How was your cycle commute?

[Winot]

Hope you're recovering OK Virtual Blue. Looks like quite a smash and from your description there was nothing you could have done.

Looking at the CCTV evidence in the Bank cycle fatality reveals something else. Hate to say it but the lady who died was in the wrong position. She should either have been way ahead or behind. Obviously the driver was at fault in the main. Always treat tipper trucks with utmost caution.

The bike box was full so I'm guessing she headed down the side and then couldn't get into the box. And the driver wasn't indicating left (until 1.44s before hitting her ) so she might have thought she was all right. His audible warning signal was also broken.

So yes you are right she was in the wrong place but we shouldn't have junctions designed to encourage cyclists to get into the wrong position. And the law shouldn't allow drivers to signal so late when turning left.

 

[not-bono-ever]

The kid (car driver) was lucky that the cyclist wasn't nuts.

he is a teat- first rule of giving someone abuse or threats on the road is to ensure you have a get away plan - cyclists are better positioned to scarper in busy traffic . he had the bat in the boot= it was never likely to be used. silly macho twat.

 

[BigTom]

Hope you're recovering OK Virtual Blue. Looks like quite a smash and from your description there was nothing you could have done.

Looking at the CCTV evidence in the Bank cycle fatality reveals something else. Hate to say it but the lady who died was in the wrong position. She should either have been way ahead or behind. Obviously the driver was at fault in the main. Always treat tipper trucks with utmost caution.

The infrastructure is the main fault here - she is directed to go down the inside of the truck by the infra and then finds the ASL is full when she gets there. Even if it isn't full, being in front puts you in the blind spot in front of the cab of the truck so if she'd been able to get in the ASL she'd still have been in a blind spot and to go further forward breaks the highway code.
Then the driver is at fault - for not indicating but also his vehicle's warning sensors and audible left turn signals weren't working.
Personally wouldn't use an ASL (or feeder lane) in front of any large vehicle but that's what the infrastructure directs people to do - any many people think it's required (and actually to enter an ASB strictly you are required to use the feeder lane but I wouldn't go round the outside of a large vehicle into an ASB anyway), but I think we should focus the discussion on how the infra created the conflict, not on how the cyclist behaved.

 

[sleaterkinney]

I got fucking doored really badly on the way home tonight, thought I had broken my collarbone but I think it's just bruised, will go to a docter tomorrow. The front wheel of the bike is buckled and I may have broke the shifters and bent the handlebars.

I got the guys insurance details but they're for a different fucking car, I have the reg number, is there anything I can do or am I fucked?

 

[joustmaster]

I got fucking doored really badly on the way home tonight, thought I had broken my collarbone but I think it's just bruised, will go to a docter tomorrow. The front wheel of the bike is buckled and I may have broke the shifters and bent the handlebars.

I got the guys insurance details but they're for a different fucking car, I have the reg number, is there anything I can do or am I fucked?

Call the police. Tell em you got hit and given wrong details.

Have a load of ibuprofen
And heal up

Hope you're feeling alright

 

[iamwithnail]

Shit, hope you're as well as can be in the circumstances. Def get to the doctor, and definitely chat to the police about that, I'm sure that's an offence to give false details.

 

[The Boy]

It's an offence to refuse insurance details. Speak to po-pos. You can also find their actual insurance details online if you know the reg number - costs four quid iirc.

Edit: and get the shoulder checked out. Better safe than sorry.

Edit edit: and make sure you keep bus/train/etc receipts if your bike is out of action.

 

[Virtual Blue]

Hope you heal fast and get back to riding. It'll take a while for the fear to disappear, I'm still apprehensive of certain situations after a crash 18 months ago, but it's not necessarily a bad thing.

I'm aiming to cycle as soon as I can (next Monday I reckon).

I will never stop cycling - it's one of the joys I still have in life.

 

[Virtual Blue]

I got fucking doored really badly on the way home tonight, thought I had broken my collarbone but I think it's just bruised, will go to a docter tomorrow. The front wheel of the bike is buckled and I may have broke the shifters and bent the handlebars.

I got the guys insurance details but they're for a different fucking car, I have the reg number, is there anything I can do or am I fucked?

Not fucked, just call the police.

Sorry it happened and sorry for the bike.
It's a shit feeling when it comes to doors.

 

[sleaterkinney]

I've been down to the cop shop and filled out a form. They said the BTP would be in touch and would go to their insurance co etc. Is it worth doing that myself?. Going after the cctv?. Are the BTP any good at this sort of thing?.

 

[stavros]

Two fuck-ups this morning. The first was my fault, not checking the map thoroughly enough before I left and going the wrong way at a rural T-junction, and then down a dead end. The second was definitely not my fault, as I navigate a double dual carriageway roundabout and find my exit is closed for maintenance. I thus had to take a much longer rural route around, meaning I eventually did about 20 miles rather than the 12 or so I'd planned.

On the plus side, I did find a brilliantly tarmacked stretch of road which I hadn't ridden before, ever so slightly downhill meaning I could fly down it at ~30mph.

 

[Virtual Blue]

back to riding my heavier commuter bike. i forgot how stiff it was, tried cornering and nearly hit a stationary van (yes another).

reached blackfriars.
sudden stoppage about 20m away and I signalled to whoever was behind me to prepare to slow down. middle-aged lardy man in tight racing gear/ BMC bike started to shout at me! accused me of cutting him up. i mean WTF! guy was clearly aggressive and thought he was in a rangerover. i called him a nasty name (that I won't repeat) and that seemed to shut him up. what the fuck is wrong with some people.

i hope the rain returns. clearer roads and lanes are things i miss.

 

[iamwithnail]

How's your collarbone sleaterkinney ? Not too messed up I hope.

 

[plurker]

First ride after a tend-day holiday break. I was a bit tired coming out of a festival weekend

Accelerating away from lights Acre Lane/Kings Ave junction, so was stoodup on the pedals and my left foot slipped off on a downstroke. Threw my balance completely, front wheel hit kerb, I went flying - partly over bars, part sideways. Thankfully slid along pavement, rather than road - the slabs are a little smoother than asphalt.

Lots of road rash up left arm and leg, broke a fingernail off, and suspect I've broken something in my foot also cause walking hurts a lot.

Still, Apex Cycles sorted the steed enough to get me to work, albeit a little slower than usual, and replaced the pedals.
Gonna need new bars cause they probs won't bend back even in a vice.

Bah.

 

[Virtual Blue]

what is it with us?
why are we crashing so damn much?

 

[Dogsauce]

I've had two very serious close calls in the last couple of weeks too. Hot weather makes drivers impulsive and impatient maybe?

No.1 was on Edgeware Rd on the big bike, laden with shopping from Aldi. Heading south at some lights, left hand lane is a bus lane but turns into a left filter for all traffic at the lights then back to a bus lane after, I'm on the right edge of the left lane so I can get out of the way of any left-turning traffic before drifting back to the middle of the lane after the junction. As I pull off when the lights change and start moving to the left some cunt in a black hybrid thing proper screeches away up my inside to go straight on, missing me by a few cm and causing a wobble, apparently racing a cunt in a similar car in the right lane who also passes me closely at speed as they accelerate away. Knowing the bottom end of that road is clogged on a Friday I give chase, as much as you can on a 25kg bike with a lot of shopping in the front. Lost my chain, by the time I fixed that and caught them in a queue a mile further down I wasn't certain enoughwhich car was the offender, and my mirror-smashing red-mist had dropped down to just about enough rage to fix them with a hard stare and a shaken head of disapproval.

No.2 was just a classic left hook, only close enough to brush my wheel and in a situation where they would have clearly seen me but still overshot the turn slightly and swung in causing some very harsh braking and contact (it was uphill so thankfully I wasn't bombing it). They slowed about 50m further on just to check they hadn't killed me and then drove off. Driver behind stopped and said 'what a wanker'. Got the reg on that one & reported, police had a word but not much more they could do without footage. Anyhow, they were driving a new mini, and one with a website written on it too, so I'd like to think I'm the winner here.

 

[Virtual Blue]

Can anyone recommend a solicitor?

I received a letter from the police and they said that I should have an insurance company/ or solicitor (I have neither).

FFS, I am missing my faster bike and this process is going to take bloody months.

 

[Virtual Blue]

And I do have injuries!! Fucking can't lift my left elbow and on my spine.
Medical tomorrow.
Wankers. I hate Virgin. Usain Bolt and Branson can fuck themselves.

 

[weepiper]

Can anyone recommend a solicitor?

I received a letter from the police and they said that I should have an insurance company/ or solicitor (I have neither).

FFS, I am missing my faster bike and this process is going to take bloody months.

You don't need to have an insurance company are you sure they're remembering you were on a bike not in a car?? I work in a bike shop and the usual order of events in these circumstances is you get the driver's insurance details, you get a shop to write up an official estimate for repair or replacement and give it to them, their loss adjuster sometimes contacts the shop asking for pictures or to come and see the bike (although that's quite unusual) and they write you a cheque. I should imagine the insurers pay out whether or not criminal proceedings are in motion re the driver surely? Have you tried contacting Virgin, I find a carefully placed tweet or post on their public facebook wall to be very effective in getting this sort of thing sorted immediately.

 

[Virtual Blue]

You don't need to have an insurance company are you sure they're remembering you were on a bike not in a car?? I work in a bike shop and the usual order of events in these circumstances is you get the driver's insurance details, you get a shop to write up an official estimate for repair or replacement and give it to them, their loss adjuster sometimes contacts the shop asking for pictures or to come and see the bike (although that's quite unusual) and they write you a cheque. I should imagine the insurers pay out whether or not criminal proceedings are in motion re the driver surely? Have you tried contacting Virgin, I find a carefully placed tweet or post on their public facebook wall to be very effective in getting this sort of thing sorted immediately.

Thanks for this, you don't realise how helpful it is.

I am so frustrated with this whole saga.
I don't want to go down the injury route but conclude I need these pains checked out.
Would prefer a cheque for a bike replacement - it's all I want!

Cheers.

 

[BigTom]

Can anyone recommend a solicitor?

I received a letter from the police and they said that I should have an insurance company/ or solicitor (I have neither).

FFS, I am missing my faster bike and this process is going to take bloody months.

Levenes have been recommended in the past, no personal experience but they do have a cycling specialist and have heard good things.

 

[sleaterkinney]

How's your collarbone sleaterkinney ? Not too messed up I hope.

Still on painkillers, I had an x-ray but nothing broke so I hope it's just bruising.

Went out on my other bike at the weekend and may cycle in tmrw, can't bear the tube.

 

[sleaterkinney]

And in this era of scanning and email etc it will take two weeks for the form I filled in at Brixton cop shop to get to Lambeth traffic dept.

 

[Virtual Blue]

And in this era of scanning and email etc it will take two weeks for the form I filled in at Brixton cop shop to get to Lambeth traffic dept.

...if it makes you feel better, i've still not picked my bike up from the police station (been down there already and told that area to the building was closed. now trying to find out when it's 'open' ). Unbelievable.

 

[Virtual Blue]

Guys...the most stupid thing has happened.
I was at Islington Police Station to collect my bike but it's gone. The police have lost it!

We searched everywhere and its just gone.

Any suggestions on what to do?
Unbelievable.

 

[Orang Utan]

Demand they compensate you for it.

 

[Pickman's model]

Guys...the most stupid thing has happened.
I was at Islington Police Station to collect my bike but it's gone. The police have lost it!

We searched everywhere and its just gone.

Any suggestions on what to do?
Unbelievable.

see which of the bicycles in the car park you most like the look of and demand that one instead.

 

[sleaterkinney]

Guys...the most stupid thing has happened.
I was at Islington Police Station to collect my bike but it's gone. The police have lost it!

We searched everywhere and its just gone.

Any suggestions on what to do?
Unbelievable.

F**king hell. This was a nice one, wasn't it?.

 

[weepiper]

Demand they compensate you for it.

Absolutely this. That's outrageous

 

[Virtual Blue]

F**king hell. This was a nice one, wasn't it?.

It was a mid-range/ entry level carbon bike.
Wanted to it to swap the 105 group set over to the commuter.

This year has been pants for cycling.