Came off the bike...need to rant!

opentarget

This morning I had the mispleasur of hitting the deck on my way to work.

I was traveling at speed towards a junction when the lights changed, I was at a pace where I would have got through without stopping but I got spooked when a lady stepped her foot off the path into the road and I abruptly grabbed a handful of the breaks.

I skidded and hit a nasty patch of soggy leaves and quite violently hit the road skidding out.

That's all normal enough, it was my fault for getting on the breaks so hard.

But what really shocked me is that the lady who stepped out just walked on when she got the Green Man, the cars just came to a stop at the lights and the two people on bikes coming up behind me gave no assistance as I unclipped from the pedals and hobbled to the path. Not even a "you OK?" absolutely shocking. I was clearly hurt.

If I witnessed something like that I would like to think I would be over offering assistance to a fellow human and making sure they where OK!

It annoyed my so much that the anger of taking a chunk out of my new campagnolo shifters hasn't landed yet...

I can't get my head around it.

Rant over.

Have any of you experienced similar?

Fighting Tao

Many people are selfish idiots these days.

Hope you recover soon and your bikes not too badly damaged.

irishrover99

Maybe the people behind didn't help you because they seen you were about to go through a pedestrian lights without stopping.
If the lady was already on the road when you got there, then you were very late to the red light, and couldn't even say it was orange.

mcgratheoin

irishrover99 wrote: »

Maybe the people behind didn't help you because they seen you were about to go through a pedestrian lights without stopping.
If the lady was already on the road when you got there, then you were very late to the red light, and couldn't even say it was orange.

Why do you assume the OP went through a red light - my reading of it is that it was orange.
Why do you assume that the pedestrian obeyed the light signals?
If you saw someone come off their bike would you leave them lying in the road if you thought it was their fault.

Nice post :rolleyes:

Alanstrainor

I've experienced similar OP. I snot myself about a year ago attempting to join a segregated cycle-way with a tiny curb. Managed make a mess of it and ended up in a heap on the path. A pedestrian walked over my feet as I was going to get up. Not a word. It was weird.

On the flip side I have seen (and stopped myself) to help cyclists with tyre/bike trouble. It would be nice if everyone would stop, but it just isn't the way any more.

And I had a similar situation to you OP last week in the wet. Approaching a pedestrian light and it turned amber, hit the brakes and just skidded, had to go through. No fall, but I was caught out by the loss of grip all the same.

irishrover99

mcgratheoin wrote: »

Why do you assume the OP went through a red light - my reading of it is that it was orange.
Why do you assume that the pedestrian obeyed the light signals?
If you saw someone come off their bike would you leave them lying in the road if you thought it was their fault.

Nice post :rolleyes:

No i wouldn't leave someone on the ground but not everyone is the same and when i'm cycling i don't speed up when i come to a set of lights where i'm expecting people to cross. I also know that if i came off while going fast i wouldn't rant about other cyclists behind me. I'd take it as my own fault.
I find it hard to believe that 3 people ignored a cyclist crashing unless they seen something dangerous.

Andy Magic

Welcome to 2017 where most people are just here for themselves..

Annie get your Run

irishrover99 wrote: »

No i wouldn't leave someone on the ground but not everyone is the same and when i'm cycling i don't speed up when i come to a set of lights where i'm expecting people to cross. I also know that if i came off while going fast i wouldn't rant about other cyclists behind me. I'd take it as my own fault.
I find it hard to believe that 3 people ignored a cyclist crashing unless they seen something dangerous.

So he deserved it, is that the attitude? Regardless of what he may or may not have been about to do you don't leave another human being lying on the road without checking if they need help. JHC I can not believe people would do that just because in their minds it was justified in some way - karma works both ways!!!! :mad:

OP I hope you are okay...

irishrover99

Annie get your Run wrote: »

So he deserved it, is that the attitude? ...

I already said i wouldn't leave someone on the ground but not everyone is the same.

And asking if someone deserve an outcome that comes from dangerous actions.
If a joy rider crashed a car into a wall while going to fast and putting people life's in danger, what would be your response to that.
I'm a cyclists first,driver second and know the rules of the road and i'm responsible for my own actions.
I'm going by what i took from the OP's post and the way i read it was, he was going too fast coming to pedestrian lights.

TallGlass

Annie get your Run wrote: »

So he deserved it, is that the attitude? Regardless of what he may or may not have been about to do you don't leave another human being lying on the road without checking if they need help. JHC I can not believe people would do that just because in their minds it was justified in some way - karma works both ways!!!! :mad:

OP I hope you are okay...

I'm not suggesting for a second that it's okay, but this is the modern day world now. People are in such a hurry to get places, they look at someone down on the ground as an inconvenience that's easier to ignore than to help, because they think 'someone else will help', there's also the added scaremongering that you might end up with a claim on your hands if you do something wrong or think you might have to pay a charge if you call an Ambulance, such is the mentality of some people. Also, people sometimes can react aggressively if you ask do they need help. So there is a few aspects to the train of thought on why a person would just carry on about there business.

Lumen

It's impossible to resolve this situation without feeling bad about either yourself or humanity.

I recommend trying to forget it ever happened.

TallGlass

Alanstrainor wrote: »

A pedestrian walked over my feet as I was going to get up. Not a word. It was weird.

That's not a pedestrian, that's just a ****ér.

TallGlass

Weepsie wrote: »

You're supposed to stop on amber

No. You stop on red. On amber you stop if is safe to do so. AKA, don't do what the OP done and jam on the breaks. :pac:

AmboMan

Orange means stop, green does not mean go and you have to be able to stop safely within the distance you can see to be safe. Thankfuly doesn’t sound like any serious injury’s.

hhmmm?

If I'm driving at 100mph then it would not be possible for me to brake in a safe manor at an amber light so I drive at a pace appropriate to my surroundings. I very much doubt you were on a downhill stage of the tour de france so were obviously going way too fast for your surroundings. Cop on, slow down and you'll stay on your bike.

begbysback

Was it just me that had sound effects when reading the op? Grrrrrrrciiiisssh

christy02

Not surprised one bit tbh. Been stopped myself with tyre trouble and most cyclists look the other way pretending not to see you. Most actually don't even salute you when passing going other way. Often enough I have raised a hand in salute and been ignored.

opentarget

I guess you didn't read my post correctly or are just trolling me.
The lady stepped down onto the road ready to cross as the light went orange (for me) I guess she thought it was safe to cross as I was only on a bike and couldn't judge my speed. Why would you assume I was not following the rules of the road? I was completely in the right.

I'l assume the people around me didn't check on me as they are all ignorant.

Ether way thanks kind words from everyone else, the bike is OK and I should be back on the bike in a few days.

Wishbone Ash

opentarget wrote: »

I can't get my head around it.

Rant over.

Have any of you experienced similar?

It works both ways!

A couple of years ago I came to the assistance of a female cyclist who crashed near me. I got her in off the busy road, called and ambulance and stayed with her for over an hour. I put my jacket around her as she was getting cold and I had to support her to stay in a certain position as she was in pain. She didn't thank me at any time but I presumed it was due to the trauma of the incident.

About 2 months later she made contact with me via the club (as I was in club gear on the day). I presumed she wished to express her thanks but no, she needed my name for an insurance form. Not a word of thanks.

I crashed myself on a narrow back road near Killsallaghan, Co Dublin a few years ago (mud on a bend). While I was picking myself up of the road, an elderly male driver began blowing the horn of his car as I wasn't clearing the road quickly enough for him to get past.

AmboMan

opentarget wrote: »

I guess you didn't read my post correctly or are just trolling me.
The lady stepped down onto the road ready to cross as the light went orange (for me) I guess she thought it was safe to cross as I was only on a bike and couldn't judge my speed. Why would you assume I was not following the rules of the road? I was completely in the right.

I'l assume the people around me didn't check on me as they are all ignorant.

Ether way thanks kind words from everyone else, the bike is OK and I should be back on the bike in a few days.

I’ve had a few falls myself and a few injuries. I think you need to remember once that pedestrian enters the junction they have rite of way and also not stopping for an amber light is risky.

messy tessy

Think people are being a little harsh here. Sounds like a horrible accident and hope you are ok.

I fell off my bike a few weeks ago and two people rushed over to me. So lots of good eggs out there!

Also are you meant to salute other cyclists? When did this become a thing?

Effects

irishrover99 wrote: »

If the lady was already on the road when you got there, then you were very late to the red light, and couldn't even say it was orange.

Yeah, because pedestrians always wait for the lights.

bucketybuck

opentarget wrote: »

I was completely in the right..

You crashed because you were going too fast for the circumstances. The amber light, the road conditions, the pedestrian and the other road users, you were at a speed that meant you did not safely come to a stop when those circumstances dictated that you needed to. Thats on you and nobody else.

Which is probably why you received little assistance, people tend to have reduced sympathy when they believe the person in need caused their own misfortune.

Effects

messy tessy wrote: »

Also are you meant to salute other cyclists? When did this become a thing?

Cycled a good bit in France during the summer and the cyclists there were super friendly and most of them give a wave hello. Not as elitist as I find people can be in Ireland but maybe it's down to a longer cycling history.

opentarget

Wishbone Ash wrote:

A couple of years ago I came to the assistance of a female cyclist who crashed near me. I got her in off the busy road, called and ambulance and stayed with her for over an hour. I put my jacket around her as she was getting cold and I had to support her to stay in a certain position as she was in pain. She didn't thank me at any time but I presumed it was due to the trauma of the incident.

AmboMan wrote:

I’ve had a few falls myself and a few injuries. I think you need to remember once that pedestrian enters the junction they have rite of way and also not stopping for an amber light is risky.

I have had a few falls in the past, the problem this time I was forced to stop at amber abruptly when realistically I was safer to continue through as it changed when I was right on top of the light. If I had of been driving my car it would have been impossible to stop when the light changed so close to the traffic lights that's why we have the amber light in the first place, to signal to come to a stop if safe.

CorkClaire82

I was cycling on the cycle path on the canal just past the Hilton near Charlemont when a lad took an absolute hopper. He was completely in the wrong and easily could've caused a pile up but still I stopped to check he was ok, I couldn't believe the amount of cyclists just zooming past him. A pedestrian stopped to make sure he was ok and helped him once the cyclist was on the footpath.

Regardless of blame or reason for falling you should check if someone is ok, you don't go "well that's their fault, ha ha, serves them right", awful attitude to have.

opentarget

bucketybuck wrote:

You crashed because you were going too fast for the circumstances. The amber light, the road conditions, the pedestrian and the other road users, you were at a speed that meant you did not safely come to a stop when those circumstances dictated that you needed to. Thats on you and nobody else.

I'm certainly not suggesting that the fall was anyone other than my own fault, I took a huge handful of breaks on new pads abs new rims, they stopped me way faster than expected and I ate the road as a result .
I'm just pissed at how poorly the observers acted. I'd be helping anyone who wiped out regardless of if it was their own doing or not.
I guess I was just raised better than to walk on when someone needed a bit of assistance.

AmboMan

opentarget wrote: »

I have had a few falls in the past, the problem this time I was forced to stop at amber abruptly when realistically I was safer to continue through as it changed when I was right on top of the light. If I had of been driving my car it would have been impossible to stop when the light changed so close to the traffic lights that's why we have the amber light in the first place, to signal to come to a stop if safe.

Thats not why we have amber lights, if you are travelling at a speed that does not allow you time to stop safely at a junction you are at fault.

Donal55

Andy Magic wrote: »

Welcome to 2017 where most people are just here for themselves..

Not confined to 2017. I worked on a ferry over 20 years ago and we got the call that a diver was in difficulty off the Kish lighthouse. We were asked, along with other ships and trawlers in the area to do some sweeps and provide assistance.

I heard later that evening that passengers were complaining at the Pursers office because we were going to be late.
No accounting for the mentality of some.

irishrover99

opentarget wrote: »

I guess you didn't read my post correctly or are just trolling me.
.

Not trolling you and I read it right, you just didn't put it correctly but it still doesn't change the fact that your meant to slow down when approaching a orange light.
A few weeks ago I was crossing at Homebase nutgrove going to the shopping centre when somebody in the cycle lane done the same thing but this guy actually broke the red like( which you obviously did not do) and could easily have hit my kids. Would I have been expected to help him up of the ground?
Anyway glad everyone is ok.

TheChizler

AmboMan wrote: »

Thats not why we have amber lights, if you are travelling at a speed that does not allow you time to stop safely at a junction you are at fault.

There is literally no speed where you are guaranteed to have time to stop before the light when the light goes amber. It takes time to react and stop, unless you can guarantee you will be at least this time-distance away from the light when it changes at some point you'll break the amber no matter how slow you're going.

Beasty

messy tessy wrote: »

Also are you meant to salute other cyclists? When did this become a thing?

Have you not heard of cycling etiquette?

No I hadn't either until a thread appeared here on the subject...


:pac:

Rubberchikken

I wouldn't walk or drive past someone after coming off a bike but you said in your first post you were travelling 'at speed so while I'm sorry for you a bit of me says some cop on is needed.
Too many cyclists racing around especially in built up areas as though they were in the tour de France.

tretorn

A woman crssing the road in the city centre was very badly injured last week, she was hit by a twenty two year old cyclist who must have been travelling at some speed, she is in Beaumont so must have a very serious head injury.

To all you men cycling out there and you know who you are, remember what you weigh and how much damage you will do if you plough at full speed into someone, cyclists mostly wear helmets and pedestrians dont. Leave for work on time so you dont have to cycle at full throttle, this is not safe in built up areas.

Im sorry you fell off your bike but you were going too fast, I am glad that it was you who fell and not the poor pedestrian who you might have killed.

helimachoptor

Happened me last year, came off going around a corner a woman pretty much stepped over me and went on her way. Not even a are you OK.

EDit

tretorn wrote: »

A woman crssing the road in the city centre was very badly injured last week, she was hit by a twenty two year old cyclist who must have been travelling at some speed, she is in Beaumont so must have a very serious head injury.

To all you men cycling out there and you know who you are, remember what you weigh and how much damage you will do if you plough at full speed into someone, cyclists mostly wear helmets and pedestrians dont. Leave for work on time so you dont have to cycle at full throttle, this is not safe in built up areas.

Im sorry you fell off your bike but you were going too fast, I am glad that it was you who fell and not the poor pedestrian who you might have killed.

Cos women don’t cycle, right?

messy tessy

Beasty wrote: »

messy tessy wrote: »

Also are you meant to salute other cyclists? When did this become a thing?

Have you not heard of cycling etiquette?

No I hadn't either until a thread appeared here on the subject...


:pac:

I shall wave at everyone tomorrow morning least I offend anyone! :P

Wishbone Ash

tretorn wrote: »

.....To all you men cycling out there and you know who you are, remember what you weigh and how much damage you will do if you plough at full speed into someone, cyclists mostly wear helmets and pedestrians dont. Leave for work on time so you dont have to cycle at full throttle, this is not safe in built up areas.....

I presume you will be posting something similar in the Motor Forum given that 99.9% of road fatalities involve a motor vehicle.

Zillah

I flipped off the bike a week or two ago by getting my own bloody jacket pulled into the spokes of the front tire. Small bump on my head but it bled like a mother (who knew, even tiny cuts to the scalp bleed like hell). I had to practically fend off all the people coming over to ask if I was ok (at least six in the ten minutes it took me to get cleaned up and back up and running).

smacl

Lumen wrote: »

It's impossible to resolve this situation without feeling bad about either yourself or humanity.

I recommend trying to forget it ever happened.

Still banjaxed after a crash in the summer, a narky middle aged cnut before the accident, an even narkier, fatter, older cnut now. I blame humanity, fcuk em, what did humanity ever do for me? Got to be humanity, hardly my fault, I mean reeeely....... As if.

Tenigate

Honestly if i saw a cyclist bombing it and nearly causing an accident, I'd probably be afraid it was a militant cyclist liable to lash out, and I'd give him a wide berth.

AmboMan

TheChizler wrote: »

There is literally no speed where you are guaranteed to have time to stop before the light when the light goes amber. It takes time to react and stop, unless you can guarantee you will be at least this time-distance away from the light when it changes at some point you'll break the amber no matter how slow you're going.

Not really true the system of driving & road raft is based on “The vehicle will always be at the right speed with the correct gear engaged and can always be stopped safely on its own side of the road in the distance that can be seen to be clear."
If you do not have the ability to stop you probably should not be driving.

gozunda

bucketybuck wrote: »

You crashed because you were going too fast for the circumstances. The amber light, the road conditions, the pedestrian and the other road users, you were at a speed that meant you did not safely come to a stop when those circumstances dictated that you needed to. Thats on you and nobody else.

Which is probably why you received little assistance, people tend to have reduced sympathy when they believe the person in need caused their own misfortune.

Travelling at a nornal rate I once skidded on a patch of oil in front of a bus stop (non bus lane). Came off sidways with quite a thump. People at bus stop stood and watched as I gathered myself together, picked up my bike and slowly hobbled off. Not one person made a single move to help - no one offered any assistance - So using YOUR logic exactly what part of my accident made "people tend to have reduced sympathy when they believed the person in in need ( ie me) caused (my) own misfortune.

John_Rambo

Weepsie wrote: »

You're supposed to stop on amber

An amber light means that you must not go beyond the stop line or, if there is no stop line, beyond the light. However, you may go on if you are so close to the line or the light when the amber light first appears that stopping would be dangerous.

In this case, stopping was obviously dangerous as he fell off his bike!

Sorry to hear this OP... can't believe people didn't stop for you.

07Lapierre

OP we’re you actually hurt? And if someone had asked you if you were ok, would you have said yes? Or would you have said “no I’m grand thanks”?
I find that if I crash, I’m usually too embarrassed and all I want is to get up and get going as soon as possible.

magicbastarder

<mod note - several posts deleted. leave the name calling to the playground, for god's sake.>

twowheelsonly

I appreciate where you're coming from but I wouldn't tar everyone with the same brush. Usually some people will stop to help at an accident, some will know what to do to help whilst others may not have a clue, some will stop and stare and some will pop out their phones to get a video !! Many will pass by, whether through ignorance, self centredness or shyness. I'd like to think that I would stop to help, and have done at car and motorbike crashes, but for some people it just doesn't register to stop. There may also be some truth to others suggestions that in some cases people might think "...fleck him...he deserved it.." It doesn't excuse their indifference but to them it might.


On the subject of the accident, on dreary miserable wet winter /autumn mornings with leaves on the road you really do need to slow down. You have to anticipate and presume that perhaps people will step out in front of you and you have to be prepared to stop at a seconds notice, most especially in an urban area. Keep the high speed for weekend runs in the countryside. If you think that no-one is ever going to step out in front of you then you're wrong. It really is that simple !!

Veering slightly off topic.... On various visits to several European cities, primarily in Holland and Belgium, which to be fair have decent cycling infrasturcture, I've never seen cyclists moving at speed in urban areas. You rarely even see them in lycra unless they're heading on a group rideout or training spin. The opposite is true here. We have a poor cycling infrastructure but fellas flying around like they're trying to break records and dressed to do so. Just an observation...

07Lapierre

Just an observation.... sometimes accidents just happen, sometimes, with the best will in the world, things go wrong.

AmboMan

07Lapierre wrote: »

Just an observation.... sometimes accidents just happen, sometimes, with the best will in the world, things go wrong.

I don’t agree with that, thankfully we have moved on from using the word accident when referring to traffic collisions.
The term accident suggests an incident that was unavoidable or happened by chance, this is why fatal & life changing collisions are investigated as there will be one or more contributory factors.

Tenigate

AmboMan wrote: »

I don’t agree with that, thankfully we have moved on from using the word accident when referring to traffic collisions.
The term accident suggests an incident that was unavoidable or happened by chance.

Don't mean to go o.t, but this is a real big govt/thought police-y/sjw thing to do. An academic redefines a word, you learn the new definition, .. you now feel authoritive on a matter by virtue of learning the lingo, then correct someone for using the original meaning of the word. Don't do this.

accident

late Middle English (in the general sense ‘an event’): via Old French from Latin accident- ‘happening’, from the verb accidere, from ad- ‘towards, to’ + cadere ‘to fall’.

noun
noun: accident; plural noun: accidents
1.
. an unfortunate incident that happens unexpectedly and unintentionally, typically resulting in damage or injury.
"he had an accident at the factory"

. a crash involving road or other vehicles.

bucketybuck

gozunda wrote: »

Travelling at a nornal rate I once skidded on a patch of oil in front of a bus stop (non bus lane). Came off sidways with quite a thump. People at bus stop stood and watched as I gathered myself together, picked up my bike and slowly hobbled off. Not one person made a single move to help - no one offered any assistance - So using YOUR logic exactly what part of my accident made "people tend to have reduced sympathy when they believed the person in in need ( ie me) caused (my) own misfortune.

Why ask about my logic when you aren't using any of your own?

Possible reasons for people not helping in one incident do not have to be the same reasons that people did not help in a totally different incident.

I would have thought that obvious.