[Closed] Hit by a car this morning 🙁

Did he try and explain why he hit you? Did he even see you?

[quote=bennyboy1 ]ride on the white line so as close to the gutter as I feel comfortable.
While this doesn't excuse someone hitting you, when are cyclists going to learn not to do this? It's an open invitation for someone to try to squeeze past you rather than waiting until the opposite lane is clear for a safe overtake. You are also likely to merge into the background/surroundings a lot more than you would if you were riding further out from the kerb.

and ride on the white line so as close to the gutter as I feel comfortable.

cb - he said he didn't see me, I had lights going and reflective gear on even though the sun had risen to be pretty bright by around 7.30am. It's a completely straight, flat section of road for say 600-700m as well so it made the surprise of being hit even greater.

I got knocked off by an old chap once (pulled out of a junction straight across me and I rolled over his bonnet)

Like you he was far more shaken up than me , and I ended up telling him it was ok etc

It was only later , after I got home that the shock hit me and I realised how bad it could have been

What they said.

Ride where the car's wheel would be and force them to overtake properly. My only exception to that is on a NSL on my commute that's wide enough for a car to pass safely without crossing the central lines if I ride over to the left a bit, every other situation, f***-em, they can wait untill it's safe (or I pull over and let them).

cb - he said he didn't see me, I had lights going and reflective gear on even though the sun had risen to be pretty bright by around 7.30am.

It's an open invitation for someone to try to squeeze past you...

Easy to say from here, BennyBoy, but it's one of those things, could have been worse, but equally he could have seen you and moved over. Doesn't pay to dwell - but again, that's easier said than done... 🙂

Sun in front/low down, or behind? Not that it's an excuse, he should have been driving safely for the conditons but it can be quite dazzling at this time of the year.

Generally I'm with Scotroutes on road positioning, but it could be in this particular case being in the gutter saved a serious flattening.

Ride where the car's wheel would be and force them to overtake properly. My only exception to that is on a NSL on my commute that's wide enough for a car to pass safely without crossing the central lines if I ride over to the left a bit, every other situation, f***-em, they can wait untill it's safe (or I pull over and let them).

Spot on!

Oh and hope your feeling better soon OP

Did you get his details? Sorry, but I'd be reporting him to the police and claiming on his insurance. Hope you're not badly hurt

Regardless of whether you are both ok, you should have exchanged details - if you had a problem with your arm when you got home or passed out from shock later in the journey - how would you have made contact with the other party?

Last time I got hit by a car we swapped mobile no's and texted when we got home just make sure each party had made it back and all was fine.

tthew - no dazzle issues as the sun rising was positioned off to the right of the road.

Certainly interested by the comments on road positioning - I think in this case he just wasn't paying attention to the road / his car windows still looked pretty condensated on a cold Autumn morning etc so I presume he'd only shortly got into the car. In this instance I'm personally glad I was riding as close to the white line as poss, if I'd been any further right I fear he would of had me completely off the bike and over the bonnet.

Did you get his details? Sorry, but I'd be reporting him to the police and claiming on his insurance. Hope you're not badly hurt

For what?

Flat road, daylight, lights on, reflective gear - all this adds up to the fact that his eyesight "might not" be up to driving. If you got his details I'd report it. You might be saving him as much as other road users.

I'm not sure I agree with the so called "defensive" riding position. It will reduce potential for being clipped by careless drivers but will wind up the aggressive idiots even more. Not a nice choice though so continue to do what your were doing and ride where you are most comfortable.

I had a similar experience, knocked off in broad daylight by an old lady who was very upset and I almost ended up trying to comfort her by saying I was ok .Wanted to get moving before I seized up ,it was only when I got home that I thought about the potential consequences [ she could have pushed accross the road into oncoming traffic ] and reflected that I'd dealt with it completeley differently that if it had been someone younger .

A chilly night would have left dew on his windows; he was probably only able to see where the wipers had swept.

Lucky escape though! You've spent some karma there.

Last time I got hit by a car we swapped mobile no's and texted when we got home just make sure each party had made it back and all was fine.

That seems like a sensible approach.

I'd be reporting him to the police and claiming on his insurance

That doesn't.

Ride where the car's wheel would be and force them to overtake properly.

I'm not sure I agree with the so called "defensive" riding position. It will reduce potential for being clipped by careless drivers but will wind up the aggressive idiots even more

I was doing that yesterday overtaking some parked cars. There was a car coming up behind me but thought not enough room for me and car so positioned myself fairly centrally in the road (away from car doors etc.) Could hear the car behind me and with a quick glance behind noticed it wasn't slowing down at all. Had to swerve almost hitting the parked car as the car behind barged through (no change in speed or even any acknowledgement I was there.) As they went past I noticed the driver was on her bloody phone! Middle of the day, good light etc. Couldn't possibly have not seen me with my big orange courier bag. Just unbelievable driving.

The last thing I want to do is be overly reflective but thoughts that my wife could have had an awful phonecall to deal with this morning have spooked me somewhat.

This was me last night. Some idiot overtook someone at some traffic lights in a 30 zone and didn't care that I was coming the other way. All I remember is seeing two headlights speeding straight toward me about 20m in front. Somehow I instinctively dived into the gutter and missed the car by inches, otherwise he'd have gone straight into me head on at about 30-40mph (they didn't even brake!). The whole thing couldn't have lasted more than half a second but it shook me up so much I had to stop and take a breather. It won't stop me riding on the road but I've not had a close call like that in a long time. Horrible.

According to [url= http://www.drianwalker.com/overtaking/overtakingprobrief.pdf ]Dr Ian Walker's research[/url], the further into the road you ride, the nearer cars will pass you.

Got knocked off last week. Lead rider in a group of 12. Car overtook approaching a blind bend and then swerved into me to avoid an oncoming car. Went over the car and my bike too another cyclist down.
My helmet here [img] [/img]

Broken collar bone and a lot of skin missing

Driver seemed to think we were in his way!

Did you get his details? Sorry, but I'd be reporting him to the police and claiming on his insurance.

According to Dr Ian Walker's research, the further into the road you ride, the nearer cars will pass you.

Hope your back riding soon OP, don't let it put you off.
I hit a car this morning, think I may have bruised my hand 🙁

Driver [s]seemed to think we were in his way[/s] is a complete bellend!

MikeWW, that is bloody awful, hope you have a speedy recovery. Was there any comeback on the driver?

I've done a couple of club rides this year and the group numbers seem to be up which does result in some stupidly dangerous overtakes by cars. It's putting me off TBH. I'd rather ride on my own or in a small group of three or four.

The OP was hit by a car and people are suggesting it's just a matter of shaking hands and all's well? At the very least it wants reporting - the guy might not be fit to drive & he could have done the same thing before. IMO "sorry I didn't see you" actually means "sorry, I wasn't looking".

Did you get his details? Sorry, but I'd be reporting him to the police and claiming on his insurance. Hope you're not badly hurt

I genuinely hate people like you.

Why?

Got knocked off last week. Lead rider in a group of 12. Car overtook approaching a blind bend and then swerved into me to avoid an oncoming car. Went over the car and my bike too another cyclist down.

According to Dr Ian Walker's research, the further into the road you ride, the nearer cars will pass you.

mrblobby - Member
MikeWW, that is bloody awful, hope you have a speedy recovery. Was there any comeback on the driver?

I've done a couple of club rides this year and the group numbers seem to be up which does result in some stupidly dangerous overtakes by cars. It's putting me off TBH. I'd rather ride on my own or in a small group of three or four.

Police were called and solicitor involved. There were plenty of witnesses including other car drivers.

I actually think that its safer riding in a reasonably sized group in that you are seen and the driver has to think about overtaking. However there are some standards of driving that you just can't make allowances for.

I think in this case he just wasn't paying attention to the road / his car windows still looked pretty condensated on a cold Autumn morning

Ah yes, driver just wiping a little porthole in the steamed up window maybe? Or didn't bother doing the left hand side of the windscreen?

I followed this old dear today who I'm not 100% convinced could actually see out of the front of the car as it seemed to be steamed up, and she missed a couple of parked cars by inches. Stayed well back from that accident waiting to happen.

I think it's always worth reporting an incident not for insurance purposes necessarily but the police may like to just call and have a word make him aware of the severity of whats happened, the next person he doesn't see might not be so lucky. Also statistics purposes, isn't this one of the factors taken in to account when trying to improve cycling infrastructure?

whilst I always cringe when I see cyclists riding in the gutter as generally I think it makes them less safe, if the old boy wasn't looking/really didn't see you then maybe it saved you from serious injury or death on this occasion!

While what you say is perfectly true in this case it's a bit like being in a car crash and being saved because you weren't wearing a seatbelt and were thrown clear. It can happen but on balance your still better riding further out in the road.

Op glad to hear you are ok and I hope it doesn't put you off riding or spoil your enjoyment of it for too long. On a positive note perhaps you've just created a driver who's now going to be a lot more careful and vigilant around cyclists. And maybe one who might have realised his eyesight isn't what it used too be and he needs to address it.

It's dangerous out there. There are some complete idiots on the road, and many that shouldn't have a licence at all. I know a lot of people that won't ride on the road for this reason.

It still amazes me when I do the odd bit of road between trails how close people pass me. It only takes one idiot on their phone, or changing a cd or sipping a coffee to run into the back of you. Scarey stuff.

sturmey - Member
I think it's always worth reporting an incident not for insurance purposes necessarily but the police may like to just call and have a word make him aware of the severity of whats happened, the next person he doesn't see might not be so lucky. Also statistics purposes, isn't this one of the factors taken in to account when trying to improve cycling infrastructure?

The OP was hit by a car and people are suggesting it's just a matter of shaking hands and all's well?

Claim for pain and suffering. Even with no huge injury.

Hoping for a mealy-mouthed insincere apology is all very well, but hitting dangerous drivers in the wallet is more likely to have an impact on their behaviour.

Jeez, are people really bringing up the OPs road positioning on a road he has ridden many times before and they no doubt haven't ever ridden on?
Yeah, mate, change road position for [i]next time[/i]. 🙄
FFS you lot get a grip.

Old bloke pulled out in front of me yesterday. Nothing to do with my road positioning or anything I was doing, he just didn't look. Then had no idea what to do when he realised so he just got in the way a bit more.

Jeez, are people really bringing up the OPs road positioning

Hoping for a mealy-mouthed insincere apology is all very well, but hitting dangerous drivers in the wallet is more likely to have an impact on their behaviour

but hitting dangerous drivers in the wallet is more likely to have an impact on their behaviour.

as the OP appears to be uninjured

I'm fine bar a sore arm (no broken skin but it'll be an impressive bruise I imagine!)

Would you sue for a bruised arm? I wouldn't (well rather I didn't when I got hit by a car).

Not even bruised yet, is it? All we know for now is "sore".

Seriously - this idea of "hitting people in the pocket to stop it happening again" gets my goat. You never hear of people launching suits in the hope of getting a custodial sentence for the accused, do you - therein lies the real intent.

I think people should have to retake the test once they hit the 65ish mark - especially the "can you read this numberplate" bit. Would save a lot of lives.

Probably not, but these things take a while to set in. When I was last hit by a car I thought I'd only got bruising, but ended up limping for a week and unable to run for a couple more.

I still wouldn't have claimed for that personally.

I did also have quite a bit of damage to the bike, hence might as well claim for the injury as well (which resulted in me missing a fairly important event). Note I'm not actually suggesting the OP claims, just pointing out he is injured - though personally I'd definitely be reporting that to the police.

woody2000

"Did you get his details? Sorry, but I'd be reporting him to the police and claiming on his insurance. Hope you're not badly hurt"

what a nob...actually hate these type of pri@ks

mmmmmmmm am i missing something here about the OP's road positioning?
if he was a walker or a jogger he STILL would have been hit.
so his positioning is no excuse for what happened.
*could* his positioning further in the middle of the road helped? perhaps, perhaps not, perhaps he would have been struck and pulled under the car and been a lot worse off
...so lets deal with the facts...
he should not have been hit AT ALL.

now, in regards to the last paragraph of the OP's original post. that plays on my mind a lot recently, a death just south of us of a cyclists and one east of us just a few months ago.
the dark mornings. i was due a 6.45am ride to work today, and backed out....

we can be as safe and reflective as anything in the entire world and still get wiped out....

what a nob...actually hate these type of pri@ks

Why? Do you often hit people in your car? They driver obviously didn't see him and drove in to him. I'd report it even if its just so there's a record of the crime. If I ended up with more severe damage than it initially felt like and had to take time off work or cancel a holiday it would be very useful to have his details and it wouldnt be a spurious claim. That why he has insurance.

Wow. People that don't know me at all, hate me. I'm still waiting for mr pumpa to tell me why, why don't you enlighten me boc?

I'm not suggesting the OP engages in ambulance chasing, I'm suggesting he reports the driver to the police and makes a claim (if necessary, obviously) against his insurance. I do about 4,000 miles a year on the road and I'm sick to f*ck of the people who think it's ok to say "oops, sorry" and that's the end of it. He's been hit, not passed close or beeped at, actually hit by a car. Hit by someone who could have done it before, might do it again, who knows.

[quote=ndthornton ]I think people should have to retake the test once they hit the 65ish mark - especially the "can you read this numberplate" bit. Would save a lot of lives.
That rather flies in the face of official accident statistics showing that older drivers are, overall, safer.

what a nob...actually hate these type of pri@ks

Yeah me too. They're so, so much worse than drivers who run into cyclists.

You jumped straight on it with the claiming on the insurance bollocks....read the guys post. He'll be on the bike at the weekend so end of story.

"Hit by someone who could have done it before, might do it again, who knows"

The above is doubtful as again you haven't read the guys post. The driver was an older gent who clearly sh@t himself, and more than likely doesn't make a habit out of mowing people down on the road.

I'm not sure how to answer you without it descending into a silly argument, so I think it best to just say we'll agree to disagree.

You read into it what you want to see, and I'll do the same.

Hope your OK OP.

People forget that accidents can happen..

woody2000 - Member
Did you get his details? Sorry, but [b]I'd[/b] be reporting him to the police [b]and claiming on his insurance[/b]. Hope you're not badly hurt

So is why insurance premiums are so high in this country, "some" people just want money for any event regardless of outcome I think. (where there's a blame and all.)

The police are only interested if someone is injured, but agree it would be good practice to record the event incase this happens on a weekly basis.

[b]Accidents can happen[/b]

The driver was an older gent who clearly sh@t himself, and more than likely doesn't make a habit out of mowing people down on the road.

So how come he did mow down the OP? What makes you so sure he won't do it again? Presumably his insurance company wouldn't put up his premiums if they knew about it...

So is why insurance premiums are so high in this country, "some" people just want money for any event regardless of outcome I think. (where there's a blame and all -- insurance fraud.)

I'd be very surprised if it was even possible to detect the difference claims by cyclists who have minor injuries after being hit by a car makes to insurance premiums. It certainly isn't what's driving insurance premiums up - insurance fraud might be, but that's irrelevant to this case.

I'm not suggesting the OP engages in ambulance chasing, I'm suggesting he reports the driver to the police and makes a claim (if necessary, obviously) against his insurance. I do about 4,000 miles a year on the road and I'm sick to f*ck of the people who think it's ok to say "oops, sorry" and that's the end of it. He's been hit, not passed close or beeped at, actually hit by a car. Hit by someone who could have done it before, might do it again, who knows.

Accidents can happen

D0NK - Member

yes, but this wasn't an accident.

The driver intentionally crashed into the OP ?? Get a grip..

[b]Definition[/b]
Accident
An unfortunate incident that happens unexpectedly and unintentionally, typically resulting in damage or injury.
An event that happens by chance or that is without apparent or deliberate cause.

negligence
?n?gl?d?(?)ns/
noun
noun: negligence;?plural noun: negligences

1.
failure to take proper care over something.
"his injury was due to the negligence of his employers"
synonyms: carelessness, lack of care, lack of proper care and attention, dereliction of duty, non-performance of duty, non-fulfilment of duty

<edit> and a cyclist being on the same road as you isn't unexpected is it?

yes, but this wasn't an accident.

Really? You reckon if it was deliberate that the guy would have then stopped? I don't think so.

your first post didn't quite read like that

DONK - it didn't, you're right.

rickt - read my most recent post above please before suggesting I'm somehow responsible for a massive increase in insurance premiums, thanks. And you can spout dictionary definitions all you like, this wasn't an accident. It may not have been deliberate, but it wasn't an accident.

Its the claim culture which Woody2000 suggested which is wrong in my opinion when there was no suggestions of physical or personal damage/injury.

That rather flies in the face of official accident statistics showing that older drivers are, overall, safer.

I suppose that depends what the statistics class as older drivers.
My issue is with very, very old drivers, some of whom I see driving incredibly dangerously all the time where I live.

I love my Grandparant's to bits but Id be terrified to think of them getting behind the wheel of a car (as would they). They can barely see or hear anything, shake a lot and have more than one or two marbles rolling around upstairs 🙂 But both have full driving licenses.

I am not allowed to drive after just a pint of beer - but seriously - who is the most impaired here! I'm not advocating drink driving - just making a comparison.

15% on personal injury claims under £500,000

*wild guess

driver wasn't watching where he was going, lack of intent doesn't make it an accident.

Yes, it pretty much does - accident means without intent - *NOT* without guilt.
An accident doesn't absolve the person of guilt. If you you accidently run some one over because you're pissed out of your head, it's still an accident, but you're still going to jail, because it was avoidable and caused by your actions.

It may not have been deliberate, but it wasn't an accident.

What was it then? Are you suggesting there's malicious intent in all crashes? What would qualify as an accident? Serious question.

He's probably in his 60's and to be fair looks far worse than me - very, very apologetic and already looks like shock is setting in as he can't stop shaking! We have a discussion for about 2mins

In all honesty, if it shook him up enough, and you were able to chat about it, i would chalk it up as an accident. sounds like an unfortunate mistake. These things do happen and as a 27 yo driver with 20 20 vision, the sun is VERY low at commute o’clock at the moment (not that its an excuse, but it is a factor)! hope he has the where with all to take a bit more care in future.

If he had come out swinging "you were in my effing way mate you effing dont even pay effing road tax" I would have taken his reg and reported it. (accidents involving cyclists should ALWAYS be reported to the police, even if on the 101 number). That or rip his wing mirror off and take a dump through his window.

Some people might be in need of a dictionary, to save you the bother, I'm going with ROSPA's definition of an accident:

An unplanned, uncontrolled event which has led to or could have led to injury to people, damage to plant, machinery or the environment and/or some other loss.

or maybe the HSE who suggest

An undesired circumstance(s) which gives rise to ill health, injury, damage, production losses or increased liabilities.

WTF is this thing on here that people say that if an accident was someone's fault then it's not an accident? Seriously, what is that? Where does it come from? The rest of the world seems to understand what an accident means, why do singletrackers seem to struggle with it?

The reality is that pretty much every accident is someone's fault, barring meteorites falling out of the sky..

The rest of the world seems to understand what an accident means, why do singletrackers seem to struggle with it?

Don't tar us all with that brush!

Sorry, it's just that every time I see a thread where accidents are discussed we seem to get this weird thing trotted out that someone was at fault and therefore "it's not an accident" which is not only really weird, but also something I've never, ever come across anywhere other than on here.

I would really love to know why it is - was there one of those "classic" threads "back in the day" that explains to a relative newbie why the word "accident" has a different meaning here from the one that the rest of the English speaking world uses?

It probably all started when the Police started changed RTA to RTC "because accident implied nobody was to blame"

I hope your recover both mentally and physically.

FWIW my 2nd vehicle collision convinced me I didn't want a 3rd so I've moved over to MTB completely now.

Relying thousands of times on idiot drivers for your survival is no longer a chance I am willing to take. I've reduced my car exposure manytimes over but no doubt at some point someone will try to kill me again.

because accident implied nobody was to blame

How the flippity flip does it do that?

Tell me you made that up?

Even the old bill, those notorious manglers of the language, can't really think that. Can they?

Accident is a tyre blowout or a heart attack leading to third party getting injured, something unexpected. Hitting an illuminated reflective bedecked cyclist on a public road because you werent watching where you were going isn't an accident IMO.

[i]Trying[/i] not to get all emotive or spouting hyperbole, a car is a dangerous piece of machinery and care should be taken when using it.

That protester a year or two back who lobbed a fire extinguisher off a roof, if that had hit someone would you have called that an accident? No intent, he didn't mean to injure anyone he was merely lobbing a chunk of metal into a public place with enough kinetic energy to do serious damage, kinda like driving a car without properly watching what you are doing.

Accident implies it couldn't have been avoided, everyone simply looking where they're going and driving more cautiously could prevent a lot of "accidents" I reckon.

It may sound pedantic but there is, I feel, an important distinction.

I'm certainly not going to lose any sleep over some old codger [b]who drove into someone on a clear open road[/b] having a bit of a bump in their insurance premium. Those who think this is an acceptable standard of driving, have very different concept of acceptable to me.

If it really was a bizarre one-off and the driver is otherwise careful and competent, they'll get their NCB back in a few years. If, on the other hand, they have a long history of smidsys and sideswipes (and many, if not most, drivers who crash are regular repeat offenders) then he should be off the road.

Well, there's the difference - your claim for compensation against an old codger at fault for a sore arm is an unnecessary and pointless legal action that will have a negligable affect on ther insurance but I'll see the increase on mine. Thanks.

I said it before, but if you want to teach them a lesson (as opposed to lining your greedy little pockets), why don't you suggest a custodial sentence, rather than financial compo?

your claim for compensation against an old codger at fault for a sore arm is an unnecessary and pointless legal action that will have a negligable affect on ther insurance but I'll see the increase on mine.

You appear to have got that the wrong way round. Unless of course you are the old codger or your NCD is in some way linked to his.

I'm exceedingly drunk and haven't read the whole thread but just wanted to say thank whoever that you're not hurt and hopefully this will be a wake up call for the driver.
🙂