Cassiel240

I've seen several threads with this title, so, sorry - but it was!

I was riding to school yesterday and had about a mile to go. I have to go through downtown to get to my university, and I was riding up the street and got stopped behind a pickup. I was in an area where it does not pay to ride slow once the traffic starts, because it can tend to be bumper-to-bumper and if you are much behind the person in front of you people like to cut in. Anyway, so when the light turned green and the pickup pulled forward I stood on my peddles and applied the gas - just as he stopped abruptly. Apparently there were 2 pedestrians in the crosswalk who he had not seen.

I was about 3 feet off his bumper and couldn't stop, so I tried to swerve and turned my front wheel too sharply. I slid off the seat and flew forward (still holding onto my handlebars), slamming my shoulder against the tailgate and bouncing off. I found myself on the asphalt trying to pull my bike up and out of the road (I still had a death grip on the handlebars), thankfully with no cars behind me.

The most pronounced pain I felt was a burning ache in my jaw and the base of my scull - from slamming forward with my body sideways, I assume. I was wearing a helmet but I don't think I hit it on anything. The only other thing I found was a tiny knick in my knee (you could've mistaken it for a razor knick it was so tiny). Amazingly, my shoulder really was minimally injured, considering I had left a dent and a crease in the tailgate (my roommate tells me that toyota pickups of the mid-90's seemed to be made of tinfoil). Today I feel more soreness and bruising, and what feels like a pulled muscle in my abdomen on the side that hit the truck, and my back is kind of achey, but nothing much else. I'm also really tired today, but that doesn't have to be related I guess.

The driver was nice about it, but pointed out the damage I'd done to his tailgate with my shoulder. My bicycle was unharmed as far as I can tell (kudos to Specialized - I have to put in a word for the Sequoia). We exchanged numbers and parted ways - I didn't have the mental clarity at that point to think of getting witness accounts or even license plate or insurance information or a police report. I rode the rest of the distance to school and got my roommate to pick me up as I was feeling a little rattled. I didn't go to the doctor because I really felt fine and the accident didn't seem that severe.

So, the questions I have for you more experienced people include:

What should I do next?

What should I be on the watch for as far as injury development (are there things that I might not know about right away? Things that could develop that I wouldn't recognize as related?).

The bike seems totally unharmed - my chain popped off, but I re-seated it and rode the last mile to school without incident. There were no weird noises or feelings, though the front wheel looks the tiniest bit less true than it did before (and I mean barely perceptibly - like I could call it my imagination). I was thinking of getting it checked out just because I have free lifetime checkups at the LBS where I bought it. I was also thinking of it riding it down to the shop - is that stupid? Ugh, me. I will admit my judgment is often not worth beans.

What should I be on the watch for from the driver? I know I was at fault, and it's entirely possible that in the throes of remorse just after the mishap I admitted it. I know you aren't supposed to do that but I was totally dazed, and felt terrible about what had hapened.

Any unasked questions you'd like to answer?

Thanks.

mijome07

Welcome to the club.

Grim

I'd start figuring out where you are going to come up with the $1000 worth damage you did to the mans truck. If he takes it to the deal thats about what you need to expect to pay.
You might get lucky and find a same color tailgate on Ebay or local Junk Yard for $300-500 if it s newer truck.

pwdeegan

sorry to hear about that. i'd be dazed and disoriented, too. i had one run in of this nature years ago, and was fortunate enough to settle with the driver on the repairs. to make it all clean and rational, the driver even drew up a document indicating what we would agreed to (my paying for a shattered taillight), and indemnifying each other from further claims with regard to that incident. the important thing was that we were able to discuss it reasonably, and not like two lawsuit happy hyenas.

i had some whiplash from the episode, but just weathered it out (i didn't have health insurance at the time). things could have been much worse, in that the driver could have been a real toad. but to this day, i still think that most people try to approach things in a personable way. i hope this is also the case for you.

well, on the plus side, it's really improbably that he'll be seeking damages for whiplash!

best of luck to you, on this!

Cassiel240

pwdeegan -
I found myself almost grateful I hit him with my bike and not my car for that reason - it's unlikely I'd have hurt anyone besides myself in that accident!