getting hit by a car

Mansmind said:

Incidentally, the world being what the world is... the car never even stopped. I found the car later down the road along with it's cracked grill.. and black marks from what I suspect is bar tape along the front quarter panel.

First off, glad you're still in basically one piece...

Did you call the police when you found the car? Hit and Run is a felony in most (all?) states. Someone should be doing some time behind bars for this...

Dean

I don't know what the odds are but mine seem to average about one accident every 4 years. I've been road riding for about 25 years now at about 6-8000 miles a year. I've been t-boned twice, hit a dog twice, hit a opening car door once and a few loose gravel wipe outs.

All I can give for advice is; keep your head on a swivel, wear your helmet, use your ears and ride with lights and some kind of reflective material at night. The biggest dangers I have at night while commuting is stray dogs and other riders on bikes that I can't see or hear until it's almost too late. The day time dangers are mostly people racing to turn in front of me and misjudging my speed instead of letting me go by and turning in behind me. I've locked up the brakes and endoed onto a guys trunk once because of it. And he had the nerve to be [censored] at me. Luckily people that witnessed it kept him out of my face and one guy even wanted to beat him up. The rewards of road riding and commuting are still great enough to not be scarred off, yet.

DeanC said:

First off, glad you're still in basically one piece...

Did you call the police when you found the car? Hit and Run is a felony in most (all?) states. Someone should be doing some time behind bars for this...

Dean

I called the police before AND after.

When I first hit the ground, my first instinct was to get off the road while looking behind me for what I thought would be running over me (I REALLY had a feeling that I was about to get run over at that point). Once I saw that traffic had stopped, I turned my head expecting to see the car stopped, only to see that it had kept going...and was too far for me to see the license number.

When first talking to the police, I described the car to the best of my ability, but also told them I had NOTHING to truly identify them with.. I never even saw the driver.

About 45 minutes later as I resumed my ride home, I looked over in a parking lot approximately one mile down the road and guess what I see? 🙂 So I rode over to the car, saw the broken grill, the black smudges.. the absence of dirt on that particular fender (the rest of the car was really dirty) and felt pretty confident I had found the person.

I called the police, but a woman that claimed to be driving the car (I got the impression she didn't own it) had been working since 3pm while the accident occurred at shortly after 4 pm. So theoretically she was at work.

I personally believe that either she left work... or someone else was driving the car.

You just don't see THAT many white Crown Vic's.. older models, that happen to have evidence of hitting objects along their right fender.

That being said, no REAL proof without making a big issue of it... and I don't see wasting time following that up. What made me angrier than anything was that they didn't even stop. Of course, if I were in a hospital at the moment.. I would perhaps be a little angrier. As it is, it looks like it's going to cost me about $220 and some skin.

John

lpschafer said:

I don't know what the odds are but mine seem to average about one accident every 4 years. I've been road riding for about 25 years now at about 6-8000 miles a year. I've been t-boned twice, hit a dog twice, hit a opening car door once and a few loose gravel wipe outs.

All I can give for advice is; keep your head on a swivel, wear your helmet, use your ears and ride with lights and some kind of reflective material at night. The biggest dangers I have at night while commuting is stray dogs and other riders on bikes that I can't see or hear until it's almost too late. The day time dangers are mostly people racing to turn in front of me and misjudging my speed instead of letting me go by and turning in behind me. I've locked up the brakes and endoed onto a guys trunk once because of it. And he had the nerve to be [censored] at me. Luckily people that witnessed it kept him out of my face and one guy even wanted to beat him up. The rewards of road riding and commuting are still great enough to not be scarred off, yet.

Your odds don't sound too promising. 🙂 I've had some close calls, but have seen them coming. This happened on a busy street (it's the only way to get across town to my knowledge). You "hear" traffic constantly, and obviously it's very difficult to see what's about to hit you. Cars were passing constantly...I have a feeling this one was looking somewhere else and just didn't see me.

It certainly won't scare me off, although I admit to being a little paranoid on the way home. It's one of those things that happens and you have to ask yourself if you're going to keep living, or become very safe... but also very boring.

From the evidence you give, it sounds like her. But I don't know much about:
1. Most anything about cars
2. The accident, aside from what you have told

I wonder if that woman has a child, spouse, etc. Then again, if she's at work, then her car should be with her as well.

Mansmind said:

I called the police before AND after.

When I first hit the ground, my first instinct was to get off the road while looking behind me for what I thought would be running over me (I REALLY had a feeling that I was about to get run over at that point). Once I saw that traffic had stopped, I turned my head expecting to see the car stopped, only to see that it had kept going...and was too far for me to see the license number.

When first talking to the police, I described the car to the best of my ability, but also told them I had NOTHING to truly identify them with.. I never even saw the driver.

About 45 minutes later as I resumed my ride home, I looked over in a parking lot approximately one mile down the road and guess what I see? 🙂 So I rode over to the car, saw the broken grill, the black smudges.. the absence of dirt on that particular fender (the rest of the car was really dirty) and felt pretty confident I had found the person.

I called the police, but a woman that claimed to be driving the car (I got the impression she didn't own it) had been working since 3pm while the accident occurred at shortly after 4 pm. So theoretically she was at work.

I personally believe that either she left work... or someone else was driving the car.

You just don't see THAT many white Crown Vic's.. older models, that happen to have evidence of hitting objects along their right fender.

That being said, no REAL proof without making a big issue of it... and I don't see wasting time following that up. What made me angrier than anything was that they didn't even stop. Of course, if I were in a hospital at the moment.. I would perhaps be a little angrier. As it is, it looks like it's going to cost me about $220 and some skin.

John

That's hit and run! You need to get in the police officers face to pursue this. Find a lawyer to talk to. Do something!
By doing that, you will be making her responsible for her actions and potentially save some other riders life.

At least she should pay for the damage to your bike.

Mansmind said:

I guess you could say I had my first "accident" today while riding. I went on a long ride and at one point have to get from one side of town to the other. On my way back home, this old Crown Victoria hits me. Amazingly, I'm okay, and other than bar tape and both shifters, the bike is okay also.

Reconstructing the accident, it looks as if the very front right part of the grill hit the end of my drops (which turned the bars approximately 90 degrees). Along with turning the bars up in the clamp, it turned the stem approximately 25-30 degrees to the right. That was the initial hit. Luckily, I think it also turned my bike away from the car, at least some. I think the A pillar (edge of windshield) is what actually finished taking me down, although I don't think it hit me TOO hard as my arm isn't broken, just bruised. Basically I ended up in the middle of the road looking back at the stopped traffic.

Other than a large scrape on my hip, a sore tricep and shoulder, a small scrape on my elbow, and the knuckles of my right hand... I seem to be okay. My left calf is a little sore, but doesn't appear to be injured that I can tell.

Incidentally, the world being what the world is... the car never even stopped. I found the car later down the road along with it's cracked grill.. and black marks from what I suspect is bar tape along the front quarter panel.

I'll end up replacing both shifters, they're ground down pretty good from the pavement, and the bar tape was torn/scraped. After getting my wits about me, I basically just adjusted everything back on the back.. checked it out for functional damage, and road home.

All in all, I'm just glad to be alive. Anyone know what the actual odds of getting hit are? Hopefully this should lower my odds for the future!!

** I realize this isn't the place for a post like this, but most of the other "forums" didn't really appear to fit either.

John

John,
Glad to hear you're OK, that's the main thing, it could have been much, much worse!! Your Bike Parts can be replaced...

My wife had a very bad crash last weekend and suffered some major road rash...I've found since then, via the Doc and web resources, is to clean it really well, use Dial antibacterial liquid soap every day on the wound after the initial cleaning with peroxide or something...then go out and Buy some neosporin, non-stick pads and some tape or bandage to keep the Pads in place...

Clean the scrape, apply the neosprin to the wound, and the Pad and attach over the wound...you need to keep it moist for at least 7 Days....

These kinds of abrasions get worse before they get better...

What's the odds for the future? It's up to you really..approach every Car as if they're gonna come out and hit you...try and make eye to eye contact with the Driver and get ready to hit an escape route...sometimes they just can't be avoided...
:eek:

Mansmind said:

I guess you could say I had my first "accident" today while riding. I went on a long ride and at one point have to get from one side of town to the other. On my way back home, this old Crown Victoria hits me. Amazingly, I'm okay, and other than bar tape and both shifters, the bike is okay also.

Reconstructing the accident, it looks as if the very front right part of the grill hit the end of my drops (which turned the bars approximately 90 degrees). Along with turning the bars up in the clamp, it turned the stem approximately 25-30 degrees to the right. That was the initial hit. Luckily, I think it also turned my bike away from the car, at least some. I think the A pillar (edge of windshield) is what actually finished taking me down, although I don't think it hit me TOO hard as my arm isn't broken, just bruised. Basically I ended up in the middle of the road looking back at the stopped traffic.

Other than a large scrape on my hip, a sore tricep and shoulder, a small scrape on my elbow, and the knuckles of my right hand... I seem to be okay. My left calf is a little sore, but doesn't appear to be injured that I can tell.

Incidentally, the world being what the world is... the car never even stopped. I found the car later down the road along with it's cracked grill.. and black marks from what I suspect is bar tape along the front quarter panel.

I'll end up replacing both shifters, they're ground down pretty good from the pavement, and the bar tape was torn/scraped. After getting my wits about me, I basically just adjusted everything back on the back.. checked it out for functional damage, and road home.

All in all, I'm just glad to be alive. Anyone know what the actual odds of getting hit are? Hopefully this should lower my odds for the future!!

** I realize this isn't the place for a post like this, but most of the other "forums" didn't really appear to fit either.

John

Glad to hear you are ok.

You really should pursue the owner of the car to prevent them from further incidents like this.

Did you get any witness names/phone numbers?

Watch out for the delayed injuries that may not come out until a few days (whiplash, backpain...)

You may be not feel all of your injuries until the adrenalin and endorphin level goes down in your body.

I would suggest you go see a doctor ASAP just to make sure.

When I was in a bad car accident that did not leave any obvious injuries (rear ended/totalled my car), I really started feeling everything about 2-3 days after the accident.

Hope this does not happen to you.

-Marc
R

Since you know where the car is parked now.. and the police won't help..and the lawyer costs more money. Maybe taking the valve centers out of a tire or two on the car will give you some payback. Let this person who either hit you or is covering for the bozo who did feel some pain. AND if you do it wait until christmas eve or near a holiday for that extra touch. Revenge is a meal best served cold.

heedcase said:

Since you know where the car is parked now.. and the police won't help..and the lawyer costs more money. Maybe taking the valve centers out of a tire or two on the car will give you some payback. Let this person who either hit you or is covering for the bozo who did feel some pain. AND if you do it wait until christmas eve or near a holiday for that extra touch. Revenge is a meal best served cold.

so you are saying mess them up because they messed you up? Doesn't seem right to me. Police seem like the better choice here

alex001 said:

so you are saying mess them up because they messed you up? Doesn't seem right to me. Police seem like the better choice here

For what it's worth, other than having a sore arm I'm perfectly fine. I actually did a 30 mile ride in the mountains yesterday. I have the normal bruises you would expect, but nothing that won't pass.

As far as the person that did it. All I can say is...

Although I'm very confident I got the correct car, there IS a chance that it wasn't the car. I did NOT get a license number, it was too far away before I got a chance to see.

I talked with police on two different occasions, and without having some substantial proof (something that wouldn't involve physically testing the dirt on my shirt to the dirt on the car) there just wasn't much to go on.

Although I'm sure there would be a way to prove it, I'd rather spend my energy on becoming a better biker, a better businessman, etc. I understand the need to do something to stop things like this from happening, but we already HAVE part of that answer. There are laws (or strong suggestions) that road shoulders should be big enough to accomodate bikes, etc.... or that paths be built for them along the roads. In some states that's followed, but at least in THIS part of Georgia, it's not. Some are great, but that particular road is pretty tough. If I were going to spend energy on doing something about the accident, I think I would spend my energy in getting some teeth put into that legislation, then we're ALL happier, and it would feel much better than any revenge ever could.

Aside from that, I sincerely appreciate everyone's thoughts, wishes, and ideas. I'm already off to the next thing which is building a new bike from scratch. I have no idea why I decided to do it (it started with looking for replacement shifters), but it will be fun. Perhaps one of you guys will want to buy it when I get finished..lol.

John,

glad that you're doing ok! I really applaud your attitude - I find it really encouraging.

Too often, we get emotional about something and expend energy getting revenge, which benefits no-one. In the future I will certainly think about my actions/reactions, and ensure that what ever I do is intended for a positive result.

thanks for posting and good luck on building the bike
Keith

alex001 said:

so you are saying mess them up because they messed you up? Doesn't seem right to me. Police seem like the better choice here

It was a tongue in cheek suggestion

What a great attitude...sometimes we can't control what happens but we CAN control how we react...

You're an inspiration!!

Mansmind said:

For what it's worth, other than having a sore arm I'm perfectly fine. I actually did a 30 mile ride in the mountains yesterday. I have the normal bruises you would expect, but nothing that won't pass.

As far as the person that did it. All I can say is...

Although I'm very confident I got the correct car, there IS a chance that it wasn't the car. I did NOT get a license number, it was too far away before I got a chance to see.

I talked with police on two different occasions, and without having some substantial proof (something that wouldn't involve physically testing the dirt on my shirt to the dirt on the car) there just wasn't much to go on.

Although I'm sure there would be a way to prove it, I'd rather spend my energy on becoming a better biker, a better businessman, etc. I understand the need to do something to stop things like this from happening, but we already HAVE part of that answer. There are laws (or strong suggestions) that road shoulders should be big enough to accomodate bikes, etc.... or that paths be built for them along the roads. In some states that's followed, but at least in THIS part of Georgia, it's not. Some are great, but that particular road is pretty tough. If I were going to spend energy on doing something about the accident, I think I would spend my energy in getting some teeth put into that legislation, then we're ALL happier, and it would feel much better than any revenge ever could.

Aside from that, I sincerely appreciate everyone's thoughts, wishes, and ideas. I'm already off to the next thing which is building a new bike from scratch. I have no idea why I decided to do it (it started with looking for replacement shifters), but it will be fun. Perhaps one of you guys will want to buy it when I get finished..lol.

Mansmind said:

For what it's worth, other than having a sore arm I'm perfectly fine. I actually did a 30 mile ride in the mountains yesterday. I have the normal bruises you would expect, but nothing that won't pass.

As far as the person that did it. All I can say is...

Although I'm very confident I got the correct car, there IS a chance that it wasn't the car. I did NOT get a license number, it was too far away before I got a chance to see.

I talked with police on two different occasions, and without having some substantial proof (something that wouldn't involve physically testing the dirt on my shirt to the dirt on the car) there just wasn't much to go on.

Although I'm sure there would be a way to prove it, I'd rather spend my energy on becoming a better biker, a better businessman, etc. I understand the need to do something to stop things like this from happening, but we already HAVE part of that answer. There are laws (or strong suggestions) that road shoulders should be big enough to accomodate bikes, etc.... or that paths be built for them along the roads. In some states that's followed, but at least in THIS part of Georgia, it's not. Some are great, but that particular road is pretty tough. If I were going to spend energy on doing something about the accident, I think I would spend my energy in getting some teeth put into that legislation, then we're ALL happier, and it would feel much better than any revenge ever could.

Aside from that, I sincerely appreciate everyone's thoughts, wishes, and ideas. I'm already off to the next thing which is building a new bike from scratch. I have no idea why I decided to do it (it started with looking for replacement shifters), but it will be fun. Perhaps one of you guys will want to buy it when I get finished..lol.

What I try to do in every confrontation with a car that I manage to survive, is talk to the driver. I explain to them what they did wrong and that keep in mind that I could have just as well have been a small child that doesn't have the skills to deal with emrgancy manuevers. The end result would have been a lot more tragic. This point of view usually gets their attention and gives them something to think about.

heedcase said:

Since you know where the car is parked now.. and the police won't help..and the lawyer costs more money. Maybe taking the valve centers out of a tire or two on the car will give you some payback. Let this person who either hit you or is covering for the bozo who did feel some pain. AND if you do it wait until christmas eve or near a holiday for that extra touch. Revenge is a meal best served cold.

Not that vengence is a good thing, but...just taking the valve centers out allows them to be replaced. If you are strong enough take a set of vise grips and pull the whole valve stem out.:eek: It is especially effective to leave them right by the tire. It's pretty funny to see someone try to reinsert them from the outside in.:p

lpschafer said:

What I try to do in every confrontation with a car that I manage to survive, is talk to the driver. I explain to them what they did wrong and that keep in mind that I could have just as well have been a small child that doesn't have the skills to deal with emrgancy manuevers. The end result would have been a lot more tragic. This point of view usually gets their attention and gives them something to think about.

Yes, I would have really loved to have been able to do that. Unfortunately it really wasn't possible at the time. I have a feeling however...

that the person was probably shaking in their shoes when the police walked in. That's not as good as actually getting to discuss it, but at least they'll have to sit back and think about what they did (at least I hope).