my first accident

[brianlt228]

Guess I was naive...didn't think it would happen to me...but it did. I was commuting back from work. Had a nice ride to work from Performance Bike in Cary to right by the Trek store in North Raleigh. But on the way home, I was coming down Millbrook road toward Six Forks and got run off the road by a truck. Wow that hurt. I was going pretty fast too. Road rash from my right hip all the way up to the top of my right shoulder. Bloodied my elbows and knees. However...thank goodness I had purchased a quality helmet...the back is completely smashed. Had i not had it on....I would easily have fractured my skull...occipital lobe to be specific. Just looking at that helmet made me cringe. I was doing about 25 when I flew.
The bike is in the shop now, getting repaired. Looking like 300 or so in damage to the bike. But honestly...the thing that makes me really angry is not that I wrecked, nor that a truck ran me off the road. What really really ticks me off....is the guy did it on purpose. Got an excellent look at his face...not a plate number though. He pulled up beside me as i hit the bottom of the hill. Honked...even waved...then swerved right into my lane trying to scare me....it worked. I swerved...hit the spot where the asphalt dipped to the culvert section and flew. Of course...he didn't stop. Now my bike is all jacked up...and I am sore. However...when the bike is fixed..I shall be back on the road again.
Oh...before you ask...why didn't I call the police.....no point. The truck was long gone and all i had was a vague description. What could they have done? Nada. But, I wil lbe back....and on that road....maybe..I'll get lucky and spot him. Then.....who knows.

[Erica]

im sorry you got run off the road and injured. im glad you made it out with minor issues, a lot luckier than the other bike wrecks we've reading about in the raleigh area. any chance you can give us the vague description of the vehicle and driver? might help if one of us comes in contact with him in the same fashion and are able to get a plate number too.

[brianlt228]

sure.... red chevy silverado....extended cab....older body style, figure around the 1999/2000 body style...caucasian male...with dark brown hair , beard/ mustache...wearing baseball cap. Thats about all i remember...but i am on the lookout for him too.

[Michelle W]

he might travel that route on a regular basis and you could spot him and get the information for a police report. Of course, then you run the risk of really pissing him off and he is worse next time. Sorry to hear about your accident, but glad it wasn't any worse. Take care.

[j_mii]

I am so sorry that this happened to you. I just don't understand these idiots. <shakes head>

[TracyW]

I wonder how many accidents like this do go unreported. Not to fault you, but how are we to get an even hand if we keep not reporting? Make the law do what the law is suppose to do!

[Winnie]

Sounds to me like he committed an assault. I would have reported it.

[brianlt228]

I am filing a report on Monday AM. Tis my first free day to do so

[williamtash]

I am sorry to hear about your wreck. Glad you are not badly hurt. You do need to report it. even if you don't have a plate number. The more these things are reported maybe just maybe the city may do a little something. Maybe even make some bike lanes yea right hopeful thinking

[RickF]

I am sorry to hear about your accident, and I am glad it was not any worse than it was. I have had a number of similar close calls, but fortunately, I have not yet gone down. On my commute from Cary to RTP on Monday there was an idiot who tried to run me off the road. I felt his passenger-side mirror pass my left sleeve, then I watched as he moved back out to the center of the lane. That is what really annoyed me - it was obvious he did it on purpose. There was no way I could get a license number. I am dyslectic, and I cannot read license plates when either the car or I are moving. There was no way I could catch up to him at the next light, either, so I understand why most of these incidents go unreported.

That was the only incident I have had like that on my Cary to RTP commute, but I have had several run-ins with people who try to see if they can scare me around Holly Springs, Fuquay Varina, New Hill, and Garner. Last Saturday, there were a couple of idiots in a pickup truck (why is it usually pickup trucks) on NC 42 in Fuquay Varina who were yelling obcenities and throwing things at us, and they were going in the opposite direction. There was no traffic in our lane, but for some reason, those jerks thought we had no business being on the road.

I grew up cycling in a major city, so I do not mind cars getting close to me when the traffic is heavy, but when they obviously do it on purpose, whether it is because they think it is funny or because they are trying to scare cyclists off the road, I get upset.

[TracyW]

By the way, glad you're OK.

[j_mii]

I swear we'll all end up wearing helmet cams some day. Geez!

[CharleyM3]

Or sidearms.

[TracyW]

Or sidearms.Sometimes I wonder

[Erica]

that'd be sweet!

[RickF]

This thread (http://www.cyclingforums.com/t180561.html) has been going on cyclingforums.com for more than four years. So far it runs 165 pages with 2472 replies.

[Erica]

good lord, that thread was all over the place, lol. i opened it expecting to be reading about ppl carrying weapons to ward off idiot drivers. instead, the few pages i cyber-thumbed through rambled on about debates to the rights of carrying concealed weapons, to hunting while riding, to this is whats wrong with america, shoot first, ask questions later, blah blah blah.

i know that if i had a gun and a permit and properly trained, it would be a bad idea for me to carry one on a ride. specifically if i was carrying a loaded gun the day those buffoons in the black car came up on me and Jay.....my reactionary twit self would have turned around, took aim, and fired....not at head level, but maybe taken out a tire so we could get up to them and handle it hand to hand....or cleat to mouth, whatever was more convenient as the adrenaline pumped through the veins. guns kind of scare me...what if they were packin', too? then a simple jackass move of scaring a couple of cyclists could have turned into a shoot out with casualties. it sucks that people have to be jerks, and its nice to fantasize about revenge and blowing them to smithereens, but at the end of the day, i'd rather just avoid all that nonsense and make it home to my babies in one piece. hopefully, thats not too much to ask.

[brianlt228]

how did this turn to guns???

[TomG]

I think it would be cool to start a web site that documents these incidents that happen around here. Allow people to post pictures, plate numbers, etc, of these people who choose to break the law and have no respect for human life. Maybe even get car insurance companies to advertise on it. How funny would that be?

[Erica]

how did this turn to guns???

lol because gasshole drivers turn us into a bunch of rootin' tootin' yosemite sam wanna be's. at least, they do that to me dammit. :mad: