OMG, Give Me A Brake!

[Ornery]

Just had a run in with a half ton truck:

Was riding my 2006 Breezer Uptown 8, while walking Murphy on the sidewalk of the Avenue near home. Got a walk signal just as a truck pulled up to the light. I was on his right, and I thought he saw me as he pulled up to the crosswalk. Started to cross, and he pulled into us as he looked left while turning right. I banged on his truck with my fist as he rolled by and over the front wheel. Neither Murphy or I were hurt. He pulled up onto the tree lawn on the Avenue and was as shook up as I was. Asked me how I wanted to handle it, and I told him I wasn't interested in getting the cops involved. Grabbed his info, and he gave us a ride home.

Took the bike to our Local Bike Shop to let him handle the repair. I want it back to original condition, so I hope the fender is available. He'll have to lace the generator into a new hub. That's about it, a new wheel and fender. A ticket would have cost him that much again. So much for riding on the sidewalk!

 

[hillzofvalp]

Half ton truck aka gold cart?

 

[Ornery]

Um, about a 2007 Toreador Red Ford F150. Might be puckered a bit on the right rear bed.

 

[biohazardman]

Good that you were not hurt. I would guess that your pounding on his truck may have saved you from injury? I know what you mean when you say I thought he saw me. I was riding twenty MPH or so, on my ten speed, when I saw a woman ahead of me getting ready to make a right from a side street. I did not slow down as we had made eye contact. She waited until I got to the intersection then pulled out right in front of me. I hit the rear brake went sideways and slid under her car right at her door, rather than T-bone her, she stomped the brake and so did not run over me. I pulled the lower part of my body from under the car and then my bike. I think we were both amazed as with the exception of a couple of scratches on my arm, leg and the pedals of the bike there was no damage. None of us are perfect while driving or riding our bikes I am often amazed there are not many more accidents than there are.

 

[hillzofvalp]

f150s are not a half-ton... I meant "golf" not "gold". My wheel looked worse when I hit my 1/20th ton friend on his bike when I was little.

 

[liveforphysics]

f150s are not a half-ton... I meant "golf" not "gold". My wheel looked worse when I hit my 1/20th ton friend on his bike when I was little.

F-150 is actually the definition of a half-ton pickup. It has nothing to do with the weight of the vehicle, but rather that class of vehicles payload capability.

http://auto.howstuffworks.com/auto-parts/towing/towing-capacity/information/half-ton-truck.htm

Unrelated to the pick-up nomenclature thing, but just seems like a good time to say it.
If I was Purdue's engineering director, I would kinda pissed that one of the least engineering minded and folks we've had on this forum used my departments logo for an avitar.

 

[Ornery]

Hah, interesting factoid about the truck payload capacity.

I really failed to see the wheel actually take the hit. Don't know if it went under the rear wheel a bit or wedged in the wheel well, or what. The bike fender was good and scrunched. It all happened in slow motion, but I kinda missed it! My wife knows nothing about it, and probably never will...

 

[hillzofvalp]

good one re: purdue avatar. I do need to change it one of these days, especially because I'm not representative of 99% of my class who do know what a half-ton pickup is. I had no idea that was a rating for the payload.

That wheel should fix up nicely.. I don't know your mileage, but maybe it was time for a fresh rim anyways. Are you paying for it?

 

[Zoot Katz]

. . . That wheel should fix up nicely.. I don't know your mileage, but maybe it was time for a fresh rim anyways. Are you paying for it?

More importantly, make sure the fork isn't bent or twisted and the frame is still true.

 

[hillzofvalp]

it may not be obvious at first, but small thin cracks may develop around the joints..

 

[Ornery]

I dropped it at a high end bike shop, and told 'em I want it back to original condition as much as possible. It's on his dime, but I told him I'd go easy. The bike's five years old but very low miles and is (or was) in perfect condition. I intend to have it for thirty years like my first bike. It just putts around the neighborhood in slow cruise mode usually. Put most miles on it walking Murphy, with frequent stops to mark everything.

 

[Alan B]

Glad you are not hurt.

Eye contact means nothing.

Always assume they are going to run you over. They will generally try to when you get comfortable.

This is a very common accident formula. They even have a name for it. It is called the Right Hook.

http://bicyclesafe.com/

- - Alan

 

[Toorbough ULL-Zeveigh]

if they didn't want their logo spread around then they shouldn't be putting it on jerseys & selling them.
never know what sort of low-life might take some pix of it.


here ya go, use this instead.

 

[gogo]

Glad you are not hurt.

Eye contact means nothing.

Always assume they are going to run you over. They will generally try to when you get comfortable.

- - Alan

Also glad you were not hurt.

I got my moped license at the beginning of an Iowa winter, so of course I rode that whole first winter! One of the first things that happened was some old lady sitting at a stop sign on my right looking me right in the eyes. It was packed snow and slicker than snot and I was going 15 MPH with the right-of-way through the intersection (no stop sign). I swear she waited until the perfect moment to get me to t-bone her when she pulled out in front of me. I put both feet down and wiggled the moped to the right (the brakes did nothing) and missed her back bumper by a foot. Ever since then I ride like people don't see me, but at the same time they see me and they are trying to involve me in a collision. I've put 100,000+ miles on bikes, mopeds, and motorcycles without a collision by using that attitude (knock on wood).

 

[Ornery]

When I'm on the EBike, adrenaline is up, and I'm aware of everything going on, even hundreds of feet away. But, yesterday I was just lollygagging around the area, letting Murphy stop every fifty feet or so. (No idea where he gets so many squirts!) I must have yawned 20 times on that ride, and I was very complacent. Didn't help to be riding basically the "wrong way" on the sidewalk, but I consider myself a pedestrian when walking the dog. I've had more close calls on the sidewalk than on the street. Rode halfway to work this morning on the road, noticed I had a lot of time to kill, and switched over to the sidewalk, half throttle in first gear. It was an enjoyable, slow, scenery watching pace, but I was watching the sparse morning traffic even closer.

 

[darkshirikens]

I almost had a run in with those big construction truck they guy seen me coming down the street and i was doing about 30mph on my ebike we made eye contact and all so as i get closer he decides he wants to pull out and i was a few feet away from him so as soon as i seen that i gave him a good blast of my airzounds horn stopped him right in his tracks his brakes squealed in all lol i think he thought he thought a truck was coming cause i seen the look of fear when he looked back towards me again lol.

 

[JEB]

I know what you mean, a young gal backed out of a driveway on a side street crossing my path in front of me, started yelling at me that she had the right of way, with some #%$&@% plus whats the matter with you! I just smiled, I thought that she got any madder she would drive over me from behind.

 

[gogo]

I scared the chip out of a bicycle rider on campus today with my bus. He was flying down the sidewalk in the opposite direction about to cross an intersection where I was about to turn left across his path. He would have been fine had he kept at speed, but he chickened out and made me put my brakes on. He stopped about 2 feet in front of my bus but still not into the roadway. Scaredy cat. I stopped before I turned across what would have been his path.

#1 he's not supposed to ride on the sidewalks on campus and #2 he is supposed to yield to road traffic at intersections and driveways, which he did. I bet he got a good charge of adrenaline out of that! If he had been in the street he would have had the right of way and could have safely kept flying across the intersection instead of chickening out like he did.

Much to the dismay of some of my passengers while driving the bus and other motorist when I'm in my car, I don't pass bikes traveling in the same direction unless I can do it safely in another lane. Its the law in Iowa.