Another rare RL post about stupid drivers
Jun. 12th, 2008 03:40 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ghost2Nothing too unusual happened to me today. I went to the bank, stopped by the mall, bought lunch at McDonald's, got hit by a truck...
Yeah, I actually did get hit by a truck. Luckily, it was basically just a nudge but it easily could have been a lot worse.
Nice morning, decided to take my bike out. I ran some errands, and on my way home it started to rain heavily. Ahead of me, construction was taking place and the road was narrowed to one lane. I decided it was safer to go onto the sidewalk for that stretch rather than try to squeeze onto the street, so I turned in at the corner and rode along on the pavement fairly slowly for a little while. Then something, maybe a flash of movement I didn't clearly register, made me jerk my handlebars to the side and a second later, a big black truck backing out of a driveway hit me in the leg and bumped my bike.
It didn't knock me down but it came close. I ended up swerving into the road, in front of oncoming traffic. Fortunately, I was able to safely get out of the way and onto the sidewalk on the other side of the street. The truck driver, who had stopped when he hit me, jumped out of his vehicle and ran to the rear of it... to check for damage. He didn't spare ME a glance.
I waited for a break in traffic, then rode back across the road and yelled, "You hit me!" The driver replied, "It was YOUR fault. How did you expect me to see you? The bushes were in my way."
That's right, folks. Asshole driver had 12-foot shrubbery lining the side of his driveway and completely obscuring his vision. Instead of trimming the bushes to eliminate the safety hazard, he had left them in place and chose to blindly back down his driveway in the expectation that any innocent passersby would leap for their lives if need be. (Or, on the off chance that he didn't own the property in question but was merely a visitor not responsible for its upkeep, he still should have been more careful in exiting.)
The driver didn't apologize or ask if I was okay. He just glared at me and insisted the incident had been my fault. Not knowing what else to do as I sat there getting soaked from the downpour, I told him he was an idiot and proceeded home. Presumably, his truck was fine. I'm sure if it had been at all scraped, he would have demanded compensation. The impact of my 120 pounds plus the weight of my bike seemed to be enough to make him aware he'd hit something, but not enough to cause actual damage.
My leg is a little tender where the truck hit it but it's bearing weight fine. I think at most I'll have some bruises for a few days. I still don't have medical insurance so no doctor's visits for me unless absolutely necessary; can't afford them. My bike emerged with no visible damage and no change in performance--good thing, because it was a recent gift and I love it. Whatever instinct made me turn to the side right before the collision probably saved me from a more serious injury. If I hadn't swerved, I would have been hit broadside and likely knocked down, possibly run over.
I'm pissed off that the driver was such an asshole. I wondered what he would have done if he'd struck a kid. Or an animal. I think it's entirely possible that he might someday.
Mainly, though, I'm just relieved that I wasn't really injured.
Yeah, I actually did get hit by a truck. Luckily, it was basically just a nudge but it easily could have been a lot worse.
Nice morning, decided to take my bike out. I ran some errands, and on my way home it started to rain heavily. Ahead of me, construction was taking place and the road was narrowed to one lane. I decided it was safer to go onto the sidewalk for that stretch rather than try to squeeze onto the street, so I turned in at the corner and rode along on the pavement fairly slowly for a little while. Then something, maybe a flash of movement I didn't clearly register, made me jerk my handlebars to the side and a second later, a big black truck backing out of a driveway hit me in the leg and bumped my bike.
It didn't knock me down but it came close. I ended up swerving into the road, in front of oncoming traffic. Fortunately, I was able to safely get out of the way and onto the sidewalk on the other side of the street. The truck driver, who had stopped when he hit me, jumped out of his vehicle and ran to the rear of it... to check for damage. He didn't spare ME a glance.
I waited for a break in traffic, then rode back across the road and yelled, "You hit me!" The driver replied, "It was YOUR fault. How did you expect me to see you? The bushes were in my way."
That's right, folks. Asshole driver had 12-foot shrubbery lining the side of his driveway and completely obscuring his vision. Instead of trimming the bushes to eliminate the safety hazard, he had left them in place and chose to blindly back down his driveway in the expectation that any innocent passersby would leap for their lives if need be. (Or, on the off chance that he didn't own the property in question but was merely a visitor not responsible for its upkeep, he still should have been more careful in exiting.)
The driver didn't apologize or ask if I was okay. He just glared at me and insisted the incident had been my fault. Not knowing what else to do as I sat there getting soaked from the downpour, I told him he was an idiot and proceeded home. Presumably, his truck was fine. I'm sure if it had been at all scraped, he would have demanded compensation. The impact of my 120 pounds plus the weight of my bike seemed to be enough to make him aware he'd hit something, but not enough to cause actual damage.
My leg is a little tender where the truck hit it but it's bearing weight fine. I think at most I'll have some bruises for a few days. I still don't have medical insurance so no doctor's visits for me unless absolutely necessary; can't afford them. My bike emerged with no visible damage and no change in performance--good thing, because it was a recent gift and I love it. Whatever instinct made me turn to the side right before the collision probably saved me from a more serious injury. If I hadn't swerved, I would have been hit broadside and likely knocked down, possibly run over.
I'm pissed off that the driver was such an asshole. I wondered what he would have done if he'd struck a kid. Or an animal. I think it's entirely possible that he might someday.
Mainly, though, I'm just relieved that I wasn't really injured.
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no subject
Date: 2008-06-12 09:08 pm (UTC)Luckily I never got an injury on my bike worse than a leg bruise - from practising turning left going downhill before braving proper big roads. I don't know if it's standard, but right was front wheel brake and left was back, so when I was indicating left I couldn't brake at the back. The first time, my hand got twitchy from the downhill momentum and jerked at the front brake - I went half-over and the bike twisted round on my leg. I soon learned to let the bike coast :o)
Anyway, glad you're not hurt too badly *hugs*
no subject
Date: 2008-06-12 09:19 pm (UTC)The only reason I was even up on the sidewalk today was because of the road construction. I guess I would have been safer staying in the street after all! I kind of still feel like strangling that rude driver, though.
no subject
Date: 2008-06-12 09:28 pm (UTC)I also had a ned girl swear at me because she tried to cross a road without looking from behind a parked ice-cream van, as I was passing. I'd already given myself plenty of leeway from the van for just this eventuality, but she felt I'd been careless. That incident finally gave me the chance to yell back, "What, am I not bright enough or something?" :oD Bearing in mind I was wearing a fluorescent yellow jacket on a sunny day.
I have several anecdotes from my brief cycling stint, but I'll not bore you with them all today :o)