Just had my first accident

[cwah]

It was supposed to happen... and it happened!

I had my first accident tonight. A pedestrian crossed the road while I was ridding. He litterally jumped on my bike, I didn't even have the time to use my breaks...

I ran on him, he was laying on the floor groaning... Ambulance arrived, cops arrived. They checked me but hopefully didn't notice that my bike was electric.

The guys is ok now, he said he was looking for cars and wasn't expecting a bike to arrive. That's why he crossed the road.


On my side, my headlight were turned off. It was somehow my fault. My glasses are broken now... hopefully I was only around 30 kph on the road when the accident happened.

Lesson learnt, I'll always turn my lights on on the road.

 

[steveindenmark]

"He was looking for cars"

Good job you wasn`t a bus then.

If he was at fault he should be paying for your glasses.

Steve

 

[cwah]

Seriously he was so *****... I don't know how that can happen. I always feel that pedestrians are the most dangerous on the road and they are the one I'm most likely going to have accident.

I asked the cop if I can do something... Unfortunately pedestrian have the right to cross ANYWHERE on the road in the UK

 

[funkylyn]

Hope you are alright cwah, it must have been quite a shock.....to put it mildly....
Was it dark ?
If not, then you didnt really have to have your lights on ?
Also, it doesnt really matter that your bike is electric.......unless of course its...err.....'not quite legal' ??
Thank goodness, anyway, that both you and the silly pedestrian are ok and both learnt a lesson tonight without suffering too much.
It could have been much much worse.......broken glasses can be replaced easier than broken bones mended.

Plus every report we read of an accident makes us all more aware of the dangers out there, so thankyou for that.
What are the police saying about it ?

Anyway, deep breath now.......and pour yourself a drink.

Lynda

 

[eddieo]

J walking is such a serious problem in this country....

 

[cwah]

It wasn't really dark. I live in London there are lights everywhere. But I suppose it's better to keep them on to make sure they can see me.

Bikes are somehow difficult to spot because they are neither noisy or big..

Police just asked my ID, asked me to give him a description of how the accident happened. I said something such as "I was cycling on the road while he jumped on my bike. I didn't even have to time to use my break...". When he saw where the accident happened (in the middle of the road), he completely agreed with me.

I was surprised no one asked to check the bike. For cars accident they always check, not for bike. The policeman said that neither pedestrians or bikes have insurance, so unless we sue each other there is no point to go any further...

I then quietly took my bike and ran on the opposite side, happy to know they didn't notice it was electric. My bike is not that illegal, it goes at 22mph but it's still a 250W motor. But still, we never know..

 

[cwah]

J walking is such a serious problem in this country....

Walking on the road without looking at cyclists is a serious problem. It happened to me many times, and even during the daylight!!!

Hopefully, until now I managed to avoid them on the latest moment!!

 

[flecc]

Fortunately the pedestrian was ok or it could have got complicated. Last night on BBC 1 TV the "Death Unexplained" program about the West London coroner's work featured exactly this sort of accident with a jay walker and an innocent cyclist. In that case the jay walker was killed, hence the coroner's involvement, but thankfully the police judged the accident very fairly and completely exonerated the cyclist.

It may be available on the BBC i-player.

 

[indalo]

My bike is not that illegal, it goes at 22mph but it's still a 250W motor. But still, we never know..

So, if your illegal bike hadn't been on the road, there may not have been a collision or, had you been riding a legal bike, you wouldn't have that kind of worry.

Indalo

 

[cwah]

The collision would have happened weather it's legal or illegal. Even at 5 mph, if someone just jump on you on the last moment there is no way to avoir him.

 

[Synthman]

So many times I've had people step out in front of me. The worst was on the high street. I saw a woman standing on the pavement, making erratic movements. I kept asking myself if she was gonna step out, and at the same time a car was pulling out on the road. She then shot across the road, I locked the back brake up and the bike was skidding like crazy, and managed to stop just in time. She was very apologetic. The car driver looked horrified though. The week after just further up the road and someone stepped in front of the cyclist in front of me, which resulted in another rear wheel lock. Then after that I witnessed two collisions between bicycles and pedestrians in the same stretch of road.

Last week I was on the main road, at a quite busy time. There were some cars alongside me trying to overtake. All of a sudden I noticed 2 girls standing in the road trying to cross. They kept hesitating, but just as me and the cars were about to pass they shot across the road. Neither me or the car driver made any attempt to stop because it would have been pointless. I observed my front wheel pass them with inches to spare.

I'd rather be on the road and take this risk than walk on the pavements with people with such poor awareness.

 

[Cyclezee]

I then quietly took my bike and ran on the opposite side, happy to know they didn't notice it was electric. My bike is not that illegal, it goes at 22mph but it's still a 250W motor. But still, we never know..

Luckily cwah, neither you nor the pedestrian were seriously injured and I am sure you have both learned to be more cautious in future.

We all have to be prepared for the other idiot on the road and the unexpected.

I have to own up to riding like an idiot at times, but not when there are other people or vehicles around

Just as well you weren't riding a very illegal 1000w fire breathing monster, things could have been a lot worse

This incident has made me think seriously about getting a decent helmet cam.

 

[cwah]

Yeah, helmet and lights should always be present.

The 2 things I hate the most on the road are the pedestrians (unaware) and the truck/bus (they don't care or see you)