clubber

So I'm on the way home from my little 20 miler late yesterday afternoon around 3:30 PM.

I live in Northern Virginia and ride the W and OD trail pretty much every day when I was approaching Ferndale Ave in Herndon for those of you that are familiar with that area between the Herndon GC and Herdon Rec Center.

Traffic was stopped both ways and as always I was looking up from at least 20-30 yards to make eye contact with both the bus drive to the left and the car on the right. Both had come to a complete stop and as always I raise a hand and or nod to both drivers.

I was doing about 15 mile per hour when I entered the intersection and got t-boned (slammed to the ground) by the bus. I never spoke to the bus driver when people got out of the vehicles at the intersection and started towards me to make sure I wasn't dead (well...making sure I was not hurt too bad). I peeled myself off the ground and shook my head like a wet dog to clear the cobwebs. The lady from the first car on the right when the bus hit me kept sayin "I saw you look @ the bus and wave and then you waved to me." One of the drivers dialed 911 and 10min later no fewer that 14 police (BOTH Herndon and Fairfax County) and fire and rescue people arrived @ the scene.

I was just a bit scuffed up on my right shoulder, hip, knee and had a cut on my left ankle (the side the bus hit me on AND the leg I have 3 plates in from my knee and ankle fusion surgeries.)

So I will have a hell of a story to tell my grand-kids (or someone else's) what its like to get hit by a bus.

Wildwood 

I'm just a little Nutty.
Never been hit by a bus.
But I got to tap on this one.


Just a comment from the peanut gallery.

Aubergine 

I ran into the back of a bus once. I had a totally clumsy moment, what can I say?

TakingMyTime

I was standing too close to the curb as a bus was pulling away and the mirror hit me in the head. Hurt like heck.

_ForceD_

Glad to hear you're OK. But what about the bike? Seriously. And if it was damaged at all...and if there was a police report...you should receive money from the bus insurance company.

Years ago I was involved in a bike-into-car collision. The driver made a RIGHT turn directly in front of me, no turn signals, and I had no time to react. I hit the front fender, flew over the hood, and bumped my helmeted head on the ground. An ambulance was called for this incident also...but there was no need and I refused transport to the ER. One brake lever was bent, and the front wheel was in the shape of a taco. There was a cop a few cars back that witnessed it. So naturally the driver was sited. I had to provide my contact info for the police report. A couple months later, unexpectedly, I received a check in the mail from the driver's insurance company to cover the damage to my bike.

There was also a time when I was run off the road by one of those tourist sightseeing trains in St. Augustine, FL. It was 5 or 6 cars long. The driver had passed me, and apparently forgot I was still within the length of his little train when he began to pull to the side of the road. I was literally shoulder-to-shoulder with the sightseers on the bus-train as it forced me into a curb that was too tall to bunnyhop. It forced me to have to ditch. Fortunately there was a nice lush strip of zoysia grass that I could tumble onto. No injury, no damage to the bike.

Dan

FBinNY 

I hope the police took detailed statements from the witnesses, the bus driver and you. I'm curious about what the bu driver had to say.

In any case, while I'm a believer in eye contact, it can't be relied on. What eye contact does is prove that the other guy can see you, but doesn't prove he actually does, or that you register, or that he correctly reads your intention. Again eye contact only confirm that you might be seen, no more and no less.

I'm also a bit curious about when you first registered that you had a problem. A bus coming off the line doesn't accelerate all that quickly, so I gather that once you decided it was OK, you took your eye off the bus, and didn't see it begin to move.

This isn't to say you were in any way at fault, just a reminder that it's easy to believe you're safer than you actually are.

One of my personal rules is that not only do I ride so cars won't hit me. To the extent it's possible, I ride so they couldn't hit me if they tried.

f4rrest

Is it a 4-way stop?

fietsbob

Rolling Coal like assault by a bumper level Diesel Amtrak Bus Exhaust , in Eugene, decades ago.

Steve B.

Had a NYC MTA bus pull away from a curb once, I was right alongside, got sent to the pavement (1991 ?). I wasn't hurt, had damage to the rear wheel, the driver only stated she hadn't seen me (hadn't looked is more like it).

I recall contacting a NYC lawyer that advertised in Bicycling magazine, he said he'd send the paperwork to sue for $2 million. I scoffed, never sued, then sent a claim to the city, it took 6 mos. and countless letters to get $250 for the wheel. The lawyer was correct that if you don't sue for big bucks, you don't get their attention and they just ignore you.

Doctor Morbius

I've never been hit by a bus while riding a bike, but once I fell out of an airplane, got hit by another airplane on the way down, landed on fresh wet asphalt, was run over by a steamroller, then a marching band went over me while playing 76 Trombones. I ain't worried about no bus!

jimincalif

I had a bus driver intentionally bump my rear tire - twice. Was back in the early 70s, I was riding my bike to high school with a classmate. We were in a left turn only lane, stopped, waiting for the green left turn arrow. An Orange County transit bus pulled up behind us, then creeped forward and bumped me. I moved forward and then he did it again. I moved to the right, he pulled up along side opened the door and said "get off the road, kid". I don't remember what I said.

Got home that afternoon, told my parents, they were on the phone to the transit district and we never saw that driver again.

Kedosto

Heavy traffic on Broadway at 27th. I'm splitting between the cars parked at the curb and the lane of cars waiting for the light. Distracted by a beautiful woman walking through the mini plaza, I peeled down the side of a bus, tearing my glove, handlebar tape and jacket. She never noticed me but the bus driver did. Women are dangerous.


-Kedosto

PdalPowr

Yes but,how is the bicycle?

Glad you are reasonably O.K..

kap 7

would be more fun of a story if you got ran down by this glad ur okay

Wanderer

I' ve been missed by a couple city busses, but only because I got out of his way! They really tried, both times on a bridge, the same bridge, as they attempted to pass me so they could turn right!

Troul 

thats a close call. Get that report and press on it.

I've ran over a bus... The CAT5 & bike were left unharmed. I may have suffered temp emotional distress.

TimothyH

I don't understand what raising a hand and nodding means.

Why do you do this?


-Tim-

Scarbo

When it comes to buses, I adopt the same good advice that Richard Strauss included in his Ten Golden Rules (to new conductors):

Never look at the Trombones, you'll only encourage them.

_ForceD_

You're Wile E. Coyote



Dan

SHBR

Good question.

Hate to say it, that hand signal may have been misinterpreted as, go ahead, I'll wait.

To answer the original question, not hit, but far too many close calls, some of them were avoidable, like this one, but not this one.

cb400bill

Thread moved to A+S.

B. Carfree

I suspect that most of the folks who have been hit by buses can no longer respond.

The closest I have had was a bus that overtook me at about 30 mph and then abruptly slammed on his brakes and attempted to "curb" me. He was unsuccessful, fortunately.

RunForTheHills

That is interesting. I had a bus driver in Orange County intentionally hit me with his mirror around that time frame (mid-70s). I would have been around 12-13 years old at the time and my family used to do weekend rides with the Orange County Wheelmen.

jimincalif

Wow, interesting indeed. I think it was during the 73-74 school year, I was 15.

Jim from Boston

I posted two days ago to the current thread about a cycling fatality in Boston from a right turning truck: