confusedcyclist
Veteran
Last night's commute home was a total disaster. lemme' splain.
Two pedestrians stepped out in front of me without looking. Watching the footage back I had less than 2 seconds between them stepping out and and colliding with one of them, it all happened so quick. I didn't have room to swerve as they walked out single file, all I could do was shout "HEY" and grab the brakes. I had a strong primary position and lit up like a Christmas tree. (2 powerful front lights that cast 6m down the road). If they had looked, it could have been easily avoided, other than constantly riding at a crawl, I don't think there's much I could have done to avoid it. I was not traveling particularly fast. Possibly 10-15mph before slowing for impact.
I have been going over it in my head, reliving the details, all I can think is they must have seen a light behind me turn to red, by which time I was already across the junction, they must have been relying on sense of hearing, not sight. They were stood behind a cylindrical type red post box to my left, and not at the drop kerb where pedestrians would normally cross more safely. I did not see them behind the post box. The first thing you see on the camera footage is a leg step out! There are no pedestrian lights at the junction, I am used to people dashing across, but not from their position. All I can assume was they didn't hear me and assumed it was clear because the lights back at the far side of the cross roads changed.
I didn't see them until they stepped out, it was all but too late to react. I slammed on the brakes and scrubbed off most of my speed (thankfully, it might have been much worse if I hadn't) but I had too little time, I was still carrying some momentum and though the bike stopped, I went over the handlebars and landed on top of a young lady. She took a blow to the back of her head as we and the bike hit the ground in a crumpled heap. She was in shock and sat in the road for 5 minutes. I am no feather weight, she must have had the wind taken out of her too. Despite my alarm about being subject to a sudden and unexpected brake test, in true British manner whilst tangled up in the road, all I could do was apologies profusely for landing on top of her. Neither of the two spoke English. What a total nightmare scenario. I unclipped and rolled off her.
It was dark, I didn't see them behind street furniture (neither was of tall stature) and obscured by the post box. Neither looked left or right before stepping out, I have the footage to prove it. But I still feel terrible about it. I stuck around whilst the elder gentleman attempted to call the police with broken English. Maybe it was the shock or poor grasp of language, but he was just shouting "Accident! Send Police! Accident! Daughter on road!" down the phone. I had to keep telling him to ask for a ambulance. I took the phone off him and carried on the conversation with the operator. The young lady was OK after the shock wore off, she got up and sat on a chair a nearby shopkeeper brought out. The operator decided it was a non-emergency and hung up, but sent police anyway because of the initial communication the young lady was laying in the road and traffic was building up. I was shocked that drivers would selfishly drive past the downed lady with inches to spare. I pleaded with the lady to get up and out of the way, but they didn't understand me.
I hope that she is OK now. I imagine she would be lucky to avoid a mild concussion. I'm aching all over today. I grazed my shin, and have a lump/bruise on my thigh but walked away. I think I hit my bike pedals or chain rings on the way down. The lady cushioned my fall, mostly. I tentatively rode home still a little in shock and worried about the road worthiness of the bike and what had just happened. The bike seems to be in one piece, a few scratches to the shiftier, chipped powder coating on the pannier rack, minor damage to rear rack light and minor abrasion on the saddle. We are both very fortunate not to be seriously hurt.
I wish I could release the footage, but won't for now in case they attempt a civil claim. I feel it vindicates me of most of the blame, but with these things, they cyclist is responsible for avoiding the more vulnerable party. Pragmatically, there was not much to be done to avoid this. I am a careful rider, more so because I do not ride with a helmet, I don't race around. I rarely reach above 15mph on the flat and I am very cautious of pedestrians, having had a few close calls before. Reviewing the footage, it appears as though these two appear out of nowhere, the post box appears to suddenly grow a leg! The friendly police officer that turned up some 15 minutes later reassured me that it wasn't a criminal matter, I could go on my way once we exchanged some details. Rather than hang about for a non-emergency ambulance, they put her in the back of their car and took her to A&E for a check over.
I have always been cautious of the junction anyway, but given that I have to ride with motor traffic, I feel I can't travel any slower, otherwise we cyclists are bullied to the kerb. Maybe I could have slowed a little on account of the wet road and poorly lit path ahead, but I suppose if that was always the standard, no one would ever make any progress in any urban environment on a bicycle. The cynical side of me suspects they may attempt to pin it on me with a civil claim, I'm going to report the incident just in case.
I'm glad it wasn't worse. I'm posting this to vent a little, but also to seek your thoughts. I hope no one reading this gets put off riding on the roads. I've had 4.5 years riding without an incident like this. I think I've just been very unlucky.
Two pedestrians stepped out in front of me without looking. Watching the footage back I had less than 2 seconds between them stepping out and and colliding with one of them, it all happened so quick. I didn't have room to swerve as they walked out single file, all I could do was shout "HEY" and grab the brakes. I had a strong primary position and lit up like a Christmas tree. (2 powerful front lights that cast 6m down the road). If they had looked, it could have been easily avoided, other than constantly riding at a crawl, I don't think there's much I could have done to avoid it. I was not traveling particularly fast. Possibly 10-15mph before slowing for impact.
I have been going over it in my head, reliving the details, all I can think is they must have seen a light behind me turn to red, by which time I was already across the junction, they must have been relying on sense of hearing, not sight. They were stood behind a cylindrical type red post box to my left, and not at the drop kerb where pedestrians would normally cross more safely. I did not see them behind the post box. The first thing you see on the camera footage is a leg step out! There are no pedestrian lights at the junction, I am used to people dashing across, but not from their position. All I can assume was they didn't hear me and assumed it was clear because the lights back at the far side of the cross roads changed.
I didn't see them until they stepped out, it was all but too late to react. I slammed on the brakes and scrubbed off most of my speed (thankfully, it might have been much worse if I hadn't) but I had too little time, I was still carrying some momentum and though the bike stopped, I went over the handlebars and landed on top of a young lady. She took a blow to the back of her head as we and the bike hit the ground in a crumpled heap. She was in shock and sat in the road for 5 minutes. I am no feather weight, she must have had the wind taken out of her too. Despite my alarm about being subject to a sudden and unexpected brake test, in true British manner whilst tangled up in the road, all I could do was apologies profusely for landing on top of her. Neither of the two spoke English. What a total nightmare scenario. I unclipped and rolled off her.
It was dark, I didn't see them behind street furniture (neither was of tall stature) and obscured by the post box. Neither looked left or right before stepping out, I have the footage to prove it. But I still feel terrible about it. I stuck around whilst the elder gentleman attempted to call the police with broken English. Maybe it was the shock or poor grasp of language, but he was just shouting "Accident! Send Police! Accident! Daughter on road!" down the phone. I had to keep telling him to ask for a ambulance. I took the phone off him and carried on the conversation with the operator. The young lady was OK after the shock wore off, she got up and sat on a chair a nearby shopkeeper brought out. The operator decided it was a non-emergency and hung up, but sent police anyway because of the initial communication the young lady was laying in the road and traffic was building up. I was shocked that drivers would selfishly drive past the downed lady with inches to spare. I pleaded with the lady to get up and out of the way, but they didn't understand me.
I hope that she is OK now. I imagine she would be lucky to avoid a mild concussion. I'm aching all over today. I grazed my shin, and have a lump/bruise on my thigh but walked away. I think I hit my bike pedals or chain rings on the way down. The lady cushioned my fall, mostly. I tentatively rode home still a little in shock and worried about the road worthiness of the bike and what had just happened. The bike seems to be in one piece, a few scratches to the shiftier, chipped powder coating on the pannier rack, minor damage to rear rack light and minor abrasion on the saddle. We are both very fortunate not to be seriously hurt.
I wish I could release the footage, but won't for now in case they attempt a civil claim. I feel it vindicates me of most of the blame, but with these things, they cyclist is responsible for avoiding the more vulnerable party. Pragmatically, there was not much to be done to avoid this. I am a careful rider, more so because I do not ride with a helmet, I don't race around. I rarely reach above 15mph on the flat and I am very cautious of pedestrians, having had a few close calls before. Reviewing the footage, it appears as though these two appear out of nowhere, the post box appears to suddenly grow a leg! The friendly police officer that turned up some 15 minutes later reassured me that it wasn't a criminal matter, I could go on my way once we exchanged some details. Rather than hang about for a non-emergency ambulance, they put her in the back of their car and took her to A&E for a check over.
I have always been cautious of the junction anyway, but given that I have to ride with motor traffic, I feel I can't travel any slower, otherwise we cyclists are bullied to the kerb. Maybe I could have slowed a little on account of the wet road and poorly lit path ahead, but I suppose if that was always the standard, no one would ever make any progress in any urban environment on a bicycle. The cynical side of me suspects they may attempt to pin it on me with a civil claim, I'm going to report the incident just in case.
I'm glad it wasn't worse. I'm posting this to vent a little, but also to seek your thoughts. I hope no one reading this gets put off riding on the roads. I've had 4.5 years riding without an incident like this. I think I've just been very unlucky.
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