Biking - Hit by a car yesterday

[exitwound]

What I thought was going to be a right turn, ended up as a U-turn, and the car ended up in front of me.

He looked like he was going to turn right onto a side street. I was following behind him about 20 feet, 30 feet maybe. We were doing no more than 10mph on a road that heads into a parking lot. No thru traffic. His car started to turn to the right as to go up a lane with some parking in it. I continued on my way straight. Turns out, that he turned IN, and I slammed into the front passenger fender on his Scion, went over and down the hood and under his bumper.

Bike's front wheel was mangled, even thought I wasn't going too fast. My knee's all busted up. It works, it's just incredibly swollen. I can hobble along okay, stand to shower, etc. I just have a lot of pain.

I'm not the kind of guy to hold a grudge or to get bent out of shape (HA!) over things like this. They happen. He didn't expect to have a biker behind him. He should have looked. But I guess I should have also waited until he made the complete turn to go around him.

So I got the bike fixed. New front wheel only. Just gotta wait for the knee to heal.

He was nice about it. Concerned for my safety over his own. Apologized. Offered to take me to the hospital, etc. I didn't go as it really wasn't a terrible incident. Didn't get police involved or anything.

Anyone have experience with this sort of thing?

[audiman08]

I had a girl run in front of my car on campus as I was beginning to turn...luckily I wasn't moving fast and I only pushed her onto my hood...anyway it was just a momentary lack of judgement. In your case, it was the driver's fault. It's good you are so level-headed about it, I hope your knee feels better.

[LakeCleElum]

Yep - Had a driver make a rt. on red w/o looking....Messed up my knee and bike. Her ins. paid in $5K in about 1986 or so.......

[dhoward]

How is it the driver's fault again? That didn't make any sense to me.

[Moses]

Originally Posted by exitwound

... I slammed into the front passenger fender on his Scion...

I'm not the kind of guy to hold a grudge or to get bent out of shape...

Well that's nice.

[Jeff Higgins]

Correction - you hit the car, you were not "hit by a car". There is a reason bicycles are subject to all traffic laws. Passing him, in the same lane, before he clears that lane, makes this entirely your fault.

[Gogar]

Cue Rick Lee in 3. . . . 2 . . . . 1 . . . .

He has an interesting car/ped accident.

Glad you're ok, and I'm glad you didn't go all biker-smug-angry on him. Lots of that around here.

[dd74]

Originally Posted by Jeff Higgins

Correction - you hit the car, you were not "hit by a car". There is a reason bicycles are subject to all traffic laws. Passing him, in the same lane, before he clears that lane, makes this entirely your fault.

Is that what happened?

Originally Posted by exitwound

What I thought was going to be a right turn, ended up as a U-turn, and the car ended up in front of me.

He looked like he was going to turn right onto a side street. I was following behind him about 20 feet, 30 feet maybe. We were doing no more than 10mph on a road that heads into a parking lot. No thru traffic. His car started to turn to the right as to go up a lane with some parking in it. I continued on my way straight. Turns out, that he turned IN, and I slammed into the front passenger fender on his Scion, went over and down the hood and under his bumper.

This reads to me that the cyclist was behind the car as it turned right, with a good amount of distance between the two, and suddenly the car turned back left and that's how the cyclist collided with it.

To OP: has this happened to me? Yes. Bent a handmade rim after the fact, too. Fortunately, the rim only needed truing.

[Moses]

Originally Posted by dd74

This reads to me that the cyclist was behind the car as it turned right, with a good amount of distance between the two, and suddenly the car turned back left and that's how the cyclist collided with it.

The fact that he hit the car illustrates the difference between a good distance and an adequate distance.

[vash]

this is how i got smacked on my motorcycle. only the car pulled out of a street parking, and crossed in front of me. i pooped alittle.

[Rich76_911s]

I had an Uncle killed by the exact type of incident except he was on a motorcycle. Police determined the person driving the car was at fault.

Though I don't completely understand your description. He turns right to go down a lane, then turns in. Then you hit is front passenger side fender?

In my Uncles case the driver made an right hand turn into a side street (with right hand turn indicator on), then flip back out to the left to make a U turn. My uncle ran into the drivers side of his car.

[dd74]

Originally Posted by Moses

The fact that he hit the car illustrates the difference between a good distance and an adequate distance.

An adequate distance is a pure judgment call, and really has no bearing on the driver's fault in this. He began right, changed his mind, went back left, cyclist hit him expecting nothing like the driver's actions would have occurred. This could have happened at ten, twenty, thirty feet, or more between the two, particularly if speed is factored in.

Would you be saying as much if this were between two automobiles? In rush hour traffic no less?

[dhoward]

An adequate distance is one that allows you enough time to avoid the collision. You cannot assume to know what's going through the other drivers mind.

[Moses]

Originally Posted by dd74

An adequate distance is a pure judgment call...

So clearly his judgment was in error, as evidenced by the fact that there was a COLLISION.

Originally Posted by dd74

He began right, changed his mind, went back left, cyclist hit him expecting nothing like the driver's actions would have occurred.

Not sure that's how it happened. He hit the passenger side fender.

[Jeff Higgins]

Originally Posted by dd74

This reads to me that the cyclist was behind the car as it turned right, with a good amount of distance between the two, and suddenly the car turned back left and that's how the cyclist collided with it.

I guess I read it different. Sounds to me like he saw the car was going to turn right at some point - it simply turned sooner than he anticipated. He hit the passenger fender as he was passing on the right. The car had no yet cleared the lane; exitwound needed to refrain from passing him until he had.

Originally Posted by exitwound

He looked like he was going to turn right onto a side street. I was following behind him about 20 feet, 30 feet maybe. We were doing no more than 10mph on a road that heads into a parking lot. No thru traffic. His car started to turn to the right as to go up a lane with some parking in it. I continued on my way straight. Turns out, that he turned IN, and I slammed into the front passenger fender on his Scion, went over and down the hood and under his bumper.

Originally Posted by Rich76_911s

I had an Uncle killed by the exact type of incident...

No you didn't. The circumstances are entirely different.

Originally Posted by Rich76_911s

... Police determined the person driving the car was at fault.

Though I don't completely understand your description. He turns right to go down a lane, then turns in. Then you hit is front passenger side fender?

In my Uncles case the driver made an right hand turn into a side street (with right hand turn indicator on), then flip back out to the left to make a U turn. My uncle ran into the drivers side of his car.

The guy in the car was, in fact, entirely at fault in this situation. He had left the road he was on, turning into a sidestreet, then re-entered that road and hit your uncle. Way different that if your uncle had attempted to pass him (on the right) while he was still on the first road on which he was following him.

[Heel n Toe]

Originally Posted by exitwound

He looked like he was going to turn right onto a side street. I was following behind him about 20 feet, 30 feet maybe. We were doing no more than 10mph on a road that heads into a parking lot. No thru traffic. His car started to turn to the right as to go up a lane with some parking in it. I continued on my way straight. Turns out, that he turned IN, and I slammed into the front passenger fender...

exitwound, you might have to draw us a picture... and explain what "Turns out, that he turned IN" means.

Did you mean to say "Turns out (as if to turn left), then he turned IN (meaning turned right into the parking area)"?

From what you've said, you hit him because he didn't use a turn signal and you tried to pass him on the right... in which case, he's a bit more in the wrong than you for not signalling.

[Moses]

Originally Posted by Heel n Toe

From what you've said, you hit him because he didn't use a turn signal and you tried to pass him on the right... in which case, he's a bit more in the wrong than you for not signalling.

He passed on the right. Nuff said...

[dd74]

Wait, if the cyclist passed on the right (I thought he passed on the left), game over.

[dd74]

Originally Posted by Heel n Toe

exitwound, you might have to draw us a picture... and explain what "Turns out, that he turned IN" means.

Did you mean to say "Turns out (as if to turn left), then he turned IN (meaning turned right into the parking area)"?

From what you've said, you hit him because he didn't use a turn signal and you tried to pass him on the right... in which case, he's a bit more in the wrong than you for not signalling.

Honestly, the cyclist is completely at fault. Out here, the same stuff happens all the time with cyclist on the sidewalk who proceed to ride through the crosswalk. You look both ways before turning right, then proceed, and a cyclist has come out of nowhere on the sidewalk.

I don't know what the law is, but I wouldn't be surprised that a few drivers have been unfairly sued by accidents like this. Bikes should be on the street, not the sidewalk.

[Rick Lee]

I was hit from behind by a bike on the sidewalk in DC a few years ago. Rider went down and got up and wanted to fight me, screaming I tried to run into him. I said, "How? By using the eyes in the back of my head and just looking to get hit by a bike for fun?"

I learned a while ago on motorcycles that real fault doesn't matter. If you're on two wheels and not in a cage, it's ALWAYS your fault because you're the one who suffers the most by not avoiding a collision. Winning a judgment against some judgment-proof deadbeat won't make you feel any better in a wheelchair. I could cause or just choose to not avoid accidents all day long that would legally not be called my fault. But I always assume every car out there is uninsured, driven by a blind illegal alien and is trying to kill me.

There's a story on ADVrider now about a guy in Tuscon who went down on his GS in what sounds like an identical accident to this one. Cager was unlicensed, uninsured and lived on an Indian reservation. Guess who suffered most in that one.