near miss last night
moophus
Posts: 15
Last night on the way home, I got hit by a car.
It was around 9pm and the roads were wet from drippy rain all day. There were around five police cars and officers everywhere diverting traffic where Upper street and Essex road intersect. Because I had to take a massive detour around this one little block, I was agitated and feeling a bit aggressive.
As I was approaching The Lexington pub to take a right onto Pentonville road there was a line of cars waiting at the light.
Reluctant to slow down and wait, I started passing all the cars on the right...with the intention just to pop onto the pavement once I got to the front since I live a short walk from there. Just when I got to the first car, the light turned green.
It was a black late model Mini Cooper. There was a pack of cyclists having a slow start at the light so the driver got impatient and decided to gun it past them. He needed to swerve a bit to the right to stay clear of the cyclists but he didn't see me barreling down that narrow lane.
I can play it back in slow motion. Just as I was coming up to him hard and fast I heard his throttle go wide open and the intake guttering as it was gasping for breath. At the same time his wheel started turning right, his nose heading straight towards my projected path. Everything happened so fast, all improvised reactions. Just before impact I wacked his fender with my left hand as hard as I could and it help me push off away from him, towards the right straight onto the pavement (sidewalk) where I then continued home on.
Looking back, I made eye contact with the driver who had his window closed so I couldn't hear what unpleasantness he was yelling. He had a mad look on his face as well as a relieved look that I was ok.
Humorously, my hand hit his fender so hard that I heard a few of the standing pub drinkers behind me gasp a chorus of "oooh!" thinking I got hit.
Ha, I guess technically I hit the car and not the other way around. The fault lies on both of us. He shouldn't have aggressively and unexpectedly tried to overtake the group of cyclists on the green light (at least check your mirrors dude, I had lights on) and I was being a naughty cyclist, filtering on the right, at night. Thankfully no one got hurt but wiser.
Anyhow, there's nothing like that sinking feeling of doom when you realise something bad is about to happen to you and you're just thinking "crap. hold tight, I'm about to eat it!"
It was around 9pm and the roads were wet from drippy rain all day. There were around five police cars and officers everywhere diverting traffic where Upper street and Essex road intersect. Because I had to take a massive detour around this one little block, I was agitated and feeling a bit aggressive.
As I was approaching The Lexington pub to take a right onto Pentonville road there was a line of cars waiting at the light.
Reluctant to slow down and wait, I started passing all the cars on the right...with the intention just to pop onto the pavement once I got to the front since I live a short walk from there. Just when I got to the first car, the light turned green.
It was a black late model Mini Cooper. There was a pack of cyclists having a slow start at the light so the driver got impatient and decided to gun it past them. He needed to swerve a bit to the right to stay clear of the cyclists but he didn't see me barreling down that narrow lane.
I can play it back in slow motion. Just as I was coming up to him hard and fast I heard his throttle go wide open and the intake guttering as it was gasping for breath. At the same time his wheel started turning right, his nose heading straight towards my projected path. Everything happened so fast, all improvised reactions. Just before impact I wacked his fender with my left hand as hard as I could and it help me push off away from him, towards the right straight onto the pavement (sidewalk) where I then continued home on.
Looking back, I made eye contact with the driver who had his window closed so I couldn't hear what unpleasantness he was yelling. He had a mad look on his face as well as a relieved look that I was ok.
Humorously, my hand hit his fender so hard that I heard a few of the standing pub drinkers behind me gasp a chorus of "oooh!" thinking I got hit.
Ha, I guess technically I hit the car and not the other way around. The fault lies on both of us. He shouldn't have aggressively and unexpectedly tried to overtake the group of cyclists on the green light (at least check your mirrors dude, I had lights on) and I was being a naughty cyclist, filtering on the right, at night. Thankfully no one got hurt but wiser.
Anyhow, there's nothing like that sinking feeling of doom when you realise something bad is about to happen to you and you're just thinking "crap. hold tight, I'm about to eat it!"
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Comments
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Hmm a lesson learnt for you both I think.
Strictly as there was a collision you needed to stop and exchange details or report it at a Police station but it's going to be hard to trace you!
Personally I never got this slapping cars thing as I figure having both hands on the controls is a better idea.Currently riding a Whyte T130C, X0 drivetrain, Magura Trail brakes converted to mixed wheel size (homebuilt wheels) with 140mm Fox 34 Rhythm and RP23 suspension. 12.2Kg.0 -
Its safer not having any risk taking filtering heroics amongst busy city centre traffic. If Im going to have an accident its likely to be then.
Am I really going to get home that much quicker in the grand scheme of things if I cycle like a twat? Its still going to take me around 40 minutes to get back anyway.
The same goes for red traffic lights.
I have little sympathy for people who cause accidents because of their own behaviour. And recently Deliveroo couriers around here are starting to become an absolute embarrassment to cycling by acting like total d*ckheads in the city centre."The Prince of Wales is now the King of France" - Calton Kirby0
