Hmmm....What's become a really popular accessory over the past 10 or so years? One that nobody can do without? The CELL PHONE!!!

The think I've noticed is the number of cars and trucks that run red lights! Perfect example: Before Christmas my wife and I were doing a little shopping, and were leaving the shopping area in my Mustang. The traffic light on to the highway at that intersection is a very long light. It's my habit at that light, if I have to wait for the green, is to shift into neutral (it's a 5-speed manual) and remove my foot from the clutch - but I keep my eye on the cross traffic light to watch for it to turn yellow so that I can shift into neutral and be ready to pull out on the green. Anyway that day I wasn't paying as close attention as I normally do, and when my light went green I was still sitting there in neutral. So I pressed in the clutch pedal, shifted to first, and started easing out on the clutch to pull away. I was just starting to move when a DUMP TRUCK blasted through the light from my left! If I had been on the ball, he would have T-Boned me!

Been hit twice by cars, one sideswipe (which didn't even knock me down) and one t-bone, neither my fault. Have ran into three cars, two t-bones (both partially my fault) and one sideswipe (completely my fault). All have been walkaways, albeit with a fair amount of bruising and road rash, and a few wheel and miscellaneous component replacements.

Factoring in single vehicle crashes (*snap* hey, where did my pedal go!? hmm, I used to be able to catwalk a bike when I was a kid, I wonder if I still can? oooh, I should take a shortcut through that empty lot that's overgrown with tall grass and fireweed that couldn't possibly be hiding any bike stopping obstacles! etc, etc..) I'm averaging about one wreck per year as an adult cyclist, although the first half dozen are all clustered up in my first two years of cycling. Now I just ride more slowly and defensively and only do something truly boneheaded once every few years.

Clipped by a truck mirror. Didnt crash me and only a bruise to the arm. Asshat was trying to buzz me and got me. Knows he got me because the mirror got slapped to the side of the truck and blew the mirror out. Drove off.

Mirror destroyed? Good. That's at least a $100, maybe 5x more if it was a recent motorized, heated mirror. I'm sure he was happy and proud of his achievement.

Was the parked car moving rapidly in your direction? ;)

Seriously. Cell phone is the bane of our society. I learned to look out for drivers on cell phones and to stay away from them. There is a law in NYS that prohibits hand-held phone use while driving but there is zero enforcement in NYC. Even cops yap on cell phones while driving.

I was hit in the cross-walk at one of the busiest intersections in our city during rush-hour morning traffic. Heading westbound from SE corner to SW corner, eastbound right lane can turn right or go straight. When I had the walk signal, I went. BLack SUV goes straight, red sedan waits for me to cross before turning right. Silver sedan in next lane over wants to turn right from the wrong lane, thinks the red sedan is waiting for him. Not to mention silver sedan doesn't see me due to the black SUV. 3/4 the way through the crosswalk, silver sedan cuts between the black SUV and red sedan, hits me right in the bottom bracket area, bike flies about 10 feet and I do a twist/partial flip/faceplant right on the corner. I don't know nor do I care what damage the car sustained but my nice road bike (the only bike I had at the time) was totaled. Front wheel looked like a wind chime, back wheel bent, front drive-train components completely mangled and rear triangle of frame was completely tweaked. New bike time.

I was taken to the hospital by ambulance, sustained a broken nose, broken tooth, severe cut on my upper lip, road rash on chin, and several other minor aches that surfaced over the next couple days. My local hospital didn't even clean the blood off of my face. They made sure my neck or back weren't broken and hadn't suffered any head trauma, gave me a couple percocet and released me within 2 hours. 2 days off of work, and a call to a highly recommended personal injury lawyer around here.

I'm actually going to buy my new bike this weekend. Same bike, mostly same parts (using a little extra cash to get some parts I was going to replace anyway like rack/panniers, etc). They'll have to order my stuff but I hope to be back on the road in a week or so.

I realize how lucky I am to not have sustained worse injury. A slower take-off and I might've bounced off of the guy's windshield instead of a faceplant. Or worse. Also, after reading some of these other stories, I realize how lucky I've been not to have gotten hit sooner.

I was riding along, hearing a slight noise, looking down to see if I could see what was causing the noise. Next thing I knew I was going over the handlebars. I remember thinking as I was going over the bars--"I just got doored." I policed myself up, all set to go off on someone for dooring me. Sheepishly, I noticed that there was no one else on this quiet, residential, street except for myself and this white car.

Glad to hear you were not hurt worse but I would like to point out in most places it is illegal for you to ride a bike in a crosswalk as well as on side walks unless marked. Even if it is not illegal in your area you may be required to dismount or ride no faster then walking pace. A smart lawyer will point this out and you may well loose your case.

I use to ride sidewalks and found that most of my near misses were in crosswalks. Now I take the lane and act like a car at intersections and my near misses at intersections has dropped significantly. ;)

That kind of reminded me that once I nearly slammed into a double-parked UPS truck. I was going pretty fast on a nice day, signaled my intention to change the lane to pass the truck but the asshat behind me in the next lane accelerated and wouldn't let me pass. I had to hit my brakes hard and I eventually changed the lane but cleared the truck by inches. I caught up with the ****head at the light and told him what I think about low lifeforms such as him and rats. He just looked at me. I guess, it didn't occur to him that I could catch up with him or he just was totally oblivious to what has happened. I think that was the closest ever I was to an accident.

When I was about 9 or 10 I was racing one of my neighborhood friends around the block and ran into a parked car. I just got back up and laughed it off, as I was not hurt. In 7500+ miles of cycling as an adult (actually, more miles than that, but I only started tracking my mileage in July 2009), I've not yet hit/been hit by a car. I have had a few close calls (mostly people going straight through an intersection cutting me off).

Wow, noticed this thread was started by another Spokanite.

I've been hit 3 or 4 times with only 2 rides in the ambulance. Though I lost a good bike once. Had to fight with an insurance company with another time. I'm hoping to start commuting again soon.

Yup, they sure can make all the difference. I guess the trend to be "cool" is if you ride without a helmet. Well...it's a matter of life and death out there. I'll choose life thank you very much.

Twice, each time was the drivers fault. The first, I was traveling on a through street saw a car at the stop sign of an upcoming intersection, watched the drivers head look both ways. She waited, assuming she saw me, I continued, she waited until I was directly in front of her and looked straight at me before accelerating. She knocked me onto the hood of the car, turned left and continued for a block, dragging the bike beneath her with me on the hood. I was fine, but the worst, and most amusing part of the experience, was the number of people who poured out of the neighborhood houses after word got around. All of them milling around asking me where the body went.
The second time, I got right hooked by an old geezer turning into his own drive. He just knocked me down, did no damage to me or my bike and apologized profusely while another guy stopped in the middle of the suicide lane, stood on the hood of his car and berated me as a menace who had no right to be on the road.
There are funny people out there.

Marc

wtf? F'real?

Yep, it's one of those scenes you just never forget!

Got doored by a Ford Galaxie as a teen. The bike survived. I was sore. Knocked the Galaxie's door off it's hinge. The driver screamed and raged and claimed he was going to sue. Never heard from him afterwards though.

Got run over by a '64 Mustang in the late '70s. Fortunately, the car pushed me aside and the rear wheel took all the damage. I think I had a few abrasions on my elbow, but I can't remember for sure.

Got right hooked in the early '70s by a van, I leaned on the side of the van with my elbow as we went through the corner and then managed to get away.

Couple of years ago, I almost got left hooked by a driver scooting into Denny's for a Grand Slam. I avoided this collision by about 6" because I was riding my recumbent and when the brakes weren't enough, I dropped my feet to the pavement and my tennies made good brakes. The force of the impact of feet to pavement was enough that my feet hurt more and more throughout the day, and by the end of the day I was no longer able to stand. I had to cancel the century I had planned to ride the next day.

What the heck? Did she eventually stop and wait for the cops? Just oblivious? Trying to get away? Tell!

My friend has been hit by the same car on the same street three times now:) has happened over the last 9 years. The culprit a now 88 year old woman driving a beast of a pink mary kay caddie. And every time within blocks of his house, he's doomed as she is still on the road:)

I was hit once - one evening last September, a lady in a sedan turned left into me from a side street on my right. It looked like she was stopping, but apparently didn't see my flashing lights (texting much?) and gunned it just as I was crossing her path. I went over her hood and got a broken collarbone, couple broken ribs and a concussion out of the deal. Luckily the bike was barely banged up - just a broken pedal and bent brake caliper, few scratches. The lawyer is still working on a settlement with her insurance co. (damn things take forever!)

I got doored last summer. Riding along on my MTB on a quiet neighborhood street and had a lady quickly flick her door open as my front tire was about even with her back tire. A small 2 door - In fact it was an older Acura Integra. The lady hadn't previously gone around me, or turned out from a side street ahead of me, so didn't observe this car backing into the parking space, or I would have given a wider berth. No brake lights ever lit, and she did not unlatch the door first and then swing it open. In other words, I had no indication that there was anyone in this car, or about to open the door prior to it happening. In hindsight, the timing couldn't have been better if she was trying to door me. So when she flung her door open, I had no more then 3 feet to assess what was happening, get my fingers on the levers and grab a handful of brakes. The last speed I remember seeing on my computer was 17 mph. I'm not bothering figure out how many feet per second I was traveling, but I remember feeling my right fingers touch the brake lever and then I was airborne. I'm in my 40's so my reflexes certainly aren't what they once were, and I'm not sure what sort of athletic skills I would need to avoid that collision, but I'm sure I can't hit a major league fast ball either. I sliced my shin pretty good on something, and the bike ended up needing a new front wheel and forks, but I was able to ride it home, however I folded her door all the way over onto the front fender. I spent about a minute getting my bike ride-able (basically opened up the front brakes enough to clear the wobbly wheel and then spent 10 minutes helping her get the door of her car closed. I was just getting back into cycling, so I was not aware of how things worked in these cases. So I didn't get any information from her and ended up paying for my own repairs. It was only about 5 blocks from my house and yet I've never seen that car since. I wish I'd have at least gotten a picture of the carnage I inflicted on her car. It was impressive.

-T.

Sounds like her repairs would have cost even more, so it's not all bad.

Yeah, she waited. I put the whole story on my blog after making the post:

http://simplecycle-marc.blogspot.com...-thinking.html

'Kay. I probably never followed it because they block all blogspot.com sites from work. But not Bikeforums!