Have you ever hit someone on your commute?

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LCpl Boiled Egg

Three word soundbite
I hit a guy on a bike a few weeks ago, depsite my best efforts to avoid him. He was coming the other way along the Guided Busway path, two abreast chatting to his mate, and there really isn't room for three across that path. I slowed down as much as possible, shouted a warning and kept as far left as I could but we still connected. (My elbow hit some part of him, I don't know what part.) I shouted again and stopped but he carried on, so I did the same as I wasn't hurt.

I've also have a couple of very close calls in the same area with people not looking where they're going and blindly following their mates overtaking in front of them.
 

Vantage

Carbon fibre... LMAO!!!
Inevitably, yes. Or I'll give a 'shock' to someone as I'm passing with the intention that next time they'll look. And maybe survive.

Inevitable? No brakes on your bike? Or steering? Or cyclist controlling it?

In 30+ years I've never hit anyone. Came close once last year when some idiot with his back to me jumped out onto the road without looking. I was doing about 20 and braked and swerved around him but my movements were not intentional or done to 'shock' him. That's just plain stupid and gives us cyclists a bad rep.
Unfortunately many people do tar us with the same brush.
 

si_c

Guru
Location
Wirral
Coming downhill past some parked cars shortly after I'd started cycling again, a lady stepped out from between two vans, didn't have time to react let alone brake and she got a MTB bar end in her stomach. Fortunately she insisted she was OK, but it must have really hurt.

Taught me to ride much further out from the curb.
 
About ten years ago when cycling to work in Brighton, a group of students from the nearby college were doing what looked like the hokey-cokey on the side of the pavement. I was in the cycle/bus/taxi lane which was quiet whilst the car lane was busy, there was a pelican crossing about 50 yards away.

As I approached this group one stepped out smirked at me but failed to calculate the limitations of cycle brakes compared to cars and got clattered....fortunately neither of us ended up on the ground. Verbal advice given.
 

swee'pea99

Legendary Member
Taught me to ride much further out from the curb.
I hesitate to add my comment, for fear of inviting a come-uppance, but I commuted for upwards of a decade into and out of central London, 15 miles a dayish, and never came close to hitting anyone. And I rode fast.

There's no way to absolutely guarantee prevention - pedestrians are much like people, in that they display an extraordinary inventiveness in their stupidity - but I do think there are simple things you can do that drastically reduce the risks. Like 'riding further out', like slowing right down (walking paceish) when passing buses and other vehicles peds could pop out from behind, like using the right hand side of the road when available to pass stationary traffic (much better sight lines & time/space to respond to sudden unexpectednesses), like making a point of never going so fast that you can't stop in time if needs be whatever anyone else does, and generally being constantly on the alert - what if? what if? what if?...

Like I say, I'll doubtless come a cropper soon on account of this post, but I think many if not most of the incidents above could have been avoided by following the location, location, location mantra of road cycling/commuting: anticipate, anticipate, anticipate.
 

straas

Matt
Location
Manchester
I've come pretty close.

Recently through rusholme in the segregated cycle lane, a family of three were walking along the pavement when the child suddenly ran at a 90 degree angle to his parents and stopped in the middle of the cycle lane facing the other way.

Hard braking, back wheel locked up and I came within mm's of making contact.

No idea what caused the child to act like that, he got a good telling off from his dad though..
 

Threevok

Growing old disgracefully
Location
South Wales
A roadie clipped my handlebars once. I was climbing up a hilly part of a cycle track on my commute, whilst she was coming down the hill.

She was all over the place and (despite my shouting) was quite oblivious of me.

She was too busy checking her cycle computer and she must have been wearing earphones.

I had actually come to a stop and was pinned against the wall by the time she clipped me.

She did apologise though :becool:
 

Bazzer

Setting the controls for the heart of the sun.
A couple of year ago cycling through the centre of Manchester, while stopped at a pelican crossing. Lights changed and a pedestrian who was showing the girl he was with, something on his phone, suddenly decides to walk, just as I set off. No fall and no damage to bike. Him apologetic.
 

dhd.evans

Veteran
Location
Dundee
Passing stationary traffic at maybe 20mph when an older gent stepped out between two cars. Not a single thing I could do as i shouted and fumbled for the brakes. Collision resulted in a split eyebrow for him, lots of blood from that, and a dislocated shoulder for me.

I was apologetic, he was stunned and then his wife laid into him for being such an idiot stepping between cars. She lambasted him until the ambulance arrived and when we met later at the hospital apologised to me on his behalf.

Lessons learned by both parties:

1. Don't step out into traffic, stationary or not.
2. Don't overtake stationary traffic at 20mph.
 

si_c

Guru
Location
Wirral
I hesitate to add my comment, for fear of inviting a come-uppance, but I commuted for upwards of a decade into and out of central London, 15 miles a dayish, and never came close to hitting anyone. And I rode fast.

There's no way to absolutely guarantee prevention - pedestrians are much like people, in that they display an extraordinary inventiveness in their stupidity - but I do think there are simple things you can do that drastically reduce the risks. Like 'riding further out', like slowing right down (walking paceish) when passing buses and other vehicles peds could pop out from behind, like using the right hand side of the road when available to pass stationary traffic (much better sight lines & time/space to respond to sudden unexpectednesses), like making a point of never going so fast that you can't stop in time if needs be whatever anyone else does, and generally being constantly on the alert - what if? what if? what if?...

Like I say, I'll doubtless come a cropper soon on account of this post, but I think many if not most of the incidents above could have been avoided by following the location, location, location mantra of road cycling/commuting: anticipate, anticipate, anticipate.
Don't disagree.
 

smutchin

Cat 6 Racer
Location
The Red Enclave
Not on the commute, but around 15 years ago, I was heading down the local high street on a Sunday morning when a young lad darted across the road in front of me. He and his mate were running along the pavement and he cut across the road at the most inopportune moment, not even the slightest hint of an attempt to look before crossing.

I was going a fair pace at the time but luckily I only caught him a glancing blow and stayed upright. I think he did too but in my righteous rage at the time, I didn't stop to check. On reflection, I really wish I'd made an effort to see if he was OK. I'm a parent myself and well aware that children don't have the greatest instinct for self-preservation. There's nothing to gain from being 'in the right' in situations like this, and hurting a kid is never good, whatever the circumstances.

Fortunately, children are also quite resilient. The only other time I hit a pedestrian on my bike was when I was around 14, going downhill fast when a woman stepped out in front of me. I came off worse that time, ending up sprawled on the ground while she remained upright, but the only damage was to my pride.
 
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41 years of cycling and commuting (school and work), only time was some 25 years ago when a school kid literally threw his offside rear passenger door open into my path, while his mum was stuck in a line of stationary traffic. He was fine, his mum's new Volvo's passenger door and my front wheel were not. Only other occasion was c20 years ago, but that was a car overtaking and pulling in too soon and clipping my handlebars, taking me down. Cue quick jump back up to check the bike was ok, ignoring my own injuries :wacko:.

Other than that, fingers cross / touching wood, nothing.
 

viniga

Guru
Location
Glasgow
When I was 6 and just learned to ride I was out playing with my friend on our bikes (on pavement). He fell off and I rode quickly to the rescue making ambulance siren sounds 'neee naaaa' and went straight into him and fell off too. Luckily both fine. He's not my friend anymore... I wonder why...

Only other objects hit so far were inanimate, fingers xd!
 
OP
OP
dantheman

dantheman

Veteran
I have had lots of close calls (well, more than 10) where hitting someone has been avoided, most weren't my fault, and most I had the foresight to avoid etc.. I'm well aware in my collision I was not lawfully in the wrong, but as stated above, in the situation - being in the right or wrong had little effect on the outcome.. I am sure in hindsight that me or any one of the children in the group could have prevented it happening. There was an off duty police officer that stopped and started making notes soon after it had happened, and he was plain shocked when he asked where I'd parked and I pointed at my bicycle....

What I am very grateful of is that a woman driving past in other direction stopped and helped console and look after the boy (and then me) while we waited for help - frankly after I saw the mess he was in shock hit me and I was little help..

The police gave safety talks to the school he came from about the incident, especially about not crossing there but to use the traffic lights they pass 15m before where it happened...

Of course there's still tons that ignore it, and just last week a girl pretended to jump out at me under the bridge (where the walkway there is as thin as 1ft at its smallest - there's a safe pedestrian walkway on the other side of the bridge column, but that includes walking an extra 3 metres for them). I am much more aware of their presence and stupidity now, as I'm sure you'd realise..
 

boydj

Legendary Member
Location
Paisley
Just recently I was clattered by a pedestrian who ran out from behind a parked car. As I was preparing to turn right, I was out in the middle of the road, but he was running fast and had obviously not seen me. Had a nice black eye develop over the next few days caused by my glasses hitting the bone at the end of my eyebrow.
 
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