Was just reading about mashton's crash (get well soon buddy) and I started wondering how often cyclists get hit in London.
There seems to be someone on here getting hit every other week and we're only a pretty small percentage of London's cyclists.

So I wanna know who's had a bad, reasonably bad, or could've-been-bad crash...

I have crashed into a vehicle, a wall and a pedestrian. All at least once. And I've crashed into the floor several more times.

No major injuries but:

grazed knees, arms, face, swollen ear, skinned all my knuckles, broken little finger, cut head, screwed up collarbone & left shoulder, grazed both shoulders, badly bruised right thigh and knee.

And that was just this morning (J/K)

:)

i have hit all on the list, most major injury- concussion, and funny swollen knee.

that was the one that twisted, and dented the fuji

I came off a few years ago. No-one's fault, just a car emergency stopping because a tyre had blown out, but as it was in slow moving traffic the car behind didn't realise it was an emergency stop and left it late and also emergency stopped... me being behind that car also didn't realise and rode over the rear of the car and then fell into another lane. Scary, but no damage to me and just a broken brake lever and buckled front wheel to show for it.

4 years ago bounced off the top of a car and landed on my back on top of the windscreen. Luckily nothing broke! Except the bike that is.

I've had a few crashes. But yet to actually be hit by a car.
The funniest ever though was when I was a courier. It was a very hot summers day and there was this woman wearing very little. Anyway the cool customer that I am, I was looking at her and smiling. Not paying attention to the fact that the white van in front of me had slammed on his brakes at a set of lights. I look forward but its too late to take evasive action. Slam on the front brake as hard as I could. I fly through the air head first into the rear doors of the van. The woman has a bemused look on here face, while the van driver gets out, there was no damage to the van or myself, except my pride. They asked me what the hell I was doing, so I explained. They found it highly amusing and drove off. Always pay attention to the rode!!

I have hit/been hit by everything London has to offer, Pedestrians(lots), cabbies doing that magically tight and sudden u-turn, motor bikes, cars and buses.

Once when I first came to London I was flying down Jamaica Road on a geared road bike, shot through an intersection, went to go around a bus and down between the two lanes of traffic, only a motorbike took the gap in front of me and then stopped.
The road was all wet and I pulled on my brake levers, slid and then swung up on my front wheel and nutted the bus with my head.
Rolled into work slowly, got there, couldn't stand up straight, spent the rest of the morning in hospital.

On second thoughts it takes some serious loss of control to have an altercation with a wall. I've still done it though!

been doored more times than I can count, nothing permanent other than a fucked shoulder. Few peds too.

ooh and a motorbike or two
and a few cabbies

I went into the back of a taxi about fifteen years ago, I was (stupidly) getting a tow off it through Victoria, going at a fair clip, and he slammed the brakes on to stop for a fare... I couldn't stop and left a head shaped dent in his boot... Cabbie was furious and threatened to do me for the damage but I think he was just making a fuss so I wouldn't report the accident, I was concussed and didn't know what was happening anyway... Equal blame really, bike was fine, I wasn't wearing a helmet, tut, tut...

cabbie was still a cnut for shouting at someone with a concussion!

I know, I remember him apologising to his passenger (who couldn't give a toss either) for the 'delay'... Twats the pair of 'em... I WAS stupid to slipstream him tho', was running lo-pro/bullhorns so had my head down and wasn't reallly paying due attention... I should've called the old bill, isn't it an offence if a traffic accident isn't reported when there's an injury? I can't remember...

ran into a ped last week.
wasn't too bad. didn't enjoy it. thought about how i'd feel if someone had hit my mum (similar age).
called her later in the day, after i'd walked her back to work, she was alright. bruised leg. alright.

maybe that'll help her to look in the direction the traffic is coming from, rather than going to, when crossing the road.

@ tennslain: probably.

Three spills in 2007 and one in 2008 means I crash every four months. Only one frame wrote off and only one of these was my fault.

I've hit a ped at a crossing that wasn't looking, smashed the lights on the back of a merc van that stopped sharply in front of me in the wet, fallen off too many times whilst drunk and not paying attention and had my front wheel disappear from under me a couple of times in the wet. I've also had the slow tip over to the floor a few times when not getting my foot of the pedals quickly enough. Thankfully none have resulted in serious injury, mostly just bruised ego :-)

i want to change my vote!...i crashed once when i was a bit drunk...well,my mate crashed it to me.

Wiped out spectacularly after a few pints t'other day. Wasnt in london though.

I crash when I'm drunk all the time, normally into street furniture/parked cars/kerbs... They don't count, do they? ;)

doored x 1
cab bonnet x 1
head-on collision with a moped (one-way cyclepath in my direction) x 1

i haven't come off yet. unless you count:

drunken fall at 3mph in front of crowd of smokers
running into back of van on english roadster because rod brakes are shit
crashing into john mack on a social ride

I refuse to vote no in this poll. I haven't been cycling in London long enough, and I ain't tempting any of the many gods I don't believe in.

However, I've had a few scares in Canada - including the seemingly inevitable taxi run-in (taco'd my rear wheel) and dumb passenger door prize (fucked up my front wheel). I've also almost died thanks to my own idiocy - including when I pulled out into the street right in front of a lorry when touring here a few years ago - looked the wrong fucking way as I wasn't used to left hand driving.

Too many close calls to remember. Only contact incidents in London have been cunts in cars turning suddenly in front of me without indicating and one bendybus that pulled over into me.
Actually had a lot more accidents in Australia where the driving is much worse.

I think this may be true of Toronto and Montreal as well. I think London's one saving grace when it comes to cycling is the reduced speed at which cars are able to move (in centralish London anyway). And the fact that you're allowed to get in front of them at stop lights (when cabs aren't too far forward) only makes this better. Although, again, I haven't been on my bike here for all that long.

Does forgetting to unclip from new spud's count?
If so, three times.
In a week.

I've yet to crash.

I ride with the attitude it's going to happen at some point though.

I was doored by a passenger as I filtered through 2 lanes of stationary traffic almost 6 years ago. Still have the 2 inch scar between my shoulder and armpit. It was on my (now) wifes birthday. All she was worried about was if I was going to be able to make it round to giver her the present I had bought. I should have taken the hint....

That and when I rode straight into a metal bollard while trying to be clever as all I've been involved in. Luckily.

i voted no (as i haven't really had a serious accident) then remembered being doored about 10 years ago... nothing too serious really.

i don't really count running into peds as long as i managed to avoid hitting the deck. minor bumps into hapless peds happen all the time.

the only time i've really come a cropper was just my chain coming off while hammering it away from lights on my old road bike. ended up bloody and sprawled in the road but again, nothing broken.

generally i ride super defensively so i've been lucky so far. 13 years of riding in london and that's the extent of my crashes.

crazy!
i've never really crashed before. certainly never in London, but then i haven't lived there that long. but i've been riding for as long as i can remember and my only tumbles have been when trying to jump off/on/over various things while drunk.
i've had my fair share of near misses though.
@ mikec: i did a very similar thing a while ago in newcastle. i was riding down the road exchanging smiles with a pretty girl on the pavement and didn't see the open car door in front of me. but i was on my old jump bike with pretty good brakes and managed to stop about an inch away from it. my body was fine, but yeah, the pride took a hit. haha.

I hit a lil hoodie going 2mph (after skidding and braking) after he rode out in front of me awhile back and went over the handle bars.
Almost been hit to many times to count.

oh and trackstanding at the lights once and just falling like a chump

get thrown onto the curb by a lady drifting to far over to the left and clipping me.

I made a ped take a tumble by shoulder barging him because he was standing out in the street on a corner tryin to get a cab,
it was hitting him or the car next to me he lost

now im just thinking of more every time i edit this...


I kind feel tempted to get some of the new D3o body armour from work, works better than the plastic stuff without making you look like a complete muppet as it can be worn under a long sleeve t without being seen. except the fact it costs £199

http://www.velouk.com/proddetail.asp?prod=64987

1st: hit by private cab on Great Eastern St on BMX, skinned my chin, arms, knees and broke a finger
2nd: hit a ped on the cycle path by euston underpass, snapped my wheel, and skinned some limbs again
3rd: caught wheel on curb on Mare St Hackney, handlebars spun round, i stacked and my forearm landed on a sign post that had been cut off at ground level, took 2 inches of meat out of my arm. Should have sued the council, but i couldn't be arsed.
4th: Foxton's cunt turned left in front of me. I lent through the window and spat on the wanker.
5th: Woman pulled out and drove into the side of me, and i landed on the bonnet of a car coming the other way on New North Road, luckily the car i landed wasn't moving that fast, still broke 4+ ribs and have had serious back pain ever since. Woman was drunk (she admitted it) and i did nothing cos I was in shock.
6th: pedal strike on a roundabout recently, slip-slided and fucked my knee pretty bad.

All of these, I only made it to hospital once, and never got seen. Gotta love the NHS. Guess I have been lucky that none of my injuries have been too bad.

I fell off on Friday night and fucked my hand up. Trying to skid stop (OK, and buggering about a bit) in a bike lane, one of the painted ones. Road was a little greasy, I tried to skid ot the side and pull it back, only it kept going. Next thing I know, I'm on the floor and my paw hurts.

Alcohol did play a part.

A white van went into the back of me at Kings