CrashDarby

Hello, I just wanted to share a story about a recent car accident I was in.

I'll preface the story by admitting that I didn't think I needed a helmet. I've been riding daily for over a year as part of my commute to work. I have two routes I usually go and on this day I changed my mind halfway. I started riding in the opposite direction of traffic and was coming across a cross walk. There was a car stopped at the cross walk intending to turn in the direction of traffic. Obviously the driver was concerned with having enough clearance to be able to turn, that he wasn't looking for me and we collided.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-M...1632709364.png

My bike took most of the impact and I rolled onto his hood and crashed into his windshield. I'm about 220 pound so the windshield shattered and cut the top of my head open in a couple spots. I ended up on the pavement and pretty quickly began to bleed heavily from the cuts. The driver called emergeny services, meanwhile I layed on the pavement processing what had just happened. I was ambulanced to the emergency room and given a few stitches for one of the larger cuts I had. Consequently I was issued a ticked by the police for my fault in the accident.

I was really lucky to have been able to walk away from that with only a few cuts. I'm sure its like preaching to the choir when it comes to most in this community. If there are any of you out there that sometimes ride like I did, please reconsider your habits, you or I might not be so lucky next time.

HAMMER MAN

glad you are ok.

RaleighBikeGuy

Wow! Glad you're OK!

Thanks for sharing your story.

MMACH 5

Glad you're okay, as well.

Welcome to BF.net and I like your Germs reference.

CrashDarby

thanks everybody, stitches were taken out last week and now I'm just trying to get my bike road worthy again.

CrashDarby

good eye sniper, yeah love the Germs.

genec

Can we chew you out for Or is that blaming the victim?

CrashDarby

definitely my fault, I shouldn't have been riding there.

Chris516

I am glad you still able to tell us, considering the elements of the accident.

Chris516

No more wrong-way Ninja riding......don't you agree.

Unreasonable

What happened with payment for the damage? Since you were cited, and it sounds like you accepted that it was your fault and didn't try to fight it, were you able to make a claim to some kind of insurance?

CrashDarby

I haven't made any statements admitting fault to the police. I assume the driver or his insurance company could sue me for the damage his car, but this happened a month ago today and I haven't been reached by anybody regarding the accident. I luckily have medical insurance through work which covered all my medical expenses.

GeoBigJon

Glad your ok and a good lesson for those that ride as you did.

CrashDarby

Although Vegas isn't a very bike friendly town, there is a decent amount of people who ride for commuting purposes. I see a lot of unsafe riding and wish there was some way to get some basic safety tips out to them.

fuji86

Just me, but the motorist really has a responsibility to avoid collisions. That's the way I drive and was taught by my father. That regardless of right of way, wrong technique by a cyclist or pedestrian that I have an obligation to preserve human life as being a motorist is a privilege and not a right. Sounds to me like if the motorist was stopped, the light was against him and you could've just as easily had been a pedestrian stepping off the curb. I've witnessed so many drivers that don't even turn their heads to look both ways. A car is the biggest thing of the three on the road and can kill. If as a driver you think someone is going to step off the curb, wait, the few seconds for the inconvenience saves injury and property damage. I know that you getting a ticket says otherwise, but to me the whole thing was avoidable regardless of your actions and for riding against traffic. You wouldn't have been injured, the motorist wouldn't have a bloody, dented car with a broken windshield. How much effort would it have taken to turn his head to ensure the area was clear ? Stop means stop and proceed without hitting anything in my book, I wouldn't even want to rub the sidewalls of my cars tires on the curb. Just me too, knowing that you went thru my windshield, that would really bother me for the rest of my life kind of thing, especially when looking both ways in a dynamic situation as traffic is, means the difference between hitting a cyclist, pedestrian a pet or anything else for that matter. In short I don't empower a slowly developing absolution of a motorist, especially when they are at a complete stop. No driver has to resume driving from a complete stop. "Be sure, 100% sure," is a good motto ?

Metal Man

I was taught that too, but I fd'd up once and got rear ended. My fault I should have asked him if I stopped would he plan on stopping too.

Northwestrider

Glad your ok and thanks for the story

RazrSkutr

Glad you're OK. I'm sure you still feel a bit shaken by it all. Glad you're taking the opportunity to evaluate what happened too.

GillyTheKid

Glad you're ok. Thanks for sharing. Does this change your mind on wearing helmet? I'm curious because I've been mulling over whether I should wear one or not. I don't really want to. But your story is persuading me.

Northwestrider

I cracked a rib while doing less than 1 mph when my tires slipped from under me when on a slippery company garage floor. My head hit the ground hard, but my helmet IMO, helped to prevent at the least, a splitting head ache.

RazrSkutr

That would be interesting.

Compare these two situations:
1. Unhelmeted cyclist collides with car, ends up with a few cuts to the scalp. Decides to mull over behavior.
2. Helmeted cyclist (see this thread), collides with dog. Ends up with 5 stitches and bruising. Decides to post telling everyone to wear a helmet.

bemoore

Well, dang! You're just going to take ALL the fun out of it if you just ADMIT guilt. Geez! :-)

chrisb71

Actually re: riding the wrong way and driver responsibility. To a certain extent I agree with the above posters, but sometimes I am so busy looking for salmons that I have almost hit pedestrians that were in front of me. I feel like i need an owl neck and need to swivel it all around really fast, if I could only process what I see that fast.

I agree we should be more careful when driving and look for people going the wrong way, but also that we are not perfect and can't see all directions at once.

This will be solved someday by AI/robot cars. until then ... I am thinking of making a volvo or mercedes my next car, since they both have sensors hooked up to the brakes to detect obstacles.

chipcom 

even a helmet can't protect against stupid.


glad you are ok though...and hopefully learned some lessons.

DavidW56

Very glad you were only mildly injured and are now well recovered; this could have been so much worse. And also, thank you for sharing your story, and admitting the truth. I think many of us here would be less inclined to admit to some part of breaking the traffic laws, but nearly all of us do so daily.

My wife (an inexperienced cyclist) did this once, as we biked together out of a parking lot near an intersection on a residential street, and she chose to go between the oncoming car and the curb, rather than reach the intersection, turn left in front of the car at the stop, and continue with traffic. My jaw dropped and I braced for the collision that never came. I explained to her what a risky move that is, but she didn't quite believe me.

I agree with the posters whose position is that the motorist has the greater responsibility to avoid a collision with a bicycle, even when the bicyclist is operating his vehicle on the wrong side of the street. I think it is comparable to watching out for kids running into the street from between parked cars. They have no business there, but the motorist must still exercise caution.

After seeing the number of motorists who pay no attention to the potential bicycle/pedestrian traffic approaching from their right as they scan the oncoming traffic coming from their left, as they prepare to turn right and merge into traffic, I'm far more aware as a motorist than I used to be.