I got Fu&#ing Door’d
Accidents are a statistical certainty. No matter how much rules are in place (and how closely people follow them), everyone is eventually going to be involved in a few accidents.
I met with one this morning. Not all accidents are collisions but this was one. The last time I had a collision was probably 10 years earlier (I would tell the story some other day). First off, I am fine, Have a sore knee but I am fine none the less. Well enough to be up and running already.
The term Door’d is usually “doored” but I prefer it my way. It is a common problem for cyclists and usually happens due to careless attitude of motorists. My commute takes me along Collyer Quay and at the junction where it becomes Raffles Quay, there is usually a mix up of traffic. The left lane is Left turn only and there are vehicles entering and leaving NTUC Centre. The NTUC Centre Building is like a drop off point and the traffic is busy around there. I have observed this for a while and am usually careful around here.
This morning was different. As I was riding from Esplanade dr, I heard a couple of honks and one was from a pickup in my lane. This feller was getting closer to me and I suppose he wanted me out of the way. I was trying to see if he is too close and raised my hand asking him to slowdown and stay behind. At the same time, I was getting closer to this car in front and since I had enough space, I moved to the left. Then it happened. Some dumb-arse decided it was ok to jump out of a car when at traffic junction and happily opened the passenger side door. The result – my handlebar smashed on to his door and I did a minor somersault on to the asphalt.
As with any accident, my first reaction was to see if things are ok. My panniers were still on the rack and so was my front bag. The cycle computers were in place and I was clipped out. Apart from a slight pain in the knee, I was visibly alright. One of my snap-on glasses snapped off and was on the floor. I picked it up and moved out of the traffic first. The arse-hole of a driver did not stop to apologize. He drove on. I did not even have the chance to note down his license plate – damn.
The accident happened simply because the the driver did not want to spend 2 minutes to move to the Drop-off point in NTUC Centre to Drop-off. I wonder if his time was worth more than another person’s life or limb.
Accidents usually are not isolated incidents. It is a consequence of numerous things going wrong at the same time. It has very little to do with how comprehensive the rules are but more with how people understand and use them with sense. It is usually difficult to pin the blame on one person (though, the drop-off was illegal). The onus is on the person who is most likely to suffer (aka me the cyclist) to avoid accidents. I will be more cautious now when getting closer to vehicles.
I learnt my lesson, I wonder if the car driver did.
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