my first accident...

"Giles Paterson" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

.... Thankfully the bike is undamaged an I only have a bruise on my left ankle, and the driver was
very apologetic about the whole thing, so I let him off with the recommendation that he look where
he is going in future.

I had an accident where I only had a grazed thumb, but the next day I could not move my arm at all
(severe spraining), I was in agony. Just as well I got the drivers details or I would have forfieted
a £1300 claim.

Giles Paterson said:

Anyway, one of the on coming drivers decided to be helpful and flashed his lights to signal that I
could turn right. However there was another cyclist coming up on his inside so I didn't turn
immediately. Unfortunately the driver of the car in the side street decided that he was going to
pull out, straight into the side of me. :-(

There was a discussion here not long ago about the inadvisability such signals and the confusion
they cause.

pk

Adrian Boliston said:

"Giles Paterson" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...
=20 20

Quoted message said:

.... Thankfully the bike is undamaged an I only have a bruise on my left ankle, and the driver was
very apologetic about the whole thing=

,

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

so I let him off with the recommendation that he look where he is going=

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

in future.

=20 20
I had an accident where I only had a grazed thumb, but the next day I c=

ould not

Quoted message said:

move my arm at all (severe spraining), I was in agony. Just as well I =

got the

Quoted message said:

drivers details or I would have forfieted a =A31300 claim.
=20

damn and blast.

The one time I really needed to be thinking straight and I was acting=20 like a fool.

I'll just have to hope my ankle doesn't swell up overnight. It's already =

eased off a bit so hopefully I'll be okay.

--=20 Giles Paterson

[to reply, replace nospam with my first name]

In article <[email hidden]>, [email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

Anyway, one of the on coming drivers decided to be helpful and flashed his lights to signal that I
could turn right. However there was another cyclist coming up on his inside so I didn't turn
immediately. Unfortunately the driver of the car in the side street decided that he was going to
pull out, straight into the side of me. :-(

Good to hear you are okay but it might have been that the signal was to the other driver or the
other driver interpreted it that way. Of course that does not in any way excuse the driver for not
looking properly before pulling out. An ex-colleague in Oxford was injured in just this sort of
incident, in her case she was the cyclist coming up the car's inside and the driver that hit you hit
her instead.

Colin

G;lad that you only sustained a minor injury - It does take prescence of mind to get insurance details and witnesses - it sounds a bit petty to claim for a swollen ankle but if cyclists are to get the respect they deserve then cyclists should always claim for such injuries and maybe this will get the message across to motorists that they will get hit in the pocket for such incidents .
Anyway no real harm done so be happy bro!

"Giles Paterson" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

This morning whilst cycling in to work in Twickenham, I had my first accident since starting to
commute by bike a year and a half ago.

I was waiting to turn right into the side street where my office is but was prevented from
doing so by the queue of on coming traffic. There was also a car waiting to turn right out of
the side street.

For those that are interested, the road in question is here: tinyurl.comnnguOpen ↗

Anyway, one of the on coming drivers decided to be helpful and flashed his lights to signal that I
could turn right. However there was another cyclist coming up on his inside so I didn't turn
immediately.

<snip>

Reminds me of a near accident I had in Richmond Park the other day. I was cycling in through
Kingston Gate, and had taken the middle of the road and had my right hand stuck out. Was just about
to cut right when two cycles overtook me on the side I wanted to go. It was pretty lucky that I had
done a quick check, despite knowing there were bllx all vehicles behind me. I almost wish the first
had hit me, so I could've given him a bloody kicking. The second got a mouthful of abuse. "I'm
bloody indicating".

"Giles Paterson" <[email hidden]> wrote in message

url='news:'news:/url... Adrian Boliston said:

"Giles Paterson" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

.... Thankfully the bike is undamaged an I only have a bruise on my left ankle, and the driver was
very apologetic about the whole thing, so I let him off with the recommendation that he look where
he is going in future.

I had an accident where I only had a grazed thumb, but the next day I

could not

Quoted message said:

move my arm at all (severe spraining), I was in agony. Just as well I got

the

Quoted message said:

drivers details or I would have forfieted a £1300 claim.

damn and blast.

The one time I really needed to be thinking straight and I was acting like a fool.

I'll just have to hope my ankle doesn't swell up overnight. It's already eased off a bit so
hopefully I'll be okay.

--
Giles Paterson

[to reply, replace nospam with my first name]

Don't forget readers, if this happens to you, firstly make sure there aren't any other vehicles
coming at you, then lie in the road, very still, until someone comes over to make sure you aren't
dead. Then ask them to call an ambulance or paramedics. Not only does it guarantee you a morning off
work and a whole load of sympathy when you finally get there, but the police will also turn up and
the accident will become part of the statistics. Eventually, if we get enough 'statistics', someone
might decide to spend some money on re-educating car drivers into considering bikes in their
.0001second scan of the situation. Who knows, you might also get some decent financial compensation
out of it as well, especially if you can get your friendly LBS to confirm that the frame of your
extremely expensive tourer is bent beyond repair!! Fraud ?..maybe, but hey, it could brighten up an
otherwise depressing day ;-) Dave.
p.s. Glad to hear you survived (apparently) relatively unscathed. Hope there's nothing nasty waiting
to make itself known.

Giles Paterson said:

Adrian Boliston said:

"Giles Paterson" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

.... Thankfully the bike is undamaged an I only have a bruise on my left ankle, and the driver
was very apologetic about the whole thing, so I let him off with the recommendation that he look
where he is going in future.

I had an accident where I only had a grazed thumb, but the next day I could not

Quoted message said:

move my arm at all (severe spraining), I was in agony. Just as well I got the drivers details or
I would have forfieted a £1300 claim.

damn and blast.

The one time I really needed to be thinking straight and I was acting like a fool.

Don't blame yourself. It's very hard to think straight when you're shocked and the
adrenalin's pumping.

--
[email hidden] (Simon Brooke) jasmine.org.uk~simonOpen ↗

;; If you're doing this for fun, do what seems fun. If you're ;; doing it for money, stop
now. ;; Rainer Deyke

Dave wrote:

<snip>

Quoted message said:

Don't forget readers, if this happens to you, firstly make sure there aren't any other vehicles
coming at you, then lie in the road,

Yes, I realise now that I did exactly the wrong thing, however in my defense there was a bus coming
up behind me so I don't think lying in the road would have been advisable.

The thing that annoys me most is that I have been following the recent urc discussions concerning
what to do in the event of an accident, but I still ended up ignoring all that sage advice and
became yet another non-statistic.

Oh well, we live* and learn

[* depending upon severity of accident of course]

--
Giles Paterson

[to reply, replace nospam with my first name]

"Giles Paterson" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Dave wrote:

<snip>

Quoted message said:

Don't forget readers, if this happens to you, firstly make sure there

aren't

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

any other vehicles coming at you, then lie in the road,

Yes, I realise now that I did exactly the wrong thing, however in my defense there was a bus
coming up behind me so I don't think lying in the road would have been advisable.

Definitely not advisable in your case then Giles...nuff said ;-)

Quoted message said:

The thing that annoys me most is that I have been following the recent urc discussions concerning
what to do in the event of an accident, but I still ended up ignoring all that sage advice and
became yet another non-statistic.

Post-accident is a strange time mentally. All reasoned thought generally goes out of the window. If
I find myself in that situation (and I seriously hope I don't), I think I might use the adrenalin
rush to convert the 4 wheeled vehicle into a two wheeled ;-)....might as well make some use of it
besides masking the pain.

Quoted message said:

Oh well, we live* and learn

Ah, that's where I'm going wrong.....

Quoted message said:

[* depending upon severity of accident of course]

--
Giles Paterson

[to reply, replace nospam with my first name]

Dave.

Giles Paterson tried to scribble ...

Quoted message said:

Anyway, one of the on coming drivers decided to be helpful and flashed his lights to signal that I
could turn right. However there was

Unfortunately, according to the highway code, flashing lights is _NOT_ an invitation to turn across
the front of another car. Also, as there were other vehicles waiting to turn at the same junction,
how do you know the flash was meant for you and not, as it appears someone else also thought, for
someone else ?

TBH this sounds all your own fault .. though this doesn't excuse the dickwad driving into you .. 😉

Glad you weren't hurt .. 😉

--
Digweed '79 Beamish RL 250 '97 Discovery 300 Tdi '95 Dyna-Tech CroMo Comp 😉

"Digweed .. 😉" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Giles Paterson tried to scribble ...

Quoted message said:

Anyway, one of the on coming drivers decided to be helpful and flashed his lights to signal that
I could turn right. However there was

Unfortunately, according to the highway code, flashing lights is _NOT_ an invitation to turn
across the front of another car. Also, as there were other vehicles waiting to turn at the same
junction, how do you know the flash was meant for you and not, as it appears someone else also
thought, for someone else ?

TBH this sounds all your own fault .. though this doesn't excuse the

dickwad

Quoted message said:

driving into you .. 😉

Err - he is standing still in the middle of the road, the car pulls out into his side, and it's
his fault?

Here's the bit you snipped:

Quoted message said:

However there was another cyclist coming up on his inside so I didn't turn immediately.
Unfortunately the driver of the car in the side street decided that he was going to pull out,
straight into the side of me. :-(

Sounds to me that your advice about flashing lights applies to the car driver, not the OP, who was
doing the right thing by ignoring it.

clive

Digweed .. ;) said:

TBH this sounds all your own fault .. though this doesn't excuse the dickwad driving into
you .. 😉

As Giles didn't move, how can he be responsible for

The driver coming towards him flashing

or

The driver to his right driving into him?

In short as he did nothing but wait for the traffic coming towards him how can it be his fault?

--
Marc Stickers,decals,membership,cards, T shirts, signs etc for clubs and associations of all types.
jaceeprint.demon.co.ukjaceeprint.demon.co.ukOpen ↗

Digweed .. ;) said:

Unfortunately, according to the highway code, flashing lights is _NOT_ an invitation to turn
across the front of another car. Also, as there were other vehicles waiting to turn at the same
junction, how do you know the flash was meant for you and not, as it appears someone else also
thought, for someone else ?

Yes, I'm well aware of what the highway code has to say on the matter, and I _didn't_ turn right as
a result of the oncoming driver flashing their lights, especially since there was an oncoming
cyclist also.

I was waiting for a safe gap in the traffic before turning right when the driver in the side street
decided to pull out.

Quoted message said:

TBH this sounds all your own fault .. though this doesn't excuse the dickwad driving into
you .. 😉

I disagree that this was my fault as I was stationary at the time. Although perhaps I am at fault
because if I had turned right into the path of an oncoming cyclist then the car pulling out of the
side street would have missed me. Of course then I would be responsible for knocking another cyclist
off their bike...

Quoted message said:

Glad you weren't hurt .. 😉

Thanks :-) my ankle is no longer sore and I took the bike out for a quick spin during my lunch break
to double check that is was okay, which it is.

--
Giles Paterson

[to reply, replace nospam with my first name]

"Digweed .. 😉" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Unfortunately, according to the highway code, flashing lights is _NOT_ an invitation to turn
across the front of another car. Also, as there were other vehicles waiting to turn at the same
junction, how do you know the flash was meant for you and not, as it appears someone else also
thought, for someone else ?

TBH this sounds all your own fault .. though this doesn't excuse the

dickwad

Quoted message said:

driving into you .. 😉

Flashing headlights is a warning -- as such it alerts you to the actions or intentions of the
driver flashing.

OP interpreted this as an indication that the 'flasher' was leaving a space and, possibly, as an
invitation to proceed. He didn't do so -- aware that another road user had not indicated they were
equally relaxed to have him cross their path.

As he was (I believe) on the main road turning into a minor road he had priority over the dipstick
who proceeded to knock him off his bike.

OK -- the OP might perhaps have been more aware of the movements of said dipstick -- but I cannot
see where he did much wrong. He had priority over dipstick, flasher had ceded priority and he waited
for the other road user who had priority over him.

T

Quoted message said:

The second got a mouthful of abuse. "I'm bloody indicating".

YOU ANIMAL!! lol. 😉
--
MS Jedi

Giles Paterson tried to scribble ...

Quoted message said:

Digweed .. ;) said:

Unfortunately, according to the highway code, flashing lights is _NOT_ an invitation to turn
across the front of another car. Also, as there were other vehicles waiting to turn at the same
junction, how do you know the flash was meant for you and not, as it appears someone else also
thought, for someone else ?

Yes, I'm well aware of what the highway code has to say on the matter, and I _didn't_ turn right
as a result of the oncoming driver flashing their lights, especially since there was an oncoming
cyclist also.

I was waiting for a safe gap in the traffic before turning right when the driver in the side
street decided to pull out.

OK, my bad .. I mis-read it as though you had moved then stopped.

My apologies .. 😉

--
Digweed '79 Beamish RL 250 '97 Discovery 300 Tdi '95 Dyna-Tech CroMo Comp 😉

Tony W said:

Flashing headlights is a warning -- as such it alerts you to the actions or intentions of the
driver flashing.

NOOOOOOO!!!!

The flashing of headlights's only proper function is to indicate the vehicles prescence, anything
else is telepathy based.

--
Marc Stickers,decals,membership,cards, T shirts, signs etc for clubs and associations of all types.
jaceeprint.demon.co.ukjaceeprint.demon.co.ukOpen ↗

"MS Jedi" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

The second got a mouthful of abuse. "I'm bloody indicating".

YOU ANIMAL!! lol. 😉

Well, being a fellow cyclist I didn't want to call them anything too harsh.
🙂

There was probably "you F***ing idiot" tucked on at the end! But they had gone past at that point.