The Chainlink

So, I was hit by a car for the first time today.

Cut off at 26th and State by a CTA bus that passed me on the left and then pulled to the curb in front of me (not at an actual stop), I had to swerve around the rear of the bus to the left, where I was clipped by an oncoming car and dragged the length of the bus, pinched between the car and the bus. Incredibly, a police SUV pulled up to the intersection from 26th, and I was able to flag down the two officers, who were models of kindness and concern. The woman driving the car that hit me also stopped to see that I was okay. Here's the thing, though. As far as I was concerned, the woman who actually hit me was not at any fault, and I did not want to see her held liable for what I thought was the CTA driver's liablilty. But the bus driver just kept repeating "I didn't hit you. I didn't hit you." And it is true that he didn't. I waited around with the police and the woman who hit me for a while, thinking I needed some time to get a clear idea of whether I was seriously hurt or not and to make sure there were no serious damages to my bike. But in the end I decided not to file a police report, even though the police had taken the woman's information and the number of the CTA bus. I never gave them my name or information, in part because I didn't want the woman held liable, in part because it didn't seem necessary in the absence of injury or damages. I did the wrong thing, didn't I? I'm sitting here at home and I still seem okay, but the pain in my left knee is considerably more severe than it was immediately after I was hit and dragged. I'm pretty sure the only damage to my bike was to the bar tape, but I haven't had a chance yet to go over it in detail. I was able to ride it home after putting the chain back on and trying to realign the front fender, and it seems fine. But I am realizing that it is probably frequently the case that injuries or damages only become evident after some time has passed, and that I should have filed a police report in anticipation of that probability. This is the first time I have really been hit, and I have to confess that my impulse was just to let it go and move on, which was probably not the thing I should have done. I have paid much more attention to bike theft issues and "safety" concerns involving salmoning and sidewalk riding, and of course I never even considered that I would actually be hit and dragged by a car. Is there anything I can and should do after the fact--like try to contact the police who responded and complete a report, even though I also didn't bother getting their names or badge numbers (of course)? Or do I just serve as an object lesson for others and learn better what to do the next time this might happen? I stayed eerily calm throughout the whole ordeal, even though aware that it might not end as well as it did, but I guess I was rattled enough not to know what to do under what were pretty much the best circumstances.

The only real damage, I hope:

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Permalink Reply by Tank-Ridin' Ryan on August 24, 2011 at 6:48pm

How were you clipped by an oncoming car?  Was the driver WAY over the line, or did the bus not pull over the least before stopping?

 

Glad (hope) you're ok.

Permalink Reply by Tank-Ridin' Ryan on August 24, 2011 at 7:12pm
Failure to yield and disobeying the 3-foot law - the car driver should've been ticketed.

Moc Artsy said:
Sorry, the car was moving in the same direction to the left of me and the bus. Oncoming as in from behind and over my shoulder, not as in on the other side of the street moving in the opposite direction.
Permalink Reply by Moc Artsy on August 24, 2011 at 7:31pm
I was forced to serve into her path by the bus, which cut me off so suddenly I didn't really have a chance to look behind me and swerved more or less involuntarily into her path. She may have been moving a little fast, but I didn't think it was her fault.
Permalink Reply by Tank-Ridin' Ryan on August 24, 2011 at 7:52pm
Were you in the bus driver's blind spot?

Moc Artsy said:
I was forced to serve into her path by the bus, which cut me off so suddenly I didn't really have a chance to look behind me and swerved more or less involuntarily into her path. She may have been moving a little fast, but I didn't think it was her fault.
Permalink Reply by h' Zerocats on August 24, 2011 at 8:10pm

Michael, very sorry this happened and glad you came out of it mostly OK.

Get some ice on that knee and keep icing for at least a day.

I think the priority would be to make sure the bus driver is held accountable for his behavior.

Did you happen to get a badge number or any other info besides the bus?

There is on-board video that supervisory staff can pull.

I'll defer to any lawyers that want to step in here.

 

Permalink Reply by Kevin C Dormant on August 24, 2011 at 8:12pm

The only lawyer in the room is recommending this thread get taken down immediately.

 

Permalink Reply by Jeff Markus on August 24, 2011 at 8:33pm

I try to be cognizant of the trials and difficulties of manhandling an oversized cage around the traffic and topology of the city streets BUT for the most part bus drivers are rarely trained or practised in paying attention to the actual world the wallow thru. This constant reindoctrination and sensitizing is needed to avoid the dulled senses that occurs from long hours and repetative action. Bus drivers are not the only victims of this numbing to the world we pass thru but they do hold the power of a massive vehicle in their paws.

I have never seen the CTA show any signs they wish to assure their drivers and supervisors are capable of doing what's needed to stimulate the drivers to be better, rather all they have at their disp[osal is draconian measures meant to remove drivers...they have no stepped process to revitalize a driver into a better driver. Because they dare not lose the number of drivers that their dramatic reactionary discipline would put out of commission they tend to ignore any but the most dramatic errors before involving the management and union layers of their discipline.

Think of it as the police reaction to stopping a driver for something minor and knowing the ticket will do more harm to the driver than good for the traffic, so he lets them off with nothing...and the driver 'learns' that the bad driving is OK and he'll do it again and again.

In many ways we have evolved a very black and white social/legal/management system that does not enforce growth and improvement but instead enables poor judgement and behavior.

OK,OK,OK so nit sounds bad but armed with the drivers number, route number and time of day you should call in a complaint to the phone number for that purpose and put the system in motion. Tho I have lil' faith in the system it is the only one we have and we must exercise it if we ever expect it to get leaner, meaner and more effective.

Of course that is only my opinion...but it is right, I say so!!~!!

Jeff

The Chicagoan

Permalink Reply by Moc Artsy on August 24, 2011 at 9:41pm

Thanks, Kevin, but I decided at the time that I would not be following up on this, and aside from a bruised left knee, I am unharmed and I'm pretty sure the bike is okay. My interest in posting this was really about trying to elicit a conversation I don't think we have had on Chainlink yet--which is a really comprehensive set of instructions for cyclists so that they know what to do if and when they are involved in a crash involving a car or a bus. We have done a pretty good job of setting out comprehensive instructions about bike theft, for instance, or bike registration, and I think the crash support group is extremely useful. But we haven't really set up a kind of checklist of what to do when you are involved in a crash. It's really easy in these situations to lose your composure a bit and fail to focus on further consequences beyond the immediate concerns about injuries or damages, and it just seems to me that if everyone were as well-versed in steps to take and things to be sure to do in the wake of a crash--assuming, of course, they are relatively unharmed and conscious--in the way they are about what to do if their bikes are stolen, we could set a template people could refer to in a time of crisis. Having come out of this relatively unscathed, I think my own example offers an opportunity to do so.


Kevin C said:

The only lawyer in the room is recommending this thread get taken down immediately.

 

Permalink Reply by Far'arned Retrogrumpalunkus #63 on August 24, 2011 at 9:47pm

Ice that knee

 

Nuke this thread if you ever want to make a case.

 

Call the bicycle crash attorney/advocate

 

Permalink Reply by Mike Zumwalt on August 24, 2011 at 9:58pm

Some bus drivers are like that. Sorry and at least you're able to post this so you're mostly ok.

 

Never been hit but after a couple accidents the REAL injuries don't show up until the next day.

 

 

Permalink Reply by S on August 24, 2011 at 11:31pm

There's a couple of things, you can probably do.  The first is not to talk anymore about the details of what happened online so that it can't be used against you if you have to take legal action.  I'd check with the police district where the accident happened to see if you can get a report issued and maybe talk to a bike lawyer to see where things stand. You should have gotten a police report at the time, but hindsight is 20/20.

 

Like Mike says, sometimes it takes a night's sleep for the injuries to appear.  It's hard to figure out how bad things are when you're amped up on adrenaline and not feeling much pain.  

Permalink Reply by h' Zerocats on August 25, 2011 at 12:14am


h' said:

Michael, very sorry this happened and glad you came out of it mostly OK.

Get some ice on that knee and keep icing for at least a day.

I think the priority would be to make sure the bus driver is held accountable for his behavior.

Did you happen to get a badge number or any other info besides the bus?

There is on-board video that supervisory staff can pull.

I'll defer to any lawyers that want to step in here.

 

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