I hurt a pedestrian today :(

[Herbsman.]

and I feel really bad about it

everyone keeps telling me 'it was an accident' and 'it was her fault' but the fact is that it was the fault of both of us, and i could have avoided it if i had been a bit more hesitant

basically loads of peds decided to take their chances in front of me, and one unlucky lady decided to follow them without looking, then changes her mind and goes back the way she came. well, i saw her step into the road and i knew that she'd be well out of the way by the time i reached her, so i carried on, with the aim of going past her... but no, she had to change her mind didnt she, at the last minute she turns around and goes back on herself, right into my path... and she tooki the full force of myself and a bicycle going at about 15mph... its a good job both me and my bike are skinny as fuck.

now , if i wasnt in such a hurry to get to the pickup that i was late for, i would have done what i normally do, which is slow down and make sure ive got plenty of room to go past the lemming-like pedestrians on their suicide missions, but no, i just had to rush past them didnt i i feel like a complete and utter fuck-head.

the feeling of guilt is much worse than the pain in my knee, and worse than the embarrassment and shame of being involved in an accident that i could have avoided

she seemed ok btw, but got taken to hospital just to be on the safe side. i hope she isnt hurt too much. lots of witnesses saw what happened and gave statements to the police, and no-one seems to be blaming me except for myself...

i have learned a valuable lesson from this... tis just a shame i had to learn the hard way....

 

[Miss-Shelf]

hope you're ok too. you can't always make the right call in the split second on the road.

bet she won't do it again.

 

[Pingu]

i have learned a valuable lesson from this... tis just a shame i had to learn the hard way....

that pedestrains are thick sometimes?

hope you are ok

 

[goldenecitrone]

I don't think there's much you can do if people are determined to throw themselves right into you. There are about three crossings on my route to work that I always slow down for even when there's a green light as experience shows that there will always be someone following the herd and not paying attention to the oncoming traffic, especially bikes. Glad you're both okay and hopefully she'll have learnt an important lesson today. What if you'd been a motorbike or a car?

 

[Herbsman.]

i know the same things gonna happen tomorrow, and the next day and the next day... in fact when the police finally let me go, i rode back to my workplace, and nuff people stepped out in front of me...

i cant say a bad word about the girl i hit, she knows she shouldnt have stepped in the road without looking, but at the same time it was completely my fault for hitting her, cos i should have slowed right down when i saw her step in the road, instead of carrying on past her

nothing good can come of this incident, except for the lesson that i have learnt, (i.e. to keep my patience and slow down no matter how much of a rush i'm in) which will prevent this from happening again

 

[Miss-Shelf]

is your bike ok?

 

[huxley71]

I think pedestrians should be considered to be at the top (not bottom) of the food chain, and always slow right down for them. But when people panic and change direction, it's difficult to react, as you've assumed they'll carry on and chosen your line. Especially as you can't assume there isn't a car coming up behind you and don't have time to check.

 

[Radar]

nothing good can come of this incident, except for the lesson that i have learnt, (i.e. to keep my patience and slow down no matter how much of a rush i'm in) which will prevent this from happening again

Dont keep beating yourself up. There is a certain degree of inevitability about it, especially if you have a job that requires you to ride in the city or WE.

The only two times I've hit a ped on the road are spaced 13 years apart

The most recent one was at a ped crossing , he crossed against the ped lights and kept going even after I hit the horn and started drifting right to get round the front of him. One case of target fixation later and thud TBH I think this chap might even have been smacked up, he really wasn't aware of his surrounding and didn't react to the horn.

The other one was a teenager who had already safely crossed my lane, was standing on the white line poised to cross the other lane and doubled back without looking when I was about 5ft away from him. He was really lucky as the road had just been skimmed ready for resurfacing and I was only doing about 10/15 mph, and I was really lucky because a LT bus driver saw the whole thing and stopped on the way back to give me his details as a witness. Little fucker pulled this all of 20 yards from a zebra he couldn't be bothered to walk to

Two different cases, but it's only the most recent one I still feel guilty about. I had plenty of time to pull an emergency stop or steer behind, but I didn't because a) I thought I could get around the front of him and b) I had a bin lorry up my arse and sticking it didn't feel safe.

Still not good enough though

 

[Radar]

and I feel really bad about it

And yep, you will feel guilty as fuck for a while. Tis called being human

everyone keeps telling me 'it was an accident' and 'it was her fault' but the fact is that it was the fault of both of us, and i could have avoided it if i had been a bit more hesitant

The problem with going too far down this route is that you won't actually get anywhere if you ride to remove all possible risk to pedestrians, its a balancing act between riding defensively allowing for the realistic risks and ignoring the more improbable ones.

imo
Sheeping of people crossing at a ped crossing at lunchtime, likely !!
Suits jumping kerbside railings to dash across multiple lanes through moving traffic, unlikely !!
Peds trying to cross when traffic is stationary but lights still against them, likely !!
Peds trying to kill you by dropping onto you from overhead bridges, unlikely !!

Problem is, as Huxly has just posted, people can be really unpredictable. What's the odds I'll be taken down tomorrow by the CEO of Deutschebank going feral on London Wall, dashing willynilly through the City of London traffic before divebombing me from one of the London Wall walkways just to prove me wrong

 

[madamv]

Thats horrid for you both to have to go through. Best wishes your way. You may be in a bit of shock, so take care.

I watched the aftermath of a cyclist who ended up in the rear window of a car this afternoon. I didnt see it happen, but happened to glance out the window to see a bloody faced cyclist (wearing a helmet thank goodness) and a car driver in shock staring at his broken back window. WTF happened I dont know.

I ran over a peds foot once. Nasty feelings inside.

Lesson to us all to take more time over the every day chores xx

 

[LilMissHissyFit]

Horrible for you both. You could always congratulate yourself that you werent in a car.....she and you were both lucky that whatever- it could have been much worse

 

[detective-boy]

What if you'd been a motorbike ...?

She'd probably still have some glancing blow type injuries ... and the motorcyclist would, at best, be looking at a repair bill of a few hundred quid and, at worse, be suffering serious, possibly permanent injuries with no recourse to anything but their own pocket or insurance.

 

[goldenecitrone]

She'd probably still have some glancing blow type injuries ... and the motorcyclist would, at best, be looking at a repair bill of a few hundred quid and, at worse, be suffering serious, possibly permanent injuries with no recourse to anything but their own pocket or insurance.

Glad you're here. You never did get back to me on that one. Where does the law stand on taxis stopping in red route bus lanes to let out passengers?

 

[Herbsman.]

is your bike ok?

seems to be fine... thank god. i've crashed this bike 6 times since i bought it, and i dont even own it yet. i'm a bit worried 'cos it's a waffer fin aluminium thing, light as f*ck. when it's ready to break, aluminium don't give you a forewarning by way of bending like steel does, it just snaps suddenly, which could be extremely dangerous...

 

[goldenecitrone]

Every time I see this thread I can hear Johnny Cash singing in my head, 'I hurt...'

 

[Pieface]

It's really bad at that crossing over Brixton rd in front of the tube station actually - when the traffic's backed up the pedestrians just stream over in between cars and of course the bikes haven't stopped. Saw a women get totally smacked there one morning - it was rather nasty.

I always forget about bikes....

 

[Herbsman.]

You don't have to remember anything though, just stop and look, that's all it takes.

 

[detective-boy]

Glad you're here. You never did get back to me on that one. Where does the law stand on taxis stopping in red route bus lanes to let out passengers?

Can't remember the question - but I'd have thought licensed taxis are OK in the bus lanes (some are bus only but most are taxis as well); they would be OK stoping just to let passengers in or out on a red route; but they would be probably be liable for any negligence by passengers opeing the door and endangering anyone else, especially if they had the door release system and so could have prevented it.

 

[goldenecitrone]

Can't remember the question - but I'd have thought licensed taxis are OK in the bus lanes (some are bus only but most are taxis as well); they would be OK stoping just to let passengers in or out on a red route; but they would be probably be liable for any negligence by passengers opeing the door and endangering anyone else, especially if they had the door release system and so could have prevented it.

So if it happens again I could sue for damage to my bike. Cheers.

 

[Pieface]

You don't have to remember anything though, just stop and look, that's all it takes.

I know but I'm afraid I see "road" and think "car". Sorry and that but it's true - especially in London. I haven't actually caused any accidents and I've never even come close so hopefully I'm more aware than I'm letting on but I don't expect bikes ever - they don't come under the deadly killing machine remit so I think that's why I tend to forget.

I suppose I've never come across people who ride bikes they way they do in London before, weaving in and out of traffic and going bloody fast and that. I'm not anti bikes btw - just being honest.

Anyway - glad you're ok and I hope the lady's alright too.

 

[Cobbles]

So if it happens again I could sue for damage to my bike. Cheers.

OOh look there's a taxi stopping up in front of me - what's going to happen......Ummmmm maybe it'll do a Transformers thingy into a breakdancing biped and I'll just cycle under it - oooer missus, a door's opening - I never expected that, not in a million years


Contributory negligence - 100%

 

[sinky]

Ooh look the taxi has stopped, i'll get out onto the road without looking because it's not like there'll be big metal things moving about that could do me any damage

 

[Radar]

Ooh look the taxi has stopped, i'll get out onto the road without looking because it's not like there'll be big metal things moving about that could do me any damage

Unless they got out on the passenger side and was then hit by someone undertaking ??

I skimmed someone once who did just this to me at traffic lights. They were on a double-decker which wasn't at a stop, it was stopped at red lights. I undertook the stationary bus to get to the head of the queue and almost collected some daft bint who had persuaded the driver to open the door. Whilst she was doing this, she had to see the three pushbikes in front of me pass the door, yet she still leapt out on top of me without looking She knocked me off, and my bike ripped her skirt and grazed her leg as I went down. She then started screaming blue murder I just picked the bike up, made sure everything was still attached, told her she was stupid to get off a bus without looking when not at a stop and that there was no way I was paying for her fucking torn dress, shouted at the driver that he was a cunt for opening the door in the first place and cycled off leaving the lot of them

Now if I'd done the same thing to a taxi, a vehicle that can drop passengers off at any reasonable place then IMO I would have been an arsehole. Same if the above incident had been at a bus stop and not on the open road.

But you can be unlucky. A mate of mine I went to uni with managed to get knocked off his pushbike by a notorious Dublin judge back in the eighties. The cunt parked up his Jag and opened his drivers door onto a main road just as my mate was cycling by. The car door was knocked off and trashed, along with my mate's pushbike and his left knee. Push comes to shove, my mate was found liable for all damages

Exact same thing happened to my cousin but a scooter this time and not involving a judge He was also injured, but at least he was awarded damages from the driver's insurance co.

 

[detective-boy]

So if it happens again I could sue for damage to my bike. Cheers.

Yes. And you would stand a reasonable chance of success.

(ETA: Assuming you were riding lawfully - speed, position, lights)

 

[detective-boy]

Contributory negligence - 100%

Bollocks.

 

[subversplat]

Undertaking and overtaking on the inside are two completely different things

 

[goldenecitrone]

OOh look there's a taxi stopping up in front of me - what's going to happen......Ummmmm maybe it'll do a Transformers thingy into a breakdancing biped and I'll just cycle under it - oooer missus, a door's opening - I never expected that, not in a million years


Contributory negligence - 100%

Living up to your name again. Cobblers.

 

[eoin_k]

Hope yer feeling better Herbs. When I was working on a bike these sort of incidents always make me annoyed at the chances that you feel you have to take to try and make a couple of extra quid a day or to keep a customer/controller sweet.

Take it easy and stay safe.

 

[Herbsman.]

Little did I know, at the time of the accident, there was a moody, arrogant cow in marks and sparks (the accident happend just outside there), saying something to the effect of "those bloody couriers on their bloody bikes, theyre a danger".

Little did she know that a member of staff from one of the biggest law firms in the uk, also one of our biggest clients, was standing right behind her at the time. He says "and what the bloody hell do you know about cycle couriers? little do you know that our firm gives a lot of work to that courier, and that we know that he is one of the most careful and considerate cyclists that we have ever seen, so perhaps you should keep your trap shut"

the lady replies with something like "well! i have never been so offended". the guy says "if you stick around i'll offend you some more if you like" the lady leaves and the checkout assistant says "she is such an arrogant cow, i hate it when she comes in here"

I laughed my socks off when he told me that...

 

[detective-boy]

Little did she know that a member of staff from one of the biggest law firms in the uk, also one of our biggest clients..

Now about that "No win, no fee" lawsuit against the negligent pedestrian ...