Forum Rider Down and/or notification of minor incidents

Glad you're ok and it wasn't a high speed shunt. Its all too easy to follow a vehicle at distances smaller than your reaction/braking zone. Thing is with these things, once it happens to you, you remember for the future, and at least yours didn't lead to any serious injuries.

I once went into the back of a range rover. Flew straight over the bars headfirst into his rear window. He was a twat driver but its my fault for following him so closely and at that speed (I was slip streaming him over london bridge). Luckily I escaped unharmed, a small miracle actually. But i learnt that lesson and now I hang waaaay back.

The stupid thing is that I probably would have had time to react if I was concentrating on what I was doing.

Lesson learned as you say. Having said that I had a less serious but similar near miss to you on London Bridge last winter. That wasn't so much down to stopping distance though.

Cheers mate.

Sorry to quote myself but resolution to this:
1) Generous settlement from driver's insurance company = good
2) Police wrote to me and say they are dropping the investigation due to lack of evidence. We both gave statements to the police saying he hit me turning right accross my lane. There were also witnesses who the police had contact details for. How much more evidence do you need? = disappointing

A couple of weeks ago I had an almost exact copy of Korova's accident on the same bit of road (Balham High Road).

Rush hour traffic, I was moving a lot faster up CS7 than the cars in the main lane. A right-turning car was waved through by a van which obscured both our views and I hit him at full speed at the passenger side. He was turning into a carpark rather than a side road so I wasn't really looking out for right-turners. I went over the bonnet, smashed his windscreen and landed in the road with a smashed helmet but otherwise less injuries than a heavy polo session. Unfortunately my beloved Moser snapped in half, wheel exploded etc. I was a bit shocked at the time but luckily the cyclist behind me reminded me to call the police asap. Driver waited around and we exchanged details. He claimed it wasn't his fault as I was undertaking (I guess this is the tricky bit with cycle lanes).

I claimed on his insurance the same day and last week they agreed to pay out. However, had a letter/form from the Met asking for details and saying that I may be prosecuted for dangerous driving/cycling which I've just filled out and sent back. I believe I was in the right and comments in this thread seem to confirm that but waiting for judgement. I haven't pushed for prosecution which maybe I should have (you get the option to make a recommendation and I went for driver training instead). I'm not sure what prosecuting would gain. I feel like training and paying his excess/increased premiums would be enough to make him to take more care next time.

I'm definitely going to get 3rd party insurance though, in case it's less clear-cut next time.

Wow, never thought I'd be posting in this thread.

Just got back from hospital after being rear-ended on a dual carriageway. Thankfully I'm merely banged-up rather than broken but I'm going to be sore in the morning!

Pretty simple accident really (I think?! I'm doing my "What to do in the event of an accident." research now). I was coming up to a roundabout so checked, saw there were two cars in each lane behind me which were a safe distance away, indicated and moved into primary position on the inside lane (roughly at the 100 yrds mark I think.) Couple of seconds later the person in my lane goes straight into the back of me, I go up his bonnet and then down onto the ground again, where I get to have a nice lay in the rain.

The nice policeman is sorting out bringing my mangled wreck of a bike back home now :'( I'll have a nice chat with him.

Of course, I had to be cycling off to a volunteer thing. Oh Karma, wherefore art thou?!

Where did this happen, EpiscopalianJihad?

It's good to hear that you're not badly hurt.

Sounds like 100% driver's fault. #IANAL

assuming you have the drivers details, get detailed appraisals of damage to yourself and your bike, and see the solicitors we like thread

heal up fast

I'm not in London, down in sleepy Kent.

I wasn't in a position to get the drivers details at the scene as I was laid up on the road until the Ambulance stretchered me off. The police were in attendance though and I'll be meeting the officer who spoke to me at the hospital in about half an hour or so.

Thanks for the kind responses though guys, :)

Could have been an anti-Papist?

Got my bike back. Not pretty but nice of the police to drop it round. Pictures taken etc.

The nice policeman reminded me he'd put all the drivers details in my wallet while I was lazing about at the hospital. So I have name, address, car and insurance details. Will be knowledging up fully in the morning.

Minor update: Have spoken to some people and been advised that as my quote may not be over the needed amount for a Personal injury claim (Relatively cheap bike and no major injuries right now) I've been advised to wait a week or two and see how I am. If I'm physically ok at that point I'll be calling the drivers insurance company to make a claim.

No wonder everyone finds this kind of thing frustrating, I hate feeling like I'm sitting on my hands.

Richmond road by the big sainsburys in kingston - I was in the middle of two cars trying to get to the front, as i got there the lights then turned green, checked to see how far behind the car was from me, there was plenty and then i held out my left hand (so i could get back into the cycle lane) a women driver hits my arm and fucked up my straps on my left pedals, which nearly got tangled in her wheels - nearly toppled me over into the next lane of traffic skreaming past me. I was forced right in front of a 4x4, luckily i managed to stay up and get out the way quickly but if i had fell .... i don't want to know what could of happened.
the women bolted off in some beat up red nova or something along those lines - drivers stupid-ity astounds me, this is the second time i have checked, indicated and a driver rammed me - the first time was a few years ago the exact same thing happened again, the driver stopped to check if i was alright (which was nice) and THEN went off on one about how he's a london buss driver and would never do anything to endanger a cyclist and that it was 100% my fault....pisses me off to no end. both where in broad day light

Glad you're ok and the accident wasn't more serious. I would be weary of going between cars at lights like that though. If you didn't see the light turn red, you have no idea when it might turn green. If it does turn green and you get stuck in no mans land, it's not a place you want to be. The car on your left might not give you way/see you and then you are stuck trying to get in traffic again whilst having vehicles passing you left and right.

I'm not saying its not the drivers fault, but as a cyclist, you should expect that sort of thing and not put yourself in that position in the first place.

thanks for the words man! and yeah i always try to avoid it - its not pleasant at all. In this case however i was in front of her and did everything right. if i had turned in a bit sharper she would of clipped my front wheel or rammed into the back/side of me. but yeah your right i might just wait my turn if there's no gaps in future

I was knocked off by an errant driver this morning. I was heading up Newlands Park towards Sydenham, filtering past stationery traffic when someone decided that the delay was too much and began to execute a three point turn, just as I was passing them. For a split second I thought I was going to get away with it but the car just clipped my rear wheel and I went down on my left hand side.

The bike is fine bar a couple of scratches and I'm relatively unscathed with some mild abrasions on my ankle, elbow and left buttock. The driver was very apologetic, and admitted fault and has promised to ring me later to check to see if I'm okay. Let's see if my faith in human nature is mis-placed.

^Shit driver

Glad you're ok. Sometimes what someone thinks at the time and what they decide later are two different things. I hope you do get that call.

Douchebaggery abounds.

Glad to hear that you're ok.

Andy - if you don't get that call then unleash the solicitors we like

DJ, whats the best way to avoid such an incident?

(genuine question)

filter as wide as possible so if the oncoming lane is empty move right into it - take the position a car would when overtaking

this will mean you are as visible as possible and have more notice of a car pulling out, if you are close to the cars you are passing they have a much more limited view of you

only filter when it is safe to do so and at an appropriate speed, so if you are filtering close to the stationary cars go much more slowly as your emergency stopping distance will be shorter

Let's see if my faith in human nature is mis-placed.

It's not. Which is good.

Hurray! But sorry to hear you got knocked off.

Wac

Got hit by a moped this morning on the corner of York Road and Chicheley St. No indication or looking from him, and turned left in to Chicheley St right in front of me from the right hand lane. Managed to slam on the anchors in time and not come off the bike, he fell to the floor and scratched up his moped. Impact was below the knee of my leg to his front wheel, just minor bruising.

SMIDSY. Moron.

^^^^ Sometime ago I had a similar crash with a big motorbike on Kingsland road Middleton road junction. We both went down, the other rider said it must have been my fault because he had taken the Police Bike Safe motorcycle course. wac.