my first "accident"

[rimaarts]

So! Since may i have been comuting trough center of london. today i had accident. basically i want to dissect it and see what to do next time when i meet a moron like that. unfortunately no helmet cam so cant put up a video anywhere.

going on horse guard avenue, im going straight (straight lane), left lane (turn left) is empty, so like half of londons motorcyclists i check that noone is using left lane and ride till the end, and position so im merging back to straight lane near red light (yes i know, wrong, but hey, lane is empty, and everyone is doing it! ), suddenly i notice bmw nearly rear ending me, and positioning the same as me to merge with straight lane traffic... i remember thinking... ok, i dont see THAT agressive driving daily and forget about him...

turn on victoria embankment "single lane" part, traffic is not standing, but moving slowly so i dont try to squeeze past but basically move from left lane side to right lane side to see whats happening and if a BIG gap opens up for the moment, and also another bike is infront of me so i figure filtering away is rude!

after a while , victoria embankment splits to sort of 2 lanes
(honestly, i never understood?!? a whole line on the left is for bus stops, busses are never there, and yet noone drives there.... ?? i "usually" do, if on the right is a big traffic jam, but today i thought filtering past bike infront of me is rude! so i keep on slowly riding keeping in my lane, suddenly i hear the same bmw beeping to let him go (mind you, road is a big traffic jam, than this bike and me following him), on the right is solid white lines, and i "think" its a single line because traffic kept in single file with bus stops on the right...

and suddenly that bmw just accelerates to overtake... and guess what? rides right into me! like pushing me off the road! i was so stunned that my right leg kept contact with his car for a while! (all the while he opened window cursing me) surprisingly somehow i didnt drop the bike, and he just accelerated away to the next stop light.. i ended up with a hole in my pants, and broken toe slider against his car, and since metal toe slider had scrap of paint on, i assume his car ended up with a nice scratch!



so basically if all would have happened slower, or i would have actually anticipated that a car can cross the solid line into oncoming traffic, AND accelerate faster than a bike i would probably managed to swerve left and honk my horn.
but since im on the road only since may...

what could have i done to prevent it?
what to actually do when someone overtakes you while being the same line as you and tries to push you off the road and your leg makes contact with his door? on 2 wheels can i actually separate from him without falling off the bike?

hypotethically, im riding, keeping into my lane, right on the speed limit and/or following speed of a car infront of me.. someone wants to overtake me, and beeps me to let him go... do i HAVE to let him go? ok if there is no cars infront of me, i will move over and let him go, but why would i let him go if im following a bike infront of me ? or a car infront of me??

if im sitting in my lane, someone beeps me to let him pass and suddenly swipes me off the road... that is not "my fault", is it?

sorry for the long rant, but im pretty pissed about my first accident... :/

[wristjob]

paint diagram or it never happened

[Rogerborg]

tl;dr summary: London + BMW driver = aggressive cu​nt impatient to get stuck at the next set of lights.

The instant you notice a mentalist on the road giving you grief, get out of their vicinity by any means necessary. Filter, stop, turn off, and/or ride through red lights.

Get a camera, lose (I assume) your L plates.
____________________
Biking is 1/20th as dangerous as horse riding.
GONE: HN125-8, LF-250B, GPz 305, GPZ 500S, Burgman 400 // RIDING: F650GS (800 twin), Royal Enfield Bullet Electra 500 AVL, Ninja 250R because racebike

[rimaarts]

[Holdawayt]

I'd say you're over thinking it and need to alter your positioning in the road to defend yourself a bit better. As said above though, if in any doubt about a driver being a dick, just get away from him asap. He's in a 1.5 tonne battering ram. It's not him who's going to get hurt.

[supZ]

[Cronik]

[Karloss]

[Cronik]

[c_dug]

The solution is to be quicker, which will come with experience of the roads and traffic. I do that route daily - there is no chance a car would keep up with me during weekday traffic.

Next time, forget the other bikers, forget solid white lines, zig zags, traffic islands, cycle boxes blah blah blah.... It's London, if there isn't a police car in sight, and you're not endangering other people - anything goes.

Don't cut people up too aggressively, don't go too head on with other traffic, try not to hit too many pedestrians, and remember that only a cunt hits the car in front.

If you can do all of the above you'll be fine on your commute.
____________________
I am a bellend, I am a man of constant sorrow, I am a gummy bear, I am a rock.

[carpe_diem]

[NJD]

[carpe_diem]

Thanks, NJD. Hopefully as my experience increases and I do my licence I'll be able to avoid these situations a bit more.

[c_dug]

[carpe_diem]

I'll bear that in mind

[Val]

[Rogerborg]

A matchbox painted black would do the same job, in your imagination.
____________________
Biking is 1/20th as dangerous as horse riding.
GONE: HN125-8, LF-250B, GPz 305, GPZ 500S, Burgman 400 // RIDING: F650GS (800 twin), Royal Enfield Bullet Electra 500 AVL, Ninja 250R because racebike

[stinkwheel]

Move out of London.

Problem solved.
____________________
“Rule one: Always stick around for one more drink. That's when things happen. That's when you find out everything you want to know.”
I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles.

[Val]

[c_dug]

[carpe_diem]

[Falco]

[NJD]

[Azoth]

[stinkwheel]