Colleague just rear ended on his E-Bike :(

[Linford]

So, anyway, you're on a Boris bike, on a cycle superhighway and you get killed by a lorry driver. How does TfL's lawyer react?
''TfL’s lawyer suggested to Mrs De Gerin-Ricard that it had been the lack of high-visibility clothing that had led to her daughter’s death.''

(Just a side note on lawyers, responsibility, victim-blaming and visibility)

I'm not at all victim blaming..the car driver will bear full responsibility for the collision (and already has done) , but it is the cyclist who comes off worse for it. What I am saying is that it is a sensible thing to do to give others a chance to avoid running into you when the conditions are iffy like mornings and evenings.

 

[Linford]

Linf's Top Tip of the Day....

When posting about accidents involving cycles on a cycling forum, DONT imply that its the cyclists fault.

.... you can have that one for free (I've even bolded the key words for you).

Read my last post....anyway...your strava feed is looking a lot more barren than mine lately Smeggers

 

[Rohloff_Brompton_Rider]

I'm glad your work colleague survived without too much damage, it could easily have ended in death. It did happen around here about a decade ago when a driver who was blinded by the sun killed half of the club run and seriously injured the rest.

So no laughing joke, despite who's posting, sometimes as a collective we can act a bit douchebag-ish.

 

[Crackle]

I'm sorry, but you have a section on here for people to post about random strangers they read about getting knocked off, but when I post about a bloke getting knocked off this morning who is sat 10ft away from me right now...I'm a troll ???

Not a troll but you're wrong. Doing everything possible to stay safe on a bike does not exclude being hit by someone driving wrongly for the conditions and just not looking out for a bike. Of course that's all surmise but I'd be willing to bet that that is what happened. Lights and HiViz are just red herrings in that situation. Anyway, I'm glad he's OK.

 

[Linford]

Not a troll but you're wrong. Doing everything possible to stay safe on a bike does not exclude being hit by someone driving wrongly for the conditions and just not looking out for a bike. Of course that's all surmise but I'd be willing to bet that that is what happened. Lights and HiViz are just red herrings in that situation. Anyway, I'm glad he's OK.

I'd honestly rather dazzle someone with my rear light and they see me than they run into me because they haven't because I'd not bothered to put it on. My workmate is obviously not happy that he was hit off this morning, but as he was riding in the same conditions did understand why the driver had a problem.

If something of value comes of this, when you are out and are yourself being dazzled by low sun, then vehicles approaching from behind will also be in the same position..

 

[Linford]

I'm glad your work colleague survived without too much damage, it could easily have ended in death. It did happen around here about a decade ago when a driver who was blinded by the sun killed half of the club run and seriously injured the rest.

So no laughing joke, despite who's posting, sometimes as a collective we can act a bit douchebag-ish.

That is terrible

 

[Crackle]

If something of value comes of this, when you are out and are yourself being dazzled by low sun, then vehicles approaching from behind will also be in the same position..

Just on that, I already take my own precautions, which is why I think your advice is wrong. Personally I look back constantly in that situation, at nearly every car to check where they are. I stay more to the left than usual, out of the line a car may take. Vigilance is the key, not relying on being seen. I may even change my route and have done in the past. Of course even that may not help but I'd rather trust my own skills than some perceived solution.

 

[Globalti]

I'm sorry, but you have a section on here for people to post about random strangers they read about getting knocked off, but when I post about a bloke getting knocked off this morning who is sat 10ft away from me right now...I'm a troll ???


Now you have seen the damage on the bike, here is where he was knocked off and in the direction he was travelling ...see the oncoming cars are clearly under the horizon


View attachment 30929

A straight, fast stretch of road, not very wide, heading straight into the rising sun. Drivers in a line of fast-moving cars would need very good observation or advance warning of a cyclist needing a metre or so of road space so I'm not surprised the accident happened.

 

[Leodis]

I'm glad your work colleague survived without too much damage, it could easily have ended in death. It did happen around here about a decade ago when a driver who was blinded by the sun killed half of the club run and seriously injured the rest.

So no laughing joke, despite who's posting, sometimes as a collective we can act a bit douchebag-ish.

Give over, are you 12?

 

[Rohloff_Brompton_Rider]

Give over, are you 12?

So out of that post you choose to reply like that? What are you an insensitive douchebag?

 

[Linford]

Just on that, I already take my own precautions, which is why I think your advice is wrong. Personally I look back constantly in that situation, at nearly every car to check where they are. I stay more to the left than usual, out of the line a car may take. Vigilance is the key, not relying on being seen. I may even change my route and have done in the past. Of course even that may not help but I'd rather trust my own skills than some perceived solution.

The roads around here are very narrow as you can see from that pic, and the verge on either side there isn't a verge, it is a 3ft deep drainage ditch.

As an aside, I have devised a training run for myself which involves a 800ft of climbing up a cat 4 hill, and then a descent down a cat3 one. I rode it yesterday evening in rush hour traffic and I was clocking about 45 in a 50 limit with solid double white lines on the downhill. I had about a dozen cars crossing these solid lines whilst I was doing that speed as they were desperate to overtake me to join the line of cars in front doing a similar speed to me. There are plenty of instances I can recount of cars doing stupid things, but these overtakes ont he downhill were all willful and deliberate stupidity...the rear ending guy caught my colleague this morning also displayed bad judgement...but willful stupidity like I experienced last night ???

What do you think ?

 

[snorri]

when I post about a bloke getting knocked off this morning who is sat 10ft away from me right now...I'm a troll ???
here is where he was knocked off and in the .direction he was travelling ...

A sun visor in a car is of little help when the sun is below the bottom of the visor.
I'm afraid it does look as if you are trolling Linf.
A driver runs into the back of a cyclist on a straight road and you place blame on the cyclist?
. There might have been just a smidgin of an excuse if the driver had been blinded temporarlily on rounding a bend, but on a straght road?
I hope you are showing the contents of this thread to the victim.

 

[Mugshot]

Give over, are you 12?

What description would you prefer?

 

[Rohloff_Brompton_Rider]

What description would you prefer?

Had to think about that...Ha! Good one.

 

[fossyant]

I'll just pop my 2p in the jar.

When the sun is low at this time of year and in Spring, you've got to cover your ar$e. I saw two cyclists within a week knocked off at the same junction due to low sun/poor driver attention.

I run with my lights on in these conditions, and I do have "laser beams of death" on the rear and front.

The driver in this case was still at fault.