Bad enough to require an ambulance, hospital, and/or lawsuit? A few horror stories and it seems like it happens to everyone all the time. Curious about how prevalent it really is.
How many times? Your fault or the driver’s? Require a new bike? Helmet? Body parts require fixing?
Me - once, driver’s fault, new bike, new helmet, nose job.
Once, Drivers fault, New front wheel and New cell phone from it flying out of my jersey back pocket and shattering. Bruising along the jaw (I guess I can take a punch) an L. Clavicle from impacting against the truck.
I’ve only ever hit pavement because of other bikers. Though I’ve had many near-misses with cars…
about '83 - Bonneville and me on my new Takara road bike. Just scrapes - but I got a new bike out of the deal.
Twice for me. Both driver’s fault. 1st one, settled for just replacing damaged clothing, bar tape. Last one last May. Don’t get hit in Florida! Had a rental car(Dodge Durango, no less) pull out, hit me, to hospital, etc. Finally got the bike repaired 2 weeks ago. Even though I enlisted a lawyer, he’s been absolutely NO help, and I can’t get the DOLLAR RENTAL CAR to even answer about paying my medical. So now the medical people are asking I pay it out of my pocket, or go to collection. Great state, Florida…no fault insurance, so the totally incompetent thrive. Again, we cyclists get so little help.
Once, drivers fault as well. Avoiding the collision I was run into a parking lot girder. New front and rear wheelset, handlebars, shifters, seat. Lost some skin on the arms, shoulder, and legs, but no serious injury, thanks for the most part to my helmet. Nice road rash on that sucker. Funny thing is about a month later me and my buddies were out one night and this chick was like, “how did you get those scars”, referring to my arms of course. When I told her I had a bicycle wreck, she then asked, “poor thing, how old were you?” I told her it was last month and everyone just cracked up. Can grown men not have bike wrecks?
yup. San Diego/Carlsbad --bike lane.
Me vs Toyata Tacoma and 16 year old driver.
100% his fault says me, a witness and the police.
Still in litigation from a year ago July.
Helmet saved my life.
Twice:
Once - My fault totally. In a crit (ok well really far behind the peloton) riding with my head straight down, I went through a stop sign and ran full force into the back of a parked Sprint van. Don’t remember anything from the start of the race until I woke up in the CT Scan room at the trauma center.
As it was COMPLETELY my fault - no lawyer
Second - Start of a training ride, in my aero bars. Full speed ging down a small hill, truck driver pulls out in front of me. Don’t remember if he was stopped or just turning into traffic. Woke up on Body board and went back to same Trauma Ctr. Doc asked if I was making my annual visit. I was two months from competing at this year’s Grand Columbian.
As it was completely the driver’s fault and I had laid out so much time/effort/money for training for the race, I decided to use an attorney.
Broke helmet in both accidents, broke front fork in both accidents, totalled new bike in second accident.
Once. I got my elbow clipped on a 25 mph neighborhood road by a 15 year old kid driving with just a permit. The contact broke my wrist in a couple of places resulting in my hand facing the wrong direction until the surgeon set the bones.
I ended up on the hood of a county cop car last year as he was pulling out of McDonalds driveway eating an Egg McMuffin. Scuffed brake hood and bar tape. No injuries. Copper said, “I didn’t see you.” My reply, “That’s what they all say.” I figure I’ve got a “get out of a ticket free” card coming if he ever pulls me over.
Three times each time it was the car drivers fault, but that doesn’t make it hurt any less.
Number 1
Riding down the road approaching an intersection, the car overtakes me very close to the intersection and then hangs a right turn just in front of me. Minor injuries, no bike damage. No ambulance required.
Number 2.
Same as number 1, but the road was slightly downhill so the speed was higher. I ended up in the hospital with cuts, bruises, road rash and a sprained knee. My bike was banged up and I got a couple thousand to replace it.
Number 3.
The big one, I was descending a hill at 40 plus mph and a pick-up truck turns left directly in front of me. I almost missed the truck, but hit it right between the rear wheel and the bumper. This one put me in the hospital for 3 days with lots of cuts, bruises, cracked ribs and required surgery to repair the cartilage in my knee that got damaged when my leg hit the truck. My bike was wrecked, the frame was bent at the rear triangle, the front rim snapped into two pieces and the forks were bent 2 or 3 inches to the side. The driver was ticketed to careless driving on this one.
The settlement on this one covered the down payment on my first house, bought me a new car and sent me to Disney for a week.
I had one at a very low speed 4 years ago, it was partly my fault but the the A-hole destroyed my front wheel and left the scene once he noticed that I was not dead. I was hoping to exchange personal information. Like everyone, I’ve had countless close calls.
Dave in VA
Got hit in June by 16-year old making right turn without looking. No permanent injures and got a new bike out of it.
Not sure it’s really a bike crash, but shortly after a got clipless pedals for the first time, a car cut me off. I was able to avoid running into the car but not able to get out of the pedals and subsequently went down hard and broke my elbow. This was 7 weeks before my first 1/2 IM, but luckily the only thing the doctor would not let me do was lift things.
Still, to this day, that race is my fastest 1/2 IM. But I’m not about to try to break my elbow again just to get a fast time.
Car swung left across center line to make a right turn into a driveway and I went through the winshield and kissed the driver I regained conciousness a couple of times prior to the ER once long enough to give my name and ph # the second time was in the ambulance for about a minute. I came to on the operating table for 3-4 minutes then it was another two days before I woke up strapped to a hospital bed with 24 stiches around my eye and face, concussion and a hairline skull fracture
He paid the full bill without a protest
I have been bike commuting in traffic to work for ~18 years, so I have had many small collisions with vehicles. In general, I have good “street instincts” and can guage a disaster when it is about to happen. As such, I usually end up with around one incident per year that results in nothing more than having to unclip and perhaps jump off my bike or slam my brakes and swerve.
Back in 1985, I had a bad accident with a Milk Truck. It was my first year wearing a helmet and it saved my life. This year, head on collision with a van. I vaulted over the top of the van (literally, using all my vaulting experience from military jumping shows) and landed on my feet, on the other side of the van, but my bike was totalled. I still got slapped into an ambulance and taken to the ER by the paramedics as standard operating procedure since one of the cars at the scene called 911 (which means arrival or police, fire department and paramedics). So I am hoping that I can stay on the “one major accident per 20 years plan” and deal with the minor scrapes once a year.
I got hit by a car in December. No ambulance ride as the car hit the back of my bike and threw me off. The car itself didn’t hit me. I ended up with a new bike and some road rash.
It was definitely the drivers fault as I had the right of way (no stop sign) and she had a stop sign.
The best part was when she tried to lie to the police officer and say that I had fallen on my own and then she ran over my bike. The officer knew that she wasn’t telling the truth and gave her a lecture about giving misinformation, insurance fraud, etc. and that she could go to jail. She quickly changed her story to the popular “I didn’t see him”.
Beautiful, clear day, June 12, 2004, 8:30 in the morning. I was riding northbound in the bike lane, a woman coming southbound slowed down to a stop, waited for a car to pass, then turned in front of me. I could see what she was doing, but was going 25 in the aero bars at the time. I sat up, grabbed a handful of brake, yelled at her, she just kept on coming. Destroyed my new Yaqui carbo frame and landed me in the ER with two compressed vertibrae and some road rash. After the accident one witness said he looked at her windshield and it looked like it hadn’t been washed in a very long time. Turning in to the sun, she probably couldn’t see a thing.
Three weeks and one day later I toed the line at IMCDA with a brand new bike that Ves built for me - earning my brand loyalty forever.
Most memorable part of the wreck: When I was lying on the ground in pain, the woman says “I couldn’t see you! You should have been wearing a brighter jersey!” I had to laugh since the jersey I had on was celeste green, red and blue…
Once when I was 16. Never wore a helmet before that. Car passed me then turned right, right in front of me. All I remember is hitting the bumper and then laying on the ground. The couple got out of the car, asked if I was alright. Do not even remember giving an answer then they took off. Fork, frame, bars, stem and a lot of road rash.
Insurance money got me a new bike and a helmet. I have never rode without a helmet since. That was 17 years ago.
Only once in about 17 yrs of serious riding, last summer. Old guy blew through a stop sign and hit me straight on from the side. I was fine but my beer can aluminum bike was wrecked. Cop came and faulted him, so no need for a lawyer I got a new bike from Gieco. Now I get skittish every time I go through an intersection with a careless looking driver.