bike versus car

 On Friday, I was hit by a car while I was biking onto campus.

I'm still reeling and processing--I was HIT by a whole CAR and not a small one either but a FREAKIN' SUV--but overall, I'm ok. I have a bruised arm and bruised shoulder, and the muscles around my shoulder blade were a little sore/tight, and I scraped by knee on the pavement. But I'm lucky to be relatively unscathed (and my bike seems to be also just fine).

How it happened: when I bike under the bridge on the Greenbelt that is also the entry to campus, I usually get off the Greenbelt and onto the street, as is encouraged by how the paths are set up. Usually, the Greenbelt is full of pedestrians (particularly during class change-overs), and there are many people on wheeled conveyances of various sorts, so the faster-moving folks are encouraged to move to the street, where there are sharrows one way (and a bike lane the other). So, basically for the last six years, I move from Greenbelt to street at the point it's encouraged by the designers.

As I hit the point where I was moving to the street, I noticed an SUV at the stop sign--I paused, checking to see if they were planning to actually stop, and I thought they were (they slowed down), but quickly realized they were NOT going to stop, but it was too late for me to correct, so I managed to turn my body and shout and slammed into the front quarter panel of the car with my shoulder and fell off my bike, landing where I could stare at the wheel that could have crushed me.

I was, understandably, furious--the driver asked me if I was ok and I shouted at him about how he needed to stop at the stop sign. At first, I was like "yes, I'm ok...no, I'm not!" and continued scolding him for running the stop sign. Basically, he was only looking to the right where cars might be and didn't even look around to check for pedestrians, cyclists, or other people, so he didn't fully stop at the sign.

At some point, he was like "well, gotta go, byeeeeeee" at which point it occurred to me that I should have called campus security and that he absolutely should not leave, but it was too late, and I was too frazzled to do anything other than note the make of the car (the color was seared into my brain) and the first part of his license plate.

It was then that the enormity of the situation hit me, like a dark blue SUV who blew through a stop sign: I could have been seriously hurt. I could have died. And then I started bawling, out of pain, fear, and rage. I slowly climbed back onto my bike and cycled to the kinesiology building, crying the whole way. My trainer took one look at me and asked what was wrong, where I then burst out "I was hit by a car on my bike!"

Everyone was kind: my trainer quickly sprang into action, ushering me outside and grabbing a first-aid kit so I could clean up my torn knee (note: I also ripped my spendy running leggings, which I am BIG MAD about too). I called campus security, and the receptionist was kind and caring. She called me back to let me know they had a video recording of the incident (which clearly showed the guy at fault, so that was a bit of a relief). My trainer and I walked around as I calmed down and got over the dump of adrenaline in my system. Then L came to pick me up from campus, and I went home to cozy up and feel safe.

It was a terrifying incident, and I hope I never have to go through it again. It reminded me to be conscious as a driver--and to pause long enough to make sure a car really will stop at a stop sign. I got back on my bike Saturday, and I was a little nervous, but I also felt ok being back on the bike, knowing that I am careful and conscious in general, and that I will continue to be in the future.