Hit by a car.
 

Tonight while riding I was hit by a car. It was my fault I fully admit that and take responsibility for it.

I was at my half way point and went to make a U-turn on the highway to head back home. I looked in my mirror before I turned. I saw a car but it was far enough back so I could safely make my turn. But the car I saw was not the one that hit me. There was another car I did not see. As I went to make my U-turn the driver went to avoid me. Halfway into my turn we collided. My chain ring hit her passenger fender just beside the head light.

Had my cranks been 90 degrees more forward then they were it would have been my foot that hit and I probably would have destroyed my ankle.

Called the county sheriff so a report could be filed. Called my wife to come pick me up after we gave the report to the sherrif's deputy. Went to the hospital right away.

Damage and injury to me: I have minor road rash on my left arm. And the inside of my right calf has a very severe contusion. It hit the chain ring when the car and I hit. I have very severe muscle and tissue damage, but thankfully nothing is broken. But I am in a lot of pain right now. Just took my pain reliever, it has yet to kick in. My leg is severely bruised, there are blisters forming and my ankle is swollen with blood. The ER doc said all of this is to be expected and it will get worse. But he wants me to walk and move my leg and foot as much as possible to prevent blood clots. Which means no crutches and no cane. The interesting thing is the doc said I could ride if I could tolerate the way it will feel. I guess it is because he wants me to use it to help prevent blood clots.

Damage and injury to my beloved 'bent: From the impact the front chain rings and spider are all bent. And the rear wheel is out of true, I think that happened when I went down. I'm taking my 'bent to the LBS tomorrow to be checked out and get a estimate for the insurance company. Even though this is my fault my insurance will still cover damages to my bike. It is covered under my home owners policy.

I think the car was in my blind spot where I could not see it. Nor could I hear it, wind was blowing.

Hopefully the frame is fine and all that needs to be replaced is the chain rings and the crank and spider.

I am still planning on riding the last day of the P.O.W. ride on Saturday provided I have a bike.

Sorry to hear about your wreck B-rider. Glad you weren't hurt any worse. Sure could have been as I'm sure you know.
Get well soon buddy! :)

Yikes, glad you came out OK! Hope you dont go thru to much pain.

You need to read the last post of this page: http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...0&pagenumber=2 ;)

b_rider, I'm glad you're ok. How fast was the vehicle going when you collided with him? Thankfully it wasn't at highway speeds (you did mention being on the freeway).

Hmmm... was it really your fault?

If the car hadn't been following so close, would the accident happened? Drivers are responsible to stop for other vehicles in their lane, why would you be any different?

You may feel at fault, but I thought I would cast a reasonable doubt on your case. I'm sure your feel that if you had looked over your shoulder instead of checking the mirror, you would have caught the car and not turned. Or, if you would have signaled (What is the hand signal for U-turn?) then the driver would have known you were turning.

I guess that is why insurance carries discourage people from admitting fault.

Speaking of insurance, does anybody carry insurance to cover damages in bike accidents?

I do hope you recover soon!

I don't know how fast she was going, she was slowing down though. I was goin about 10 or 12 mph as I was making the U-turn. This happened on a county highway, Plymouth County K22, not on the freeway. Riding on the freeway and interstates in Iowa is illegal. But not on the county highway's.

Man! You are a very lucky man, more often then not the story is much more tragic. Be sure to check over your helmet real well because if it took a good hit you should replace it. I crashed my MTB and a few weeks later my helmet was in 2 pieces under the decorative cover.

How 'bout some pics of your bent (wrecked)

The first thing I did before I got up was make sure nothing was broken or there were any suspected head injuries. Then after I got up I took my helmet off and checked it over for damage. There is none. Had there been I would have sat down and not moved and had a ambulance called to take me to the hospital. I have never had a head injury, but I do know enough that if there is a possibility of one you don't fool around and have it checked immeadiatly.

Sorry to hear of your accident!

It could have been a LOT worse (that's what I kept saying to myself when I got hit/stopped 6 weeks ago.

As far as the bike insurance goes, interestingly enough, Switzerland REQUIRES (they do that a lot here) that you have third party liability insurance to cover damages caused by you riding a bike.

Ride carefully out there,
Tom

Glad to here your injuries weren't worse.

Richard

Hi B,

Hope the road to recovery is not too long and hard..get well soon.

Rich

Keep your spirits up.

b_rider,

Do you know if ALL home insurance policies cover bicycle accidents? I don’t own a house, but I’m just curious. How about auto polices? If I have auto insurance, would it cover my bike?

Glad to hear you're "OK". Hope there are no permanent injuries or bad scars from the chainring. :(
Here's to a speedy recovery. :beer:

Hope the bent isn't hurt too bad.
Good luck with the Saturday ride. :)

Hope you get better soon.

Also, thank you for taking responsibility for the accident. It is refreshing.

The damage to my bike is worse then I thought.

Here is what needs to be replaced:

Rear wheel: $75.00
Handle bar: $25.00
Crank and chain rings: $85.00
Add labor: $40.00
Total cost: $225.00

Insurance will not cover the cost of the bike repairs, does meet or exceed deductable. Although I do expect to have the bike repaired and back on it with in 2 weeks at the most. That is how long it will take to get the parts in and have it fixed.

I also went to see my wife's doctor today as well. My wife was concerned about the severe blistering where the contusion is. My doc. is on vacation. Wife's doc. told me the blistering is from the friction as my calf hit and rub against the chain rings. So it is being treated as a burn as well. The interesting thing is my wife's doc is a avid cyclist herself. So she was a little more sympathetic to me and my bike.

Her and everyone else has told me I'm very lucky. The guy at my LBS said he saw my guardian angle go by watching over me. Another interesting thing is had the impact occured 1 foot sooner I would be in a lot worse shape then I am now. And had I gone 1 foot further I never would have collided with the car.

Thank you everyone for your good wishes. I appreciate it.

Hey Joe I am going to take this to mean that a eye glasses, sunglasses or helmet mounted mirror would have allowed me to see vehicles in my blind spot better? Is this what you intended by suggestion I read the last page of that thread? I have a handle bar mounted mirror. But like most auto mirrors seeing things in my blind spot are difficult. If this is what you meatn Joe I am going to take this advice to heart and probably go buy a mirror like this.

Noo... read this post "Mirrors are there to tell you when its not clear, not to tell you when it is clear. I dont think most people understand that simple concept! " :)

Hope you heal fast B-rider:) and get that bent back on the road, hey does your wife ride at all? If so a tandem bent would be nice to get after you get back to work.;)

Sooooo, given that you are jobless, and are not yet certain of landing a job anytime soon. You do not have plans of repairing your bike YET. $200 goes a long way, especially if you have no income.

BTW, where are those pictures I'm asking for?