Some days are fun to write about. But days when your morning bike ride results in spending three hours in the ER, well, this is one of those not-so-fun days. It started out nicely, climbing up through the fog on Kings, good run across Skyline, nice views from West Old LaHonda. Descending 84 was something else entirely. Most of the group had gotten ahead of us on the descent, while Kevin and I were hanging back just a bit, with some concern about possibly-damp pavement. It’s not like we were riding slowly though; our speed was right at 30, coming out of a tight corner, when the incident happened. Below is the “storyboard” taken from the video.
Watching the entire sequence, the car that hit Kevin came up on us pretty fast. We were traveling an average of just over 30, the car first appears at 19 seconds, at 33 seconds you see him drifting well over the fog line, and at 40 seconds he’s on my tail. In 20 seconds he covered the same ground we did in 28 seconds. The actual location of the crash can be seen here.
The good news? The driver did stop, and in fact gave Kevin a ride back home, after which we took him to the ER where he spent a whole lot of time sitting around and hurting really badly, and a little bit of time getting x-rays, having his wounds cleaned out, and wishing he could walk to the bathroom instead of having to pee into a container. I got the driver’s name, his phone number, and a picture of his car with the license plate and the broken mirror. What I did not do was take a photo of his driver’s license (stupid!) or get his insurance information.
I’ve also got a photo showing the license number of a car that likely saw the accident and pulled up behind us, offering to call 911.
What Kevin got out of it is a heavily-bruised and battered body, an uncertain amount of time off a bike, and a bike that went from 30 to 0 in a manner it’s not designed for, and not considered safe to ride.
Tomorrow morning I call the CHP and follow up on things, making sure we get the contact info for the insurance company and that a proper report has been filed, since this incident was caused entirely, without any possible way to consider otherwise, the driver’s recklessness. I’m convinced he wasn’t the type that targets cyclists, or if he was, he quickly understood the seriousness of what happened and had a come-to-Jesus moment. But this is not a forgive & forget sort of thing. Kevin could have been killed; falling off a bike at 30mph, even with a helmet (which is cracked, by the way, yet Kevin had no head injury, thank you Bontrager!) is not something to be taken lightly. Plus missing work and losing shape as he prepares to ride his bike in France next month.
But thankfully Kevin will recover… and I’ll start thinking about running a video camera at the front of my bike again, not just the rear. –Mike–
Sorry to hear about Kevin getting hit by the passing car.
The police should have been called at the time of the accident no matter how polite or cooperative the motorist was. It’s critical and gives greater authority to any claim made later in court or with insurers to get an neutral expert witness (police officer) to examine the evidence at the scene and then to make a report. At the very least a citation should be issued for CVC Sec. 21760(e)(2).
How many times have we heard of a motorist contrite at the time of the collision become obstinate and hard-hearted once he’s had time to consider his options to avoid consequences.
Although you felt the collision was an accident and not an assault, I suggest you report the incident to the Close Call Database in case this driver or vehicle has been previously reported or may be reported in future incidents with cyclists.
http://closecalldatabase.com
The Close Call website’s rules appear to exclude this incident-
Very Gnarly and unfortunate — condolences to Kevin. +1 to Bill’s comments.
Food for thought:
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/10/opinion/sunday/is-it-ok-to-kill-cyclists.html
I’ve been following and enjoying your blog, but this post was not something I wanted to read. Thankfully Kevin was not seriously injured. Hope he has a speedy recovery.
I am considering a rear camera, such as the Fly6, for incidents like this, and since I ride by myself most of the time. What are your thoughts about using cameras?
The footage shown is from a Fly6, so what you see is what you get! Unfortunately it isn’t good enough to catch the license plate of a car traveling in the opposite direction, which is what you would like if you want to see who might have witnessed the incident. Ultimately a front-racing camera is going to get “more action” in terms of accident analysis, because most crashes still come from the front, not the rear.
Also interesting to note that the car that hit Kevin had no front license plate. That is also illegal. So. . . he crossed the solid yellow line, didn’t give 3 feet of clearance, and was driving without a front license plate (not to mention, he also hit another vehicle on the road). 4 violations.
I’m glad Kevin is ok. As was stated before, the police should ALWAYS be called in any accident involving a cyclist. Even if the driver is cooperative, you can bet his insurance company won’t be and they are the ones who will be paying the bills!
Interesting that you bike with that rear-facing camera. I was biking with a guy last week who has the same Sony Handycam Handlebar Camera that I have. He told me that its there for ‘evidence’ not to capture the scenery.
Be safe out there everyone!
Kevin’s not dead yet! Check out today’s brief post for a photo showing he’s very much alive, plus the required cover story. http://www.chainreactionblogs.com/diary/2015/06/17/hes-not-dead-yet/
Hi Mike & Kevin,
Very sorry to hear of Kevin’s accident. We at Talbot’s all wish him a speedy recovery for your annual French tour.
The video is amazing. Thank you for sharing.
Gary and the staff at Talbot’s
Gary: Thanks, and sorry to hear about your Dad. Kevin’s doing well, a bit sore & stiff, but nothing broken. Hopefully I won’t get to share too many more “amazing” videos! Thanks- Mike Jacoubowsky
Always harrowing to read these accounts and glad to see Kevin’s injuries weren’t more significant.
I’ll be interested to read what happens as this winds its way through the courts and insurance companies.
Hopefully just insurance companies and no courts. The Sheriff’s department has no interest in the case whatsoever; they only care if you call 911 and snarl traffic for half an hour, maybe more. I’ll keep things updated as it progresses. The documentation should help make for a relatively-smooth discussion with the insurance company, which I will contact tomorrow. –Mike
Kevin, I just learned of your accident today when I “ran into” Mike on the way up Jefferson. I am sorry that this happened to you (or to anyone). Please accept my good wishes for a speedy recovery.
So sorry to hear about Kevin getting hit by a car! I was also hit by a car at the end of last summer. No broken bones, but several hour trip to the ER, lots of X-rays, and plenty of contusions and scrapes. Fortunately I was able to start riding again only a couple days later. I did have to learn more about “FOOSH” , which stands for “fall onto outstretched hand.” My wrist was sore for several weeks, enough so that I eventually went back for follow up X-rays. I I found this website useful when I wanted to learn more about common wrist injuries and film images.
http://www.radiologymasterclass.co.uk/tutorials/musculoskeletal/x-ray_trauma_upper_limb/wrist_trauma_x-ray.html#top_seventh_img
Mostly I just needed some time for a badly sprained wrist to slowly recover. I continued to ride throughout the healing, and hope Kevin will be able to as well. Best wishes!