I got sideswiped this afternoon at the end of a good ride - minor injury

Brockrock

Brockrock

Active Member
Region
USA
I was about one mile from home after a 25 mile ride on my Aventon Level, and a car traveling same direction veered onto the right shoulder slightly - I guess - and its right side mirror collided with the underside of my left arm just above my elbow. This caused my hand to come off the grip, and I have what looks like a burn mark on the underside of my wrist where it must have passed with force over the top of the grip. Then I heard the car's right mirror land on the roadway behind me. The force was actually enough to separate the mirror from the car. The car then slowed, followed by it taking off with intent, and it was too far ahead to get the plate. After doing a brief roadside assessment, I determined that I had no broken bones, so I continued home at level 5 assist, and further assessment revealed that I had no open wounds. I was wearing a heavy sweatshirt with a bright colored tee-shirt over it, and I displayed a bright red strobe on the rear of my bike. I do have a bit of soreness in the area of impact and in my shoulder, but nothing feels serious. All in all, I feel that I was very lucky if this had to happen. Keep alert out there folks! Stay Safe!
 
I like the idea of collecting the mirror. Someone is driving around without one. That is easy enough to spot. I am glad you are okay. It is the adrenaline that gets me when stuff like this happens. For three seconds I loose my cool. I punched a car once, doing $1200 in damage when it tried to kill me. That is scary because I am not like that. The trophy value of the mirror may be worth more than turning it into the cops. Now you have a great story. People who have a record are the most likely to run.
 
Brockrock said:
I was about one mile from home after a 25 mile ride on my Aventon Level, and a car traveling same direction veered onto the right shoulder slightly - I guess - and its right side mirror collided with the underside of my left arm just above my elbow. This caused my hand to come off the grip, and I have what looks like a burn mark on the underside of my wrist where it must have passed with force over the top of the grip. Then I heard the car's right mirror land on the roadway behind me. The force was actually enough to separate the mirror from the car. The car then slowed, followed by it taking off with intent, and it was too far ahead to get the plate. After doing a brief roadside assessment, I determined that I had no broken bones, so I continued home at level 5 assist, and further assessment revealed that I had no open wounds. I was wearing a heavy sweatshirt with a bright colored tee-shirt over it, and I displayed a bright red strobe on the rear of my bike. I do have a bit of soreness in the area of impact and in my shoulder, but nothing feels serious. All in all, I feel that I was very lucky if this had to happen. Keep alert out there folks! Stay Safe!
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It's seriously scary out there ! I try to avoid riding on roads, but sometimes can't avoid it. I realized sometime ago how vulnerable we are out there , not just because we are so exposed but also an accident would most likely come down to my word against theirs. For that reason I now always wear an action camera strapped to my chest. Along with a rear view, reflective spokes, front and back lights AND small blinking side lights front and back. I also have a VERY reflective jacket I wear at night (see my photo).
Until drivers, pedestrians and other bikers stop sleep walking, you have to behave as if they are blind, ancient and out to get you !
 
JES2020 said:
It's seriously scary out there ! I now always wear an action camera strapped to my chest.
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In am going to do this as well. If I had one, I would probably have the plate of the vehicle. At least they could have been cited with evading the scene, which in CT is a court appearance. Thanks folks, for letting me vent. This incident won't stop me from doing what I love, but it was eye opening...
 
Brockrock said:
In am going to do this as well. If I had one, I would probably have the plate of the vehicle. At least they could have been cited with evading the scene, which in CT is a court appearance. Thanks folks, for letting me vent. This incident won't stop me from doing what I love, but it was eye opening...
Click to expand...
This is a less expensive, dependable alternative to the Gopro. Very clear video up to 4k, stabilization option and auto on and off when the battery is turned on or off. (It records while charging, so you can plug it into a USB on the battery and not worry about running out of battery) (also has a loop feature so the memory will always be available).
I was lucky to get a refurbished one on Ebay for $35!
 
Glad you're okay overall! Does your area have one of those group crime share websites/social media pages? Post up the incident and details. I understand accidents happen but leaving the scene does put it in a different perspective.
 
sc00ter said:
Glad you're okay overall! Does your area have one of those group crime share websites/social media pages? Post up the incident and details. I understand accidents happen but leaving the scene does put it in a different perspective.
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There probably is something on social media in town. I know there is a very active community forum on Facebook - as I hear it discussed now and again - but I'm not a social media guy at all, and other than forums like this directly related to things that I am interested in, I don't involve myself with any of it.
 
I started using Cycliq cameras front and rear from when I was commuting by ebike. If I get a close pass or some other anomaly I will review the footage. I considered GoPro's but the batteries don't last long enough.

I think of them as my "flight recorder" if something happens. If I hit a curb or if I get bumped by a car I don't need to rely on memory. If your accident had been slightly different you might have woken up by the side of the road without any idea what had happened.
 
Allan47.7339 said:
I started using Cycliq cameras front and rear from when I was commuting by ebike. If I get a close pass or some other anomaly I will review the footage. I considered GoPro's but the batteries don't last long enough.

I think of them as my "flight recorder" if something happens. If I hit a curb or if I get bumped by a car I don't need to rely on memory. If your accident had been slightly different you might have woken up by the side of the road without any idea what had happened.
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Pretty slick , but spend y. I avoided GoPro because of the price tag, Cycliqs would be even harder for me to justify .
BTW you can avoid the limited battery life issue by using a power pack, not sure if that works with the GoPro but it does with the much cheaper Akaso Elite, that I already posted. ( you could buy 4 Elites for the cost of two Cycliqs !)
 
You're being too kind to think that the person innocently veered right - they do it on purpose to punish people on bikes.

See the other post on the EBR Forum where a 16 year old hit 5 riders with his diesel pickup because he was trying to "roll coal" on the riders.
 
creativepart said:
You're being too kind to think that the person innocently veered right - they do it on purpose to punish people on bikes.

See the other post on the EBR Forum where a 16 year old hit 5 riders with his diesel pickup because he was trying to "roll coal" on the riders.
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Wow, pessimistic much?
 
Damn ...sounds like you were lucky to be bruised and no more than that. Do you have a rear view mirror on your bike? ..I guess you have the one that fell of the car but it probably wouldn't be easy to fit to your bike. A rear view mirror on an ebike is a worthy thing to have. As for the driver, I wouldn't be surprised to find out that they were using their phone while driving, I see that kind of thing alot...like cyborgs, connected to a device everywhere all the time. There's a documentary on youtube, Werner Herzog, From One Second To The Next....should be compulsory veiwing for anyone with a smartphone and a drivers license...
 
ian fisher said:
Damn ...sounds like you were lucky to be bruised and no more than that. Do you have a rear view mirror on your bike? ..I guess you have the one that fell of the car but it probably wouldn't be easy to fit to your bike. A rear view mirror on an ebike is a worthy thing to have. As for the driver, I wouldn't be surprised to find out that they were using their phone while driving, I see that kind of thing alot...like cyborgs, connected to a device everywhere all the time. There's a documentary on youtube, Werner Herzog, From One Second To The Next....should be compulsory veiwing for anyone with a smartphone and a drivers license...
Click to expand...
Thanks, and yes, I consider myself very lucky based on what happened. I do have a rear view mirror on my bike. I have one of the types that attaches into the left bar-end. This particular vehicle gave me no reason to be concerned, and then it happened. That’s why I suspect it veered over last second. The fact that they then slowed makes me think they were suddenly surprised about the collision, and then they took off. That suggests to me that the collision itself was not purposeful, but who knows. I suspect phone as well, which is a very real and present danger to cyclists in our modern age…
 
What if they required both cyclist and motorist to know the law that would help reduce accidents. What if they required all new cars to use blinkers?{oh wait they do} I could keep going but glad your ok! I need to learn how to side curb jump on demand.
 
Blinkers? Your kidding right? That stalk on the left side of the steering wheel is just to hold windshield wipers or the cruise control stuff.
 
I currently ride a Fat Bike powered by a Luna BBSHD.

I rode horses from the age of 12 to 35. I rode trails for pleasure, occasional show jumping, many years fox hunting, and two years as a steeple chase jockey. I loved galloping over country fields, rolling into 3 and 4ft fences, and feeling the thrill of my trusty steed as she leaped into the air. It was thrilling! Over the years, I saw and heard about many of my fellow riders that got seriously hurt, or died. I had a a horse fall on me three times. I was lucky.

One day, I had a epiphany. I realized that the concept of a tiny, soft, primate, strapping himself to a huge, 1,800lb muscle bound animal, was pure insanity. It was fun, but the practice did call into question my intelligence. I stopped riding horses, and spent several years trying to convince my father to do the same.

I feel the same way about sharing the road with cars while riding a bike. It's a lot like skydiving, very unforgivable when when things go wrong. My bike and me are no match for a 3,000 lb vehicle when things go wrong. My riding buddy and I do not ride on the road except to go maybe one or two blocks. Even then, we wait until there are no cars in sight. I realize that most bike riders have no choice if they want to ride because they live in the city or an area without dedicated bike trails. I am fortunate in that respect as I live in Northern Virginia near Washington DC which "may" have the the highest number of dedicated, interconnected bike trails per square mile than any city in the U.S.

Brockrock I am glad you are OK. If that car had veered 6 inches more, you might be dead. To you, and all bikers that share the road with cars and trucks, my hat is off to you. You are living dangerously. Tiny, soft, primates, strapping yourselves to flimsy little toys on wheels, and sharing the road with 3,000+ lb behemoths, driven by other, distracted primates, is sheer lunacy!

The odds are against you every day, time is not on your side.

But I understand. :)
 
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JES2020 said:
It's seriously scary out there ! I try to avoid riding on roads, but sometimes can't avoid it. I realized sometime ago how vulnerable we are out there , not just because we are so exposed but also an accident would most likely come down to my word against theirs. For that reason I now always wear an action camera strapped to my chest. Along with a rear view, reflective spokes, front and back lights AND small blinking side lights front and back. I also have a VERY reflective jacket I wear at night (see my photo).
Until drivers, pedestrians and other bikers stop sleep walking, you have to behave as if they are blind, ancient and out to get you !
Click to expand...
I also bought a GoPro for that reason. I regret not buying something else, such as the cam you suggest.
In my youth I worked a road crew flag. Senior drivers coming from a stoplight do this:
1. Hubby look forward
2. Hubby step on gas pedal
3. Hubby watch speedometer until speed limit attained
4. Hubby ask Wifey if she can see anything ahead
 
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