(Not so) Near Miss of the Day 828: Driver hits cyclist at speed, leaving door mirror behind

Awavey wrote:

is it just me but that felt alot like the van driver steers into that...?

Worry not, Martin will be along shortly to explain how this was, in fact, an excellent overtake.

What speed do you think I was doing?

IanMSpencer wrote:

I wonder if cycling at about 30mph, which is what our best club TTers do, might have helped? I note the following driver apparently feeling intimidated by a following car and reluctant to be fully in the other lane shortly after.

This appears a thoroughly bad take.

I read this as "Should have pedalled harder to avoid being hit"

As if, in a time trial on just about the fastest course in the country he wouldn't have been going as fast as possible. And that would have been north of 25mph, probably closer to 30mph.

Perhaps you can clarify your statement?

No, he's right. I was doing 30mph on this section but my average for the whole ride (including the bit where I got hit by a van and slowed to check myself over) was only 29.1mph. That 0.9mph would have made all the difference 👀

I read IanMSpencer's comment as stating that due to the cyclist's own high speed, the actual collision speed was lowered with the fortunate result of mitigating some of the impact. Not at all saying ooblyboo was at fault for not cycling faster.

That is a fair point - I didn't read it that way. Perhaps he can clarify?

Sorry for the ambiguity. Yes, the point I was trying to make was that if that was a guy on a tourer pottering down the road at 10mph the speed differential would have been say 50mph. Riding at 30mph the speed differential is 30mph. The higher speed may have actually reduced the injury. My phrasing was trying to explain that the rider was probably doing about 30mph based on what I understand from our TTs Think of my awkward phrasing as a compliment

I suppose also that the still high speed differential actually helped the mirror to do it's safety job (to make a contrary point). Often when people get brushed by a car the speed differential isn't so high and the mirror doesn't detach. I'm wondering if the detaching mirror helped avoid being pushed over.

Just intrigued by the mechanics of what happened because being hit solidly by a vehicle at 60+mph doesn't bare thinking about. As the rider notes in the article, something about the way they were hit led to a lucky escape with minor injuries.

Ok - apologies. I do think the speed differential helped, as did being in a tucked position as my core was engaged and helped control the blow. And yes, the mirror detaching completely, while dramatic and not very fun, almost certainly helped.

Which raises another interesting point - a good tuck on TT bars as opposed to elbows out on the hoods. Most cyclists would have had their arm smacked, steering the bike hard involuntarily and throwing them off into the road.

Not often you'd get me giving bonus marks to TT bars!

IanMSpencer wrote:

Often when people get brushed by a car the speed differential isn't so high and the mirror doesn't detach. I'm wondering if the detaching mirror helped avoid being pushed over.

That's not how physics works.

The mirror detaching means it has applied more force, not less.

The faster you go, the less likely you'll be knocked off with this sort of impact. Momentum, kinetic energy and gyroscopic effect in the wheels all add up to the rider/bike being harder to change direction.

Well, yes and no. Any skier knows that if you fall over standing up you don't pop out of your skis due to insufficient force and it can then do more damage so it is not a simple increasing force does more damage question. You can fall at speed and the skis go flying off without problem, at lower speed they can detach but twist knees in the process. I'm not sure what the physics is, but I know it is not a simple straight line formula. 

With a wing mirror, a low force doesn't move it, a medium force bends it but it is still there, a high force detaches it. In this case, a slower impact might have folded the mirror so it is then attached to push the cyclist sideways (they don't fold in massively on most vehicles). By detatching, the majority of force was forwards rather than sideways and then there was no lump on the side of the vehicle remaining to do further damage. 

pavlo wrote:

IanMSpencer wrote:

I wonder if cycling at about 30mph, which is what our best club TTers do, might have helped? I note the following driver apparently feeling intimidated by a following car and reluctant to be fully in the other lane shortly after.

This appears a thoroughly bad take.

I read this as "Should have pedalled harder to avoid being hit"

As if, in a time trial on just about the fastest course in the country he wouldn't have been going as fast as possible. And that would have been north of 25mph, probably closer to 30mph.

Perhaps you can clarify your statement?

I read it as, the cyclist doing 30, rather than 15 or 20, is probably why the impact didn't knock them off, because the closing speed was reduced.

Well this one flies - must be a wing mirror!

A bit disconcerting to read a username including 'boo' and also being in a TT race !!

Interesting read though with the idea of the lesser speed diferential and the TT tuck and core reducing the effect of the wing mirror hit.