. I didn't yell or scream at the guy. I was polite and I didn't chew his head off or anything. I'm glad no one was hurt and the damage was fairly minor. I started commuting about a year ago and I figured eventually I would have some sort of encounter with a vehicle but I never imagined that I wouldn't be furious. I can be quite hot headed and it surprised me how even keeled I was over the whole thing.

Get your Head and everything else Check Out by a Doctor.

Glad you are ok, the bike can be fixed. Also glad you were a gentleman about it since I'm sure he did not try to hurt you purposely.

File a Police Reort Please.

I did and found I was the guys Fifth Accident that year.

Read this and follow it:

Take These Steps If You Get Hit By a Car As a Pedestrian or Cyclist - CityLab

If you were heading west then for him to see you he would have been looking east. Directly in to bright blinding sunlight?

Glad you're OK (and that you filed a police report).

Glad you weren't hurt. The driver screwed up, but did the right thing after the fact, in times of stress we often fall back on instinct, and his behavior didn't trigger your fight or flight instincts.

Forgot to add that the Doctor says I'm fine. And yes, I did get a police report. Thanks for all the well wishes!

You did good.

Safe Happy Miles ahead for you.

Stupid bike lane. Motorists simply do not look over towards the edge of the road, usually, before pulling out.

Glad that you're okay. Good on ya for getting checked out and police report and all that. Hope everything works out in your favor.

If the road was running due west/east then it was unlikely the sun was a problem, as the sunrise is still well north of due east at this time of year, especially up in the northern states. If the road runs more like NE to SW then yeah the sun could have been a problem.

So glad to hear you're OK. Thanks for reminding us that drivers sometimes just don't perceive us (different than don't 'see' us), regardless of how much we think they've seen us! Keep vigilant!

Firstly, I'm glad you are ok enough to post.

Secondly, this could also have happened to any cyclist as you and he both saw each other and it still happened.

Thirdly, for those who run through reds and stop signs, you can't assume that all the other drivers around will be as alert as you assume even if you assume they all know you're there.

Never think someone sees you. Assume they don't see you and act accordingly. That won't always keep you from getting hit, but it sure lessens the likelihood.

Eye Contact and Turn Signals should Never be Trusted.

Watch for movement on the Front Wheels.

This is why I frequently will give a little wave as I approach an intersection and THINK I see the driver looking at me. The bit of extra motion might just be what they need to see you.

It's not possible to eliminate all risk. No matter how you ride, at some point you WILL be in front of cross traffic that can potentially proceed at exactly the worst moment. Even the famous "Ride like no one can see you" can not prevent this. Glad you are OK, and great job on getting a police report and seeing the doctor. Don't sign off on the case too soon.

Glad you're OK.

For all the talk about visibility and eye contact and all, what never gets mentioned is the motorist's mind-set.

Near as I can tell, drivers look for OTHER CARS. They don't look for a CLEAR SPACE in traffic. Your may think the difference is subtle, but it's two completely different things.

This, I think, explains why I have far fewer encounters after dark. I look like a one-eyed CAR.

Glad you're OK, still get checked out though, especially your head. You might find yourself with a stiff neck tomorrow.

Good to hear you are ok.

Another thread I can't let the wife see.

Our brains are good...too good at times...at sorting sensory information into "important" and "unimportant". It would be overload to have to consciously notice every tiny detail. This is why my four year old son can spot the hidden stuffed monkey at Trader Joe's at an instant while I never noticed it was ever there. Unfortunately there's a lot of drivers out there whose brains subconsciously put bikes into the "unimportant" category, which means that they see them, but their brain filters that information from being considered in decision making. You might as well be a mailbox or a garbage can on the side of the road. Also I think that explains much of the irrational anger that erupts at cyclists. There's a cognitive dissonance between what is (a cyclist who they have to adjust their driving for) and what their subconscious preconception is (that they should only have to adjust for other motor vehicles). They aren't angry at the cyclist, really. They are mad that the world suddenly doesn't make sense, like old people who grew up in segregated society having to deal with integration and civil rights.

This!

Also, I doubt it will make you feel any better but my mom was recently in a similar accident (her fault) with another CAR! Best we can tell she was just thinking about other stuff while she came to a full stop, made eye contact with the other driver, and pulled out directly into said driver. All of this was corroborated by the other driver's account as well.

We just don't think of cars as loaded guns pointed directly at our neighbors... As anyone who has been around guns knows, as soon as you lose respect for the weapon someone will get hurt.

tsl is right, drivers are ONLY looking for cars. The brain that has been habituated to a norm for decades tends to just not see things that it's not used to seeing. I suspect that for this reason, on a per-thousand-rider basis, people in areas where there is less cycling probably get hit a lot more; the drivers are simply not looking for cyclists, so they really do not see them even though they're right there. Also they don't know what to expect - if they do see a bicycle, their only experience may be with some old man or child wobbling along at 5 MPH, they're not expecting a cyclist to go 25 MPH and that leads to trouble like right hooks and left crosses when they vastly underestimate the cyclist's speed.

Glad you weren't hurt anyway. Hope you're made whole again with respect to brusing and equipment. Be sure to get your clothing replaced as well.

Follow up:

Woke up this morning feeling a little stiff but overall nothing to complain about. After this event I am now a full time helmet wearer. I'm certain I would have been in much worse shape without that silly helmet. I’m also thankful I had gloves on. I’m betting my hands would have been scrapped up a bit if I hadn’t worn them.

Got the estimate from the bike shop for the repairs and they were fairly minor. The wheel is a goner but the brake rotor is fine. The fender was able to be straightened and reattached and the frame and fork are straight. I spoke to the driver and he was willing to cover all the expenses to include parts, labor and a new helmet. I did check out my riding kit but the only thing torn was a cheap moisture wicking shirt that I’ve had for two seasons. Since the wheel was toast I am having the bike shop build me a wheel with a dynamo hub (I'm paying the difference) and will add some new lights this fall. I'd love to hear recommendations.

In speaking with the driver, I asked if he remembers looking in my direction and he said he was sure he looked and that he just plain didn't see me. He was very apologetic and seemed sincere. I think it was one of those situations where you don't see what you aren't looking for. I think he was looking for cars and when he didn't see a car he didn't "see" me.

All in all, I feel lucky that I wasn't injured and I'm satisfied with how the driver is responding to the repairs for my bike. Now it's just a waiting game to get my bike back. I will be back to commuting tomorrow on my flat bar trek and a backpack. Time to get back on the horse as they say!

"I get knocked down
But I get up again
You're never going to keep me down"

Glad you're okay.

Glad you're OK jay002! I had a very similar accident 4 months ago and learned not to trust drivers, even if they saw me already.