Well today was my turn to be hit by a car. Between Edenfield and Owd Betts on the main road for the turbine ride crowd.
Is was hit on the arm/bars by his door mirror. Fortunately he stopped and there was no one behind him who would have really taken me out. It's a fast road and he was probably doing 50ish mph; well within the limit.
Nothing is broken; my bike seems OK, but it seems weird not to do anything else. I can't be bothered engaging an ambulance chaser to punish him. I've not lost anything, but blimey I'm sore.
I was wearing an orange top and light blue shorts. And he couldn't see me against some bushes.
Am I wrong to just ask him to watch out for cyclists and let him drive away?
I have his details; should I do more?
was wearing an orange top and light blue shorts. And he couldn't see me against some bushes.
you have no fashion or colour sence and he was dazzled by the 70 colours.
Glad your well enough to tell a tale, some cyclists are not.
Only you know the real answer to your question i'd say. If youre ok and your bike and gear is ok then its up to you what to do from here.
Of course people on here will probably goad you into a pitchfork scenario.
Glad to hear youre ok though, could have been much different.
If folk seem contrite then I leave it.
Might be worth checking you have no physical damage to your self.
My injuries didn't properly show themselves till 48 hours later. In the end I was very glad I used an ambulance chaser as they did all the running around and chasing to get my bike and equipment replaced as well as pay for the physio I ended up requiring due to a shoulder separation and ankle injury, they also secured funds that covered the buses, parking, medication and fuel that otherwise wouldn't have been needed. I also received a settlement for the injuries.
I hate to say it but I would now recommend anyone involved in an accident resulting in injury and/or damage to contact one.
You should report it to the police so that it appears in accident statistics. Hopefully they'll also ensure the driver is licenced and insured.
Your injuries might not show up for some time ( a self employed upholsterer friend recently lost a month of income s
After it emerged she had fractured her wrist after a "minor" incident where someone drove into her. She didn't take any details).
Ultimately he hit you. He should have given you 1.5m or more space. Another 20cm less, or a car behind, and you would probably not be writing this. If I wrote traffic laws he'd have a 9 points on licence. (Ie close to a ban)
Report to the police. If he hits someone else they have a record of previous bad driving and hopefully take a tougher stance on the driver.
Had a daft bint lock her brakes approaching an island I was on once.
Went in to my back wheel & put a slight buckle in it, but no injury.
She was in a right state, shaking & teary stuff.
I ended up having to stick around to calm her down. 😕
I'd had a blow out & turned the car over on the motorway the day before, so was just glad to have not been hurt. Again.
Injuries can take a few days to come out, so make no decisions today.
Always worth reporting it, he may have a history of such incidents
I'm way stiff this morning. Nothing is broken; my bike is fine except for a few extra scratches.
He will be buying a new mirror and fixing the scratch down the side of his car.
I am painfully aware that if there was someone behind him I'd have been under it. It was a lucky squeak I've had.
He is insured etc. But my experience with local plod is that they will not do anything if I did go to them. So I can't see the point.
So there are no stats, the road is considered safe, and there's no justification for cycling facilities. Report it.
Report to the police. If he hits someone else they have a record of previous bad driving and hopefully take a tougher stance on the driver.
I'm not convinced this happens in reality.
So there are no stats, the road is considered safe, and there's no justification for cycling facilities. Report it.
I'm not convinced cycling facilities are upgraded on this basis.
But my experience with local plod is that they will not do anything if I did go to them. So I can't see the point.
Yeah, sad isn't it. You can see how difficult it is for the police to take action without evidence but the feeling of only having cause to complain once you are fatally injured to crunchy-roadkill death is sickening.
There's no part of being hit by a car which is excusable.
Glad you're ok OP but please report it so that there's a chance some kind of correctional action will be taken - either Police having a quiet word, or a prosecution (for careless driving?) or at least it appearing in the stats to demonstrate action is required
I'm not convinced this happens in reality.
Nor am I but it definitely doesn't if it's not reported.
I'm not convinced cycling facilities are upgraded on this basis.
Accident stats are definitely used as a reason NOT to do anything - "there has only been 1 collision on there in the last year - there are other areas that are more of a priority". I've was told pretty plainly that there hadn't been enough 'accidents' on my road to consider traffic calming, even though the council's own measurements showed a high incidence of speeding.
To improve the chances of getting it into the accident stats, report it to the police and the council, telling them both that you are also reporting it to the other. While I hope anyone you report it to would put it in the records, the possibility of being found out if they don't will be a big incentive.