Poll

Roughly how many incident-free miles had you cycled before you were last "in collision" with a motor vehicle?

Less than 1000 miles
1001-5000 miles
5001-10000 miles
10001-20000 miles
20001-30000 miles
30001-40000 miles
40001-50000 miles
More than that
It hasn't happened yet

Author Topic: The "have you been knocked off" poll  (Read 178438 times)

Re: The "have you been knocked off" poll
« Reply #75 on: 22 June, 2010, 09:01:20 pm »
I had an idiot on a club run run into the back of me but have never had an incident with a motor vehicle. All 7 offs since December were ice or clipless moments and my gore in New Zealand was bike failure.
But then- I don't ride in cities very often, so there's less cars who might hit me!

Once. In quite a few years.

grayo59

Re: The "have you been knocked off" poll
« Reply #76 on: 25 July, 2010, 07:32:36 pm »
Once in 1990. Car turned in front of me one July Friday evening as I was going downhill at about 20 plus mph. He stopped, admitted fault and in his mitigation said I "came out of the sun" which was true. I went over the top of his Volvo and spent the night in hospital with gravel rash and bruises.

Got £750 compo: for bike and clothes (£150) two days off work (£100 net) plus pain and suffering (£500).

Pedaldog.

  • Heedlessly impulsive, reckless, rash.
  • The Madcap!
Re: The "have you been knocked off" poll
« Reply #77 on: 25 July, 2010, 07:44:20 pm »
Long ago in the mists of time.  I was 15 years old and cycling down the Norfolk coast on my (Proper) Claude Butler with the weinmann brakes, campag gears etc and I was just coming to some traffic lights in Caister when a bus overtook me, I didn't undercut him, and knocked me onto the grass verge where there was a trough that my front wheel locked into at about 150 mph. It buggered the wheel and forks and kinked the downtube so badly that it wasn't worth trying to repair. I took it to Woodrupps in Leeds and they told me to keep the bits and bin the bike. Since then I've had a few offs caused by motorists, throwing things or making me take evasive action, but not actually been Knocked off since then.
You touch my Coffee and I'll slap you so hard, even Google won't be able to find you!

Toptripster

Re: The "have you been knocked off" poll
« Reply #78 on: 28 July, 2010, 12:26:32 am »
I answered "not yet", though I was sideswiped by an inattentive motorist in North London a couple of weeks ago I was tootling along well within a cycle lane when she caught my handlebars a resounding blow with the wing mirror of her black Nova which sent me wobbling all over the road, but somehow managed to stay upright.  Scared the bejesus out of me, and she obviously knew she'd hit me from the loud noise, but she didn't even slow down, though her kids were all staring out of the back window open mouthed...

citoyen

  • Occasionally rides a bike
Re: The "have you been knocked off" poll
« Reply #79 on: 28 July, 2010, 10:29:46 am »
she didn't even slow down, though her kids were all staring out of the back window open mouthed...

Did you get her number? That sounds to me like "failing to stop" and should be reported to the police. It doesn't matter that you didn't come off. Her next victim might not be so lucky.

d.
"The future's all yours, you lousy bicycles."

Re: The "have you been knocked off" poll
« Reply #80 on: 28 July, 2010, 10:31:26 am »
she didn't even slow down, though her kids were all staring out of the back window open mouthed...

Did you get her number? That sounds to me like "failing to stop" and should be reported to the police. It doesn't matter that you didn't come off. Her next victim might not be so lucky.

d.


If there's no damage it doesn't need to be reported.

citoyen

  • Occasionally rides a bike
Re: The "have you been knocked off" poll
« Reply #81 on: 28 July, 2010, 10:34:07 am »
If there's no damage it doesn't need to be reported.

True, but how do you know there's no damage if you don't stop and check?

d.
"The future's all yours, you lousy bicycles."

clarion

  • Tyke
Re: The "have you been knocked off" poll
« Reply #82 on: 28 July, 2010, 11:44:53 am »
If you think there might be damage or injury, you should stop.  Thanks to fuzzy for sending the relevant link to me on that score.
Getting there...

Regulator

  • That's Councillor Regulator to you...
Re: The "have you been knocked off" poll
« Reply #83 on: 28 July, 2010, 01:04:11 pm »
she didn't even slow down, though her kids were all staring out of the back window open mouthed...

Did you get her number? That sounds to me like "failing to stop" and should be reported to the police. It doesn't matter that you didn't come off. Her next victim might not be so lucky.

d.


If there's no damage it doesn't need to be reported.

Not correct.

As Clarion says, you have a duty to stop to ascertain whether there is damage or injury.  If there is injury it must be reported.  If there is damage, then it depends on the nature of the damage and who owns what is damaged as to whether it has to be reported.
Quote from: clarion
I completely agree with Reg.

Green Party Councillor

Re: The "have you been knocked off" poll
« Reply #84 on: 28 July, 2010, 01:18:18 pm »
10,000 miles or so I reckon - four years ago I was doored as I filtered between two lanes of traffic.  Chap in the back of an elderly (and I suspect uninsured) Micra in the right hand lane got out without looking, knackering the front end of my bike. I escaped with bruises, although I left an impressive dent in the bus he knocked me into.

He thrust £60 at me and pretended not to speak english.  I decided that was probably that, since the driver had buggered off on the pretence of going to park up, and took the cash.

No other offs caused by motor vehicles before or since, although plenty of sticky moments. 

Ray 6701

  • SO @ T
    • Tamworth cycling club
Re: The "have you been knocked off" poll
« Reply #85 on: 16 September, 2010, 11:24:54 am »
About 10 years ago some numpty managed to hit me from behind & I removed his wing mirror with my forearm.  He did this despite the fact that we were on a dual carriagway & there was no other traffic.  It didn't hurt at the time & I had managed to stay on the bike so we left it at that.  It bloody hurt later at work though  >:(

Edit:  Just remembered a second incident, between Tatenhill & Barton under Needwood there is a dog leg bend & a car tried to overtake us on the 1st corner, there was a car coming the other way so he moved in towards Bob who was just ahead of me.  Bob banked the bike over as far as he could but eventually his front wheel went as it was wet, as bob was sliding along the road I tried to bunny hop his bike but hit his front fork & went off the side off the road, straight over the bars superman style & hit a steel fence ribs 1st.  The car just buggered off.  I had to fix Bobs bike as his front brakes had locked, we then had to ride the 15 or so miles back, Bob had injured his right hand & I had bruised my ribs.  It's amazing how these things don't really hurt that much when they happen but after the adrenaline has gone, Ouch.

Could you change my vote from 30 - 40 to 10 - 20 please.
SR 2010/11/12/13/14/15
RRTY. PBP. LeJoG 1400. LEL.




welshwheels

  • stop eating cheeseburgers big boy!!!!
Re: The "have you been knocked off" poll
« Reply #86 on: 25 September, 2010, 10:07:11 am »
i have had 2 accidents in the last 10 years : 1 a elderly driver took me and 4 cycling friends off in 1 go he hit the four of us from behind !!! we were riding on a B road on a long climb in single file he hit me first i fractured my wrist smashed his wing mirror and passenger front window . as he hit us he must have steered left in to my friends resulting in the next rider having a broken hip .ouch !! and and the rider after him a broken leg!! as you can imagine police and ambulance were called .the driver said he did not see us !!!!! >:( >:(   
accident no 2 : (my fault) !!!
while out training (I used to fancy myself as a time trialist ) on a 25 mile loop i was going well on a late 90's bianchi in celeste green me in full kelme green team kit  :demon: a ford escort had stoped to turn right in front of me i did not see him at all straight in to the back  of him at 25 / 26 mph i was clipped in and landed on the roof of the car yes kermit the frog was airborne !!! i was in agony bruised ribs and battered pride . Driver did not know what was going on i went mental called him everything while on top off his car still cliped in !!!! finally got down not much damage to car ! gave him name and address to make a claim to cover damage to car and he did not bother !! happy days  ;D ps i stll rode home grrr :)
struggling up hills since 1981 !!!

border-rider

Re: The "have you been knocked off" poll
« Reply #87 on: 25 September, 2010, 10:29:59 am »
I took the door off a bright green Fiesta in 1982  - late for a lecture I was hammering into university down a hill and moved into the turn-left lane just as the driver decided to make a high-speed exit from his parked car. The hinges broke and I landed on the bonnet, slid down and ended up standing upright on the road in front of the car, uninjured.  Impressive. The driver's insurance paid for a new frame, though these days I think I'd be a bit more aware of the dangers of doors and would have been further out.

In 1990 I got comprehensively taken out in Leeds - again flying downhill, to go home at lunchtime from work to feed a poorly hedgehog. An old duffer turned right across my path suddenly and without indicating. The first I knew of it was the front of the car swinging across, and I tried to get round but didn't make it.  After taking me out - I flew through the air and anded in the road some distance away - he lost control and ran into a bus stop.  Loads of witnesses, including the police car that was behind me and the ambulance behind that that too me to hospital.  The car driver was successfully prosecuted for careless driving.  The hedgehog died :(

I still have residual back troubles from that one, 20 years later.

No other car-related offs I can recall in 30-odd years of cycling.  Plenty when I've fallen off due to my own incompetence though :)

EMnut

  • 30 inches and lower
Re: The "have you been knocked off" poll
« Reply #88 on: 20 October, 2010, 10:49:23 am »
I'll try and estimate the mile thing....

1984-1992, est average 500 miles a year (wasn't really into it then)
1992, So after 4000 miles, hit and run on roundabout at end of Marston Road Oxford, bike written off (a Raleigh 531 with el cheapo bits to get me to pub and back), car driver sped off, I had to walk home carrying my wrecked bike. On the plus side I bought a decent bike and got more into cycling.

1992-1995, est average 2000 miles a year
1996-1999, long commute + bike computer, so notched 6000 miles per year
1999, 24,000 miles - drink driver hit me head on in Cape Town at 6pm, he was on the wrong side of the road. Landed on the bonnet, helmet broke in half. Other than bent forks and destroyed wheel bike seemed OK. Drink driving was very common, and police would not have been interested (!), and as driver was apologetic and offered to pay for damage wasn't much I could do. But frame was cracked in impact and failed a couple of years later (was told that bike was beyond repair at local bike shop). It was a 90s Trek 920 MTB, one of the best bikes I ever had :-(

rogerzilla

  • When n+1 gets out of hand
Re: The "have you been knocked off" poll
« Reply #89 on: 20 October, 2010, 08:16:46 pm »
You can now change your vote (for those who've been SMIDSYed recently).
Hard work sometimes pays off in the end, but laziness ALWAYS pays off NOW.

Re: The "have you been knocked off" poll
« Reply #90 on: 12 December, 2010, 09:55:40 pm »
A van drove into the back of me at a large roundabout...1.5 miles into my tour to the Lake District >:( And I've not had much luck touring the Lakes since - injury last time.

clarion

  • Tyke
Re: The "have you been knocked off" poll
« Reply #91 on: 13 December, 2010, 12:40:32 pm »
:(
Getting there...


Re: The "have you been knocked off" poll
« Reply #93 on: 13 December, 2010, 06:10:44 pm »
Two crashes involving cars.
47 yrs ago I was going north along Kirkcaldy High Street when a car door opened suddenly and I ended sitting on the drivers knee. He got a fright (good) and I was fine.
10yrs ago I was riding home from Edinburgh on a wide single carraigeway with no other traffic when a speeding car hit me from behind. The first I new of it was the sound of his wing mirror bouncing along the road after it had hit my thigh(I've got big muscles). Apart from the shock I was unhurt but an inch or two closer and I would not be writing this. Surprise surprise he didnae stop. Police were very simpathetic and said they would check at scrappies and garages for anyone looking for a new red BMW wing mirror. Unfortunately the F***ing B wasnae found.

Paul

  • L'enfer, c'est les autos.
Re: The "have you been knocked off" poll
« Reply #94 on: 12 January, 2011, 09:38:01 pm »
I've ticked 30001 - 40000 miles, but that's a very rough estimate. The incidents were (roughly) 12 years apart, in a period where I did more cycling than now, but even so, 30001 might be more than I actually cycled between them.

The 1st incident was being hit by the nearside wing mirror on a van. I wasn't knocked off, but I had to pull up to gather my thoughts. While doing so, the driver turned around and parked across the road from me. This being my first such incident, I didn't know what to expect of each other. I realise now that the driver coming back (eventually) to check me out might be a bit unusual.

But it gets better, because while we were discussing how I was, a police car pulled up and asked me whether the driver had interfered with my vehicle! I told him we were okay. Having squared things with the van driver, we went our ways.

12 (or so) years later, I was knocked off by a complete cock who almost overtook me (while I was in a 'bicycle lane') and then pulled in so that I had the 'kerb or death' option. Long story short: the police (who didn't happen to be passing by this time) were slow and - ultimately - ineffectual this time.

Still, given what I read on here most weeks, I'm doing pretty well.
What's so funny about peace, love and understanding?

Re: The "have you been knocked off" poll
« Reply #95 on: 12 January, 2011, 11:01:29 pm »
My two collisions were in relatively quick succession, the same year almost I think, out of 35+ years of cycling. Hence a strict answer to the question, which asks how many miles before, not since, my last accident is "not many". However, I've probably done 30-40,000 miles since then, and I may well be heading for 100,000 miles, which for two accidents is not too bad.

I'm not sure how to answer, therefore.

Nightfly

Re: The "have you been knocked off" poll
« Reply #96 on: 15 January, 2011, 02:07:38 am »
I was knocked down again today. They got my right side this time. It hurts. See my other post for the details. Go carefully there are f*cking idiots out there.

Re: The "have you been knocked off" poll
« Reply #97 on: 15 January, 2011, 08:56:51 am »
I voted not happened yet because there wasn't a 'only once and that was when I was 15, 50 years ago'.  Self preservation kicked in and I've not been hit since - 300,000 motorcycle miles all over Europe and probably same again in UK and similar in cars.  I've also managed to avoid cycling in big cities during rush hour but have mega sympathy for those who either have no (or make the) choice to do so.

LindaG

Re: The "have you been knocked off" poll
« Reply #98 on: 02 February, 2011, 03:40:53 pm »
Well, I'm still in the 'most knocked off' category, and have been knocked off accordingly.

I need to get some miles in and get myself into a lower-risk category, that's all there is to it!

Re: The "have you been knocked off" poll
« Reply #99 on: 02 February, 2011, 03:46:02 pm »
Whenever I read this thread, I always think the OP should say 'since' and not 'before'. I struggle to understand the sentence as it stands  ???

Getting back on a bike does sound a great idea Linda but I'm sure it will take courage, good luck!