i just found out a good friend of mine was hit by a truck yesterday... he is in intensive care now. i don't know exactly what happened, but he is not a careless cyclist.
accident news report
with texting, cellphones, mp3players, and the rush everybody seems to be to be 'first'.. its getting really dangerous just to ride around in this city.
i saw 2 bicyclists being cared to on the side of the road just on tuesday to work.
the recent threads on helmets and being extremely defensive in riding are subjects to be taken seriously.
its getting really dangerous just to ride around in this city.
I hope your friend comes thru this ok. Best of luck on his recovery. I some times catch myself wishing I could ride to work in the city, the nature of my job does not let me. every now and then i go into the city area and am instantly reminded why i dont ride there often. God bless all you guys who ride in congested city streets with absent minded and careless drivers. I will try to stick to the outskirts of town, same dangers i guess, but a lot less cars to watch out for.
I really wish there was a seperate lane for some of these drivers who don't pay attention. That way they'd all take each other out and we'd be much safer on the road!!
Yeah a guy got killed in minneapolis this week on his bicycle, semi-truck turning left he ran into the truck. Bicycles dont belong on city streets, its shame when avoidable accidents happen.
he is still in intensive care, but might be able to see people today, so after work i'm going to try to make a visit. i'll let him know of your concern.
i got a little more info from another friend.. the truck made a left turn in front of him, he couldn't stop and laid the bike down rather than hitting it broadside. he's a big guy.. probably around 6foot3 and 260pounds, and i think he drives a roadstar 1100. anyway the bike and him hit the truck and went under it, he and the bike got wedged under the rear axle of the truck, which continued on for another 50 feet. other people that saw it stopped their cars and got out and actually lifted the truck up and flipped it on its side to get him out. when the cops showed up they thought it was a roll-over accident, but then they told the cop that they flipped the truck over themselves.
he was wearing all his gear and helmet, and the medics said without the helmet he would be dead. he's got lots of broken bones. i guess he will pull thru... hes a tough guy.
We'll be praying for him! Thank God he was wearing his helmet! I had a big dually pull out in front of me last night on the way home from work. I saw him coming off a farm driveway and slowed way down trying to see his eyes and he never even looked my direction! I didn't see if he was on a cell phone. Man! It pays to scan your 12 second future path!
Electrum, you are a good friend for bringing this to our attention. Many have prayed for your friend, as I am right now. In the blink of an eye our whole lives can be altered by a quick careless act of another. I hope your friend has a complete and speedy recovery.
By the way, did you get to visit him? Please let us know how he's doing.
just fyi.. he can't have visitors yet. he wouldn't know anyone if they came in anyway since he is on lots of drugs. he is still having surgery's... friday he was in surgery for like 5-6 hours.
its going to be a long time before he is out of the hospital i think, and then he will have lots of metal and screws holding him together.
you are correct, life can change, or be changed for you in his case, in the blink of an eye.
an update...
he is in rehab now.... crushed shoulder, legs, ribs... but no organs damaged.
he can move one arm ok and talk, but its going to be a long time for him in rehab.
he said he won't go back to bikes.. and i'm having second thoughts myself.
he did everything right.. had helmet, boots, body armor, good jacket... but the truck driver still almost killed him.
there are just way to many idiot drivers allowed to have licenses.
an update...
he is in rehab now.... crushed shoulder, legs, ribs... but no organs damaged.
he can move one arm ok and talk, but its going to be a long time for him in rehab.
he said he won't go back to bikes.. and i'm having second thoughts myself.
he did everything right.. had helmet, boots, body armor, good jacket... but the truck driver still almost killed him.
there are just way to many idiot drivers allowed to have licenses.
Glad to hear your friend is in rehab and on the road to recovery, long as it might be. When I hear about things like this it reminds me that I have been enjoying God's grace and protection from such injury, and that if I do suffer similar injury I hope to have the same grace that God has given your friend in his recovery. In the end, it doesn't matter how good a rider we are or how much gear we wear, there are way too many idiots on the road and other variables for us to completely protect ourselves from potential disaster. Not to say we shouldn't wear gear or learn to ride well, of course we should. But know that the things we do in our own power do not make us invincible. There's a neat saying that I read once on a church billboard: "The problem with a self-made man is that he worships his creator." We foolishly think that we can control of our destiny, but we all indebted to you-know-who for all we have and all we are and all we need. I hope you can convey a similar message to your friend in his time of physical and emotional need. He is lucky to have a caring friend like you.
Sorry to hear about your friend, but glad he is out of the ICU and into recovery. Why does an activity that is so enjoyable, have to be so dangerous? We are all wishing him Godspeed in his healing and recovery.
Sorry to hear about your fiernd. My prayers and thoughts go out to him and family. I have to say i live in the city and thats where i am learning to ride. so in some ways i feel i will learn more and be more aware that way. Just a thought!
Ditto. And it's the same for me with city traffic.I hate to hear that you friend has decided not to ride anymore after this, but it is understandable. Personally though if anything like this ever happened to me (which I hope never does), I believe that if I can still walk, I will still ride.
as everyone else said, so sorry to hear this and hope he's better as soon as possible.
wish everyone could ride a bike at least for a short while, I know it has made me more aware of blindspots and stuff like that while I'm in the cage even though its not much anymore!
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