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I was nearly terminated while out on a bike ride today, a car came up to a T-junction which I was cycling across and therefore had right of way, when he just carried on obviously not seeing me despite me wearing an orange, back and white jacket. The only reason I'm able to write this is because I took avoiding action, half expecting it to happen. I'm getting tired of having to think for all the morons driving round in lethal weapons that cars are and I feel the law ought to be changed to reflect the fact that most car-bike collisions are the fault of the driver. Drivers just don't see cyclists because they aren't looking for them. I could have been killed by someone else's negligence, because he was sloppy.
Then just to remind me how lucky I was a hundred yards later as I was mounting a dropped kerb to go to a shop, my back wheel skidded from under me and I fell off and hurt my leg--again! Life imitates art yet again.
Comments
Are you OK?
That is the important thing.
I would not ride a bike in this part of the world except for exercise. You are right, people are idiots.
I'm OK
just a few bruises and scrapes. If the weather is fine, I'll be out on the bike again tomorrow.
Angharad
Glad you are ok cept for the
Glad you are ok cept for the leg. as a person that rode motorcycles and drove heavy haul https://images.search.yahoo.com/images/view;_ylt=AwrTcX3pQuN... I always had to look out for them idiots, I got one niece into motorcycles and the first thing I told her was "if you get in a wreck on a motorcycle it is your fault because you were not paying attention to the idiots". Sad part is you shouldn't have to but if you don't it will leave a mark :)
Ride safe and stay safe :)
Where I live it is open
Where I live it is open season if you are driving a vehicle. You can murder someone with your car or truck, and likely the worst that you will get is a traffic and a fine. (One truck driver killed a bicyclist and didn't even get a ticket.)
I'm going to point to the
I'm going to point to the other side, at least here. I've lost track of how many cyclists have ridden straight across the intersection in front of me, ignoring the fact that 1) it was a stop sign, 2) I was already there and starting to move. In some cases, they're riding across a multi-lane traffic signal - in front of an 18 wheeler bearing down at 35 mph. (Not to mention wrong side of the street, weaving back and forth, etc)
People keep blaming the _cars_ for people and cyclists being run down, when in a lot of the cases, the cyclists (or walker) is really at fault. Especially pedestrians. If you walk out into a street, you can dodge faster than a car can stop (or swerve).
The worst part about it? The cops won't give tickets or impound bicycles from those who are obviously flaunting and breaking the law. They aren't "speeding", so it doesn't give them any kudos with their superiors.
What does that mean? There are just as many inconsiderate bicyclists as there are car drivers. As for me? If they're obeying the rules of the road, I let them have everything they're supposed to have. (2/3rds of the lane, if I have no room to pass, I simply wait behind them until there is room, I give them plenty of warning of changes, etc. ) If they're NOT obeying the laws/rules? Then I do the best I can to not end up in an accident, and them being another statistic. I don't need the insurance headaches, and people screaming that it's all my fault because I wasn't watching out for someone riding head first the wrong way down the road after cutting across two parking lots and a sidewalk.
I'll get a life when it's proven and substantiated to be better than what I'm currently experiencing.
Found a different view
http://www.averyjenkins.com/?p=701
The title - "My Crime? Riding A Bicycle On A Public Street"
It's an example of law enforcement officers that don't give a crap about the law as it pertains to cyclists. (Or, in this case, don't actually know the laws in question).
Reminder: If you _are_ a cyclist of any sort, _read up on the laws of your area_. When I learned, the core of street riding was 1) Bicycles have to obey the same laws as cars. Signal turns, stop at appropriate intersections, and don't go the wrong way down the road. 2) ride to the right of the centre line, unless riding with other cyclists. In that case, ride one to the right of centre (the front bike), and the other to the left of centre, behind the first - not side by side, or in a line. (Increases visibility) 3) You get 2/3rds of the lane, guaranteed. If someone needs to pass, they can use up to 1/3rd of _your_ lane to pass, but not more than that. 4) You can get a ticket for speeding.
That's Texas (Unincorporated part of the county). In a city, and in another state (or country), it _will_ be different.
I'll get a life when it's proven and substantiated to be better than what I'm currently experiencing.
Bicycles, what bicycles?
There are few bicycles in some of the countries I visit - not because they are too isolated but because the motor vehicles have made them extinct! I wonder if something like an AK47 strapped across your shoulders would have made you more visible?
Hoping your fall hasn't hurt your leg too badly
Rhona McCloud
One of the reasons I clicked
One of the reasons I clicked on this blog was because I had absolutely no idea what EAFOAB stood for. To avoid making a fool of myself I googled it.
Oh dear...
https://youtu.be/pb8wJ2VU_QY?t=1m6s
Well, you might have told us the answer
Like you I wondered what it meant and I had to Google it as well.
For the unitiated, it's Easy As Falling off a Bike, Angharad's long running serial.
Best Thought
Angharad you are irreplaceable so I am very glad you were able to remain 3 dimensional and not flattened. this also goes for everyone else, so be extra careful out there and keep your mental intentions focused on knowing what is going to happen before it does. This is the one 6th sense everyone has, but only a few use.
When I was just learning how to ride a motorcycle an old biker chick told me to just keep one thing in mind, " ride like every one else is trying to kill you". I balked telling her "it was only half of them", she countered "which half how can you tell", I had no answer so I accepted her reasoning.
Angharad you already obviously know all of this or you would not be here, so from all of us here thank you for listening to that wee voice within that warned ye.
Love Huggles
Michele WW.
With those with open eyes the world reads like a book
I'm glad you're okay... well
I'm glad you're okay... well for a given value of okay.
I've given up on riding bikes, and as I refuse to get a license I'm stuck with public transport.
Having a fully loaded semi blow past at 50mph a foot and a half from your left handle bar and only avoiding getting sucked under the wheels by pure luck tends to kill the desire to ride.
I'm considering getting a tricycle as I need to exercise and I'm no longer as steady as I once was, problem is a tadpole trike in Australia cost $1500 or more and I'm unsure about getting a delta style trike.
I now live by the fact that no matter what law of man states I have right of way... Laws of Physics state 1500lb plus vehicle moving at speed has right of way.
Bikers , Motorist, Pedestrians!
Now a days way too many of all of these go on their way without paying any attention to what is going on about them, totally oblivious, and acting like they have 110% right of way 100% of the time. And often with out signaling in any way what their intentions are. It is unsafe, it is discourteous and it is arrogant, the attitude seems to be "Me first, everyone else get out of my way!" Never mind knowing and following the rules.
Glad your OK. Keep your eyes open, keep safe.
>i<
Bicycles are invisible
I've had the same experience. Back when I lived in New Jersey, I used to ride a bicycle 4 miles to work. I remember one day, in broad daylight, on one of the campus roads near my workplace, I came to an intersection, the car stopped, I rode through, and the car started up as if I weren't there. Perfect sightlines, perfect visibility, I was wearing bright colors. I screamed, the driver stopped and said out his window, "sorry, I didn't see you."
I now live in the NYC area. I used to ride my bicycle to and from the train station. I never got hit (my bicycle got vandalized at the station, though), but riding amid all the thousands of commuters driving to the station and the near-misses from aggressive and inattentive drivers took their toll on my nerves and, as of a half-dozen years ago, I couldn't do it any more. I walk now (or run if I'm late :) ) It's worse on my joints than riding, but I don't feel traumatized when I get where I'm going any more.
To me, they're not invisible.
To me, they're not invisible. The only times I've had close encounters with one in my car (and I drive a LOT), it's been because of the ones that _don't_ watch what they're doing. (usually doing something illegal and dumb). I mean, who really expects a bicycle to whip around them at a stop sign in the middle of a right turn?
I'll get a life when it's proven and substantiated to be better than what I'm currently experiencing.
Bikes & motorcycles!
You mean from behind?
I have seen bikes & motorcycles do that often, at least you can hear the motorcycle. But I have also seen cars attempt that if there are no other cars parked at the curb, and the turner stays in the proper lane. I have also seen bikes and cars try to pass a vehicle that is turning in to a driveway, on a one way street, on the side they are turning toward. (Because the turner needs to edge to the opposite side to make the gap)
Yes, from behind, and
Yes, from behind, and whipping around to the right, on a right hand street (US, not Britian), while the car (me) was making a right turn. I haven't had too many cars trying that, unless there's a full shoulder to the right, and the person in the "right" lane 1) isn't signalling, and 2) isn't bothering to make any effort to actually turn.
Motorcycles that make a lot of racket aren't any better at being spotted than quiet ones. In fact, if you want one that can be noticed, you want one that puts out a high pitched noise, not a low pitched growl. Harley Davidson bikes just make me want to beat up the designer for such an inefficient design. (Waste energy is released through either heat or vibration. Neither have to be as bad as those bikes are - that's deliberately wasting energy)
Something scary for drivers here: At least in the part of town in which I live, almost _no_ bikes have reflectors, let alone lights. Considering they're sold with reflectors, I have to wonder about the people riding them. (that and reflective materials are dirt cheap. When I rode a lot, the uprights of my bike were wrapped in reflector tape, as well as the normal front, back, and wheel reflectors. The light dynamo didn't last very long)
I'll get a life when it's proven and substantiated to be better than what I'm currently experiencing.