Andrew: “I might be the luckiest cyclist to ever be hit by a car.“
Claire: “But you’re still not as lucky as all the cyclists who didn’t get hit by cars.“
I use a combination of a NiteRider and a Bontrager blinky light and my commute isn’t long enough to worry about run time so I have them going full blast. After Saturday night, I’ll probably add a third one. Not because I actually think it would have made any difference to getting hit, but because psychologically it feels like doing something extra.
Since I was hit on Saturday night, I’ve had a number of folks suggest that a fear of something similar happening keeps them from riding on the road. Or tell me that’s why they ride while out of their way to avoid busy areas. And all I can say is “Me Too!”
When I leave the shop I’m on a main street – actually called Main St – for a grand total of a block, most of which is a paint-protected bike lane. Then I hop a curb and disappear from the road network. I ride a gravel trail next to Lynn Creek, pop out on a quiet street, and then I’m only one beg-button away from a car-free combination of pavement and gravel called the Salop Trail which features the gallery from Tunnel Talk.
At the top of the Salop, I use a combination of quiet residential streets and alleyways almost the whole way home. There’s one careful crossing with an all-way stop, where it’s almost always my turn when I get there, and otherwise, I don’t pop out into the busy world of automobiles until I’m a block from home.
My final street crossing is as well-lit as any in the area and amongst the quietest. I take the lane to avoid folks turning right, right into me, and once I’m across it’s a smooth roll home. The odd time I’ve had a driver rip a left turn in front of me, and I always have to watch for folks pulling out of the ‘No Stopping’ not-a-parking-spot on my right as I ride through, but it’s all standard bike commuter stuff and nothing to get my knickers in a knot over. It’s here that I was hit, from behind, while stopped at the red light. I had never previously considered it the riskiest part of my commute – but in hindsight, it certainly is that.
I don’t think I can blame the CNV, the crossing is well-lit. I refuse to take the blame myself with my multiple bright lights and waiting for a light to change when in this case it certainly would have been safer to treat the red light as a yield. The driver was clearly distracted – whether on her phone or otherwise the RCMP will hopefully be able to discern – and whatever her excuse, I maintain that negligence is an admission, not a defense. It should be considered an assault on a vulnerable road user.
At this point, it’s ‘just an accident.’ I’m sorer today, but that’s healing for you. I need to sort out a rim for my bike – which was still rideable thanks to my CushCore insert. But all in all, I’m about as lucky as you can get. It would have been a shitty way to go, and more likely I could have been properly hurt, and it’s been a few days of deep reflection on that fact.
So do me a favour. On your next bicycle commute, have a good think about the sections where your Ghost Bike is most likely to go. And then, if you can, do something about it. If, like me, those sections are still your best options then think about ways to be most diligent. I certainly won’t ever take my proximity to home for granted again.
