I had an accident the other day. I’ve been lucky in that I really can’t remember the last time I had an accident and I’m pretty sure I was a kid at the time.
I think it must be the season for accidents or perhaps these things just come in threes as the old wives tale would have us believe. Since my accident, my boss’s husband and my Husband’s boss have both came a cropper and done significant damage to their bodies as well as their mega expensive bikes – many thousand of dollars worth of high performance bicycle was written off in the making of this post. Both these accidents occurred spontaneously with no other vehicles involved. Interestingly a recent article I read mentioned the fact that gusts of wind can cause bike accidents!
My accident was an odd occurrence that unfolded in slow motion. I was riding along the road, as I do – pretty slowly on my solid upright style bicycle – and I saw a young man look down the road to check for traffic. Unfortunately, he was clearly looking only for cars as he looked straight through me and then ran into my front wheel. We both staggered a bit, clutched each other until stability was re-established, and then apologised profusely. We checked over my bicycle and realigned the handlebars and front wheel, as I would have ended up riding around in circles in its post-accident state. All was well so I went on my way feeling a bit shaken and horribly at fault as I am usually very careful around pedestrians but it just all happened so fast.
Ouch!
“So how did I hurt my ankle?” I can hear you ask. well that was an entirely different incident and occurred whilst in control of another wheeled vehicle – the death trap that is the wheeled suitcase! I was wheeling my suitcase up a Wellington hill on a dark rainy evening after a long day at work. I lost concentration for a moment and with it my control of the suitcase. I went flat on my face and rammed my ankle into the suitcase, twisting it in the process. No other vehicles were involved … but it was very windy. I have previously blogged about the danger of flying and my altercation with the suitcase has reconfirmed my suspicions. Luckily a helmet is already a legal requirement for operating a bicycle but I strongly believe that this should be extended to encompass cars, airplanes and all forms of rolling luggage.
So what have we learned …
- Heavy bicycles that are ridden slowly are safe and quite robust.
- Very expensive light weight bicycles that are ridden fast are much more risky and can cause serious injury to the owners body as well as their wallet.
- Wheeled suitcases are unspeakably evil.
Obviously, this is not an exhaustive study but interestingly a proper study seems to come up with the same kind of ideas – fast sporty cyclists are more accident-prone than traditional risk-averse cyclists (that’s me). Unfortunately, the study did not include wheeled luggage …
I ride a large motorcycle and an “expensive bicycle” (well.. expensive to me anyway), as well as an “upright” bicycle usually with a cart on the back with kids in, as well as a mountain bike. As confident as I am riding fast, I know I am in more danger than if I was riding slower. I choose to go faster for many reasons… in some cases it is even safer.
I object to the use of the term “traditional” btw.. I find it quite divisive and elitist. We ride bikes, we’re all cyclists. If we all worked together we’d get more done. Honestly, “roadies” are out on the road a lot more than most people, clocking up huge kilometres every week, riding in all sorts of places. And right now, they make up the bulk of people cycling. Surely they want safe roads, and more people cycling like everyone else, right?
‘Traditional’ was the description used in the article I linked to.
Does it take into account that Norwegians are also insane?
You didnt say what the bloke that hit you was on, foot or another bike? I think sometimes runners are the biggest danger to bicycles, maybe one step up from dog walkers, or in my case, long boarders, as I commute through Cornwall Park which seems to be long board city these days!
Oh Yeah, Compulsory High Vis Luggage, and use of luggage lanes, will fix your other problem.
Just got back from a fabulous long weekend skiing during which I was frequently far from in full control of my speed and/or direction. I can tell you I was not the only one on a busy ski field for whom this was the case. But still, no helmet and no injury.
I think there should be a mandatory “working boots with ankle protectors” rule in NZ to prevent suitcase-related injuries. I mean, think of the children.
Also, suitcase pullers should use the footpath, or designated suitcase lanes. Because.
These days most people do ski with helmets, maybe not in NZ but certainly that’s the case in Europe. To be honest it’s not at all comparable to wearing a helmet when riding a bike. When I ride a bike I use it to get to meetings or do chores and wouldn’t appreciate being forced to wear one, on the slopes I happily wear a helmet because I’m dressed up in ski gear anyway and I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve hit my head when skiing, but I have never hit my head on a bike.
Interesting findings in the Melbourne research, see link to gusts of wind above, that half the cycling accidents have head injuries. This should be the evidential findings to ban cycle helmets as dangerous equipment. As bbc says above you seldom hit your head cycling and in the cases you do, when helmet less, probably 80% involve a bang or abrasion to the lower face. The report of course takes the line that it shows the benefit of helmets but the opposite is the case.
When you do have a case of serious head impact the helmet does not slow down impact speed, protecting the brain but shatters, slithers of plastic often lacerating the scalp. When racing I had numerous falls and did not hit my head. However I have had three identical falls following losing control when striking road deformities. In the first two I had a grazed cheek and grazed jaw. Two years ago I had my first fall wearing a plastic “helmet” in a similar manner., hit my helmet which shattered and lacerated my head and left me with a period of amnesia!!!!
There is much emotive support from those who support helmets not supported by reality. Why are you not allowed to use them on motorcycles if they work?