Bike vs Car in Leigh on Sea
Two weeks ago, my partner, Jon, was cycling home from the office. He wears a helmet, a fluorescent back pack and, as the nights draw in, clips a very bright light facing both forwards and backwards. He does everything in his power to ensure that he is easy to see.
However, none of this can protect you from the driver who thinks he has enough time to turn directly in front of you because you are only pedalling. Jon slammed on the brakes but it was not enough to avoid going over the handlebars, hitting the car with his body and landing in the road.
The driver sped off on his way leaving him for dead.
Fortunately Jon was able to pick himself up, badly shaken with cut knees and elbows and other drivers stopped to make sure he was ok.
With no registration number or make of car - it was beige coloured - there is no way to bring the driver to justice. I can only hope that s/he has had to pay for the repair to a large dent in one of the doors.
What happens when bike meets car?
At a networking meeting this week, the speaker was Jonathan from iX Cameras. They manufacture the high speed cameras that produce, amongst other things, the slow motion footage from crash test trials.
One of the videos in his presentation involved a stuntman on a motorcycle hitting a car that had pulled out in front of him. The sight of what happened to the man's knee as it hit the handlebars was pretty gruesome. Jonathan has kindly allowed me to reproduce this version from his YouTube channel.
Obviously, as a pedal cyclist, Jon would not have been going quite as fast as a motorcyclist, but it brought home just how lucky he had been to walk away unscathed.
Just two hours after watching the video, I was walking along the London Road when I saw the Essex Air Ambulance landing at The Elms to treat the victim of another case of bike vs motor vehicle. I do not know who was at fault in this accident, but the rider was taken to hospital with a very badly broken leg and serious head injuries.
How can we stop bike vs car accidents?
It is not just car drivers who need to stop and think, it is the cyclists themselves.
On my way to another networking meeting one morning this week, the traffic on the A127 dual carriageway was slow moving in both lanes. Motorcyclists wearing black clothing frequently sped up the middle between the two lines of traffic. It would only take a moment of inattention for a car to pull across to the other lane in front of/into one of them.
In my previous role as a lollipop lady, I regularly had to get out of the way of cyclists who pedalled straight through my zebra crossing whilst I was standing in the middle of the road with my arm out. Worse still, they did not even notice that there were children trying to cross the road in what is supposed to be a safe place. In a large number of these cases, the cyclist was clearly listening to something on earphones so was not focused on what s/he was doing.
As road users, whether we are in cars or on bikes, we have to become more aware of our surroundings and our actions...
- Concentrate;
- Avoid in-car or on-bike distractions; and
- Slow down
Herbalist,Yoga&Meditation, Herbal Medicine, Natural Cosmetics. President La Chaine des Rotisseurs NS
8 年Oh no, how awful.
Helping businesses and start ups with stand-out graphic design and web design that sells | Creative Director and owner of Northsouth Design | Top 100 f:entrepreneur | Rochford Business Awards Finalist
8 年I hope Jon is ok, Jo. My husband cycles from Rayleigh to Basildon every day to work and it scares me some of the near misses he has had. He has a camera and some of the things he shows me are shocking. Its just sheer ignorance mainly from drivers who just do not look or do not care about cyclists and who take risks. He regularly has cars and vans pull out of junctions in front of him or as he is approaching a junction a car will pull in front of him onto his side of the road. The majority of his journey is thankfully (I think) on a 'cycle' path down the A127 but even then he has things thrown at him from motorists, he has had vans just suddenly pull up in front of him onto the path, he even had a van who was traveling on the path (to get past traffic) sound his horn. Oh and then there is the abuse. Once when traffic was at a standstill and he was cycling on the path someone yelled abuse just because he was moving and they were stuck in traffic! The latest 'incident' was this week when he had to ride through just after a man had urinated all over the path! He literally pulled over, stepped out of the cab and did it across the path. My husband said the driver was embarrassed when he saw him cycling towards him. Luckily my husband wasn't a few seconds in front or he may have wished he's been wearing his waterproofs! In my time working in London I went to two funerals of work collegues who lost their lives. One on a motorbike and one on a cycle and both of them were responsible and experienced riders. As you say though there are those who take risks on bikes and these are the minority who give bikers and cyclists a bad name and add to the contempt that the motorist sometimes has for them. This week my 10 year son took part in the level 1 and 2 'Bikeability' programme, but the idea of letting him ride on our roads is too risky for me.
Priest
8 年I hope Jon is recovering well. A van went straight into my on Tuesday. I was stationary to see where he would go. The driver drove diagonally into me. Luckily I have got away with just a deep laceration to my left thigh. I had plastic surgery the next day and am now recovering at home. In favour of the driver, he reacted very quickly, pulled me away from the van and tried to get me to lie down to avoid seeing the wound as I did not know that I had been injured. He has also visited me in hospital and was himself in shock. It was a freak accident down a quiet road. Although my injury was quite deep I have suffered very little pain and I think my general fitness is helping a lot with recovery. Before I reached the hospital I decided not to focus on guilt or blame. I was concerned about the van driver as I listen each week to bus drivers on a voluntary basis as a chaplain and have heard how road accidents and mistakes have impacted on them longer term. My condolences to Jon. I hope he is back cycling soon. I am sure this a worry for you Jo because cyclists are very vulnerable in the traffic. As road users we all need to be constantly aware and considerate of each others needs and have the emotional intelligence to put ourselves into one another's shoes.
Some you win, some you learn! ??
8 年Hi Jo .... If I were to wear a safety helmet and a hi visibility vest, reflective arm bands etc. and then walk along in the road people would think I was mad and encourage me to walk on the pavement!!! My point is this.... by sitting on two wheels I am not any safer. I honestly don't believe that cyclists should share the road with motor vehicles. Cyclists must take the responsibility for their own safety and avoid dangerous situations. I am not an anti cyclist campaigner but I do feel cyclists lack training and have a responsibilty to look after themselves. The car driver that pulled out on your partner was looking for a gap in the traffic.... s/he was not looking for a cyclist. Good post Jo and one which should raise awareness. Andy