An "Accident"

On Friday afternoon, while riding northbound on California near Humboldt Park, I had to squeeze the brakes to avoid hitting a car that suddenly swerved into the sharrow. I panicked and hit the brake a bit too hard, flew over my handle bar, and landed on the pavement with my mouth. I broke three of my front teeth and bruised my palms pretty bad, but other than that, I did not sustain any serious injuries. Just partially deformed and very, very sore. A couple of very nice bicyclists and a passerby stopped and helped me, and another nice lady drove me to the emergency room. I couldn't have been more lucky.

So... fast forward to Monday. I was feeling good enough to move around, and I had a dentist appointment to make. Thought I'd go to the police station to file a report. At the 14th District station, the sergeant told me that he cannot file a report since I never made contact with the car. Told me that I caused this for myself, that I should not have been riding on a street without a bike lane. Then he went on to lecture me about how the PBLs were funded by car owner's money and the least I could do is to stay out of their way. The report was filed as a "hospitalization" and we called it a day. I was pissed.

First of all, the stretch of California Ave near Humboldt Park has sharrows, and while riding on it, my upmost concern is to stay out of the ways of car doors. Secondly, a jerkwad swerved into the sharrow... for what purpose? The sharrow is half as wide as his traffic lane. What did he think he is going to accomplish? Thirdly, I'm saddened by the fact that because I didn't actually collide with the car, I'm responsible for my own injuries.

This whole thing is just so maddening and I just wanted to rant. I think I will stay off my bike for a while.

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Permalink Reply by Chris Lin on June 19, 2013 at 6:19am

So sorry to hear that this is a common occurrence at the 14th District, one of the more bike-friendly areas in town. Hope our efforts actually bring some change.

Anika said:

I have had some terrible experiences with the 14th district (one of which was linked to earlier). It has unfortunately not gotten better as the officers are terribly informed on cyclists rights. I have made complaints and gotten no where. A few times I have inquired from active trans about education and gotten the response that they do work with each of the precincts. I've been to community meetings, spoken to my alderman - nothing. Now, I always expect the worst from them and hope for the best. My child is learning some on street riding skills on familiar side streets that we travel daily. One such street is Palmer directly next to the precinct. More often than not, officers in cars stop to lecture us on why we shouldn't be in the street or that we should be riding "close enough to the parked cars to touch them". They cannot fathom why I (and my child who was doored on my bike with me last year) are so concerned about this and mock me for it. It is frustrating. Education in this district needs to be increased but I have no idea who else's attention to bring it to.
Permalink Reply by Naomi Ruth Jackson on June 19, 2013 at 7:39am

This is an excellent video. I know it's made for the CPD, but this is something every driver/cyclist needs to see and know. 

Steven Vance said:

Don't believe the police officer - they are incorrect in just about every way. I'm going to assume there are some readers who don't know what their rights are and I'm gonna spell 'em out because your story got me upset. 

 

Go back to the police station with this burned to a DVD: https://vimeo.com/5660360

Traffic Enforcement for Bicyclist Safety from Chicago Bicycle Program on Vimeo.

 

California Avenue has a bike lane between Chicago Avenue and North Avenue. From North Avenue to Milwaukee Avenue it has sharrows. Sharrows, being ~40 inches wide, occupy about 1/4th of a 14 feet wide travel lane. But legally, they don't occupy anything. They have no legal meaning. They serve only as a signal - people can still drive in/on sharrows. Two points for anyone who can guess what that signal is. I take it back, it has one legal meaning: you can't park in a lane that's been marked as a shared-use lane.  

 

You're allowed to bike on any roadway in Chicago, provided it's not Lake Shore Drive or an expressway. You're supposed to bike in the right lane, towards the right, but you can leave that position for just about any reason (rocks, glass, your personal comfort, a pothole, door zone, cats that dart into the bike lane). The traffic lanes belong to no one. 

Permalink Reply by John C. Wilson on June 19, 2013 at 3:27pm

I do ride a fixie, often. I ride above 15mph all the time. And have done so for 45 years. Never endo'ed, never came close to doing an endo.

If your fixie threatens to endo when the front brake is applied you are doing something very wrong. Figure it out or you will endo too.



Apie (10.6) said:

If you are riding a fixie at 15mph, only have a tight front brake, and grip it "too hard" as to not hit a car, you will endo.  Solution:  Add a back brake, or take off your front brake.
 
John C. Wilson said:

There is no "too hard" for a bicycle brake. Put your saddle down. Put your saddle back. Going over the bars means your center of gravity was too high and too far forward.

Your front brake is your best friend in the situation you describe. No one should ever be discouraged from hitting the front brake as hard as possible, right to the limit of traction. Endos can still happen even if you do everything right - hitting potholes,going downhill, all sorts of little stuff could contribute to an accident even if you do it all perfect. But endos should be rare and rider error is the usual cause. It is not the fault of the front brake. Bicycles do not have excessively powerful brakes.

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