Landon's Epic Vlog Thread: living without a car in a car-happy world

[Peakster]

Well it was to eventually happen...

Just 2 days after taking the night shift at work, I got struck by a car while riding home from work at 10:30pm. The driver of a new 2 door Civic didn't come to a stop before making a right turn on a red light while I was coming straight through the green on my end.

The car's front-diver's side corner hit my right-side pedal (bending it considerably). My body fell on the Civic's hood and eventually thrown on the pavement, skinning my right elbow and bruising my thigh on the same side.

The driver, who appeared to be around 17 years old or so, was obviously a little freaked out after the collision and said that he had no idea where I came from (even with lights working on my bike). I still got his information although I don't think I'm that badly injured.



I'll see how much $$$ it will take to repair the bike (which isn't ridable anymore) at the shop and if it turns out to be pretty expensive ($50+) I'll see if I can get some compensation. I'm also going to make a police report in person later this afternoon too.



Take care out there!

[Daox]

Glad you weren't too badly hurt!

This is probably the main reason why I don't ride my motorcyle to work (freeway).

I also think it should be legal to beat the snot out of someone who just hit you with a car...

[bennelson]

Glad you're OK - bikes fix easier than people!

Of course he didn't see you - he wasn't looking for you.

We only see what we are looking for, and he isn't expecting bicycles at night.

As responsible drivers, we need to train ourselves to SEE motorcycles, bicycles, and pedestrians.

Large, noisy, well-illuminated steel crash-cages are NOT the only thing on the road!

Take care out there!

[thebrad]

That's rough dude, at least you came out alright.
I think I am going to have to garage my bike commuting wise until I have more sunlight to ride with, it's way to sketchy to ride around here in the dark and your story is just the nail in the coffin.

[Peakster]

It can be a bit scary... I'm now more careful when I see cars coming up to the intersection to do a right turn.

Even my dad is thinking of getting me one of those super-reflective jackets for my birthday this month :P

...by the way, when I reported the incident to the police, they directed me to call the car driver's insurer. Apparently they might be able to cover the cost of fixing my bike without charging the driver his deductible (as long as the driver doesn't need to fix his car).

[MetroMPG]

Glad you're OK, Peakster.

Your story reminded me of a stupid mistake I made when I was pretty new to driving ... still in high school. I was stuck at a stop sign waiting to turn right onto a busy street. I waited for quite a while, which made me anxious to take my first opportunity to make the turn. So I spent a lot of time watching (staring) to my left, and when I finally got an opening, I started moving before I turned back to look to the right. A jogger - a guy I knew from school actually - had come along and was just crossing in front of the car. I jammed on the brakes and didn't hit him, but it was close enough he instinctively slapped a hand down on the hood thinking he was going to brace himself to get flipped onto it.

I hope the car driver learned from your experience and you get your bike fixed up again.

[Peakster]

Oh yeah MetroMPG, I totally know what you mean. I think most of us have been in a situation close to that.

My example is that about 1 year ago I was stopped at a stop sign as well and I was intending to turn to my left instead. It was a very busy and wide street too. I crossed the traffic coming from the left and I was waiting for a break in the traffic coming from the right (I was in the middle of the large centre median). As soon as there was a break, I started to move forward and just as I turned my head to look to the left again and *whoops* I ran into a stopped mini-wan in front of me with the Geo . The corner of my car side swiped his rear hubcap. He got my information yet never called.

Got to love those convoluted driving situations

[Peakster]

Well well well... it's been nearly a year since an update and I have to say that living without a car for this long really helped me out financially. I saved enough money to buy my first house at age 23 back in March of this year and I'm even getting rental income from roommates!

Things have taken a turn though. My job has switched me to working in the early mornings of weekends where mass transit isn't running in my city . I thought about taking a cab for those days (especially needed for our Canadian winters), but truthfully it would be nice to have something for groceries, emergencies etc. as well.

So I bought myself a $600 SUV!

The truck is very good in every aspect except for the fact that it has 435,000 kms on the odometer! I'm hoping that as long as I drive it gingerly (as any ecomodder should drive I should add) it should last several more months at least . Looks like I'm back to the website! I mean... that's a good thing, right??

[SVOboy]

Welcome back, sir!

[RH77]

I just thought the other day, "What's has Peakster been up to?" I know a lot of us have enjoyed your vids and input.

Welcome back and congrats on the new home. $600 for a solid ride is rare -- good find. As you know, small, incremental improvements in large vehicles yield big results. The Jeep community is very supportive and present here, so you'll get the help you request.

Keep us posted. I look forward to it

RH77