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.

Views: 1510

▶ Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Chris Lin on June 17, 2013 at 5:54pm

I've had two cracked front teeth and one tooth that was entirely ripped out of my bridge. So today I've got bonding on my cracked teeth and still waiting for my temporary tooth to be fitted. I have insurance, but it still costs quite a bit.

I couldn't get the info on the car, and I suspect the driver didn't even know he caused this. I was hoping the police could get some footage from security cameras nearby to determine the identity of the driver, but I guess it's not really a crime to be a reckless and mindless driver.

Permalink Reply by Steven Vance on June 17, 2013 at 6:36pm

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 Steven Vance on June 17, 2013 at 6:48pm

And report your Close Call to this new website:

http://cc.stevevance.net/submit

Permalink Reply by Chris Lin on June 18, 2013 at 12:29am

Thanks for the video, Steven. Seems to me the cops needs to all be educated on the real rules of the road. And if I'm in charge, a little sensitivity training is in order as well.

Permalink Reply by Lisa Curcio on June 18, 2013 at 12:34am

And if you are so inclined, talk to the 14th Dist. Commander and mention the video.  Steven--is that the CPD training video?  No personal experience, but I have been told that the commander is a pretty decent sort.

Permalink Reply by Justin B Newman on June 18, 2013 at 2:30am

You might consider a call to Active Transportation's Crash Support Hotline at 312-869-HELP (4357).

Permalink Reply by Brendan Kevenides on June 18, 2013 at 3:03am

Steven is right.  The police officer you spoke with was incorrect in just about every way.  Terrible.

Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on June 18, 2013 at 3:12am

I'll second Lisa's suggestion and Steven's.  That officer did just about everyone wrong.  I'm sorry to hear about your crash and that you were treated so poorly at the 14th district.

If the driver suddenly swerved into your path, he/she DID contribute to causing your crash.  If you got a written report of any kind, it should include the officer's star (badge) #.  That officer is deserving of a formal complaint, with a suggestion for some education.  If you are so inclined, contact the station, ask for a supervisor and say that you want to file a complaint.  They may make it a pain in the butt to do it, but you didn't deserve to be treated that way by the officer, and that officer should get an official message that it's NOT okay.

If you want to talk to someone about how you're feeling after the crash, and get referrals for resources if you need them, the Crash Support Hotline is a very good place to turn.

Lisa Curcio 6.5 mi said:

And if you are so inclined, talk to the 14th Dist. Commander and mention the video.  Steven--is that the CPD training video?  No personal experience, but I have been told that the commander is a pretty decent sort.

Permalink Reply by Juan Primo on June 18, 2013 at 3:49am

Was this more of a bike handling problem?  Even though a car surprised you, you panicked and braked too hard and endo'd.

Once I was driving and a car swerved suddenly into my lane in a bad snowstorm.  I couldn't stop in time and I rear ended him.  The accident was legally my fault because I should have had the control of my car to avoid hitting him.  It's a similar circumstance to yours.

The cop has his opinion about where bikers should ride, but that's his opinion.

Permalink Reply by Chris Lin on June 18, 2013 at 4:12am

I suppose it could be, but with a swerving car maybe 5 feet ahead of me, packed full of parked car on my right, I didn't really have the time to process the situation. Could I have handled this better? Maybe. But hindsight is 20/20.

The thing that really gets to me is that the driver would accomplish nothing by swerving into the sharrow due to its narrowness: Logically I didn't think that is even a possibility, so I wasn't prepared for it.


Juan Primo said:

Was this more of a bike handling problem?  Even though a car surprised you, you panicked and braked too hard and endo'd.

Permalink Reply by Liz on June 18, 2013 at 4:14am

Sorry to hear about the accident.  I have no advice on fault, but I do suggest that you file a complaint on the officer (even though its a big hassle) since an officer should know what the law and regulations are.  I would also suggest contacting the alderman's office and complaining about the attitude of the police towards cyclists in his ward.  

Permalink Reply by Adam Herstein on June 18, 2013 at 4:42am

A cab driver once purposefully swerved at me into the bike lane, cutting me off; got out of his cab; and started screaming at me. When I tried to file a police report for assault, the cop told me that it wasn't assault. She claimed that only verbal threats count as assault. When I informed her that she was incorrect, and that threatening someone with a two-ton vehicle is most certainly assault, she hung up on me.

Chicago's finest. I am not surprised by your experience in the least. I hope you have a speedy recovery!

RSS

Groups

© 2008-2016   The Chainlink Community, L.L.C.   Powered by

Disclaimer  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service