'Hit' by a car today (rant alert)

[Badot]

Today I was riding my bike (pedal) downtown, keeping up with traffic at about 25 so I was riding in the lane, since the sidewalks are pretty narrow and generally full of random crap (trees, trash can, benches, not to mention it's really rough bricks... and the occasional person)

At the time it was raining lightly... enough to make the roads slick but not to get the areas under parked cars wet, and it was still plenty light out... I was about 2 seconds behind the person in front of me, and up ahead there was a car parked on the side of the road, idling, with the wheels pointing fairly hard to the left, so I moved a bit to the left of the lane (to give myself extra space) and dropped back behind the car I was following enough that they should have been able to easily see me.

When I was maybe 10-15 ft behind the car on the side of the road they pretty much gunned it... and then slammed on the brakes because they were at about a 45 degree angle to the yellow line and touching it... there were cars in the left lane, so my only real option was to aim for the little gap to the right of the car, and go into the space they pulled out of (and were still half in). While braking hard I managed to line myself up with the gap, and I would have hopped the curb in front of me if there weren't a bench there, so I had to pull back left and stop in the parking space... long story short, front wheel slipped and I went down... rear wheel cleared the bumper of the car behind me and my front wheel hit the rear right of the car that pulled in front of me... I slid clear of the car and spun a bit so I was facing a bit in the opposite direction of the traffic...

Anyways, I sat there doing the 'sit there for a second to see what/where it's hurting' AND THE PERSON STARTED TO JUST DRIVE AWAY! I didn't think to get the plate number until about a second or two after seeing them starting to drive so they were behind another parked car (from my perspective) at that point, so I kicked the bike off of my left leg with my right and pulled myself up, but by that time they were going around a corner... I hear honking behind me, so I turn around and see some douchebag about to run over my bike... this guy was right behind me and HAD to have seen everything that happened, and he's just sitting there honking at me!

So I pull my bike up and start to push it to the sidewalk, and it just stops... Surprise! the front wheel is taco'd a bit... I picked it up and carried it the rest of the way, sat on the bench that got in my way of hopping the curb for a few minutes, made sure my leg was okay (hurt like hell but no breaks) and stopped the bleeding... at that point I popped my front wheel off and had the oh-so-fun task of stomping the front wheel back somewhat flat with a screwed up leg, and then having to ride about 3 miles home on my screwed up leg.

So as of now I'm out a $70 rim (which is a ton of money when you're going to college and don't have a job) and have my leg compression wrapped, on ice and hurting like a *****.
Moral of the story? People are a**holes

 

[Doc Sprocket]

Yes, they are. Too bad you didn't get the plate number.

 

[jace]

shouldn't have been on the road, roads are for cars.. not bikes

 

[Badot]

shouldn't have been on the road, roads are for cars.. not bikes

Delaware Code title 21, chapter 41:

"§ 4193. Applicability of traffic laws.

Every person propelling a vehicle by human power or riding a bicycle shall have all of the rights and all of the duties applicable to the driver of any other vehicle by this title..."

Delaware code explicitly states the bicycles have as much of a right to the road as cars. Had the same discussion with a police officer one day

 

[redsox985]

Badot 1 Jace 0

 

[devino246]

additionally, riding a bike on the sidewalk is actually illegal.

That sucks though dude. I ride alot and its not uncommon to get cut-off, honked at, or yelled at.

 

[Bluethunder3320]

pisses me off that people in cars think that they have every right to do anything they want and you on your bike have no rights, no right of way, its like really?

lets take that person out of their car, put them on a bike, send them into traffic, see how they feel.........

 

[Rustydog2010]

pisses me off that people in cars think that they have every right to do anything they want and you on your bike have no rights, no right of way, its like really?

lets take that person out of their car, put them on a bike, send them into traffic, see how they feel.........

Its all good and well to say that, but look at the flip side.

I have no interest in ridding push bikes on the road, unless there is a cycle way, etc. But driving a car everyday, I can see how it is possible to misjudge the speed and distance of a push bike.

I know of one instant where 3 cyclist were taken out and killed by the same driver. All the cyclists said she should be made an example of, little did they know she came around a blind corner and they were on the wrong side of the road...

One other thing I hate is when they are doing 30 odd and we can do 100. They ride 2 wide, so there is know way to safely pass them, thats probably how people get frustrated and do erratic and evasive moves to get past...

Then again this is all on long, open country roads. Riding in the middle of town is probably totally different.

Jeremy.

 

[fowler]

iv nearly been hit by cars on my bike but ussually it was my fault as i was going too fast to stop (exept one time a carm ran a light)
iv also nearly hit bikes

they seem to think u have the same stopping distanse as them

i agree with rusty

but badots situation isnt the usual situation of dislike for bike riders it is just straight out disregard for his welll being and bad

 

[Cam]

Then again this is all on long, open country roads. Riding in the middle of town is probably totally different.

Most are good, the arrogant few are asking for it, imo

Most cyclists dont give a problem but as usual its the minority that ruin it for the majority, and people look at the minority more than the majority and base opinions off that.

 

[karl]

I live in a semi-rural area. I get no problems with traffic because they can easily pass me because there isent much traffic. I think more people should ride bikes, its alot cheaper, and you can alittle exersize. It makes me mad when you see a 300 pound person drive there car down the driveway to get the mail. And less pollution. Its just most of america is to lazy to ride there bike 1/2 an mile. I think they should cut of oil supply for america for a month, it would be funny. And I understand if you have a 10 mile comute you arnt gonna ride a bike but for short distances, just ride a bike

 

[Doc Sprocket]

Nothing personal against anyone here, but I'm getting dead bloody tired of people saying "Walk! Take public transit! Ride a bike! Save the bloody environment! You don't have to drive!" Or, in the above example, "I think they should cut off the oil supply!"

Yes, there are some pretty seriously lazy people out there. I'm not one of them. I work my tailfeathers off. And just how exactly do I get a truckfull of tools back and forth between my home in the boonies, and jobsites that range from 20-60 miles away from home? I'm a contractor, and this nonsense is just not an option for me. Or for hundreds of thousands of others that the world relies on to show up somewhere fully equipped to get a job done. I'm looking at about $4.50 a gallon as it is! Do people think I enjoy burning all this fuel? Going broke paying for it? Listening to treehuggers point accusatory fingers at me (until they need some work done, then they mysteriously shut up for awhile)?

Sorry- I know I just went off a bit, but this topic really boils my blood.

Know what? Immigration is out of control, and so therefore is the population density in the major metropolitan areas, which creates high demand and therefore costs for housing in those ares. Get THAT s**t under control, and I will move to the city where the work is, and burn less fuel going to work.

Cheers!

 

[devino246]

karl is one of those eco-hippies.

Yes, it would be great if more people pedaled/walked to work. One of the reasons more people dont is because of the lack of safety. When I went to Iceland last summer I was amazed at how many people there were in suits, bicycling down the appropriately sized bike/pedestrian paths. The cyclists didnt have to cross the 4 lane highway, instead there was a long ramp that went over the highway, to the sidewalk on the other side. When cyclists do go on the road, theres an appropriately sized bike lane. Here, when theres a bike lane, cars drift into it like its part of their lane and the d@mn things are a foot wide.

 

[Badot]

One other thing I hate is when they are doing 30 odd and we can do 100. They ride 2 wide, so there is know way to safely pass them, thats probably how people get frustrated and do erratic and evasive moves to get past...

Here it's pretty much assumed that bikers ride with traffic, unless they're going under the speed limit in which case they're required to ride as far to the right as possible/is safe. (or the left at their discretion if the speed limit is under 30)... but again, they have the same rights to the road as cars - if you're riding and there's no large shoulder or bike lane and someone wants to pass you, they're required to do it in the same fashion as passing another car, so the legal maximum of riding two wide here is perfectly fine as far as 'impeding' people from passing. On the other hand, it's also incredibly stupid unless you're keeping up with traffic, or else you're just going to get hit by an idiot.

Either way, it all goes back to the sense of entitlement so many people have - The people going slow and riding two wide on a narrow road should get the **** over to make it easier for people driving to pass, and if the people driving can't safely pass they shouldn't risk other peoples' lives to get to where they're going 30 seconds sooner.

And just how exactly do I get a truckfull of tools back and forth between my home in the boonies, and jobsites that range from 20-60 miles away from home?

I feel the same way you do. I don't care if people drive larger cars/trucks, so long as they actually need them. I'd like to see people working on the power lines without their lift trucks, or anything going anywhere without semis. Although as far as semis go, we need more trains, they're a lot more fuel efficient... a lot less stop and go, and they carry maybe 100x what a semi will with the same frontal area (drag-wise).

 

[dave1701]

I think they should cut of oil supply for america for a month, it would be funny.

You and Obama would probably get along well. Don't you think it's mighty self centered? Maybe you would be alright in your own little world, but what about everyone else?

 

[devino246]

You and Obama would probably get along well. Don't you think it's mighty self centered? Maybe you would be alright in your own little world, but what about everyone else?

What is in that brain of yours? Im sure you and Donald Trump would get along real well.

Karl would be screwed too! No groceries since the crops are planted, harvested, and transported to factories with DIESEL. Then of course the final product is shipped to your local grocery store with DIESEL. The people at your local ISP use GAS to get to work so they can keep your internet running.

 

[dave1701]

Wait. What about your go-kart? Is it electric?

 

[devino246]

Wait. What about your go-kart? Is it electric?

No, it runs off farts!

 

[Cam]

Hey hey this isnt make fun of other people thread

Cyclists are treated as if they were vehicles,

And if i was in a vehicle and that fuller pulled out on me and i smashed into him, then he drove away, and some prick behind was honking, it would be the same feeling (people are a$$holes)

However, i was in a car and therefore i am not injured in any way.

You were on a bike, and got injured, right?

As much as its the other peoples fault, you were on a bike and if you were in a car you woudnt have got injured, but the accident remains the same.

Immigration

Get THAT s**t under control

Now were talking!

 

[Doc Sprocket]

Wait. What about your go-kart? Is it electric?

Hey, I dunno about you, but I have earned the right to spend 30 minutes or so every few weeks tooling around in my GAS powered recreational vehicle- for all the fuel it burns, which certainly pales in comparison to everything else...

Getting back to the whole bicycle thing, it's really crazy in Toronto. While theoretically bound by the same Highway Traffic Act laws as the motor vehicles they share the road with, they tend not to follow the rules of the road, and there's nothing substantial by way of enforcement. It bothers me that cyclists get hurt and even killed in traffic. It bothers me more that the motorists generally get blamed for these accidents regardless of actual fault.

(This is not directed at you, Badot) As someone who has logged many miles in Toronto traffic, I have a few observations, regarding cyclists and traffic law.

They rarely if ever stop for stop signs or red signals
I can't remember the last time I saw one using hand signals
They whip in and out of curb lanes, parking lanes, and live lanes as it suits them
They will go on the sidewalks or zip between rows of cars when traffic gets heavy
They will make left and right turns regardless of the state of the traffic signal, and without stopping first when making a right on a red light- as required by Ontario law
They have a very visible sense of entitlement "I'm a cyclist and I have the right of way!" regardless of conditions
This sense of entitlement seems to lead them to make constant, dangerous assumptions while riding, such as assuming the car making a right can see them flying up the curb lane intending to go straight.
And many many more

Cyclists need to remember that they can be nearly invisible, and ride accordingly.
I have seen it all and had more than a few near misses- some because I couldn't see tham, and most because they did something truly stupid like whipping out from between parked cars.

And yet, the motorists are usually blamed.
Ride safely.