This one involves me.
I was cycling to Beckton Asda today at roughly 13:10 today. I approached the mini-roundabout, signally my intention to turn right with a raised and prominent right arm. A vehicle was approaching from the opposite direction, meaning that I had right of way. I made eye contact with the driver of the vehicle and began my right turn. At this point, the driver chose not to stop and contact was made between my front wheel and his rear offside wheel/wheel-arch.
My wheel was knocked out of centre with the handlebars (pretty much 90 degrees) and the wheel is now quite buckled. The driver stopped after the roundabout, suggesting that he realised there had been a collision, but decided to drive off as I approached the vehicle and continue south-bound on Woolwich Manor Way. My concern about the bike is that it still has the original chrome wheels, which are over 50 years old. As such, some of the spokes have seized and it may not be possible to fix it, which would mean a very time-consuming wheel build as I would be keeping the dynamo-hub if I had to replace the wheel. There is a Dr Bike surgery on my campus this Wednesday, so I will be taking the bike there to be checked over by a professional.
The car in question is a small, silver/grey hatchback - I am not sure of the make and model. I believe the registration was CX02 JXJ. The car had very dark tinted windows and damage from a previous collision around the near-side wheel arch. Thankfully, there was a witness who came forwards and spoke to the police with me.
In terms of injuries, I visited the hospital after experiencing pain in my left leg/hips 30 minutes after the incident - I expect the delay in pain being felt was due to shock. The doctor performed an examination and has told me that I have had some muscle damage to my back which is causing this pain/limp. I have been given 2 sets of strong painkillers and some back stretches to perform. I was also advised that I will need to speak to my GP for follow-up care and that the pain will take some time to die down.
Right now, I won't lie. I feel awful. That bike is a real part of me and I find myself believing that I could have avoided this by just recognising that the driver wasn't going to stop, so I guess mostly I'm feeling guilty. This is the first time I've ever been involved in a collision with another person in my 24 years of cycling, and also the first time that any damage has been caused to my bike which has made it temporarily unrideable.
I would like to ask that if anyone spots the car involved, please call the Metropolitan Police on 101 and report it's location and direction of travel, with incident number CAD4400 of 23/09/2013. Had the driver stopped and given me his insurance details, I would not be taking this any further. However, because this was a hit and run, I will be getting absolutely everything I can out of this guy - provided he is caught.
Now as this has taken up all of my day from 1pm until now, I haven't eaten since breakfast, so I will be sorting myself out a pizza delivery and some beers. Thanks guys.
I was cycling to Beckton Asda today at roughly 13:10 today. I approached the mini-roundabout, signally my intention to turn right with a raised and prominent right arm. A vehicle was approaching from the opposite direction, meaning that I had right of way. I made eye contact with the driver of the vehicle and began my right turn. At this point, the driver chose not to stop and contact was made between my front wheel and his rear offside wheel/wheel-arch.
My wheel was knocked out of centre with the handlebars (pretty much 90 degrees) and the wheel is now quite buckled. The driver stopped after the roundabout, suggesting that he realised there had been a collision, but decided to drive off as I approached the vehicle and continue south-bound on Woolwich Manor Way. My concern about the bike is that it still has the original chrome wheels, which are over 50 years old. As such, some of the spokes have seized and it may not be possible to fix it, which would mean a very time-consuming wheel build as I would be keeping the dynamo-hub if I had to replace the wheel. There is a Dr Bike surgery on my campus this Wednesday, so I will be taking the bike there to be checked over by a professional.
The car in question is a small, silver/grey hatchback - I am not sure of the make and model. I believe the registration was CX02 JXJ. The car had very dark tinted windows and damage from a previous collision around the near-side wheel arch. Thankfully, there was a witness who came forwards and spoke to the police with me.
In terms of injuries, I visited the hospital after experiencing pain in my left leg/hips 30 minutes after the incident - I expect the delay in pain being felt was due to shock. The doctor performed an examination and has told me that I have had some muscle damage to my back which is causing this pain/limp. I have been given 2 sets of strong painkillers and some back stretches to perform. I was also advised that I will need to speak to my GP for follow-up care and that the pain will take some time to die down.
Right now, I won't lie. I feel awful. That bike is a real part of me and I find myself believing that I could have avoided this by just recognising that the driver wasn't going to stop, so I guess mostly I'm feeling guilty. This is the first time I've ever been involved in a collision with another person in my 24 years of cycling, and also the first time that any damage has been caused to my bike which has made it temporarily unrideable.
I would like to ask that if anyone spots the car involved, please call the Metropolitan Police on 101 and report it's location and direction of travel, with incident number CAD4400 of 23/09/2013. Had the driver stopped and given me his insurance details, I would not be taking this any further. However, because this was a hit and run, I will be getting absolutely everything I can out of this guy - provided he is caught.
Now as this has taken up all of my day from 1pm until now, I haven't eaten since breakfast, so I will be sorting myself out a pizza delivery and some beers. Thanks guys.
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