During the "March miracle" rains that ended the drought on the central coast of California in the early 90s, I found myself in the (covered, thankfully) bed of a small pickup truck, threading its way through the high pass of the Santa Ynez Mountains. The wind and rain was incredible. Trees and boulders were almost constantly falling onto the small two lane highway, and said highway was slick. There were countless times I was sure we were going to slide off the road and down the mountainside. And, unknown to me at the time, the driver was stoned and probably a little drunk.

I was convinced I was going to die that night. That I didn't prompted me to make certain changes.

Hooray for well-inflated tires! Glad you're still with us, danf.

When I got hit by a car while in a crosswalk, just as I was flying over the hood of the car. This was in 1991, and resulted in a badly broken left leg I still wear the hardware from...

Was hit by a compact car when I was 11 or so. I was darting across the street (from the arcade to a gas station) and it clipped me in the right leg. Almost missed me entirely. But that clip was enough to send me flying into the station parking lot. Witnesses said I was airborne. All I remember was spinning, then standing back up some twenty feet from the road, center of the lot. I was ready to just brush off and walk on home, but the driver who hit me had pulled over into the station and gotten out. "Uh ... I'm fine!," I called over to her. She yelled back at me. "I'M NOT!"

But I was. Not a scratch on me. There was a cop right behind her who pulled in. He had to insist that I stay for a report.

The worst part of it? My Dad gets home from work a couple of hours later. I didn't think to call him or my Mom about the incident. After all, I wasn't supposed to be wasting quarters at the arcade anyway. So he's getting out of his truck when a passing neighbor-kid stops him and asks if Tommy* is okay. My Dad gives him a look and says, "I guess he is ..." The neighbor-kid continues, "Oh, good, 'cause of him gettin' hit with a car and all."

* - A name that I've not used outside of a 1-mile radius of my mother in 18 years or so.

-------

Gotta ask ... why is it legal for bicyclists to run a Stop sign in your area? It seems like you're just setting yourself up for a situation like you had, particularly if the Stop at a 4-way only applies to 2 of the 4.

Glad you're OK, danf.

The only time I thought I might die is when I was flipping my SUV. I wasn't thinking about death, but I was thinking that this was not good. I flipped four times. I was OK, except for abrasions on my left arm. My left arm was hitting asphalt as I was flipping. It was a friggin' miracle I didn't kill myself, my kid in the back, or anybody else on the road. The wreck was also not my fault, thankfully.

I also had an incident where I almost drowned in a rip current. I was a kid. I was panicking, but I didn't think I was going to die. Two people came to my rescue. I am just about the most paranoid parent at the beach with my kids. I don't hover over them but they have heard the lecture about the powerful ocean and how it can kill you. They're not too traumatized, I hope. :-)

I'm glad you're okay, but do you at least treat stop signs as a yield and slow down a little? I don't know where you live, but cars come out of nowhere all the time here in L.A., even when I least expect them. There's no part of the city I'd feel safe just blowing through like that.

(Not to mention, if cars have to stop and you don't, that only reinforces the "cars vs. bikers" crap that we always have to contend with when we are being lawful.)

Very young (15?) and idiotic, driving with my then-boyfriend and his friends very quickly up a road beside a cliff overlooking the ocean. Everyone in the car was very stoned, and person in passenger seat thinks it would be *hilarious* to pull on the emergency break. We got into a huge spin, ending with the front wheels of the car just hanging over the cliff, about 100 ft above the water. Luckily there were 4 ppl in the back seat otherwise I think we would be dead. We sat there in shock for about a minute then the people in the front managed to climb out and pulled the car back onto the road.

Oh! And I'm glad you're OK, dan!

I had a car run a stop sign and come *this close* to creaming me and my bike. It was broad daylight at an intersection with perfect visibility, and I was wearing the brightest sweater I own.

Bastard didn't even slow down after he saw me, neither, and it took me a good half an hour to stop shaking.

why is it legal for bicyclists to run a Stop sign in your area? It seems like you're just setting yourself up for a situation like you had, particularly if the Stop at a 4-way only applies to 2 of the 4.

The city council decided to bow to reality, and not make it a citeable offense to blow a stop sign, since very few cyclists actually come to a complete stop. This works, but I was just stupid this morning and although I looked both ways, I obviously was not paying attention enough to notice this car coming. It was about sunrise and the streets were empty and I was careless.

This is ironic in that I generally see more fault on the part of cyclists in collisions and other conflicts with cars, and try to ride so that drivers will not have their opinions reinforced about this.

Hoo boy. I'm glad you're ok. I commute by bike year-round, and I've had several close calls such as this one. And then last month I got caught on someone's door and went flying into oncoming traffic. This was one of those situations where you have to ride either a little too close to parked cars or with the flow of car traffic, which really pisses people off. I usually try to avoid roads like this, but I had to be on that road for only two blocks, and I'm usually able to move in time if a door is opening.

I've narrowly escaped being doored many times, but this time I wasn't so lucky. I have a torn ligament in my knee, and it'll be another few weeks before I can get back to my normal activities. I can't wait to get back to riding.

Be safe out there on your bike!

blow stop signs

That's a signpost, Bob!

Glad you made it, dude.

I was in a hydroplaning car on the bridge that appears on the back of the West Virginia quarter when I was twelve. My dad regained control of the car about five feet from the edge of the gorge, just after the bridge ended and the guardrail dropped away. Bruce Springsteen's "Dancing in the Dark" was playing on my walkman, and I still get chills at that point, a couple minutes in.

I've had a lot of steep falls, and done a lot of stupid things like catching rides on the back bumpers of 18-wheeler trailers and then falling off at speed, so my life has flashed before my eyes a few times. Dysentery made me so delirious I thought I might die, but when I tried to cry about it, I started laughing, so I knew I'd be okay. I split a bicycle helmet going over my handlebars once; that scared me.

I'm glad you're okay, danf. Stay safe.

When have y'all had the realization that your life might end in the next few seconds?

A few weeks ago, when I was happily crossing on the walk and a cyclist decided that the rules of the road shouldn't apply to cyclists. He was going really fast, on my blind side (so I couldn't see him) and only swerved at the last second. His pedal left a big dent in my leg and he came off the bike, but jumped back on really quickly and took off before I could really start yelling.

I really don't understand why cyclists feel that they shouldn't have to abide by the control mechanisms that are in place for everyone else who uses the road, for the benefit of mutual understanding and safety. Here they even get the first 10 or so metres of every intersection (motorbikes and treadlies) so it's even more frustrating when they're dicks and don't follow the rules. I'm going to sound like your mum, but for your and everyone else's safety please be more careful in future danf!

i got hit by a bus at an intersection on the way to get an oil change.
It could be payback for hydroplaning on a football field of foot thick ice into the back of a school bus a few years before.
In between, a car just missed me and knocked a box of sculptures out of my arms as i was exiting a bus.

i'm not a fan of the bus, really.
At none of those times did i think i was going to die.
Mostly it was whoa or brace yourself.

The only times i thought i might die were when people were trying to kill me.

it's legal for cyclists to blow stop signs

Doesn't that leave a really metallic taste in your mouth?

Stop doing that! Stop not stopping, I mean. Stop anyway, even if it's legal not to. I luf you. Be more carefuller.

Um. Oddly enough, I just wrote about this, or something tangential to this.

When the bitch rearended me about a month ago and I sat up (the force of the impact BROKE my seat and it flopped completely backwards to lay across the backseat) to realize my car was still moving forward but was in the opposite lane. At the top of a hill. With another car flying towards me.


Yeah, that sucked. (Note: The other driver must've realized OH HAI SOMETHING IS WRONG because they were able to stop before hitting me. It was pretty close though.)

Doesn't that leave a really metallic taste in your mouth?

It's really the splinters and white paint from the post that's a bummer. Plus, they take, like, forEver.

danf, you might treat yourself gingerly for a day or two. For one thing, sometimes a near-miss* like that can jolt your body as well as your mind. For another thing, dammit, you deserve to treat yourself well! Please do so.

*And here let me join the chorus: oh, sweet merciful Zeus, glad you're still kicking around, mister!

Disclaimer: I've done plenty of brainless stunts in traffic, so I'm not trying to paint myself as some sort of bike god or something, however, I just want to point something out:

one of those situations where you have to ride either a little too close to parked cars or with the flow of car traffic, which really pisses people off.

dude, ride in the flow of traffic until you clear the line of parked cars or reach a point where you can get off that particular street. The cars need to deal with this, it's your lane too. Take it and ride purposefully. If you cower and weave? They'll bully you around. If you ride like you know what you're doing, you will be amazed how they will accept you. I am not fooling around here.

seriously. read Effective Cycling. Until cyclists start predictably acting like vehicles all the time (this means stopping at stop signs and lights, too - which I do in fact do, feel free to scoff), drivers won't give us credibility or space.

please note that riding defensively DOES NOT EQUAL being a Critical Masshole type arrogant prick, cutting off cars, taking stupid risks or obstructing traffic.

I mean I avoid narrow streets with lines of parked cars unless I'm forced to use them. Also, a lot of times in Denver, these are one-way streets, meaning the drivers have more than one lane to use to avoid me. Most of the time they don't need to, because I am riding the same speed they're going.

I also plan my routes to avoid getting into crowded narrow street situations on hills, etc.

I've been doored myself and have the scars to show for it. Getting doored is always at least half the cyclist's fault. You shouldn't be riding where you put yourself in danger. Ride where you can be seen.

This is becoming an apparent problem over the past few months owing to gas prices, I'm guessing. I see more and more rookie cyclists pulling silly random stunts and/or being timid and indecisive (read: unpredictable). It's the unpredictability more than anything that pisses off drivers. If everyone would learn how to ride safely, defensively and predictably, yeah, you'd still see the outlier wingnuts who hate bikes on the road and always will, but overall I guarantee that tolerance would increase dramatically. The majority of drivers are actually okay with bikes on the road, they are mainly worried about cyclists pulling some weird stunt they may have to avoid.

That I didn't prompted me to make certain changes

I'm assuming you started with your underwear.

First off, I'm not a dude. Secondly, I've been cycling in urban traffic for years and consider myself pretty good at it. I'm safe. I don't run lights or do crazy things. This was one of those unavoidable situations. I take the lane often, but on this particular street, it's just not possible. I always ride where I can be seen. In Illinois, where I live, it's the driver's responsibility to check his/her mirrors before getting out of the car. This guy didn't and he admitted it. I *know* that I was too close, but just barely. I do cycle as safely as possible, but things happen. I really don't need a lecture from you on how to ride.

When have y'all had the realization that your life might end in the next few seconds?

About eight years ago. And then I did, for about fourty seconds.
woooooo... woooo.... I'm a ghost!

Seriously, glad you're ok. stop blowing stop signs! It's one thing if you blow a red light after stopping and confirming there's nothing around, but you need to give yourself that 10 seconds of stillness to make sure it's safe to go.

I almost drowned once, at one of those amusement park wave pools, within inches of the side. Every time I got closer, a wave would knock me back. I could feel myself getting tired. I finally made it to the side, hanging on by my fingertips (it was a high side, no way I could pull myself out), and managed to inch my way over to the ladder. Me and this other kid, who was struggling, too. I don't know where the lifeguards were, or why I didn't yell out. At least no one stepped on my fingers. Those things are dangerous, those wave pools. (I should have sprung for the kickboard rental, but I'm a strong swimmer and didn't think I needed it.)

Glad you're okay, danf!

(on preview: isn't "dude" a genderless term these days? And if lfr's given' cyclin' advice, I'd listen.)

isn't "dude" a genderless term these days?

Oh there you go neutering dudes again.

(on preview: isn't "dude" a genderless term these days? And if lfr's given' cyclin' advice, I'd listen.)

Maybe I'm just sensitive right now. My friends can call me dude, but whatever. It's not really genderless. Re the cycling advice, did you read what I wrote? I ride *a lot* in Chicago. A lot. About 20 miles a day, year-round. I pay attention, I follow rules. I know what the advice is, because I've read books, online stuff, etc. about it. I really do know what I'm doing. I was in a freakin' accident one time out of the many years I've been riding and I'm being lectured for it, which I don't appreciate.

Hey, no problem, smich. Advice is advice. Take or don't. You just seemed overly touchy to me (which usually happens when people think someone has a point).

Oh there you go neutering dudes again.

We believe in nothing, HJ. Nothing.

Oh, SNAP!

You just seemed overly touchy to me (which usually happens when people think someone has a point).

I'm overly touchy because the accident has significantly changed my life for the past month. I'm also in a lot of physical pain, and normal things like walking have become a chore. I know that I probably fucked up, and I'll be more mindful when I'm out riding again. I have learned my lesson. But what I'm saying is that I'm usually good at following the rules, staying where I should stay, signaling. I'm not a rookie cyclist. That's all. I should probably STFU now.

I was actually pretty surprised to lean that stop signs were dudes. Please don't tell me bridge-freeze-before-roads signs have junk too.

It's the unpredictability more than anything that pisses off drivers. If everyone would learn how to ride safely, defensively and predictably, yeah, you'd still see the outlier wingnuts who hate bikes on the road and always will, but overall I guarantee that tolerance would increase dramatically. The majority of drivers are actually okay with bikes on the road, they are mainly worried about cyclists pulling some weird stunt they may have to avoid.

This is totally true. Sometimes I get irrationally irritated with cyclists just for being in the way, but I recognize that it's not their fault, and that this is my problem. Most of the time, though, I'm never sure what exactly they're going to do - are they going to swerve? are they going to pull into the middle of the street? are they going to try to make a sudden left turn across the lane? - and this scares me. I don't want to hit a biker! It's not really any one cyclist's fault, specifically, but yeah, take control of the road. Own it. I'm way more comfortable if you look like you know what you're doing, and like you won't do anything crazy all of a sudden.

No worries, smich. I didn't mean to disparage your expertise, truly. I was merely highlighting lfr's, which I'm familiar with from her many cycling posts here. Besides, accidents can happen to anyone, even experts. I'm sorry to hear about your injuries, and I hope you continue to heal.

I myself, sadly, haven't ridden a bike in years. I do miss that black and yellow banana seat beauty I had when I was nine.

I was white-water rafting on a Class 5 river while it was flooding during a torrential thunderstorm. Lightning was hitting the tops of the trees, there was so much electricity in the air that the hairs on our arms was standing up, and the entire hillside was turning to mud and boulders were bounding into the river. Our guides told us that since we'd paid for lunches we could stop to eat, but if we did, we were all going to die. We decided to skip lunch.

I was nearly hit by a falling tree once. We were felling trees in the forest and I got a bit careless, assuming that I was far enough from the falling tree and not bothering to see if it really was so. It turned out that it wasn't. The tree fell right in my direction; I somehow managed to run (or jump, I can't remember) a bit further away from it, so that the top branches hit the ground around me, not on top of me. I got away with mere scratches.

It's the unpredictability more than anything that pisses off drivers.

I dunno - this explanation doesn't really fly with me. I'm never sure exactly what any vehicle operator is going to do - it's just that a biker is much more fragile, and so perhaps we consciously chose to exercise more careful driving when we see a cyclist? Or perhaps since bicyclists are more rare than drivers, we notice unpredictable bicyclists more?

Muddgirl, I think you're right about the fragility. The consequences of another car scraping my bumper due to some unpredictable move are much smaller than the consequences of a bicycle scraping my bumper due to some unpredictable move. That omg I don't want to hurt someone feeling gets channeled into frustration when a biker is skirting between the parked cars and the lane proper (just to use the example brought up here), because it APPEARS as if the cyclist is unsure of their actions. (I have no idea if this assessment of the situation is valid, only that it is the sort of assessment I make in the moment.) In this particular situation, I'm also usually unsure about whether I have enough room to clear the biker, leading to some weird unpredictable indecisiveness.

I dunno - this explanation doesn't really fly with me. I'm never sure exactly what any vehicle operator is going to do

This is true to an extent. However, the likelyhood of a car deciding to turn left from the extreme right of the road across four cars, or to swing randomly into traffic, or to cross against a light, or dart between cars in traffic to drive on a median, on the wrong side of the road, etc are fairly unlikely.

Bikes seem to have a 50/50 chance of doing something that would be suicidal, perhaps homicidal and psychotic, not to mention illegal, in a car. Say, any number of the things above, all of which I see on a regular basis.

.....etc are fairly unlikely.

You've never driven in Jiddah. , dammit, only my dad would laugh at that joke

Joining the glad you're OK chorus - and all you brave bikers, I envy you. I used to be a messenger but I just can't do it anymore. Too many close calls and well, I'm totally out of shape like nothing else. I seldom ride and never on proper (as in FAST) bikes these days. Keep cycling!

this particular situation, I'm also usually unsure about whether I have enough room to clear the biker, leading to some weird unpredictable indecisiveness.

This is why it's so important for cyclists to both understand the rules of the road, and to boldly and defensively own their share of it, if and when that's what's required. In the scenario you're describing, the solution is for the cyclist to move into the right-hand wheel track of the right-hand driving lane (assuming US traffic). This then requires the driver to commit to either changing lanes to pass, or waiting until they have clearance. There's just not as much temptation on the driver's part to try to charge the gaps / cram on past with bare millimetres of space.

This is a good thing for both parties involved. It forces commitment and clear decisive action. It of course does not come into play in areas where there is a clean, paved bike shoulder (as is the case in much of my region). And this also is not an excuse for cyclists to be road hogs. Share the road, and keep in mind that being patient for the few seconds it takes to allow peds, bikes, slow moving vehicles / whatever to clear your path is also saving you gas money and blood pressure.

Can't tell you how many times I've seen overcaffeinated drivers practically rip out the gearbox to make a marginal pass, during which their gas tank must resemble a toilet flushing... only to get caught at the very next red light. gee, that just saved you a lot of time, didn't it, killer?

Most legal language in most US state vehicle codes requires a minimum passing distance (clearance) between vehicles, and they almost always specifically clarify this in the case of bicycles, motorcycles and mopeds. In Colorado, the minimum clearance for a car to pass a bicyle = no less than 3 feet (~ 1 metre). This means that if I am on my bike, and by road conditions (parked cars, hazards, whatever) am forced to take my section of driving lane (the right wheel track), a driver must then legitimately change lanes to accomplish a legal pass.

Also, most states incorporate language that allows cyclists to use this safety margin so that they don't have to cower in the gutter with wheel-eating storm drains, tree branches, broken glass and other debris. Check your vehicle code. In most cases it incorporates language to the tune of "Bicyclists are required to ride as far right as is reasonably safe (or some species thereof). Note that it does NOT say as far right as possible. That's a pretty big distinction.

This is why it's so important for cyclists to both understand the rules of the road, and to boldly and defensively own their share of it, if and when that's what's required. In the scenario you're describing, the solution is for the cyclist to move into the right-hand wheel track of the right-hand driving lane (assuming US traffic).

Yes, this is what I was getting at, and thanks for putting it so well. I would prefer cyclists to take control of a potentially dangerous situation and act with decisiveness (just as drivers are taught to do - decide what your next move is and then commit), because they have the most at stake. It's much easier for me to mentally and visually treat them as vehicles which have the right to be on the main road if they're occupying that space.

When have y'all had the realization that your life might end in the next few seconds?

A few years ago, scodyboy and I were driving back from a weekend up north. We were coming south through the Grapevine on I-5 in fast, heavy traffic (I was in the #2 lane of 4), when the car in front of me franticaly swerved into the next lane.

Why? Because there was A DESK planted in the middle of the highway.

Yep, some genius had evidently been hauling furniture without adequately securing it, and so it fell into the path of oncoming traffic.

I had a car on my tail and cars in both blind spots. There was nowhere for me to go. I screamed, braked slightly (I couldn't slam on the brakes for fear of being rear-ended), mom-armed Tom in the passenger seat, and hit it straight on. I absolutely expected the desk to come straight through the windshield to decapitate me. I really, truly believed that I was meeting my death.

Instead, the desk splintered into a million pieces. My front bumper was cracked, but that was it.

I have never been so grateful for the existence of cheap particleboard in all my life.

funny thing... on my way home a bike rider decided to go off into traffic immediately behind my car.
Unfortunately I was midway through parallel parking.

it's cool, though, I wanted to panic and hit the curb.

maybe it's buffalo?

As a follow-up, here is my communication with a City person on the law about stop signs, and his response.

I stand corrected, in a huge way.

For some reason, I have had it in my head that the City Council as
legalized, or at least decriminalized, people on bicycles running stop
signs, as long as no right-of-way or other safety issues exist.

Do I have this right, or am I just wishfully thinking?

It's illegal and the number one on the list of citations issued to
bicyclists. The Bicycle Transportation Alliance is planning to lobby
the Oregon legislature to change the state law. Idaho has a law called
"slow and go" which allows bicycists to slow and proceed through an
intersection with a stop sign in their direction of travel.

>Critical Masshole type arrogant prick, cutting off cars, taking stupid risks or obstructing
> traffic ... It's the unpredictability more than anything that pisses off drivers.
-- lonefrontranger

Oh, wow, Uncle Tom, much? Modern traffic design and law do not accommodate the safety of multi-modal transportation. Guess what? Kids crossing the street on foot are unpredictable. People with mental and physical disabilities are unpredictable. Everyday people who are tired or sick or not paying attention are unpredictable. And, yeah, sometimes rookie or hot shot bicyclists are unpredictable. So are automobile drivers a huge percentage of the time. But the deal is that most people are so cocooned in their cushy, AC, sound-proof metal boxes when they drive that they have no freaking clue that the joules behind their vehicle at city and neighborhood speeds has as much energy and is just as dangerous as a shotgun when collision occurs.

Critical Mass is an international phenomenon that necessarily spans many cultures. It has no centralized leadership and every participant is there for a different reason. The only controversial tradition that I could possibly guess has caused your extreme criticism is corking and if that's the bug in your hair, we can debate that, because it's a direct response to the multi-modal safety gap in our transportation system and laws.

Bicyclists taking the lane and following the letter of the law piss off just nearly as many drivers as any other riding style. It's the same as when drivers who drive the speed limit on certain freeways piss the majority off, because it's not about the law, it's about our culture being impatient and in a hurry and dehumanizing each other.

The only other controversial idea behind CM is the idea that, you know, we should have the freedom to assemble and move and the freedom to use our choice of transportation to do that. I don't see many people treating rush hour single-occupant commuters as second class citizens for obstructing traffic.

But seriously, tone down the language. Generalizing any group as large and diverse as critical mass like that is extremely harmful. I don't care what you read in the papers.

--

>This is true to an extent. However, the likelyhood of a car deciding to turn left from the
> extreme right of the road across four cars, or to swing randomly into traffic, or to cross
> against a light, or dart between cars in traffic to drive on a median, on the wrong side of
> the road, etc are fairly unlikely.

>Bikes seem to have a 50/50 chance of doing something that would be suicidal, perhaps
>homicidal and psychotic, not to mention illegal, in a car. Say, any number of the things
> above, all of which I see on a regular basis.
-- kellydamnit

I'm sorry, but drivers routinely do unpredictable things that seriously jeopardize my safety. On certain commuter routes, this happens every single day. The biggest ones are passing too close, passing with low visibility and/or double yellow lines or tailgating and not passing at all.

A majority of people in our culture think it's okay to speed, or drive while sleepy, or multitask while driving at least some of the time.

If unpredictable bicyclists get on your nerve, then just tell yourself that this is a signal—a reminder that you are handling dangerous machinery and a child, animal or other unpredictable living being could just as easily get in your way with far, far less visibility than the cyclist currently in front of you. You made the choice to drive. You have the responsibility. I drive sometimes, too. I'm a Temporarily Able Bodied person, too. That's why I bike while I can, whenever I can, and I support public transit both financially and politically. At the end of the day, we're all pedestrians and the current system sucks as much ass for pedestrian safety as anything. Incidentally, current gas prices are on track to save thousands and thousands of lives and its taking a huge chunk out of our nation's #1 killer of otherwise healthy individuals.