Hit by a car?

I have been lucky. I have never been hit by a car. I have had numerous close calls. I usually fear dogs running under my wheels more than cars.

There are all sorts of risks involved with cycling. Your front tire could puncture while descending, leaving you with little stopping power and nearly zero control. I have had that happen a couple of times while bombing canyons. Hitting gravel while leaning the bike over in a turn will cause you to crash so fast you won't know what happened. I lost track of how many times that has happened to me. Then there are crashes during group rides...

The good news is that if I remember the figures right, only about 800 people in the U.S. get killed each year while cycling, and I think two thirds of them are children or are riding in the dark. If you are aware of your surroundings and don't do anything stupid it is fairly safe. (Note to self: Cornering too fast when you don't know if there is gravel in a corner is stupid.) Ride defensively at all times.

NickDavid said:

Wondering if anyone on here has been hit by a car while riding? Are there serious risks involved (other than being hit by a car, lol)? Since I'm just about to get started cycling, I'd like to know what to expect. I see cyclists all the time in Northern Jersey and wonder. The roads up here can be narrow and pretty crappy sometimes.

Do the tires/rims hold up well to uneven or crappy roads too?

I hate to say it but the chance of being hit by some twit in a car is fairly high. In the last 5 years I have been actually hit twice and been nearly hit a number of times.

I am sure that others will chirp in with their views on this matter but here are a few suggestions in regards to riding on the road:
• Be assertive. Don’t let the cars intimidate you.
• Remember you deserve to be on the road as well; by this I mean ride out from the gutter and give yourself a real space from the edge of the road.
• Assume that all car drivers are blind and stupid. They will not see you no matter how bright your clothes or how much effort you put into being seen.
• Carry ID, phone and money. It will help on that lousy day when it worst happens.
• Saftey in numbers. When ever possible ride in a group or where there are lots of witnesses.

Karma is your friend, obey the road rules and those that dont will get what they deserve. A couple of days ago a idiot did not see me and turned left right in front of me without indicating, looking, etc. and nearly took me out. Fortunately I managed to go with the turn and for my troubles got abused by the driver for holding on to her side mirror. As I was about to give her a mouthful in reply the cops in the unmarked police car that was behind us stepped up to take car of the situation. 😄 The end result was it was the driving without due care and failing to indicate was enough to result in the loss of licences. She make not like cyclists that much any more (probably never did) but at least she wont be on the road for the next year. :p

[font=Comic Sans MS]I persoanlly have never been hit by a car,i have been hit by branches,ridders and the ground a couple of times .A friend of mine was seriouslly injured when hit by a car door of a stationary car when the driver opeaned the door as he was passing.[/font]

JC....if you are talking about Canberra then you would expect that considering the mentality of a lot of the drivers over there. I lived/worked there for 3 years and could not believe the GENERAL standard of driving. Perth is bad, but IMO Canberra is worse.

By the way, the cops in Canberra are some of the best I've seen (Biased) when it comes to traffic work.

Skull said:

JC....if you are talking about Canberra then you would expect that considering the mentality of a lot of the drivers over there. I lived/worked there for 3 years and could not believe the GENERAL standard of driving. Perth is bad, but IMO Canberra is worse.

By the way, the cops in Canberra are some of the best I've seen (Biased) when it comes to traffic work.

If you think Canberra is bad try Adelaide. Drivers think that your are worth points or money there. For the most part the bad driver is the exception here rather then the rule.

As for the cops I whole heartly agree. they are friendly, well trained and bloody observent. try not indicating or speeding in Canberra and you might get away with it once or twice but before you know it a unmarked (less then 1/3 of the cars here are marked) car will light you up. Keep up the great work AFP!!!

jcjordan said:

I am sure that others will chirp in with their views on this matter but here are a few suggestions in regards to riding on the road:
• Be assertive. Don’t let the cars intimidate you.
• Remember you deserve to be on the road as well; by this I mean ride out from the gutter and give yourself a real space from the edge of the road.
• Assume that all car drivers are blind and stupid. They will not see you no matter how bright your clothes or how much effort you put into being seen.
• Carry ID, phone and money. It will help on that lousy day when it worst happens.
• Saftey in numbers. When ever possible ride in a group or where there are lots of witnesses.

I totally agree. I've been hit twice this year alone and had many more close encounters. Luckily I've only sustained one serious injury, but have had to replace my wheels on several occasions.

Worse place to ride is definately Sydney (roads are bad, traffic is worse and drivers way too aggressive). And the worse times to ride is Late Night Shopping nights and Friday/Saturday party nights. The really bad drivers seem to crawl out of the woodwork at these times.

All can can add is to beware of taxis, P-Platers and reversing cars from driveways. They've seem to be the bane of my misery[img]cycling.net.aumad.gifOpen ↗[/img]

I got hit last year by some [censored] yapping away on her cell phone.... just decided to pull past me and turn right in front of me without signalling. I hit the binders and turned with her, but went into the side of her car. I flipped her off and gave her some profanities, and then noticed she was kinda hot... so I wasn't too [censored] in the end.

I got bumped at a red light by a minivan. I turned around with violent intentions until I realized it was my cousin, who thought it was funny. Ha. Ha.

I have been lurking on this board for a couple of days now and had to chime in on this topic....

Just yesterday I was coming up to an intersection... no cars coming across but a car was coming up from behind me. They got right next to me as I was going through the intersection and started turning right! I slammed on the brakes as they turned in front of me and slammed on their brakes... like they didnt see me. They quickly continued through the turn and of course I raised my hand at them so they knew I was mad.....

some people dont even care about bikes...