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.

Weepsie

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:

You're supposed to stop on amber

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.