Oh Shit, I've Been Hit!

[der_nacht]

I've already told this to a lot of people, and it generally takes about 10 minutes to do over the phone, so in case you are invested in my well-being, health and safety as a cyclist in addition to being my friend in the digital world, this one's for y'all

Comments

[thomasngo]

Dude, I'm glad you're alright.

[der_nacht]

Thanks. Hey, when are you done with classes?

[thomasngo]

Last final is next Wednesday.

[thomasngo]

Finals were supposed to be easy.. until they turned into take-homes.

[crimebystiletto]

Word! I'm glad you still exist.
It's scary out there.

[der_nacht]

Yeah, it's been quiet on the LJ front for finals week. Getting hit by a car is a weird way to wrap up the quarter.

~gasp!~

[the_nightshade]

Oh E, glad you're okay, really. Drivers suck. Be careful out there.

Re: ~gasp!~

[der_nacht]

Thanks Aimee. Actually, the woman who ran the red light/hit me called me about an hour and a half after the crash, and she was still crying about it. She said she rides her bike too but had to get downtown in a hurry and wasn't paying attention... it's really unfortunate, but people all across the spectrum forget to take 4000 lbs of fast-moving metal seriously enough. I didn't forgive her, but reminded her that this was just about the best-case reminder to her to pay the fuck attention at all times no matter what, because if she had ran that light a second later she would have T-boned me (rather than the other way around) and I would have been in the hospital. Drivers suck... and just about everybody sucks too when it comes to transportation safety. We all rationalize away our mistakes too often, not accounting for events like this.

(Sorry about the rant, just came home from a post-finals drunk...)

rant away

[the_nightshade]

You can rant at me anytime lol. Empathize with the post-finals binge drinking, too ... I'm really broke or I'd suggest everyone go out and commiserate together. :)

I find myself rushing too much and taking risks while driving lately and I've been lecturing myself silently in the car. One thing I'll say is that it's really true that EVERYONE needs to be aware with transportation safety, because I've also had to deal with lots of idiot bicyclists at times too, who sort of force their way around in traffic because they expect everyone to be extra cautious of them. On Woodstock last night, there was a bicyclist towing a child-cart thing IN THE DARK around the curvy area where it's cramped and cars usually zip around. I couldn't help but think, why don't you just take a less busy side-street?! It was so unsafe for the child, like just asking for a car to make a mistake and clip the buggy.

Re: pant away

[der_nacht]

I absolutely adore parent taking their kids around town on bikes, but I'm wary of the trailers too. I much prefer seeing kids on the same bicycle instead of being towed behind, be it on a tandem, clip-on tandem, beefed-up rear rack/child's seat, or... in the giant front basket of a Bakfiets:

[terlogo]

Oh my god! I'm so glad you're OK, that's so scary. Shit, this shit freaks me out so much.

[der_nacht]

Thanks, it's an odd position being the super-legal bicyclist in a world of under-trained and inattentive car drivers (and bicyclists). It is a bit scary to me though too, because it makes me realize how things like this can be (and when they occur, mostly are) outside of my control.

[east_meets_west]

what's your policy on a quiet neighborhood intersection w/ a four way stop. let's say the car hits the stop first and can then start again but there's a biker on her right about to hit the stop. i always stop and wait for the biker to go through because as a driver you can never be sure which ones stop and which ones roll right through. would you rather we go when it's our turn, treating the bike like a car, or just be extra cautious and wait?

[der_nacht]

Just wait and make sure that the bicyclist stops, and if they do, go ahead and go because it's your turn. Of course, many times the bicyclist will not stop at the stop sign, so you do have to be careful. It's the same thing for me with cars at a four-way stop: I make sure that they are going to abide by the stop sign before I enter the intersection, but for the reason that I don't want them to hit me instead of worrying about hitting them

[lovemotionstory]

how lame that this happened to as responsible of a cyclist as you, but i am glad to read that you're alright! feel free to give me a call if you need to chat or anything.

[der_nacht]

I remember hearing you say that you had been in three or four collisions in the past year! Since yesterday and talking about this to people, I've heard some horror stories of people who were seriously hurt or had much more damage to their bicycle, and then got fucked over when the driver fled the scene. I'm counting my blessings.