I'M PISSED!!!
Thread started by
el zilcho at 02.3.09 - 4:49 pm
What part of "no left turn" don't drivers on Westwood Blvd. understand during peak hours?
I'm ripping down westwood blvd. from UCLA at 25 mph heading towards Linbrook. A white truck starts to make a left turn at the "no left turn" sign at that intersection.
Of course there are pedestrians crossing the street and the truck just parks it, blocking the intersection.
This is all happening just as I'm approaching from about half a block away.
I'm just TOTALLY, ABSOLUTELY AGHAST...
Not only does the driver BEGIN to make a turn as I am approaching, but he decides to do it slowly, inching in ANYWAY irregardless...
Irregardless of ME, the cyclist churning down Westwood like a bat out of hell (I GOT THE FUCKIN RIGHT OF WAY AFTER ALL!!!), the pedestrians who still have to cross the fucking street, the fact that it is a traffic violation to block an intersection, and again, the fact that there is a NO LEFT TURN sign at the intersection.
Granted, the sign only applies to peak hours but, yeah, you guessed it, IT WAS PEAK HOURS.
So I slam my brake, fly over the handle bars... Slide 10 yards and roll over my side, shoulders, head and onto my feet.
The first thing I did.
Chased the GODDAMN truck! I was PISSED.
So I get the guys license plate and let him know what a shithead he was for doing that....
Thanks for the scrapes, the hole in my pants, and the killed mojo...
License Plate #4G13850
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Sorry Zilcho. This is LA and you should have been expecting that.
You saw it happening from a block away and you still managed to fly over the bars?
Sounds like you need a riding lesson. Correct me if I am wrong.
You have to expect drivers to cut you off. Don't trust anyone.
stillline02.3.09 - 5:01 pm
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Sucks. You're lucky it wasn't worse. We're low on the totem pole out there. Drivers, and especially people driving on the clock couldn't give a shit. You've gotta assume the worst from everyone behind the wheel.
By the way, did you say slam your brake, or your brakes?
0gravity02.3.09 - 5:02 pm
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for this one, maybe you should file an actual police report. But at the very least report it to the Bikexdatabase. You already have the incident report bit, and that's the hardest part.
danya02.3.09 - 5:03 pm
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Forcing the right of way is a bad idea.... even when you are in the right.
Instead find a hole in traffic and thread it. Don't expect traffic to meld to your every whim just cause you are on a bike.
stillline02.3.09 - 5:03 pm
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don't leave the scene, call the police, file for a hit and run.
_iJunes02.3.09 - 5:07 pm
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I do and have always expected stuff like this from cars and trucks...
I'm just miffed at how unpredictable that trucks behavior was... I was going very fast and seemed like the truck was going to stop but of course it didn't...
All the while, as I see it approaching I trying to figure out if I should swerve or not... Trying to ascertain where a likely collision would be...
Alas I didn't have enough time to think and by then the truck had closed the gap... I rather slide across the ground then hit the truck...
And yes I said brake... I have a fixed gear and one front brake...
el zilcho02.3.09 - 5:07 pm
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Weather we like it or not, when a rider plays chicken with a car, the car usually wins.
Joe Borfo02.3.09 - 5:11 pm
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if ur riding fixed and have a front break, never use it to stop! use it to slow you down but never to stop. or else ur gonna fly over the bars as you did.
funanu02.3.09 - 5:11 pm
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not true, funanu.
if you're not leaning over your front wheel, you can get about 90% of your stopping power from your front brake alone.
spiraldemon02.3.09 - 5:14 pm
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I'm glad you're ok, el zilcho. I'd be pissed off too.
Also,
I like this poster:
Joe Borfo02.3.09 - 5:17 pm
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hmm maybe. i guess i had my front brakes on waay to tight cuz if i pushed down hard i would go over my bars(almost did once). since then i've only used front brakes on fixed just to slow me down but never to do a full stop.
funanu02.3.09 - 5:17 pm
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@borfo
i dont get how that happend. when would that car be making a left turn on a one way street going right? weird. or maybe i just over analize things.
funanu02.3.09 - 5:19 pm
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like in el zilcho's case, you never know what a car is going to do.
Joe Borfo02.3.09 - 5:28 pm
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@ stillline
I can totally relate to your absolute distrust of drivers/driver behavior in general. I've been commuting by bike for a long time now (5 years). I'm always on the defensive when riding my bike... Admittingly a little less so that time... Granted, I figure there were factors stacked against me
that time: my speed and the driver's decision.
I guess, my intention of posting this was not necessarily to just gripe for gripes sake (though, yeah that's way I can see it coming off) but also as just a shout out that, "hey, this is a fucked up stretch road at times in general". Common knowledge to share I suppose...
@ danya
Police report crossed my mind and at the same time didn't. It flashed in my mind but I didn't act on it. Though I did send a report to the Bikexdatabase.
@ _iJunes
I agree that that is the right way to go in general. But, don't see myself doing it... Call it what it is, fecklessness...
@ Joe Borfo
Well, I'm going to agree with that... I failed to mention that I didn't hit the truck... But slid in front of it... Yes, it sounds kind of janky... But, it totally took me by surprised and only had seconds to react. The goddamn truck turned IN FRONT OF ME!
@ funanu
I agree... But that situation made me panic like I've never before in a hairy situation... I didn't have much distance to stop properly, and sure as hell didn't want to collide... I just happened fucking fast... I've never clamped that brake like that before, but shit it was last resort time!!!
el zilcho02.3.09 - 5:34 pm
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that car is turning the wrong way onto a oneway street...
robin swabin02.3.09 - 5:38 pm
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@El Zilcho
I didn't mean to be insensitive. It's just a really common accident... i had a friend panic the same way one time and go over the bars at a red light. He woke up in USC medical center the next morning.
Front brakes should be used carefully.... especially during a panic stop.
stillline02.3.09 - 5:39 pm
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The buses always get me pissed.... L.A bus drivers are the meanest mofo drivers around only because there employed by the city and drive a gigantic vehicle they feel they always have the right of way... How Dare they not let us on when the bus is empty and the racks are taken by the only two people on the bus. Fucking cunts.. ok end of rant
Debut21302.3.09 - 5:41 pm
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no worries stillline... I appreciate the empathy peeps!!!
el zilcho02.3.09 - 5:54 pm
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No offense el zilcho, but maybe riding fixed and one-braked at 25 mph down the Westwood Blvd. hill during the height of traffic isn't the safest thing to do. I love fixies--so clean and so pretty--but they're not your every-day busy traffic commuters. Bottom line is, if you're gonna blast hills and scramble fast in traffic, ditch the fashion statement and run dual brakes single speed or with gears. Not sure if you weren't or not, but rock a helmet while you're at it. Stereotype or not, no-helmets seem to go hand in hand with fixies too. How many accidents it will take to learn 'em I don't know.
0gravity02.3.09 - 10:15 pm
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"Sorry Zilcho. This is LA and you should have been expecting that."
I agree. You gotta anticipate people doing stupid shit, and have a way to get out of it. I think today was "drive like an idiot day" in L.A. I was coming down that same bike path this afternoon heading east towards Beverly Glen and a minivan straight up parallel parked in the bike path about 50 meters ahead of me, and I was going about the same speed you were. On my way home this evening, I was coming down Highland and this Benz made a right turn and forced me out into the left lane. You have to ride like you're invisible and that no one will ever see you. Always try to figure a way out or around an obstacle. Sometimes getting on the brakes is the worst things you can do. One of my favorite things about riding is that sense of concentration you get when you have to maneuver around things, it's gotta be one of those primal things. Oh and wear a helmet.
Velocipede02.3.09 - 11:34 pm
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I beg to differ 0grav, about fixies not being for every day commuting, I've got enough miles on my current primary frame to have gone around the world on it, and it's brakeless fixed.
I ride it at ALL times of the day, in ALL parts of SoCal. I've had run ins with traffic before, but nothing serious, in fact the most serious accident I've been in (damage wise) in the last 2 years I've had that frame wasn't even on that bike, it was on a geared touring rig, in florida.
I've never had contact with a vehicle where not stopping was the issue. Like stilline was saying, riding technique is 90% of avoiding a lot of accidents.
FuzzBeast02.3.09 - 11:36 pm
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Damn, I am glad to hear you are ok man!
That is some creepy shit!
jonnyboy02.4.09 - 3:29 am
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Maybe its one more case of an illeagal driver with no licence no insurance , who can't read the signs in english.
I often see this sort of thing happen, could it of been a Alkida opritive who forgot there not in Bagdad?
Dedicated81802.4.09 - 9:23 am
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It sounds like you were riding with too much trust for cars, however it also sounds like you have a case against the driver. You should file a police report. Did the guy refuse to pull over? Perhaps a hit and run too. You don't need to make contact with the car for the accident to be the drivers fault.
File a police report immediately.
Roadblock02.4.09 - 9:45 am
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at least you aren't one of those dumbasses without brakes.... eh?
steph02.4.09 - 4:29 pm
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...but being a dumbass who doesn't know how to use his brake properly is almost as bad...not to say that YOU are a dumbass, i just keep hearing this same theme over and over:
I'm SO TIRED of hearing people say front brakes are dangerous, or should only be used in conjunction with rear brakes...or that if you're on a fixie you shouldn't use it to stop in an emergency situation...this is only if you DON'T KNOW HOW TO USE IT!
it's simple physics that you can attain your greatest deceleration with a front brake...you want to be at the point where your rear wheel is ABOUT to come off the ground, but not quite. On a fixie, there is no easier thing to practice!! Get going to a decent speed, hit that front brake WHILE resisting the pedals. you will FEEL the rear wheel unweighting, and eventually starting to skid, or if you're good enough, lift off the ground slightly (you'll know instantly because you'll start backpedaling). THAT'S when you let off on the pressure slightly.
Practice this for a week or two and you'll always be confident of stopping in the minimum distance without flying over your bars.
OKAY END RANT. On a more thread-relevant note: glad to hear you're okay, and anything you can do to teach that driver a lesson about being more careful/respecting traffic laws is wholly warranted.
Lance K02.4.09 - 4:42 pm
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