It was my turn, be careful!

[Johnny]

Finally I got my share of accidents.

So I am riding on the bike lane, it is bumper to bumper traffic on the left and on the right parked cars all the way. I am cruising around 15 to be safe, watching out the cars on the right in case one throws itself in the bike lane or opens doors.

All of a sudden one passenger in a car on the left, waiting for the red light decides to open the door all the way out, by pushing the door not even properly opening it. I have never seen a door opened that fast and all of a sudden the bike lane is obstructed with a door no where to go(rigt is also full of cars).

Well, my tire hits the door, I fly off of the bike. next thing I know I am lying to my left, my finger is broken, some bruises etc. However I am so glad that nothing more serious happened.

I am thankful that I am in mostly good shape , just a likely surgery on my hand soon.

Moral of the story, try to avoid busy streets even if there is a dedicated bike path. So far I have avoided many hits(cars turning left in front of me, opening doors or just jumping on the bike path etc.) but this was insane, I guess I will decrease my speed to 5mph if the traffic comes to a complete stop, even when there is a long way to the traffic lights.

ps: The bike is almost scratch FREE!!!! Handle bar rotates and it falls on the crankbrothers pedals and the tip of the handle bar. Unbelievable. I guess It didn't fly so that I could.

 

[Bruce Arnold]

Wow, close call. Glad you weren't hurt any more seriously.

 

[J.R.]

I guess you're right, could've been worse. Hitting the ground hurts more as the years pass. Heal quick!

I'm curious about the interaction with the vehicle occupants? Did they help you? Apologize? Pay for damages? Police involved? In other words Paul Harvey's "the rest of the story".

 

[Ian Moone]

Yeah Me too !! I think I'd be Hostile if it happened to me. ?

 

[Marci jo]

A speedy recovery for you! Let’s hear it for helmets too.

 

[Johnny]

I guess you're right, could've been worse. Hitting the ground hurts more as the years pass. Heal quick!

I'm curious about the interaction with the vehicle occupants? Did they help you? Apologize? Pay for damages? Police involved? In other words Paul Harvey's "the rest of the story".

it is a little hard to type with one hand.

Fortunately a septa vehicle was right behind that car, she tried to help. The passenger first asked if I was ok then drove away. Then when I was talking to the Septa officer they came back but it was a different color car.

It is a long story but I have a couple witnesses (and they were telling the driver that he was at fault). The driver put his name and number. Then drove away , still got the photo of the licence plate of the car just in case.

I am planning to file a report tomorrow , I should right?

 

[Ravi Kempaiah]

It is a long story but I have a couple witnesses (and they were telling the driver that he was at fault). The driver put his name and number. Then drove away , still got the photo of the licence plate of the car just in case.

I am planning to file a report tomorrow , I should right?

Sorry to hear this happened to you. Hope you heal soon.
Drivers are super callous and if I were you, I would totally file it and ask their insurance to pay for your wrist surgery.

Most drivers simply don't know or care about this.

 

[Tars Tarkas]

Sorry about the accident and your injuries! Let us know how the legal aspect of this goes. I hope I"m wrong -- logically in my mind I ought to be -- but I think the law might assume you shouldn't hit something in front of you. I know the door wasn't in front of you an instant before and it ought to be the law that people should look before they open a door (maybe it is the law, I don't know.) I'm just saying, this might not be so clear cut.

TT

 

[Johnny]

Sorry about the accident and your injuries! Let us know how the legal aspect of this goes. I hope I"m wrong -- logically in my mind I ought to be -- but I think the law might assume you shouldn't hit something in front of you. I know the door wasn't in front of you an instant before and it ought to be the law that people should look before they open a door (maybe it is the law, I don't know.) I'm just saying, this might not be so clear cut.

TT

Except that it was not in front of me, I am riding on the bike lane car is on a different lane. Actually the law states that "No person shall open any door on a motor vehicle unless and until it is reasonably safe to do so and can be done without interfering with traffic flow. " On top of it the car was not a parked vehicle.

 

[Tars Tarkas]

I hope you're right. You ought to be, and it sounds like you are. I sure think you ought to talk to a lawyer though. Good luck!

TT

 

[J.R.]

Except that it was not in front of me, I am riding on the bike lane car is on a different lane. Actually the law states that "No person shall open any door on a motor vehicle unless and until it is reasonably safe to do so and can be done without interfering with traffic flow. " On top of it the car was not a parked vehicle.

I'm in PA (central) as well and we have decent bicycle laws. Philadelphia has even better laws. I think Philly always ranks in the top 10 cycling cities in the U.S. You should be able to get fair treatment and support in this matter.

 

[Tars Tarkas]

Regardless of fault or liability, the car shouldn't have left the scene of a personal injury accident!

TT

 

[Alaskan]

I had a similar accident 1.5 months ago with a passenger at a stop sign opening the rear passenger door without looking. The door edge got me in the mid quad putting me homebound for a week and using a cane for almost four weeks. Nothing broken and I am back riding now. I am not sure if I would trade you my deep contusion and swollen thigh for the broken finger. There is just no way to ride idot proof. Good to hear it wasn't worse.

 

[Bruce Arnold]

Sorry to hear this happened to you. Hope you heal soon.
Drivers are super callous and if I were you, I would totally file it and ask their insurance to pay for your wrist surgery.

Most drivers simply don't know or care about this.

View attachment 31533

Yep, that's the law in NC too, and yep, people don't know about it. I wish we had those signs, even if it wouldn't do much good. I despair of most people's driving ability even when safely ensconced in my Outback.

 

[6zfshdb]

I'm glad to hear the damage to you and your bike wasn't more serious. Given the circumstances, it could have been far more severe.

It's this and other similar incidents that keeps me off the streets and onto the bike paths these days. Being retired and not a commuter gives me that luxury.

When I was a teenager, a young boy opened a car door right in front of me while I was riding alongside a row of parked cars. It happened so quickly, I had no time to react. I came away with a broken ankle but my beloved Schwinn was totaled. The boy was too young to know any better but his mother was mortified. She helped me to the curb and called my mother from the corner drug store. She sat and comforted me until my mother arrived.

When I think back on her kindness, I can't help but wonder at what has happened to our society. Under similar circumstances today, it seems the reaction of most people is to run away.

In any case, I hope you heal quickly and please do keep us informed of any new developments.

 

[RabH]

Sorry to hear of your accident, I'm glad it wasn't more serious! I hope you heal soon, all the best.

 

[Tars Tarkas]

Google "Dutch reach method" if you aren't familiar with it.

TT

 

[steve mercier]

Glad you survived ! This has nothing to do with it but your story somehow reminds me that years ago I was riding my road bike approaching a large bridge. Unbeknownst to me the bridge approach had a truck weigh scale. My front tire wedged perfectly in the narrow slot between the road and the scale. I found myself gliding along with no bike! Scraped and bleeding on the tops of all my bare knuckles ,I reeled around in a daze only to see the weird apparition of the bike standing perfectly upright about 10-15 feet behind me. The bike was fine. I now know why they pad the tops of better bike gloves.

 

[Over50]

Finally I got my share of accidents....So I am riding on the bike lane...

Sorry to hear about the accident. Almost every one of my bike lane commutes involves at least one close call. Pedestrians, skate boarders, e-scooters, joggers and similar to your story, turning cars, or car passengers opening their doors. Pedestrians with their faces glued to their cell phones have been the most frequent source of my near-accidents. I suspect that the odds are that my luck will run out eventually.