instock

Hi folks. I am new to biking. I'm mainly interested in getting in shape and riding around with the kids. I got a new bike on December 4th. Sixteen days later, I got hit by a drunk driver. I had surgery to put my collar bone back together, but it could have been way worse. I want to get a new bike, but it's a very awkward feeling. 16 days! Is biking that dangerous or is that a total fluke? Has bicycling changed since I was a kid? Should I even let my kids ride bikes? SMH Should I add lights and cameras? Give me life advice.

XxHaimBondxX

Depends on location. I would definitely attempt again, but on bike paths or trails until you feel more comfortable. Also, get a left mirror if you're riding on the street, so there no surprises from behind.

icemilkcoffee 

Where were you riding? Are there bike paths or 'Multi-use paths' where you live? I would not ride on the roads with young kids.

Iride01 

I had to ride for over fifty-five years before I had a wreck that put me in the ER and briefly in the hospital. So depending on all kinds of things that we can't control, YMMV. And obviously things you really couldn't control played a part in your accident. More experience and better awareness on your part might have let you avoid the crash, but then again and more likely it might not.

So just assess if you are comfortable riding your bike in the places you ride your bike or not. I've had far more people I know killed in car and other motor vehicle wrecks than have been injured much less killed on a bike. Risk is everywhere. I almost was T-boned last year by a car that ran a red-light. But I was in my car when that happened. In fact, more scarey things happen when I'm out on the road in my car than happen when I'm riding my bike. Again, because my circumstances and my riding environment aren't the same as your area, then YMMV.

Should you let your kid's ride bikes? Do you think they won't ride bike if they want to ride bikes? My parents telling me no was probably a sure sign that I'd do something without their knowledge and oversight.

Should you put cameras on your bikes? If you want too. But they'll only be helpful after the accident or whatever they are supposed to be called now. Won't do much for prevention.

Lights should be used for certain in accordance with your state's law on such. Sometimes the requirements change if you are in other jurisdictions within your state such as a city or federal park. I use small blinking lights front and back most every time I ride.

And how, glad you are okay and asking questions. I'd say get back on the bike, but that's your decision. I had a severe concussion with my accident that left me in a fog for almost five months. So I stayed off the bike for that time.

Jughed

At least you got the broken collar bone out of the way quickly.

Took me 30 years to earn that.

Maelochs

I can only guess based on decades of conversation with other cyclist, but I'd say that the vast majority of riders have never been hit by a car. A lot have never broken a bone cycling. If cycling were as dangerous (on a per-ride/per-mile basis) as your experience might seem to indicate, no one would ride because everyone would be crippled or in casts.

Pure fluke, or bad karma .... but when person has bad karma, a little suffering is the best thing because you pay your debt and move forward with a clean balance sheet--or so some people tell me.

I'd say, keep riding, stay aware, use lights whenever visibility is at all compromised, and don't worry. Riding is a lot of fun, and it can be a great way to lose weight and get in shape, too. Generally, it is high-pleasure/low-impact.

Likely you could ride daily for the rest of your life and never taste bumper or pavement ever again.

randallr

1) As others have said, routing is key. I use Apple Maps to find bike routes that avoid bad roads in our area, Google Maps can also help. Once I have found a route, I look for possibilities for improvement as I use it. 2) As others noted about mirrors, situational awareness is also crucial. Think about how birds have eyes on the sides of their heads - try to keep some awareness of the situation all 360 degrees around you. 3) Try to see the eyes of motorists who are coming into your path. If you can see them looking at you (or better, looking you in the eye) before they take that right or left turn into your path, that's a good sign.

Broctoon

I'm sorry to hear about your accident. Maybe it was just a fluke, but in my area there is a perception at least that accidents like this are increasing. I've noticed a large uptick in car vs. bike and car vs. pedestrian accidents in the past decade or so, just by reading the daily news. I don't know if the accident rate per capita has actually increased, as we've also seen a big uptick in population over the same timeframe. Some of my friends have been hit, and a friend of a friend was killed a few years ago. So it at least seems to be getting more dangerous to ride around here, and it's something I think about quite a bit.

Something I find interesting is that a high percentage of these accidents involve a driver who is intoxicated with alcohol or drugs, or is otherwise impaired. I favor adopting stricter laws and harsher sentences for these crimes, and we already have pretty strict standards where I live. In many places, I think they could get a lot tougher on people who drive intoxicated.

Paul Barnard

Welcome to the forum. Everything has risks. We are vulnerable as bicyclists. We have to ride very defensively and stay on our situational awareness A game. Riding defensively isn't completely intuitive. It's perhaps different from what a motorist might think. This is a very good quick and easy write up. Take a read. Plug it into your accident and see if there's anything that you would have done differently based upon the write up.

https://bicyclesafe.com/

instock

Nah, he was just drunk off his butt. He was all over the road. I wasn't near an intersection or passing a parked car or anything. Nice wide shoulder. Middle of the afternoon. Ironically, his car has active lane assist. If he would have fallen asleep, the car would have been smart enough to stay in the lane automatically!

But there are a bunch of good tips there. I appreciate it.

instock

Here's my bike. I didn't really ride it long enough to get a sense of whether I even like it. It seems okay. I was thinking of replacing with an identical one so maybe I could have some spare parts? I dunno. Maybe not worth it. Thoughts? The fork is bent and it seems like it is not worth fixing.

<not allowed to add pictures yet>

icemilkcoffee 

pic assist:


It's definitely not worth your while to try to repair this one.

Paul Barnard

Sometimes the very best we can do isn't good enough. Impaired drivers make our jobs difficult. Glad you are okay.

50PlusCycling

You aren’t any more likely to die riding a bike than driving a car. And the health benefits of cycling will decrease your odds of dying from many other causes. Like driving, after you ride for awhile you’ll start to develop reflexes and something like a sixth sense (situational awareness) of what is going on around you, and your thoughts odds of hitting or being hit by something will decrease. But like any other outdoor physical sport, you have to expect some amount of risk.

XxHaimBondxX

I see a lot of potential here, perhaps buying all brand new bits from Amazon and convert it into hybrid. Hope AaronM can be of assistance.

RB1-luvr

holy smokes, I'm glad you're ok now. That's a brutal start to something that was supposed to be healthy. Def put quality lights on your next bike, and as some have said, maybe stick to multi use paths for now, especially with the kids.

Germany_chris

I've been hit 3 times since 1995

rumrunn6

get well soon. I like paved multiuse trails & dirt trails away from cars

bruce19

I doubt there's isn't much any of us could do to avoid a drunk driver. I've always ridden with an Italian Road Bike mirror which I like a lot. Last year I got a Garmin Varia radar unit for the rear of my bike and it is worth whatever you have to pay for it..I can't imagine riding on the road without one.

Maelochs

I'd replace the bike and keep what you can of the old one for spares .... or buy a bike you like better. Always a good time for that.

Carbonfiberboy 

The insurance should get you a new bike. I'm 77, never been hit, ride on the road 99% of the time, but I try to use low traffic rural roads as much as possible. I'll often put the bike on the car and drive to somewhere there's good riding.

I advise bright blinkies fore and aft, bright enough to be seen at least a mile away in bright daylight, always on whenever you're on the bike.

That's a mountain bike. I know, you see a lot of people riding them on city streets, but a bike build for riding on the road or a paved path works better for riding on those surfaces. MTBs are built for riding on the dirt. They're really popular for starter bike because they have very low gears.

How old are the kids?

instock

Yeah, GEICO totaled my bike and didn't even depreciate it at all since it was only 16 days old. They gave me the full purchase price.

I'm definitely going to put some more lights and mirrors and stuff this time. I was wearing a gray shirt and blue jeans and a gray bike. There were some shadows from the trees. So I do wonder if that played a role. It was the middle of the afternoon, but for a sufficiently drunk guy, I guess I could disappear. Maybe a bright blinking light would have cut through that drunken haze and this never would have happened.

Kids are 6 and 10. They both have mountain bikes. We haven't done much off pavement, but that is mainly because my 6yo isn't that confident riding the 2-wheeler. There is a little pump track by us that they like. I think we'll be doing a lot more trails in the future. Maybe a hybrid would work for me, but I sort of think my bike should be the same as theirs? And I don't mind those low gears. I dunno. I've never been on a road bike in my life.

canalligators

Sounds like this advice wouldn’t have helped in your crash, but something you should look into: a class on riding in traffic. Sometimes these are called “Effective Cycling” classes. Local clubs often offer such classes. They’re kind of like a defensive driving class, except for bikes.

LesterOfPuppets

Hard to tell from the pic but it looks like it may just need a new wheel and fork (but that could very well cost more than the cost of the complete bike). Might only need a new front wheel, but in the pic those fork legs don't look like they're on the same plane anymore.

Safety in riding from home kinda depends on your location. I can relatively safely ride within the one square mile where I live but that square mile is surrounded by 3 roads that are guaranteed death to ride on and the fourth road surrounding my neighborhood is a low traffic relatively low speed (30 mph) road with only one lane of travel in each direction but very wide lanes. I usually have to carefully scoot across one of those death roads to go anywhere desirable safely.

The city has a nice map of car-free paths and once I get to one of those paths I can ride for days only occasionally having to cross traffic or ride with traffic. Many people drive to parking areas near the paths to start their rides.

Always be wary of drivers, try to anticipate their movements, expecting them to do the wrong thing at any given moment, tough to anticipate a DWI or distracted driver though.. Look behind you over your left shoulder before passing by any road or driveway, also look ahead and to the left for left turners and drivers looking to cross the road you're on. If you have to ride on the sidewalk in a commercial district, expect cars to exit businesses and enter the sidewalk without looking for you.

DEFINITELY go for front and rear flashing lights for daytime use if you're going to ride on roads.

Carbonfiberboy 

Yeah, maybe so. You don't want them to have bike envy. And stay off roads with them. I could ride on the road when I was 10, solo, but I'd started riding to school by myself at 7. There's a lot to it, a lot to learn and experience.