Most people who have ridden a bicycle have crashed or had an accident of some sort.
Forgetting the obvious, "Don't get hit by a car", what other ways have you crashed or had an accident?
Was it due to rider error or was it unavoidable?
I'd like to gain wisdom the easy way, but hearing about your mistakes so that I can avoid them.

Or on the other hand, if you have a perfect record, what kinds of precautions do you take to keep that frame scratch and broken bone free?

I'll start with my most recent fall, which was last year. I was having a great ride, zipping through a parking lot. After successfully avoiding three cars who were not really aware of me, I was definitely aware of them, I got cocky. Zipping around a telephone pole and back onto the sidewalk, I took the turn too quickly, tried to compensate, but ended up losing traction on the back wheel and went down.
(I don't usually ride on the sidewalk. Just that short stretch since it's very bike unfriendly.)

Landing on my side, I ended up bruised and embarrassed, but not seriously hurt. I take that turn each day with a little more care.

How about you?

I have to cross a lot of rail tracks on my commute, which requires a fair amount of planning and focus on a skinny-slicks road bike. My only real bad accident was getting cut-off by a cab pulling over to pick up a fare, right as I was nearing the rail tracks. Instead of acellerating and hopping them at a proper angle like planned, I was forced to brake and swerve to avoid the cab, causing my front tire to drop right into the track, snapping me over sideways onto the ground pretty hard. That was one of the main reasons I decided to get a dedicated commuter bike with fatter treaded tires, instead of taking my road bike to work. I have a lot more room for error when crossing tracks now with the 40c tires on my commuter bike.

I've also had a ton of close calls with cars turning right without signaling, right in front of me... luckily haven't actually ran into one yet. Some were VERY close calls, though...

1)Road Bike - Riding down a long hill where the speed limit is 35 and I can hit 40. I get into the lane so some car doesn't try and pass me and force me into all the junk on the side of the road. The road flattens out and goes around a curve and the speed reduces to 25. On this particular day there was traffic in the 25MPH portion and it was going very slowly due people parking and looking at a yard sale so I stayed in the lane. I looked over to see what the guy was selling and rear ended the car in front of me which had come to a complete stop. Not sure exactly what gymnastics occured after collision but I ended up on my but sitting upright on the pavement unhurt. Pay attention! duh.

2)Road Bike- using clipless and standing while climbing, my foot came disengaged from pedal and I came crasing down bruising my ribs on and bending the brifter. Upon inspection the metal clip on the cleat had broken allowing me to disengage. You've got to inspect and lubricate cleats! duh.

3) Commuter singlespeed. 5:30 AM dark had to detour from normal route due to down power lines. Slipped on ice making turn. Be careful on a new route and be cognizant of road conditions! duh.

4) Commuter singlespeed. 5:30 AM dark - there was a big storm and several people had taken branches to curb. I was riding along and suddenly went flying over the handlebars - stick in spoke. I had what I thought was a reasonable light but have since upgraded. You can't have too much light. duh.

5) Commuter singlespeed 5AM dark and raining. Was going faster then normal to shorten commute. Took a turn that I have taken hundreds of times wider than normal due to speed and slippery conditions. Went down on a steel plate in the road that I had somehow never noticed before when taking the turn on my normal radius. Slow down in rain don't speed up! duh.

6) Commuter 5:45 AM dark right after heavy rain. There is a small portion of my commute where I get on the sidewalk. I was tired, and not paying attention, so I ended up riding off the sidewalk (the non-road side) into some mud. I attempted to get back on the sidewalk and I didn't take the turn at somthing approaching a right angle, so instead of going up on the sidewalk I fell and ended up rolling accross the sidewalk into the water filled curb. Very funny.

mostly common sense so far but this one not as straight forward for me-

Road Bike - was comming down a hill about 30-35MPH and at the bottom of the hill there is a fork facing the opposite direction such that I am on the main road which is the right leg of the fork and cars going left at the fork are making a left turn accross traffic. I have the right of way on such a car. So a car turns left in front of me and I crash trying to avoid it. I was initially irate with me having the right of way and all, but the more I thought about it I realized that to many motorist bicycles are toys that kids ride, so they don't expect them to be going 30-35MPH (or more). The guy kept going, and again, the more I thought about it I'm not sure he ever saw me. My take away after further thought is that while having the law on your side is nice, the only law that really means anything, is the law of physics that says that if car hits bike - bike looses big. I now use extreme caution at intersections or breaks in the road and I wear one of those safety vests while commuting and a yellow-green jersey on the road bike. Not initially obvious to me because I was riding in accord with traffic law - but upon some reflection -duh.

Road Bike - Have also fallen maybe three or four times after stopping and being unable to unclip - mostly when I was exhausted - pretty funny but no knowlege to impart - practice ?

Wow. : ) If you were a D&D character, you would have a brickload of hit points.

Accidents & near misses - all on road bike

• strong gusty cross-wind on open road - gust blew me off the pavement sideways - don't know how I could have avoided that one. At least it didn't blow me into traffic, but I've had near misses in that arena also. Lesson - I dunno? just be extra wary when riding in gusty crosswinds, especially with motor vehicle traffic present. I do find that slowing way down reduces the ability of gusts to knock you off your planned vector.
• MUP, semi-blind curve; not suspecting the treacherous layer of leaves ahead of me (this was during autumn ), I took a curve too fast and had to swerve to avoid an oncoming cyclist. There was not enough traction to swerve back in order to remain on the trail, and I went down, solo. Lesson: assume the worst ahead, beyond where you are able to see, and adjust your speed and trajectory accordingly.
• MUP, wide open visibility, but pavement moist from recent light rain. At cruising speed (near 20mph - this is a lightly used MUP) attempted to negotiate a curve following a downslope, and I think the camber was adverse also - discovered that there was way less than the expected amount of traction, and between braking and turning could not keep on the path - front wheel began to slide, and down I went. Lesson - know your MUP, i.e. how much traction to expect, depending on the type of surface. In this particular case, it was concrete indeed, but with some kind of diabolical slick surface finish.
• Near miss; I've had this one a couple of times now (in different locations), on the road shared with motor vehicles; on a curve going down hill where I'm going the prevailing speed of motor traffic, the motorist behind me exceeds the prevailing speed and/or speed limit, presumably in order to "pass the cyclist, on principle", and as a result, cuts me off at the curve (i.e. because the motorist has to slow down to negotiate the curve, and depending whether right or left curve, thereby forces me off the road on the inside or outside) - lesson: when you're going as fast as motor traffic when approaching a curve, take the lane.

I sometimes commute to work on a fixed gear track bike with 23c tires. I had it set up with a single brake on the front wheel. I had two similar accidents. The first involved a slick, frosty greenway. The second was on a slick, muddy greenway. In both accidents, I grabbed too much front brake in a turn and had my front wheel slide out from under me. Both accidents were the result of user error and poor bike handling.

Half of bike accidents are plain falls, not collisions with vehicles, which is why skill is your best friend. Practice handling skills in a safe place, perhaps on a soft surface.

The tricks to not being hit by a car: 1. Predict others, and 2. be predictable.

To predict others, know what kinds of collisions are common where the motor driver is at fault. The two primary collisions of this type are the left hook and the right hook.

To be predictable, follow the laws, and signal when possible. Don't hug the curb, cycle visibly. Don't be afraid of being rear-ended, as it is a rather uncommon bike-car collision. The most common bike-car accident where the cyclist is at fault is when the cyclist is riding against traffic. Other causes are entering a road from a driveway without yielding, failing to stop at a stop sign or red light, and riding on the sidewalk.

I haven't actually been dismounted yet. Came close a few times though.

#1 There is a gravel path that I have to take in order to climb up the back side of the park to exit out onto a main road to continue on to the college. I rode over it the same as I always do one morning before the work crews started there park maintenance. On my ride back I rode back through the park like I always do. But this time when my front wheel hit the gravel path it slipped and the whole bike slide sideways. I dropped my right foot and dug in like I was stopping on ice hockey skates. When I looked down I noticed it was all new loose gravel. Before that day it was all packed down real hard from all the park maintenance and ranger SUV's that drive over it. Actually it was more like cobblestone than gravel.

#2 I was ridding through a residential neighborhood and a car rounded a corner behind me with some speed.(some residential streets actually have speed bumps installed in my area) It came off a main road that runs parallel to the street through a short turn off. I instinctively took a fast peek over my shoulder while maneuvering closer to the curb when I felt the *THUD* on my helmet. (tree branch) It all happened in a couple of seconds I just reacted in the split second moment. It didn't knock me off the bike or hurt. It did leave a dent about the diameter of a quarter on my helmet though. I'm not sure what I could have done there. It happened *snaps fingers* like that. Luckily I had some foam wrapped around my skull.

Was coming up my inclined driveway today, slowing to a stop, when I started talking to my son who was standing there. The distraction made me forget to unclip. I stopped on the slope, couldn't get out fast enough, and down I went. First fall with SPD's.

Another time I came *THIS CLOSE* to losing it on wet railroad tracks, even with 26x1.5 (about like 38c) tires. The whole bike came out from under me, but I was able to catch myself. No SPD's on that bike, just platforms. Another guy in front of me, an extremely experienced rider and bike mechanic, took a full on fall and went all the way to the ground, a split second before I almost fell.

I've never experienced/witnessed a smart accident. But that's not to say that smart people don't have them. .

Sounds interesting. Could you recommend some specific skills to practice?

most people think they "know how to ride a bike" if they can pedal and not fall off. i'd suggest taking an on-road bicycle safety course, like bikeability. it's sort of like defensive-driving for bicyclists. no matter how much you think you know, you'll learn something new.

also, follow some of the helmet-cam bicyclists on youtube. you can review these "incident" videos and go over in your head (or in the comments) "what could have been done differently? what can be learned from this incident?" some of these videos attract good commentary that you can learn from, other videos attract venomous bike-hate.

always have more lights/reflectives than the legal minimum. sometimes they really don't see you, or more likely, they don't process that you're there.

when riding on MUPs, have a bell. MUPs with i-pod zomies, have an air-zound.

one thing i learned the hard way... braking with only one hand on the bar could turn very bad, very quickly. i've been riding bicycles and motorcycles almost since i could walk, and that was the only time i went over the bars.

why just when approaching a curve? ANY time i'm moving with other traffic (this includes stop-and-go traffic if i'm not filtering) i have no reason to be anywhere but a strong primary position. primary position should be a "default", and leaving primary should be done to facilitate safe overtaking by other vehicles. if your moving with traffic, there's no reason to facilitate an overtake. i think i've learned this lesson best by reviewing helmet-cam footage from myself and others.

Lots of good and bad videos on YouTube. Here is my first crash. Lots of other close calls on my channel. I don't always stand by my behavior once I have a chance to review. Which is nice to have to learn from.


ill be posting one tomorrow from my commute tonight. It's really important to avoid being next to any cars at intersections. I have a few videos of almost being hit in these situations before I became better at it.

A couple of years ago, I was on my way to work and this little dog came out to chase and bark at me. I just ignored him. Then the little $**T ran right in front of my front wheel, tripped me up and caused me to endo. Probably one of the worst crashes I have ever had.

Then it ran off, and I never did find out where it belonged. Destroyed a Ultegra shifter and skinned up my forearm pretty good. I was lucky.

Moral of that story; never underestimate a dog. Even a little one.

Fast forward to last spring, I was rounding a curve on my commute like I was in a friggen race or something. It had rained the night before and there was some silt runoff from a construction project. My rear wheel slid out from under me. Miraculously I recovered without going down somehow. There were cars not too far behind me...and I bet I looked like a monkey ******* a football. Feet came out of the pedals, and the only thing it seemed I had control of was the seat.

Moral of that story; be cautious when rounding a corner. Especially if you live somewhere close to the beach, or somewhere where they put sand on the roads for ice/snow.

downtown 1way city street, 2 lanes with lines of parked cars on each side. I was headed to the MTA (bus) station. I typically pull up to the curb on the right side to dismount just before the first parking space beyond the entry/exit for the busses.

I'm signaling a right turn, it's downhill, just as a begin to move toward the curb a pedestrian decides to cross the street on that corner (no light or crosswalk). Instinctively, I squeezed my left (front) brake and over the handle bars I went, landing right at the feet of the pedestrian. I got up, brushed myself off and went on. Lots of road rash but no real damage done.

My great fear is running into the rear of a parked car on a fast bike, for lack of paying attention. I've found myself riding eyes down, not paying attention to anything but the pavement ten feet ahead and my cadence, closing on that single parked car where you just wouldn't expect one. I keep telling myself, get your eyes up fool!

There's always more to learn, so when you see things in this article that makes you say, "Well, duh, I know that," keep reading. And consider taking a course. Or start an informal one of your own where a bunch of people get together to show each other stuff.

The only one I'll mention specifically is turning your head back while keeping a straight line. Practice that. And after you've mastered it, keep practicing it for the rest of your life, because you can't stay good at it without deliberate practice.

https://www.bikeradar.com/fitness/art...-skills-30693/
https://www.bikeleague.org/programs/e...on/courses.php
https://www.active.com/cycling/Articl...that-Skill.htm
https://www.active.com/women/Articles...and_skills.htm

My most recent one was last spring: I was behind a car waiting at a stop sign. The cross street was pretty busy and a house on the corner was located in a place that obstructed my view from the left. The car in front of me suddenly gunned his engine to pull out and cross the street. I pressed down on my right pedal, then clipped my left foot in. Suddenly I realized that the car had pulled out into traffic and was about to be smacked. I jammed on my brakes to put as much space between me and the carnage I was anticipating to view. I wasn't even moving more than 1 or 2 mph, but unfortunately when I stopped suddenly I was leaning too far to the right and wasn't able to get clipped out in time, so I fell over. Fortunately for the car in front of me the cross traffic came skidding to a stop and managed to avoid the collision. Unfortunately for me, the car in front of me threw his car in reverse and started backing up quickly to get out of the situation. I was laying on the ground still clipped in when I saw him backing up. I remember thinking, "I'm laying on the ground and he can't see me." I unsuccessfully attempted to crawl out of the way with my legs attached to the pedals. Lucky for me the driver stopped backing up a few feet before reaching where I was laying. Other than a couple small bruises from my tip-over I escaped unhurt.

My most memorable one was two winters ago: On my commute there is a portion where I have to exit the MUP by going down a steep embankment and cut across a field to get to the road. It was January and we had received a sizable snowfall the night before. As I went down the embankment the snow got deep enough that it abruptly stopped my bike. I went over the bars and landed flat on my back staring at the sky. The bike was still upright held in place by the snow drift. I had landed in soft snow so I was unhurt. I made a snow angel then got up and pushed my bike the rest of the way through the field.

On my birthday in 2003. After getting home from work I went out for a ride on my road bike before we went to dinner. Riding on a lightly traveled segment of MUP.

About 2 miles away from the house, my wife calls to ask where I want to go for my birthday dinner. For some reason I did not stop, but rode with one hand on the bars while talking to her. Where the path dips down to pass under a road, there was some water draining across the path. You can guess what happened next. Front wheel hydroplaned out from under me and I landed under the overpass cussing like a sailor with the phone about 5 feet away. Tore the meniscus in my left knee and was on crutches for 6-8 weeks after the surgery. Happy birthday to me...

The phone policy now is that it stays in the upper compartment of my Camelbak, right behind my head where I can hear it. I will return the call when convenient, and if she wants me to call back right away, she should immediately call a second time so that I know it is urgent.

When I was young sometimes I would just ride circles, figure eights and whatever in an empty parking lot. If my back tire lost traction and slid out from under me no biggie. Been a long time since I did that.

Stupid accident. Last April on a week long business trip in NJ there was no convenient way to rent a bike. So I went to a big box and bought an $80 mountain bike. The store personnel were friendly and helpful. We filled the tires, checked things out and I purchased the bike. Outside I mounted put pressure on the pedal and turned the handlebars. They turned, the wheel didn't. I rolled over on my back and started laughing. Nothing hurt but my pride.

BTW: the bike was junk. It lasted 25 mi, less than 48 hrs before the left pedal broke off. Most of my riding was on pavement. Sometimes you get what you pay for.

Holy smokes man that first story is seriously scary!

I tipped over 3X when switching to clipless pedals (lesson: grin and bear, its worth it). Slid out on ice last year (lesson: the verge of the path is more likely to be damp/icy). Close call with being doored last year (lesson: look into the parked cars for heads) and another with a near right hook (lesson: don't enter intersection with a car to your immediate left, if you do then cover the brake and be ready to turn hard). Fell at low speed due to a loose stem on a newly assembled bike (lesson: double check tightness of all key fasteners before putting the bike into service).

Otherwise, I can't recall crashing on the road (as distinguished from in the dirt) in years. Actually, not in decades. Not living in the snowbelt helps, but if you are not racing, there is no particular reason why crashing should be a regular or even semi-regular occurrence. Sensible, defensive motorcycle riders go decades, even lifetimes, without dropping their bikes. Bicycle riders can too.

At a four-way stop, I waited for the car on the cross street to move, then entered the intersection. The driver behind the first car did not stop or slow down but simply followed the first car through and broadsided me.
Lessons: Don't assume cross-traffic will obey the stop.
Beware of Friday afternoon traffic, when drivers are hurrying to start their weekend and are likely to be making plans on their cell phones instead of looking out for cyclists.

I think 'accidents' are unavoidable; otherwise you're dealing w/ a misestimation of risk (or somebody else's bad driving/riding). At least that's what I tell my kids when they get hurt doing something stupid. 'That wasn't an accident, that was predictable'

That said I am extremely unappreciative of smug forum jockeys figuring out how to blame the victim from their own comfy chairs with their perfect hindsight.

I have learned to make myself visible ('as far right as practicable' is pretty close to the center of most lanes), and to not take my right of way for granted in intersections, still need to scope out what car from each direction wants to left-hook me or run a light and cut me off. Cannot push a yellow unless I am extremely confident there is nobody trying to do so from another direction (has to be nobody close because if they are close and I am close I know I won't have enough time to judge if they are likely to have forgotten a turn signal or whatever).

I have learned to look for where drainage puts silt or mud or wet leaves on an otherwise apparently dry lane.

I remain optimistic about bike lanes and shoulders (contra my 1st point). I am coming to wonder if that is a mistake on my part.