1978 π Objects in the sideview mirror
I was 14 the first time I was hit by a car. I was riding along in the bike lane when a trucks mirror took me out.
~ Aristotle Sabouni
Created: 2003-05-26 |
The first time I was hit by a car was when I was 14. We lived far enough out of town that walking was impractical, and I was still too young to drive. The only alternative was hitchhike or ride -- and hitchhiking was too unreliable... not to mention safety, but we didn't have fear in the 1970's. So it was mainly the convenience factor that had me pedaling.
One day I was riding along in the bike lane, in high gear, and pedaling like an enthusiastic kid on his way somewhere; when BANG! I saw stars and was rolling in the dirt and gravel along the side of the road. After I tumbled and skidded to a halt I saw the truck that had hit me.
It was a large pickup, with those extended mirrors for when you're pulling a trailer. Only he didn't have a trailer, and the damn mirror had hit me in the back of the head and took me out. A baseball bat to the back of the head, wouldn't have been much more effective.
I had road rash, a major lump on the back of my head, and was picking out gravel and a headache that lasted for days.
The guy never slowed down; and I assumed he'd seen me, or if nothing else, heard the mighty bang of his mirror hitting me in the back of the head, or the mechanical clatter as my bike and I rolled end-over-end. (And it looked to me like he'd slowed a little, until he saw me get up).
I'm still not sure if he did it on purpose (for sport). I'd bounced up pretty quick, so I obviously wasn't going to die or anything. Still I was grumbling what I thought of that guy and his animal lineage the whole two-mile trek home.
The moral to that story was that just because you're following the laws, doesn't mean you can't get hurt.
ποΈ See also
- 1978 π Objects in the sideview mirror - I was 14 the first time I was hit by a car. I was riding along in the bike lane when a trucks mirror took me out.
- 1979 π You never see it coming - The 3rd time I got him by a car was riding home from school.
- 1981 π Paved Paradise and ran me over in a parking lot - After getting hit a few times, I was on the lookout for cars. That let me see this one coming with disbelief.
- Grand Theft Auto (1994) - 3 kids were stealing car stereos (or cars). They had knives: I had drew a gun. They decided to leave at high speed.
π More
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