Collision with a Car

[beanzontoast]

I've not been on the forum for a day or three - only seen this a few mins ago.

Sickening footage (with or without the blood!). My best wishes to you for a full recovery mate.

 

[Arch]

I don't think I can watch this (partly my laptop being slow, but mostly out of squeamishness), but I'm glad you're relatively ok, and I hope it all works out easily for you....

 

[ComedyPilot]

FFS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That could so easily have been your chips cashed in!!

Glad you are (reasonably) ok.

 

[Panter]

Only just seen this, made me feel quite ill as the accident unfolded

Glad you're Ok-ish, get well soon.

 

[AndyB]

That really is horrific footage to watch Andy. Made worse by the sense (and one that you must have had 10 fold!) of what is about to happen. Seeing the car move forward and knowing you're going to hit it. I'm darned pleased you came out of it relatively unscathed.

To change tack a little, in hindsight do you think there's anything you could have done to avoid the incident? (Short of not having gotten on the bike that morning!) Was there any tell tale signs that you recall, any spider-sense or uncertainty about that car? I think if you have any insights, or things you'd do differently next time, it'd be really really useful if you could share them.

It's my biggest fear at junctions... if I can't make eye-contact with a driver (for whatever reason), I become uncertain as to their intentions... and even when I DO make eye-contact, I'm not always sure!

I have looked at video, trying to second guess myself and see what I would do differently. My speed was a factor in how far I flew, but I had what looked like a clear run? The car that hit me was too far back for any eye contact at the time I started going around the roundabout. I guess a car could do that sort of thing at any T-junction?

By the time he crossed over the give way, I was infront of him, so even if I had stopped, he would probably have scooped me up regardless.

His speed was significant too, he doesn't appear to slow down and if anything seems to be accelerating, maybe to try to get on before the black Audi who was already entering the roundabout at that time?

However had I not been doing 20, i may have been looking at a shattered leg as my left pedal had gouged out a chunk of foam from the bumper and the crank arm had been bent inwards so that it now strikes the chain stays! If my foot had been clipped in...?

My cycling glasses sustained a crack and four deep gouges in the left lens from the road surface. I have also split the hard soles of my cycling shoes horizontally just behind the toe box but in front of the SPD cleat!

I walked past the location yesterday and it is a very elongated roundabout, like a stretched X shape. It was a good 6m from the impact point to where I landed.

Location is here on google maps.

 

[Globalti]

Ouch! That's dramatic, I felt the pain! You must be pretty sore.

I had an accident at a similar speed a few years ago when I overtook a bunch of kids on BMXs and BSOs and one of them suddenly swerved across the road in front of me. I steered right, hit him, hit the pavement and somersaulted, clouting the back of my head on the ground hard enough to see stars for a second. Amazingly I was relatively unhurt but when I got home and examined the helmet I found that the shell had split right down the middle and the back strap was embedded in the inside of the shell, which had a flat on it textured with the ground it hit! Without the helmet I'm sure I'd have been hurt much more badly.

As to your own accident, 12 years of motorcycling taught me to mistrust that kind of situation; I'd have been slowing and looking for eye contact with the car driver. The worst motorbike SMIDSYs happen when the bike is moving straight towards the other vehicle and presenting a small profile, which is only expanding slowly and not moving across the driver's field of vision. The human eye is excellent at detecting movement so when approaching this kind of situation I would always try to move across the driver's field of vision by moving out into a prominent position on the road while covering brakes and horn, sometimes hitting the headlight flasher for three or four seconds, looking for eye contact and watching the car's wheels for any sign of rotation. But in your situation I agree that even if you had stopped, that car might have been driven straight into you!

 

[DrSquirrel]

I know it's not best to talk about money - but are you looking at recouping costs for everything, bike (obviously), sunglasses, pedals, shoes+cleats, helmet, damaged cycling clothes? etc?


Images of the bike?

It might sound odd to some people, but I think I'd prefer to be hit by a complete moron (as long as they didn't get away with it). At least you can focus some anger on them while you're recuperating and then smile like a Cheshire Cat when they lose their licence.

Yes yes yes! This is why SMIDSY is just such a pain in the arse! Not that arguing tends to get you anywhere.

 

[hackbike 666]

I don't know why I avoided this thread...I really don't....so sorry that looked effing awful.

 

[RyanW]

That's just mental, how that driver didn't see you is, well i don't know what it is. Stupid.

Hope all goes well in recovery and get back on the bike ASAP.

Ryan

 

[hackbike 666]

What he said.

 

[Norm]

That's just mental, how that driver didn't see you is, well i don't know what it is. Stupid.

Unfortunately, whilst it is indeed stupid, the design of the road there forces drivers to be looking through the passenger side windows to check the traffic coming from Slough/Eton has stopped. As traffic from that direction is essentially proceeding along a straight bit of road, they often don't even realise that there is a roundabout there so don't stop. That leaves drivers coming from the direction of the station, as that Mondeo was, trying to check that they have a clear entry so they do not give their full attention to traffic from the direction which AndyB used.

Not trying to exonerate the driver, who should be facing "assault with deadly weapon", but the roads round there, including both the level crossings, need a re-think, IMO.

 

[hackbike 666]

He's right....that's why I was ranting about Blackfriars Bridge the other day.

 

[DrSquirrel]

Unfortunately, whilst it is indeed stupid, the design of the road there forces drivers to be looking through the passenger side windows to check the traffic coming from Slough/Eton has stopped. As traffic from that direction is essentially proceeding along a straight bit of road, they often don't even realise that there is a roundabout there so don't stop. That leaves drivers coming from the direction of the station, as that Mondeo was, trying to check that they have a clear entry so they do not give their full attention to traffic from the direction which AndyB used.

Not trying to exonerate the driver, who should be facing "assault with deadly weapon", but the roads round there, including both the level crossings, need a re-think, IMO.

The road is indeed bad, should be a junction instead of a RAB x10

Driver should be giving way to the right, so they should at least be going that way, if their vision was that bad to the left they should have slowed down a bit.

If you watch the black car from the mondeo's left... they both enter the RAB at the same time... possible car vs car collision?


Maybe Andy could see if the council will see about rectifying it?

 

[Norm]

If you watch the black car from the mondeo's left... they both enter the RAB at the same time... possible car vs car collision?

Indeed, I hadn't even spotted that the black Audi was moving forward when the accident happened (because I hadn't been brave enough to have watched that far into the video!).

However, that is exactly why I said that junction is terribly designed. The Mondeo driver was probably entirely focussed on taking priority over the Audi.

We are programmed, when under pressure, to pay attention to things that present a danger. Andy, in that scenario, was no danger at all to Mr Mondeo, whereas Mr Audi was a significant danger. Mondeo Man's eyes might have seen Andy on his bike but the programming filtered out his presence.

Gruesome accident, very glad that Andy is telling the tale.

 

[hackbike 666]

I spotted it but perhaps I had trepidation.