I had a minor incident while riding my bike home from work today. A woman stopped at a stop sign, but started again without yielding to traffic (me). I was moving at a decent clip on the Big Dummy.
The Big Dummy has excellent brakes. I think I (barely) missed her car, maybe I grazed it. The panic braking would have been fine on a four-wheeled vehicle, but the swerve and braking led to me hitting the pavement.
The woman stopped, but was nasty and complaining. She tried to blame it on me. I didn’t have a stop sign. She did. I called the police. They weren’t much better. They refused to take a report. One officer said “I’m sorry you fell off your bike“. They never checked her registration, insurance, or license.
The bike has some scuffs, it’s just cosmetic. My hands and left elbow had road grit embedded in them. My left knee got a little scraped through my pants. That’s all pretty minor, and I really don’t even feel it now.
My left shoulder is another story. I have a deep ache in that shoulder and arm. This is not the right should that I’ve struggled with. This is my left shoulder. It’s been fine, until this afternoon.
I wrote a complaint to LMPD for the poor service I got from one of their officers. I hope they follow-up with it, but I’m not hopeful.
So, I had a crappy evening. I’m hoping the shoulder is feeling well enough to ride to work again tomorrow.
Oh man, this really sucks. I am so sorry you had to run into this very ignorant driver, and I’m glad it wasn’t worse for you. The police department let you down, for sure. I hope your shoulder gets better soon!
Wow, not sure which is worse, a dumb driver or a dumb policeman. Probably the second. “Louisville’s Finest”.
Tim,
Unfortunately, they’re both quite common.
Really sorry to hear it. I hope that you get some kind of response from the police. So disappointing!
There are some idiotic drivers for sure. I don’t ride but it’s scary enough driving. On 2 wheels I can see some terrifying moments.