Brake tested by driver on the way home

graeme_s-2

Did my first triathlon in 18 months yesterday. Rode home in the sun in shorts today feeling great. This good mood then came to a crashing halt.

An ambulance was approaching along the road towards me, me and other drivers pulled into side of road, the ambulance then managed to continue on the correct side of the road, and didn't use our side. Driver in front of me started to pull away, I started to pull away. The driver behind me then accelerated hard into the non-existant gap between me and the driver in front. He then squeezed me towards the kerb. When I had hardly any room left at all, I rapped my hand twice on his rear passenger side window (as hard as you would knock on someone's front door, maybe less so).

He responded by squeezing me more, he then accelerated slightly past me, then slammed the brakes on. I applied the brakes hard, but ran straight into his rear bumper, he then accelerated and I went over the handle bars and landed on my right shoulder and the right side of my (helmet shod) head. Several people in the stationary queue of traffic on the other side of the road were clearly shocked and asked if I was ok. One woman actually got out of her car and came across tn the pavement on my side of the road to check I was ok, she was shaking and kept saying "I've never seen anything like that in my life".

Nobody got the reg plate. All I know is it was a bluey green metallic coloured saloon, and I think it was an X reg. I asked the woman who came across the road if she got the number plate and she said "No, but it was a red car!" which suggests she really was quite shocked.

Helmet has a nice big dent in it (which I bought in October to replace one I damaged when I came off on ice). Left part of my drops is folded flat against the tops, and I'll need to replace the carbon forks as well, even though they looked fine. The back wheel was binding as I pushed it home, so I'm just hoping it had been knocked loose and the frame's ok.

Dropped bike off at LBC on the way home, they had a quick glance and thought the frame was still ok, but I'll have to see what they say tomorrow.

Feel a bit concussed and I have road rash on my shoulder. Shoulder's pretty sore and I have ice on it at the moment. Also have a deepish scratch on my shin. Must have caught it on something on my bike.

Registered for a Tri at Mallory Park on May bank holiday yesterday and wanted to get plenty of swimming in between now and then. Don't really fancy my chances of that now with my sore shoulder. Just hoping I can get it well fast enough to race on May bank holiday.

andy83

thats shocking

glad you are relatively ok and hopefully bike not too damaged after lbs assessment

what an arrogant sod the bloke was, im really starting to feel like people are against us cyclists, start of beautiful weather an my bike gets nicked

are you part of the ctc or british cycling as they could help

cant remember the site but there is somewhere you can claim when a driver leaves the scene, surely someone will be along with the name soon

hope your shoulder recovers soon

dilemna

I am sorry that does sound awful. Take yourself along to your doctor or hospital to get yourself checked out. If you are concussed you want a medical check up. Don't just try and forget and hope it will get better. You could pass out later. You don't know some one else might have ID’d the vehicle and reported him. Report the incident to the police FWIW. Did the woman who stopped give you her contact details so if he is traced then she can be a witness?

The warm weather seems to be bringing the red mist down for a lot drivers today.

fossyant

Get yourself to A&E/docs then the cop shop.

Possibility of any CCTV ?

graeme_s-2

Have notified police via phone, have to go and fill in an accident report from within 7 days. Have been to an NHS drop-in and been given standard advice for head injury and told there's a very slight chance I might have a hairline fracture in my shoulder but probably not. If the pain seems to get considerably worse over the next few days or I have loss of movement I can go to A&E for an xray.

Almost no chance at all of CCTV.

jemjah

really sorry this happened to you. do drivers not understand the damage a car can do to a person?!?!?!?
:evil:
i think as part of driving tuition people should be shown images of what damage cars can do to other cars, cyclists, pedestrians. might make them think twice before playing dangerous games, texting, reading etc while driving.

Feltup

We had a similar event on our Saturday ride where a car tried to slot in to the gap between me and my mate, all 18 inches of it. My mate knocked on her window in the same way and luckily for us she had the sense to pull back. Can't believe what happened to you. Hope you recover quickly.

AndyManc

Another good excuse to buy a cheap(ish) bike cam and keep it on the bars.

I can see a time when we will have the same attitude towards head cams as we do helmets.



.

Christophe3967

AndyManc wrote:

Another good excuse to buy a cheap(ish) bike cam and keep it on the bars.

I can see a time when we will have the same attitude towards head cams as we do helmets.

.

I have a camera for the commuting bike but haven't thought of putting it on the road bike at weekends, which is perhaps a bit dumb of me. Glad to hear you're OK Graeme.

The Chingford Skinhead

That is shocking. As someone out of action due to a cycling related shoulder injury I hope yours is not fractured.

Clever Pun

what an utter f**king c**t it's willful attacks like this that really make my blood boil and what's worse they've probably gotten away with it... damn.

glad to hear you pretty much ok and hope the bike doesn't end up costing you too much. Congrats on the triathalon as well

plapping

Graeme,
Sorry about you incident. Where in Coventry did this happen? I commute down the Foleshill Road and that can be full of numpties, pulling out in front of you, cutting me up etc.

Oh by the way are you attached to Cov Tri Club? Although I ain't one of them- I'm a rugger bugger!!
Cheers
Paul

spen666

jemjah wrote:

... do drivers not understand the damage a car can do to a person?!?!?!?
....

Sadly many don't understand this

Even sader many don't care even if they do know.

People, not just motorists, but pedestrians and cyclists seem to be increasingly thinking of only themselves.

sarajoy

jemjah wrote:

really sorry this happened to you. do drivers not understand the damage a car can do to a person?!?!?!?

Apparently not.

It's like that guy in the other thread who wanted to give a cyclist "a little nudge" and instead shattered his hip.

That's awful G_S, what a real waste of carbon (the driver, not your forks)

That's even more upsetting than folk not realising the damage they can do - it's also the way this is done in broad daylight, people don't seem to realise how purely WRONG such behaviour is.

graeme_s-2

plapping wrote:

Graeme,
Sorry about you incident. Where in Coventry did this happen? I commute down the Foleshill Road and that can be full of numpties, pulling out in front of you, cutting me up etc.

Oh by the way are you attached to Cov Tri Club? Although I ain't one of them- I'm a rugger bugger!!
Cheers
Paul

It was on the Kenilworth Rd heading towards Coventry just after the A45 junction. Been riding along it twice a day for 3 years now and this is the first time I've had any sort of physical contact with a car.

Not attached to any tri club at the moment. Keep considering either Cov Tri Club or the Warwick Uni. Tri Club (I work at the Uni.), but haven't joined either yet.

Soul Boy

As Sarajoy points out, this seems to be catching.....

http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtop ... t=12618594

What is it with these runts!?!? Been in a few close scraps before, but this is a pretty scary development. So now you left with physical injuries and a costly repair bill, all so a driver can get one space in front. Makes my f-ing blood boil!!

Wishing you a speedy recovery and hope the discount gods are on your side when you look for replacement parts....

V. :evil:

redvee

I was in the works van yesterday with someone on placement from a back to work program and he asked why do cyclists stop at lights? I said that you will in time get taken out by somebody coming the other way, he replied with 'if that happens, I'll get the money for the damage to the bike and get up and walk or ride off'!!!!!!
I decided that if that is his attitude then there is no point in trying to convince him othewise and bit my tongue.

Roastie

Worth checking if there is CCTV footage? (Edit: Really should read the thread before typing) Pity about no CCTV...

ps. Well done on the Tri - and I hope the shoulder mends quickly.

cjcp

Graeme - glad you're ok given the circumstances. Last week, after an exchange of views at a set of traffic lights, a chap driving a Volvo (with his daughter in the front seat, no less!) was on a deliberate drive-slow in front of me and turned/swerved left at lights hoping to catch me out.

Re the Tri, if you don't feel up to it, email the organisers to explain what happened and ask if you can have a refund, alternatively, for the money to be put to another event they're organising this season.

Hope you're fully fit soon.

graeme_s-2

Have the quote in from the bike shop now. Grand total of £32 + labour for new bars and tape. No other damage to any of the bike. Kind of stunned considering the speed of the impact.

always_tyred

Graeme_S wrote:

Have the quote in from the bike shop now. Grand total of £32 + labour for new bars and tape. No other damage to any of the bike. Kind of stunned considering the speed of the impact.

Bet that's a relief. Not that suprising - if it was head on, the forces are at Just the damage to you then.

Sympathies - I was knocked off by someone deliberately moving back in after passing me the other month so I know how angry it can make you.

No doubt someone will find a way to opine that either it was your fault or avoidable, but if you cycle enough, you learn that sometimes it simply isn't.

Feltup

Glad to hear it isn't as bad as you thought. Just got yourself to repair now. Take care.