I was in a bike accident this morning

[KelOnWheels]

Glad you are OK!

http://bikearlingtonforum.com/showthread.php?3281-What-to-do-if-you-have-had-a-Bicycle-Accident

[DaveK]

Follow the link above but first call the police. Do it now – don’t wait until more detail fades from your memory. With that much damage there’s a real chance they could find this guy.

[TwoWheelsDC]

Glad you’re okay!

Let me preface this by saying I don’t hold you at fault at all for this…but as much as it pains me to say it, maybe it’s better the cops didn’t come…there are completely unnecessary stop signs for trail users along that stretch and it wouldn’t surprise me at all if they were to place the blame on you for ignoring them (even though I think they’re not legal because they conflict with the stoplight). I usually ride through that section at a pretty good clip, but I’m also kinda paranoid about the few intersections through there as I’m not confident that driver awareness of the path is commensurate with the amount of riders going through there.

*edit after DaveK’s post…since it’s a hit-and-run, you definitely should call the police. What I said above was based on the driver hanging around.

[birddog]

I’m completely on-board about calling the cops every time there’s an injury or significant damage to your property. If I had been hurt, or if my bike had been damaged beyond repair, I would have. Since only his property was damaged (severely), I would think it’s up to him whether or not to call.

This guy was repeating over and over again that it was his fault and he’s glad I’m OK – he probably split because he knew it was his fault and I wasn’t very nice to him I guess…

I’m going to put up a home-made sign at that intersection reminding motorists to stop before pulling up and turning right on red tomorrow morning.

There are a lot of unecessary/stupid stop signs on that trail, but I don’t think there’s one at that intersection (check the coordinates – maybe I’m wrong).

[rcannon100]

Uggg. Sorry to hear it. If you have any doubt, get yourself to medical care. And make sure that helmet doesnt need to be replaced.

When I had my last accident, it took me a good while to regain my confidence. WABA and Bike Arlington offer “Confident Cycling” classes. Its an option for regaining your confidence, and improving your skills so this cant happen again.

After my last accident, I swore I would never be in an accident again. I know the intersection you are talking about. The WOD is a great trail, but there, there is lots of mixing between cars, bikes, joggers, and pedestrians. Me, at an intersection like that, I take it real slow now – look solid all ways. In the end, the most important thing isnt who has the right of way; the most important thing is arriving safely.

Sorry to hear it.

[dasgeh]

Sorry to hear about the accident, and I’m really glad it wasn’t worse.

Calling the cops has numerous benefits, for you and the larger community:
1) it can help you recover monetarily (you may not realize all the damage to you and the bike today)
2) it can hold the driver responsible (and potentially educate bad drivers/get them off the road)
3) it helps the powers that be have accurate stats on what’s going on, and therefore adjust resources appropriately (e.g. your sign idea is great, but illegal if it’s homemade — if the County knows there’s a problem at that intersection, we can lobby to put up an official sign).

I URGE you to call the cops. Not just for you, but for the entire cycling community.

[baiskeli]

@TwoWheelsDC 35129 wrote:

there are completely unnecessary stop signs for trail users along that stretch and it wouldn’t surprise me at all if they were to place the blame on you for ignoring them (even though I think they’re not legal because they conflict with the stoplight).

It’s possible those signs are not illegal. They may be viewed as controlling the intersection in addition to the stoplight, not in conflict with it. The light would apply only for cars, while bikes/peds would have to stop. There’s no reason to believe that lights controlling a road also control a trail simply because the trail runs in the same direction. Sure wish there were a legal expert who could sort this one out.

Glad you’re okay too, birddog.

[eminva]

Please review everything in the “After the Accident” section of the link, above, but most importantly:

*Call the Police!! This driver will probably be needing the services of a body shop and they can get the word out to the local shops.

*See a doctor, or at a minimum, monitor your condition — some injuries don’t show up right away.

If you have any injuries that appear later, or if it turns out your bike is more badly damaged than is immediately apparent, you will want contact information for the motorist so that the appropriate insurance claims can be filed. Also, leaving the scene of an accident like that requires police attention. No response from you justified his actions.

Liz

EDIT: P.S. Glad you are okay so far. Take care!

[dasgeh]

@baiskeli 35133 wrote:

It’s possible those signs are not illegal. They may be viewed as controlling the intersection in addition to the stoplight, not in conflict with it. The light would apply only for cars, while bikes/peds would have to stop. There’s no reason to believe that lights controlling a road also control a trail simply because the trail runs in the same direction. Sure wish there were a legal expert who could sort this one out.

Even VDOT has questioned their legality, and there’s at least one court case that has nullified them.

[baiskeli]

@dasgeh 35136 wrote:

Even VDOT has questioned their legality, and there’s at least one court case that has nullified them.

Do you know the name of the case or where I can find it? Thanks.

Just looked at the street view – this is about the PEDESTRIAN lights, not traffic lights, right? That’s different from what I thought we were talking about. A stop sign and a pedestrian light signal make no sense together.

[dasgeh]

It was mentioned on the forum — unfortunately, I can’t pull it up now. The reasoning had nothing to do with the stoplight – it was that the stop sign was authorized for use on motorways (or similar) and a trail didn’t fit that definition.

[baiskeli]

@dasgeh 35159 wrote:

It was mentioned on the forum — unfortunately, I can’t pull it up now. The reasoning had nothing to do with the stoplight – it was that the stop sign was authorized for use on motorways (or similar) and a trail didn’t fit that definition.

Never mind, I figured it out – I thought this was about traffic lights, not pedestrian lights. Yeah, stop signs for pedestrians (and bikes) with a green walk signal are dumb.

[OneEighth]

Early in the morning (eg, 0430), the walk signal does not come on at that intersection. Having a stop sign there for those times when the light is off makes some sense. Removing the stop signs altogether and instead having pedestrian signals automatically come on with the corresponding traffic signal would make a lot more sense.

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