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 178352 times)

rogerzilla

  • When n+1 gets out of hand
The "have you been knocked off" poll
« on: 24 April, 2010, 08:49:13 pm »
Prompted by Jurek's off.  Doesn't matter who was at fault in the collision, so if you went into the back of a parked car, include it.

EDIT: to make this scientific, I'd need to adjust for location, type of roads travelled, typical time of day, hi-viz, lighting, years of cycling experience, I'm paranoid/I am like Colonel Kilgore in "Apocalypse Now" and I know I am going to get through this without a scratch yadda yadda, but it's years since I worked with multivariate linear regressions and I would need a sample size as big as the CTC.
Hard work sometimes pays off in the end, but laziness ALWAYS pays off NOW.

Re: The "have you been knocked off" poll
« Reply #1 on: 24 April, 2010, 08:53:10 pm »
Nearly 2000 miles ago, just before new years eve  :(

eck

  • Gonna ride my bike until I get home...
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Re: The "have you been knocked off" poll
« Reply #2 on: 24 April, 2010, 08:55:49 pm »
About 25 years ago, crossroads of Queens Road and Cheetham Hill Road in Mancs. I was riding straight on, car turning right T-boned me. According to the driver's defence, I rode my bike into her car.
Sideways.    ???  :facepalm:
It's a bit weird, but actually quite wonderful.

Adam

  • It'll soon be summer
    • Charity ride Durness to Dover 18-25th June 2011
Re: The "have you been knocked off" poll
« Reply #3 on: 24 April, 2010, 09:05:11 pm »
I've only been in collision with a car twice (different ones).  The first was about 29 years ago, cycling into school, when I was distracted by a person of the female persuasion, so that I didn't notice the car parking up in front of me, and rode straight into it, writing off my nice Carlton.  :'(

The other time was last year, so less than 5,000 miles since, when someone pulled out in front of me and pringled the front wheel. 
“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving.” -Albert Einstein

rogerzilla

  • When n+1 gets out of hand
Re: The "have you been knocked off" poll
« Reply #4 on: 24 April, 2010, 09:07:43 pm »
It's a bit  :o so far.  Please complete the survey even if you're in the "never happened" category - the trouble with these polls is that they're a bit self-selecting.
Hard work sometimes pays off in the end, but laziness ALWAYS pays off NOW.

Re: The "have you been knocked off" poll
« Reply #5 on: 24 April, 2010, 09:08:36 pm »
Apart from an incident about seven years ago, all my offs have been self-inflicted: just me and the road (or some oil, or a pothole, or a tramline, etc), so I don't think they can be included in the poll.
Have you seen my blog? It has words. And pictures! http://ablogofallthingskathy.blogspot.com/

rogerzilla

  • When n+1 gets out of hand
Re: The "have you been knocked off" poll
« Reply #6 on: 24 April, 2010, 09:10:54 pm »
No, this is not the Darwin Award nomination process  ;)
Hard work sometimes pays off in the end, but laziness ALWAYS pays off NOW.

andygates

  • Peroxide Viking
Re: The "have you been knocked off" poll
« Reply #7 on: 24 April, 2010, 09:11:04 pm »
Miles?  I don't think in miles.  2001, Bristol, taxi driver on a roundabout, his fault.  Here: OpenStreetMap

Weather bright and overcast.  Me in Army surplus tat, no spangly special kit of any sort, onna lilac Kirk.  Him with a pair of arguing passengers going at it like only a married African couple can, didn't look.  I know he didn't look because I saw him look as I screamed like a girl.  

Road's not one cyclists use much because it's heavily-trafficked and multi-lane.  It was a quiet day (Sunday morning? It felt like one. Something like that anyway).  He just assumed and made an ass out of my back wheel and the illusion that I'd yell like a proper mountain man when emperiled.
It takes blood and guts to be this cool but I'm still just a cliché.
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Basil

  • Um....err......oh bugger!
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Re: The "have you been knocked off" poll
« Reply #8 on: 24 April, 2010, 09:11:33 pm »
I've absolutely no idea.  I don't have clue how many miles I cycle in any particular year.
About 7 years, I think.

erm.. *thinks*

Hmm, I've voted much too low.
Roger, could you take my vote out of of the 10 - 20 and put it in the 20 - 30, please?
Admission.  I'm actually not that fussed about cake.

Adam

  • It'll soon be summer
    • Charity ride Durness to Dover 18-25th June 2011
Re: The "have you been knocked off" poll
« Reply #9 on: 24 April, 2010, 09:12:56 pm »
It's a bit  :o so far.  Please complete the survey even if you're in the "never happened" category - the trouble with these polls is that they're a bit self-selecting.

Not so sure.  After all, if you did a similar poll for car scrapes, you'd get large numbers as well.  I've had scarier things happen in the car (and the plane now I think about it).
“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving.” -Albert Einstein

rogerzilla

  • When n+1 gets out of hand
Re: The "have you been knocked off" poll
« Reply #10 on: 24 April, 2010, 09:14:55 pm »
Miles?  I don't think in miles.  2001, Bristol, taxi driver on a roundabout, his fault.  Here: OpenStreetMap

Weather bright and overcast.  Me in Army surplus tat, no spangly special kit of any sort, onna lilac Kirk.  Him with a pair of arguing passengers going at it like only a married African couple can, didn't look.  I know he didn't look because I saw him look as I screamed like a girl.  

Road's not one cyclists use much because it's heavily-trafficked and multi-lane.  It was a quiet day (Sunday morning? It felt like one. Something like that anyway).  He just assumed and made an ass out of my back wheel and the illusion that I'd yell like a proper mountain man when emperiled.
I know that junction.  It's the way to Argos Cycles  :)
Hard work sometimes pays off in the end, but laziness ALWAYS pays off NOW.

Zoidburg

Re: The "have you been knocked off" poll
« Reply #11 on: 24 April, 2010, 09:16:25 pm »
Twas a cold dark night in december 2004 IIRC.

A lady pulled out quickly from parked on me, no lights, no indication, no looky.

Not a single thing I could do to avoid it.

Anyone who indulges in picking apart people's technique in this thread shall be cast out BTW - just thought I would mention that before anyone gets all breathless and excited about a chance to show off how well they have memorised some cycling pamphlet or other.

Just think of this thread as an AA meeting and not an intervention.

 ;)

rogerzilla

  • When n+1 gets out of hand
Re: The "have you been knocked off" poll
« Reply #12 on: 24 April, 2010, 09:20:10 pm »
You're not thinking of Cyclecraft, are you?  Some of the stuff in there might get you beaten up around here for impeding the progress of a Saxoful of knuckle-draggers.
Hard work sometimes pays off in the end, but laziness ALWAYS pays off NOW.

citoyen

  • Occasionally rides a bike
Re: The "have you been knocked off" poll
« Reply #13 on: 24 April, 2010, 09:21:52 pm »
Miles?  I don't think in miles.  2001, Bristol, taxi driver on a roundabout, his fault.  Here: OpenStreetMap

For the purposes of this poll, the mileage is more important than the blame - the point is to get an idea of the level of risk of a collision, ie how far would you have to ride a bike before you were statistically likely to get knocked off.

A simple count of how many collisions there have been would just be Daily Mail-esque scaremongering designed to make cycling look dangerous. By giving the context of how many miles were covered to reach that collision count, suddenly the figures don't look so scary. Or at least they shouldn't...

Me? I've never been in a collision with a motor vehicle, unless you count the time I punched the side of a taxi to register my frustration at the inconsiderate way it was being driven.

Plenty of near misses, though.

Not sure of my lifetime mileage to date - probably around 30,000 miles.

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

Auntie Helen

  • 6 Wheels in Germany
Re: The "have you been knocked off" poll
« Reply #14 on: 24 April, 2010, 09:22:44 pm »
16,000ish miles in the last two years and with no serious incidents, let alone being knocked off. Recumbent trikes rule!
My blog on cycling in Germany and eating German cake – http://www.auntiehelen.co.uk


Pippa

  • Busy being fabulous
Re: The "have you been knocked off" poll
« Reply #15 on: 24 April, 2010, 09:27:23 pm »
Prolly about 3000 miles sans incident (apart from, of course, when I fell off due to incompetence) since I started cycling this time last year. I hope to keep cycling incident free.

Jacomus

  • My favourite gender neutral pronoun is comrade
Re: The "have you been knocked off" poll
« Reply #16 on: 24 April, 2010, 09:33:14 pm »
A van turned across the bus lane I was occupying and I rode into the side of it before I could get at the brakes.

No damage to person or property.
"The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity." Amelia Earhart

John Henry

Re: The "have you been knocked off" poll
« Reply #17 on: 24 April, 2010, 09:33:55 pm »
I started mile counting in 1999. Since then I've done around 63,000.

Total damage so far is one sprained wrist and some minor scrapes and bruises. No unplanned contact with other road users of any description.

So far I think I've been very lucky, and I can only hope this continues.  :-\

Basil

  • Um....err......oh bugger!
  • Help me!
Re: The "have you been knocked off" poll
« Reply #18 on: 24 April, 2010, 09:35:59 pm »

For the purposes of this poll, the mileage is more important than the blame - the point is to get an idea of the level of risk of a collision, ie how far would you have to ride a bike before you were statistically likely to get knocked off.


Yeahbut, the question is only how many miles between your last two offs.  (Or am I not reading the question correctly?)

I've been knocked off 4 times in 50 (yes, fifty) years of cycling.  The last two happen to be about 7 years apart.


Edit: I've just remembered a 5th.  ::-)
Admission.  I'm actually not that fussed about cake.

Fixedwheelnut

  • "If it ain't fixed it's broken"
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Re: The "have you been knocked off" poll
« Reply #19 on: 24 April, 2010, 09:36:50 pm »
Mine to date were;
2001 ish car pulled in on me and knocked the bars round, no injury just rolled along.

2003 hit & run but got his number, pulled out from a line of traffic to drive the wrong side of the road to a turning, bruised shoulder and right leg. Bike mudguard and rear wheel damage

2009 car pulled across me, broken finger plus compound dislocation, laceration to chin,  bruised and cut legs, bike written off.

 Four other off's between the last two due to broken handlebars and a patch of diesel.
"Don't stop pedalling"

Re: The "have you been knocked off" poll
« Reply #20 on: 24 April, 2010, 09:53:19 pm »
It was with more than a little trepidation that I ticked the "not happened yet" box.  I don't think I'll ride the bike tomorrow.

Basil

  • Um....err......oh bugger!
  • Help me!
Re: The "have you been knocked off" poll
« Reply #21 on: 24 April, 2010, 09:55:48 pm »
So, you don't want to hear of the couple of times I've cycled into the canal?  :facepalm:
Admission.  I'm actually not that fussed about cake.

Eccentrica Gallumbits

  • Rock 'n' roll and brew, rock 'n' roll and brew...
Re: The "have you been knocked off" poll
« Reply #22 on: 24 April, 2010, 09:58:49 pm »
So, you don't want to hear of the couple of times I've cycled into the canal?  :facepalm:
Oh yes, I do.  ;D
My feminist marxist dialectic brings all the boys to the yard.


Re: The "have you been knocked off" poll
« Reply #23 on: 24 April, 2010, 09:59:05 pm »
Quite amused by Zoidburg's pre-emptive comment there!  My last serious off was a head on with another cyclist, about 1988 I think.  My fault entirely.  I don't think I've yet had an off involving a motor vehicle, though I took off someone's wing mirror off on the motorbike once.
Your Royal Charles are belong to us.

Re: The "have you been knocked off" poll
« Reply #24 on: 24 April, 2010, 10:07:45 pm »
I find the question a little odd. I have a very rough idea of how many miles since, but not much idea of how many before (it was in the 1980s, sometime).