ferret

I have to say it did shatter my confidence for about a month. But I have a short commute to work and did that daily. I got myself a single speed road bike and am running that fixed which is a lot of fun. I now have a healthy distrust of other drivers as opposed to my initial terror after the crash, especially when passing across the path of waiting vehicles. The supportive comments on here and youtube have helped a lot.I had a police officer email me on this site to comment me on my cycling skill. He said there is only so much you can do in life to make it safe for everyone.That means more to me than any cab driver comment.

I take the centre of the lane when going straight, this makes my intentions clear and prevents impatient people from trying to force their way past or overtake in stupid places. This also means I have both brakes and the bike under full control. This guy came fast and was outside what was then my danger perimeter when I entered the roundabout. The roundabout was clear when I entered. When he arrived, he failed to slow and accelerated across the line I was suddenly in his kill zone. I couldnt accelerate to the speeds necessary to get out from in front of him before he hit me. Nor could I suddenly go into reverse. A left or right turn just puts me closer or further from him and stopping means I give up and wait for the 2 broken legs.Indicating was not an issue here despite what my new friend above repeats. The driver simply didnt see a cyclist and accelerated ahead of the black Audi. Apparently my friend above thinks I should have been riding one handed, wobbly indicating a Uturn, then all would have been wellI could have been stationary at the point he crossed the give way line. I would still have been hit from the side and likely sustained 2 broken legs.Its obvious that we have to look out for stuff. But sometimes there are circumstances where you suddenly have no escape route. When a car blindly accelerates out of a side street as you are passing, unless you can do an amazing bunny hop, your options are pretty limited. I guess there is a balance to be struck. You could walk down the street assuming every other person is about to stab or shoot you, but that makes for a pretty scared existence and is an overreaction to the actual level of threat.The guy made a mistake, the human brain works that way, it sees only what it looks for, the rest is filtered out as background noise.I was simply in front of him when he drove through the piece of space that I was passing through. He was faster than me and much wider. There was no way to get out of that danger area in front of the moving vehicle before he reached my position.I dont feel any need to attribute malice or stupidity, he just screwed up. And some car drivers dont like to face up to their responsibilities when handling what is in fact a very powerful weapon in a public place.

I have missed plates in the past. Then even with a plate, without an independent witness the police will do nothing. The cam is nice to have. You can even read out a plate that you need to remember and use the cam like a dictaphone. Its like having your own black box.I got mine from amazon. But there are many places. Look for Contour HD. i got the 1080p one, but the crash video was lower res 720p.All the best. Hope you get better soon.Im still feeling it in the 3rd and 4th fingers of my right hand. Lots of swelling there still.

Do I not get a Thumbs up Dxxx

100 drivers fault, didnt look, hit bike... end of.

Nobody would blame you for colliding with an unlit cyclist at night on a dark road. To do that and also assume that the cars can see you would be suicidal. Yet these people seem to continue to survive.Had I been doing 10mph or even stationary this guy would still have hit me from the side. I was directly in front of him. Try pausing the video and stepping through, frame by frame. My pedal punched a hole through his bumper and the crank arm was bent inwards. I would be looking at a shattered leg or worse had I not been thrown clear..Had I got there a few seconds sooner or later I would have missed him completely.Sometimes there is simply nothing you can do, you find yourself in the wrong place at the wrong time. If someone drives off the road and ploughs into a bus queue, then you could say it was the fault of the people in the queue for expecting the car to stay on the road and failing to jump clear. But the guy in charge of 2 tons of machinery moving at deadly speed should really look where he is going with itCars can feel too safe from the inside and drivers are wrapped in cotton wool with radios, aircon, satnavs, airbags and cages etc. The risk to themselves is purely financial. They kill the same number of people in a year as 911 just in the UK, yet that doesnt make the news, because its uncomfortable to think about and cars are so convenient... 32,000 people killed in the UK in the last 10 years. Many of those people were killed whilst on the pavement, not even on the roads or crossing them. Cycles kill a few but it seems to be in single figures over a similar 10 year periodThe camera is invaluable in the event of an accident. In this case showing that the driver didnt stop at the give way line and recording clear details of number plates and other vehicles. If I had been knocked out or killed, or the driver failed to stop a common event with 13 of drivers uninsured, I would hope it would enable someone to piece together what happened.Thanks for the comments, and hopefully I dont come across as ranting. I treat everybody on the road as crazy, works both ways, no matter what you drive or ride.

I found the vholdr thread and introduced myself.No signals on the approach as I was going straight on.I suspect he scanned ahead looking for cars and was trying to get out ahead of the black Audi. Or maybe he saw me and thought he could get ahead of us both. But he was an elderly guy, not a company rep or boy racer.His account was that he stopped at the line, looked and was dazzled by reflected sunlight, so he then drove slowly onto the roundabout... The video doesnt show him stopping at all.It is something that is very useful to see as a driver and as a cyclist. It is easy to get complacent and assume that they are all going to stop and give way to the right. But this video is a good example to have in mind when negotiating a roundabout. I always assume a driver will fail to give way from a side junction. I think I had been treating roundabouts differently.I notice that in my riding today I was making much more eye contact with the drivers and maintaining a much more assertive road position. I think you can get complacent as with anything after a long period of no accidents.

Thanks Dave,HD is great for number plates Hope you recovered fully from your hit.

But one of us is driving 1.5 tons of deadly metal. He does have some significant responsibility to look where he is going.

The roundabout is also very elongated and more like a Tjunction in some ways. See here httptinyurl.com38o373gSeeing the clear path straight through makes it more like passing a side road in some ways. I would usually preempt any silly move by the cars, especially on roundabout or junction.In this case he was much too far back when I entered the roundabout and he came through and over the line so quickly that I didnt have many or indeed any escape options once it became apparent that I was in his path.Will certainly be upping the caution levels from now on.Thanks for the comments.

Yeah, the police have a copy of the full footage as will my solicitor when she handles the insurers. Its a very practical use for HD. Even without the footage, the police had things very much in my favour. But video evidence is even harder to argue against. The POV is very effective. It has sent chills down even the most hardened of car drivers. Really forces them to see things from the other side.

It was an old couple.But sandles bloke was a passer by who came to my aid and did a really good job of marshalling the other people. He was calm and took control, decent bloke. I owe him a drink or two.

Yeah, Im healing up quite quickly. Im amazed I didnt break anything.

I could feel my stomach turn over watching that.

I have to say it did shatter my confidence for about a month. But I have a short commute to work and did that daily. I got myself a single speed road bike and am running that fixed which is a lot of fun. I now have a healthy distrust of other drivers as opposed to my initial terror after the crash, especially when passing across the path of waiting vehicles. The supportive comments on here and youtube have helped a lot.I had a police officer email me on this site to comment me on my cycling skill. He said there is only so much you can do in life to make it safe for everyone.That means more to me than any cab driver comment.

I take the centre of the lane when going straight, this makes my intentions clear and prevents impatient people from trying to force their way past or overtake in stupid places. This also means I have both brakes and the bike under full control. This guy came fast and was outside what was then my danger perimeter when I entered the roundabout. The roundabout was clear when I entered. When he arrived, he failed to slow and accelerated across the line I was suddenly in his kill zone. I couldnt accelerate to the speeds necessary to get out from in front of him before he hit me. Nor could I suddenly go into reverse. A left or right turn just puts me closer or further from him and stopping means I give up and wait for the 2 broken legs.Indicating was not an issue here despite what my new friend above repeats. The driver simply didnt see a cyclist and accelerated ahead of the black Audi. Apparently my friend above thinks I should have been riding one handed, wobbly indicating a Uturn, then all would have been wellI could have been stationary at the point he crossed the give way line. I would still have been hit from the side and likely sustained 2 broken legs.Its obvious that we have to look out for stuff. But sometimes there are circumstances where you suddenly have no escape route. When a car blindly accelerates out of a side street as you are passing, unless you can do an amazing bunny hop, your options are pretty limited. I guess there is a balance to be struck. You could walk down the street assuming every other person is about to stab or shoot you, but that makes for a pretty scared existence and is an overreaction to the actual level of threat.The guy made a mistake, the human brain works that way, it sees only what it looks for, the rest is filtered out as background noise.I was simply in front of him when he drove through the piece of space that I was passing through. He was faster than me and much wider. There was no way to get out of that danger area in front of the moving vehicle before he reached my position.I dont feel any need to attribute malice or stupidity, he just screwed up. And some car drivers dont like to face up to their responsibilities when handling what is in fact a very powerful weapon in a public place.

I have missed plates in the past. Then even with a plate, without an independent witness the police will do nothing. The cam is nice to have. You can even read out a plate that you need to remember and use the cam like a dictaphone. Its like having your own black box.I got mine from amazon. But there are many places. Look for Contour HD. i got the 1080p one, but the crash video was lower res 720p.All the best. Hope you get better soon.Im still feeling it in the 3rd and 4th fingers of my right hand. Lots of swelling there still.

Do I not get a Thumbs up Dxxx

100 drivers fault, didnt look, hit bike... end of.