3rd time knocked down by a car. This is starting to get old

[jefmcg]

I only had near misses so far, but I'm very careful in choosing my routes.

Others have commented about different routes; I'd echo that.

Well, if you want to suggest how I could improve this route....

View: https://www.strava.com/activities/1596059827/embed/56c76ee2d5156091fa750936fc49444eb83782ba

 

[jefmcg]

Just wondered if the reason he didn't was due to not having one

As his taxi licence looked real, I had no real doubt he had a license, it had a frisson of "I don't have show it to you" which just seemed to come from the back seat.

It didn't go any further because the policeman appeared seconds after his refusal.

 

[vickster]

I’m not sure I’d show my licence to anyone other than the police either even if I had it with me. I’ve only had to produce it once which I did next day at the cop shop

 

[lazybloke]

[QUOTE 5268793, member: 45"]You stated your view that cycling is very dangerous. It isn't.[/QUOTE]

I'd normally agree with this, except this thread is specifically about repeated actual danger, including collisions, damage and possibly injuries. A combination of perceived and actual danger is a persuasive argument against cycling, and I'm sure that many of us have hesitated to get back on the bike after something like this.

Cycling in itself might be a safe activity, but it does expose us to danger from other road users. The risks might be small for any individual journey, but the risk accumulates for the high-milers among us, plus risks are increased due to poor road design, poor surfaces, weather, and all manner of other local conditions. Worst of all, an inattentive driver presents a danger on even the safest of roads.
We can only manage/control/influence those risks by changing how and where we cycle.

@jefmcg - very best wishes to you. As said by @Milkfloat, cycling can and does offer many smiles per mile (a lovely phrase), so that's the kind of cycling you need whilst you regain your confidence. Maybe the Royal Parks to get away from traffic?

If that roundabout (or any other junction) continues to feel unsafe, there's always the option of crossing on foot.

 

[Dayvo]

I've not read the whole thread but wanted to wish you well and hopefully the end of your recent spate of mishaps.

I haven't cycled in London for donkeys years but you just have to assume that a driver will do the opposite of what is right/expected.

I hope your spirit isn't as dented as your body and you can continue to ride with (relative) confidence in completing your journey without further ado.

 

[mjr]

Well, if you want to suggest how I could improve this route....

View: https://www.strava.com/activities/1596059827/embed/56c76ee2d5156091fa750936fc49444eb83782ba

Difficult to tell where you were going from that, but it does look like a rather innocuous mini-roundabout which I wouldn't usually avoid (Harrington Gardens is one of my habitual routes and has identical-looking ones.)

Cross as close to the central island as possible, be ready with emergency turns and stops, but I struggle to think what else you could do except employ a sniper to take out errant motorists!

In the longer term, that should be a four-way stop "except cycles" IMO but I think they still require the bloody transport minister to approve them, unless that was changed in the 2016 regulations. The borough could make the whole zone 20mph and resident-access-only, but there's more chance of the second coming than a sane approach to streets in Kensington and Chelsea at the moment.

 

[jefmcg]

Difficult to tell where you were going from that, but it does look like a rather innocuous mini-roundabout which I wouldn't usually avoid (Harrington Gardens is one of my habitual routes and has identical-looking ones.)

@mjr gets it. It's a very innocuous roundabout. I would have been in primary, well lit. The roads were very quiet. I doubt as many as 10 vehicles past through the junction the hour or so I was there. The driver was presumably heading towards the A4 from a nearby restaurant or house.

If I was to dismount or give way at this junction, I'd have to do it at every single side street and roundabout and driveway, which would

1. put me at risk of being rear ended every time (my previous two collisions were both partly due to being over cautiousness at roundabouts, behaviour I have corrected)
2. if I dismount then I am rejoining the carriageway just after a junction which strikes me as a risky maneuver. There are cars coming from 3 directions, all behind me and two of them not in my line of sight. And none of them particularly looking out for a vehicle joining the road right there.
3. In London, walking is more deadly per km than cycling. Presumably most of the fatalities occur while crossing the road. So while getting off and walking may feel safer, it might not be safer.
4. Giving way to all drivers will reinforce the belief some have that they don't have to give way to cyclists. That may put some other cyclist in danger down the line.
5. If I stop every time that another road user could do something inadvertent and illegal that would put me in danger, then cycling is no longer a form of long distance travel, and more like an expensive microscooter that is hard to carry. I will have actually given up cycling in all but name.

And for the record, I'm happy enough on Hyde Park Corner, Chiswick Roundabout, the Hammersmith Gyratory and even this monster I stumbled on last year. Well, was happy enough ..

 

[fossyant]

That is for people who have only been in one collision, or none and are worried by the statistics. But now I have been in 3, I am my own study. I know my denominator, it's 52,155km. So one collision with a car every 17,000km or so.

If the pattern holds, I'll be due another by the time I replace my next bottom bracket. (where's the rueful laughter emoji?)

I ran on one nasty every three years, but 2 very nasty ones in just over 14 months finished my road cycling. My back is permanently knackered now. I am not goin through the pain, worry, financial implications and family anxiety ever again.

 

[Vantage]

Sorry to learn of your off, but glad you're ok.
From memory, I've been taken out by drivers 3 times and 2 were my own fault. On foot I've been taken out once and again that was my own stupidy at fault. Lost count of how many close calls I've had on the bike though and with 2 or 3 exceptions, none were my doing. One thing I've learnt is that with a bit of time, the confidence to get back on the bike and ride comes back, along with the smiles per miles.
One thing I would say is that as I'm getting older, my take on who has right of way/priority is slowly getting to the 'couldn't care less who goes first' stage. Increasingly, I'm letting drivers out rather than making them wait their turn. I end up being a happier less stressed cyclist and they can go about their business not having another 'bloody cyclist' to hate for holding them up.
I could put them in their place and claim my road space, but lets face it, they won't learn anything from it. They'll just bitch about us cyclists not belonging on their roads.

 

[jefmcg]

I ran on one nasty every three years, but 2 very nasty ones in just over 14 months finished my road cycling. My back is permanently knackered now. I am not goin through the pain, worry, financial implications and family anxiety ever again.

I followed your saga. I'm happy you are still with us (on cc, that is, but of course also in the world)

 

[fossyant]

I followed your saga. I'm happy you are still with us (on cc, that is, but of course also in the world)

Glad you are OK. I never expected a badly broken spine at 13 mph, but shoot happens, and I'm not sure Skolly expected a fractured skull and broken neck either. At least we are still here and walking. Enjoying the MTB though.

 

[Rickshaw Phil]

Thread moved to General Cycling as requested. If everyone can keep on topic and avoid arguing with each other that would be great.

I am very sorry to hear about the crash @jefmcg. I'm glad you are alright and I hope that the insurance company won't mess you about.

 

[Globalti]

If it's any consolation to those who have been hit by emerging cars, a couple of years ago a car pulled out right in front of my car, the driver just didn't look. I'd have hit him if I hadn't swerved to the opposite carriageway and gone round him. So it's not just cyclists.

 

[User10119]

@jefmcg - a few years back when @kimble was somewhat disenchanted with cycling the same dull old familiar loop round the mean streets of Mordor because they were really restricted in how far they could go due to injury, we organised a little pootle round my (different) dull old familiar (to me) loop of the sainted flatlands (and since The Knee had improved a lot by the time we went, even added a teeny tiny bit of hilly stuff and a very nearly 50mph descent for the 'bent) in effort to restart the ol' mojo. If you could bear to go slow enough (and trust me, I am very very very slow at the moment) you'd be most welcome to visit the Den one weekend and go a'pootling, if it might help you remember that you quite like riding a bike?

 

[jefmcg]

@vickster is lending me one of her bikes, while I cogitate!