Have you ever hit someone on your commute?

[Milkfloat]

I'm amazed I've not hit a weekend roadie the way some of them wobble about like a one legged cat burying a jobbie on a frozen pond. I've seen kamikaze pilots with better road craft skills than some of them.

I would have thought with all you advanced driver training that you would know to give them plenty of room.

 

[swansonj]

Thankfully not, but it's why I have 3rd party indemnity insurance in case of being sued for large sums

We touched on this a while back, didn't we.

I have no problem at all with you or anyone else deciding to have indemnity insurance (I have it myself).

I have a big problem with anything that spreads the message that cycling is so risky it's essential to have insurance for all those millions of quid that someone will inevitably sue you for sooner or later. Which I readily acknowledge your post did not actually say.

 

[Drago]

I would have thought with all you advanced driver training that you would know to give them plenty of room.

It's my advanced ninja driving skills and supernatural reactions that have prevented the carnage.

 

[BrumJim]

I've knocked a couple of grown men into the canal (two incidences!) and a hit a couple of small boys on bikes.

Dangerous, me.

 

[glasgowcyclist]

Or I'll give a 'shock' to someone as I'm passing with the intention that next time they'll look.

Ah, the old punishment pass that we get so upset by when it's done to us by arrogant drivers? That's a shitty thing to do to anyone.

 

[dantheman]

Well I've got a couple of those air Zound horns cheap from chainreacwiggle (I guess they're a bit controversial) so I'm hoping that I don't hit any more kids, and also that should I find myself on a canal I can put some grown men into it without actually hitting them

Of course I suppose I'll have to see people in time also.

 

[Richard A Thackeray]

I'm amazed I've not hit a weekend roadie the way some of them wobble about like a one legged cat burying a jobbie on a frozen pond. I've seen kamikaze pilots with better road craft skills than some of them.

Particularly some of the sportif riders!!

 

[mustang1]

Never except for a few months ago when afew guys were stopped at the side of the road and I slowed down just in case. Then while all three and I were in eye contact, one looked away and then started crossing.

I hit him at a slow walking pace. My immediate reaction was wtf but a fraction of a second later turned to "hey are you ok?". We shook hands and he become a customer of mine as did the other two. So all's good.

Edit: xxxxxxx typos

 

[Nigel-YZ1]

Despite the fashion for people looking straight at me and walking out because I'm 'just' a cyclist or they want their mates to see how clever they are, I've managed to avoid hitting anyone so far. There's a theatrical Roy Jay sort of jump away from the path used by some dog emptiers on the Trans Pennine Trail after they've seen you coming for nearly a quarter mile which also helps, which I've seen a few times lately even though I've slowed to a crawl, smiled and said good morning.
The only problem with the TPT is that people have found it and the ownership/entitlement thing is starting to happen. Especially on Sundays.

 

[glasgowcyclist]

Sort of.

Heading home along a busy route, a guy on a bike darted out from behind a bus shelter to my left and into my path. Braking hard, I tried to go around behind him but the gutter was full of that fine dust and grit so my back wheel began to lock up and take me broadside towards him. Since this made me overbalance to my right, by reflex I unclipped my right foot and prepared to hit the ground but instead I got the top of his back wheel and instantly pringled it.

No injuries to either of us and I felt the final outcome was deserved.

 

[booze and cake]

Its not big, not clever, never planned and mostly hurty. Not on the commute, but over 20 years MTB and road riding and many miles I've hit:

-a rambler while MTB'ing descent in Lake District, I only clipped them guv, them fine, me fine, but comedy over the bars and cartwheel into ferns. Everyone saw funny side, no harm done.
-a drunk while filtering in London - them fine, didn't even drop drink! Me over bars into back of parked van, whiplash and neck not pain free for next 9 weeks
-a druggy on phone in London -them fine, me sprained wrist and hyper extended tendons, wrist not right for 3 months

I've crashed into my mums dog in Wales too, does that count? Well he crashed into me really, just as I arrived home after a long ride, it shot out of the bushes (lurcher) chasing something, straight into my front wheel. causing a crash literally on my mums front door step. Both fine, I laughed later, but wasn't laughing at the time.

And I got hit in the face last week by a pigeon who was too preoccupied hassling another pigeon for some nooky, this is the second time this has happened to me, literally spitting feathers. Not even the Daily Mail care about cyclists hitting pigeons.

 

[User16625]

OK, it's time to confess..

About a year or so ago, I hit a yr7 schoolboy (11/12 y/o).

I came out of work on a Friday and thinking of getting home powered down the road, down a hill and there's a bridge, I was doing about 35 and was looking at the road only a couple metres ahead of me (the traffic was light, no cars very close).. I looked up at the traffic lights as I came under a bridge (they were green) and then as I looked back down there was a group of 4 or 5 schoolchildren ahead of me, as my brain thought "what the? " and "ride around them" and "sh*t, no space ahh I'm gonna hit" I broke and must have hit one at around 20-25mph.. I did call out...

I was wearing no helmet and flipped in the air landing on my rucksack, still clipped in I skidded down the road on my back/rucksack..

I immediately got up, took bike off road and turned around to shout some abuse etc......

Then I saw the boy, who was apologising, had blood covering half of his whole face, and a massive puddle of blood on the road about a foot long by half that wide... OMG...... I scraped him up and obviously waited for ambulance and police etc. When his dad turned up and went in the ambulance he thanked me for stopping which was nice, but after having to go police station etc it was late when I got home and I was obviously shaken, and ached for a few days after..

The boy ended up having scans and such but was just cut and bruised, nothing permanent - there is no crossing there, and I was not charged or anything like that...

It's amazing how much blood can pour out from your head and I was lucky not to have hit mine, and will always remember this...

Surely I can't be alone in having done something like this?

I have often had nose bleeds on the bike, blood can make injuries look far worse than they really are. A bit of blood on my hands and face makes me look like I've been mutilated! Still it sounds like you did about right.

I've never hit or run into anyone altho I have wanted to on one occasion when pushed off my bike by a yob. Unfortunately never mind the little prick, he was with a bush of stinging nettles and I could not take them all on. Maybe I should carry some of that rape repellent.

 

[MichaelW2]

I was rolling downhill at about 15mph with green lights ahead. I banked to turn at the junction and at that moment, about 20 pedestrians stepped into the road on a red man. I managed to retain control, slow a little and bounce off the well upholstered chest of a young lady.

 

[Salty seadog]

Riding up my road about 10 at night a guy with two girls on the pavement coming the other way, one of the girls drifts out to her left into the road whilst looking right and distracted, despite me moving out to my right to avoid her i still caught her arm with the bar end. She yelped and it turned out I was the fu**ing idiot according to the guy.

 

[dhd.evans]

Oh, i totally forgot about the time i came up to a junction, signalled left and a woman walked into the road and then into my hand I continued around the corner. She was not best pleased. I was amused that she had literally walked herself into a slap...