no cycling for me for a while..knocked off today

Team4Luke

some good evidence there, he said sun in his eyes, thus did he have sunglasses on and was his visor down, if not then clear lack of attention to the conditions shown here, did the police note this down.

dashik

All academic, the key point is by his admission he was still driving too fast to stop if he saw a hazard, which clearly he did not.

Frank the tank

Peat wrote:

Yikes. Terrifying. Glad you're, in the main, ok.

Also feel for the driver a bit, i have been in situations like that where visibility is really low. But as a cyclist i always try and be extra vigulant for bikes in those conditions - it is difficult though.

Have you never had the sun in your eyes when driving then? I know I have and it's at its most treacherous at this time of year and spring when the sun is low in the sky. You can loose sight of lorries in it never mind a cyclist. I was hit up the @rse in my car at a juction by a motorist who had the sun in his eyes.

I avoid riding in such light conditions if I can, for this reason, you can become "invisible" in an instant.

To the OP Glad you're still around to tell the tail and hope you're soon up and about. Have you got legal representation yet?

Bu99er, quoted the wrong person meant to quote ILM Zero7. :roll:

peat

Frank the tank wrote:

Peat wrote:

Yikes. Terrifying. Glad you're, in the main, ok.

Also feel for the driver a bit, i have been in situations like that where visibility is really low. But as a cyclist i always try and be extra vigulant for bikes in those conditions - it is difficult though.

Have you never had the sun in your eyes when driving then?:

Um. Yes. Perhaps my comment is badly written, but i am empathizing with the driver and i'm in agreement with what you are saying.

This time of year, as you say, is especially bad for it because of the low sun, usually wet/damp road (causing additional glare, made worse by tacky spray that smears on the windscreen.

While everyone here immediately jumps on the driver, when the conditions are that bad - i would imagine that a rider would suffer just as bad and would stand a high chance of cycling straight into an open drain should there be one. So, when is it ever 'safe'?

bompington

I have to disagree. I have driven plenty of times with appalling low sun, I'm sure every driver has, and if I cannot see well enough, I slow down until I can. Even if that means stopping, and I've done that more than once if I really couldn't see - acutely aware that drivers behind might not do so.
There is NO excuse for driving somewhere you cannot see.

elderone

Peat wrote:

Frank the tank wrote:

Peat wrote:

Yikes. Terrifying. Glad you're, in the main, ok.

Also feel for the driver a bit, i have been in situations like that where visibility is really low. But as a cyclist i always try and be extra vigulant for bikes in those conditions - it is difficult though.

Have you never had the sun in your eyes when driving then?:

Um. Yes. Perhaps my comment is badly written, but i am empathizing with the driver and i'm in agreement with what you are saying.

This time of year, as you say, is especially bad for it because of the low sun, usually wet/damp road (causing additional glare, made worse by tacky spray that smears on the windscreen.

While everyone here immediately jumps on the driver, when the conditions are that bad - i would imagine that a rider would suffer just as bad and would stand a high chance of cycling straight into an open drain should there be one. So, when is it ever 'safe'?

maybe you should try it from my side of the fence,im lucky to be alive, and i do understand the conditions at the time, i have no empathy with the driver as he by his own admission he didnt see me so he wasn,t driving to the conditions.
hey i was that cyclyst on that same road in same conditions and at my speed i could see fine,maybe if he had matched my speed i wouldn,t be as f##ked up as i am.

peat

elderone - don't take any of my comments as a personal attack. I am a cycling/driving hybrid, so in the interest of balance i am highlighting the plight of the motorist in this instance. I'm sure he doesn't feel elated by this either.

Some of the members on this forum seem to have the mindset: 'My uncle abused me when i was a child - He drove a car, ergo, anyone who drives a car is evil'.

The best one i saw was 'If i was driving and the sun was in my eyes, i would seek an alternative route' (or words to that effect). - If your destination is due west of your starting point, you are going to have to face the sun at some point. Should the roads be shut at sunset or a blanket 15mph speed limit put in place? Who knows.

Wishing you a speedy recover and to, as they say, 'get back on the bicycle'.

elderone

Peat wrote:

elderone - don't take any of my comments as a personal attack. I am a cycling/driving hybrid, so in the interest of balance i am highlighting the plight of the motorist in this instance. I'm sure he doesn't feel elated by this either.

Some of the members on this forum seem to have the mindset: 'My uncle abused me when i was a child - He drove a car, ergo, anyone who drives a car is evil'.

The best one i saw was 'If i was driving and the sun was in my eyes, i would seek an alternative route' (or words to that effect). - If your destination is due west of your starting point, you are going to have to face the sun at some point. Should the roads be shut at sunset or a blanket 15mph speed limit put in place? Who knows.

Wishing you a speedy recover and to, as they say, 'get back on the bicycle'.

Thats you,re opinion and thats fine,iff a little ott.no need to shut roads etc just apply comman sense and drive to the conditions,its not rocket science.

Cookie91

Elderone firstly i hope you make a quick and proper recovery. And on a light note, i was knocked off my bike by a taxi in bristol around 3 weeks ago , ended up with a blood clot in my left leg.Despite this little sob story, today i have had my first ride on my bike since the accident, and it geniunely feels as though the break did me good and i have had an amazing ride to look forward to. Hopefully you will get the same sensation!

sassse

Hi Elderone

Glad to hear you are not too seriously hurt. And I hope you get back on the bike quickly and a nice shiny new bike and kit for your trouble.

I am pleased to see the driver admitted to his error immediately, hopefully he has learnt from this instance and won't make the same mistake again.

We all make mistakes, I myself was off the bike for 9 months after a bizarre accident caused by someone else not controlling their dog, resulting in an open fracture of the tib/fib. I know I have made errors in judgement in the car and on the bike, and try to learn from each one... it is so easy to get complacent from either side of the fence. Sometimes you just need to let it go concentrate on recovering and go from there.

Just my tuppence worth, take care all and stay safe.

elderone

sassse wrote:

Hi Elderone

Glad to hear you are not too seriously hurt. And I hope you get back on the bike quickly and a nice shiny new bike and kit for your trouble.

I am pleased to see the driver admitted to his error immediately, hopefully he has learnt from this instance and won't make the same mistake again.

We all make mistakes, I myself was off the bike for 9 months after a bizarre accident caused by someone else not controlling their dog, resulting in an open fracture of the tib/fib. I know I have made errors in judgement in the car and on the bike, and try to learn from each one... it is so easy to get complacent from either side of the fence. Sometimes you just need to let it go concentrate on recovering and go from there.

Just my tuppence worth, take care all and stay safe.

cheers sasse and makes sense.personally the chap in question made a mistake and i sincerely believe it shook him up and he has learnt from it,hope so.I am concentrating on recovery and even drooling over next bike,so thats cheering me up.

elderone

Cookie91 wrote:

Elderone firstly i hope you make a quick and proper recovery. And on a light note, i was knocked off my bike by a taxi in bristol around 3 weeks ago , ended up with a blood clot in my left leg.Despite this little sob story, today i have had my first ride on my bike since the accident, and it geniunely feels as though the break did me good and i have had an amazing ride to look forward to. Hopefully you will get the same sensation!

hope so,cant wait to get out again and carry on where i left off,with much catching up to do.

sassse

It is amazing the difference a nice shiny bike makes..... I had just bought a new Wilier Izoard Centaur 3 months before my accident.... and when I was allowed back on it 9 months later... it was amazing.... and I felt like I was flying...... I probably wasn't and a granny on a shopper could have taken me.... but I felt like I was flying and that is all that matters..... and having the lure of the bike there kept me going during the recovery.

So keep looking at all those nice shiny bits of kit and the time will pass.

elderone

sassse wrote:

It is amazing the difference a nice shiny bike makes..... I had just bought a new Wilier Izoard Centaur 3 months before my accident.... and when I was allowed back on it 9 months later... it was amazing.... and I felt like I was flying...... I probably wasn't and a granny on a shopper could have taken me.... but I felt like I was flying and that is all that matters..... and having the lure of the bike there kept me going during the recovery.

So keep looking at all those nice shiny bits of kit and the time will pass.

cheers,although the bike i was hit on and is now destroyed was only 6 weeks old

peat

Ok, i've changed my tune.

Out this morning, sun behind me, long straight B-Road. 2 cars coming in the opposite direction. When they were about 200 metres away, the following car decided to overtake the one in front and commited to it. I screamed 'NOOOOOOO' and the old boy looked suprised to see me. The car he was overtaking had seen me, because when this berk went for the overtake, he dived on the brakes and got over into the verge as much as he could.

Terrifying.

elderone

Peat wrote:

Ok, i've changed my tune.

Out this morning, sun behind me, long straight B-Road. 2 cars coming in the opposite direction. When they were about 200 metres away, the following car decided to overtake the one in front and commited to it. I screamed 'NOOOOOOO' and the old boy looked suprised to see me. The car he was overtaking had seen me, because when this berk went for the overtake, he dived on the brakes and got over into the verge as much as he could.

Terrifying.

least you got away with it and as you say terrifying..luckily i was spared that as it came from behind

Bobbinogs

Yepp, dangerous time of year. My wife got knocked off yesterday by a car reversing into her. The driver was very apologetic and said "I really couldn't see a thing with the sun in my eyes". Fantastic defence.

Luckily my wife is ok but the bike needed about £200 worth of repairs which, to be fair to the driver, was all paid for after she took the bike to the lbs (along with my wife) and then left her credit card details.

stueys

With the general crappy standard of driving on the roads I'm rapidly starting to think there should be some kind of refresher course every 2 years, people should ride on the roads for an hour as part of that course. Sadly too many generally stupid people who aren't adequately skilled or aware to be in control of a tonne of lethal metal.

More and more people I know seem to be rolling out with helmet cams.

elderone

Bobbinogs wrote:

Yepp, dangerous time of year. My wife got knocked off yesterday by a car reversing into her. The driver was very apologetic and said "I really couldn't see a thing with the sun in my eyes". Fantastic defence.

Luckily my wife is ok but the bike needed about £200 worth of repairs which, to be fair to the driver, was all paid for after she took the bike to the lbs (along with my wife) and then left her credit card details.

glad your wife is ok and bike sorted,but proves again how easy it is to get hurt.

elderone

More and more people I know seem to be rolling out with helmet cams.[/quote]

more vids for utube then

Stuuu

I'm sorry to hear about your experience, Elderone, and I wish you a speedy recovery.

Your story certainly makes me think twice when considering cycling while the sun is too low in the sky. Not usually a problem for me since I like a mid-morning cycle. But there were a few times last summer when I was driving home in the evening sun, and the sun was making visibility challenging. Those summer evenings are quite seductive, and so rare in the UK, that I did go out for a ride.

Cycling has certainly made me more aware of cyclists' needs while driving. I had a close call the other week, however. One dark night I was driving the correct way down a one way street when I was unable to see a cyclist with no lights on, wearing black clothes and cycling up the wrong way. The play of street light reflections on the windscreen at night don't help. Thankfully my wife was sat next to me and could see him from a better viewing angle through the glass, and warned me. I kept an eye on him in my rear view mirror after I passed him to see if he remained safe to the end of the road. I am glad to say he did. But what was he thinking?!

Philinmerthyr

I was out today and in a hail storm and passed a cycling club on a B road in Swansea. As I road passed I saw a bloke in a 4x4 going mad in his car because my bike stopped him passing the other riders.

No wonder there are accidents with such tw@ts on the road.

Other than that, I had a great ride. Weather was crap but that added to the challenge

elderone

Stuuu wrote:

I'm sorry to hear about your experience, Elderone, and I wish you a speedy recovery.

Your story certainly makes me think twice when considering cycling while the sun is too low in the sky. Not usually a problem for me since I like a mid-morning cycle. But there were a few times last summer when I was driving home in the evening sun, and the sun was making visibility challenging. Those summer evenings are quite seductive, and so rare in the UK, that I did go out for a ride.

Cycling has certainly made me more aware of cyclists' needs while driving. I had a close call the other week, however. One dark night I was driving the correct way down a one way street when I was unable to see a cyclist with no lights on, wearing black clothes and cycling up the wrong way. The play of street light reflections on the windscreen at night don't help. Thankfully my wife was sat next to me and could see him from a better viewing angle through the glass, and warned me. I kept an eye on him in my rear view mirror after I passed him to see if he remained safe to the end of the road. I am glad to say he did. But what was he thinking?!

I think thats the question for most people really,be they cyclists or what ever..most dont think and only when something goes wrong are eyes opened.