I commute from the peninsula into San Francisco every day, i was on my way in and saw a guy go down this morning. I was splitting lanes, and he was in the second lane over. A lady drove right into his flow of traffic, he bounced off of her and went down. I came up on it while i was splitting lanes and saw him spinning and on his way down. Either she ran, or she had no idea she hit him.

I immediately stopped and helped him. He was okay for the most part, broken shoulder but a lot of road rash. His bike is pretty tore up

Few things i learned from this experience was that my theory on lane splitting is correct. Its better to be splitting lanes in traffic and constantly moving than sitting in an open lane next to the other drivers. They don't look and just change lanes when their exit is coming up or they see an opening. He was doing nothing wrong but he was sitting there like a sitting duck. He was moving somewhere around 25-30mph when this happened. But i mean just sitting in the lane taking up the center of the lane where a car would be instead of splitting lanes

The other thing i learned was that your gear is worth its weight in gold. He had literally no gear on, half helmet, no gloves, Carhart hoodie, shorts and some boots. the road rash he had was worse than the broken shoulder.

Guys, when you are in city traffic, or places with thick traffic. WEAR YOUR DAMN GEAR! Have i rode without gear? Yes i have but i tend to only ride without gear in rural areas. Let this serve as a reminder that being a little bit more warm is better than the alternative. And it also reminds us that the price of gear is expensive but its worth it.

Stay safe out there, keep your head on a swivel, and ride like you have a target on your back.

 

Glad that you were there to help. I don't understand how he and the bike had so much damage from just standing there. I imagine that at most he would have been bumped off his bike, but I wasn't there and weird things happen.

I agree with you 100% on gear, if you are going down, I rather have my clothes and gear get torn and trashed than my skin. Once you get moving the gear is not too hot and can actually cool you off by keeping the sun off of your skin. That is why landscapers/groundskeepers wear long sleeves and a hat.

 

I guess i misworded my description

He was in a lane not splitting and moving about 25mph when she came over

 

Go it. Isn't crazy that even at that speed you can get road rash? I remember back in my younger days falling off my bicycle and getting some pretty nasty road rash myself, and I was going maybe 15-20MPH. Some people think that they can wear flip-flops and shorts because they won't be going on the expressway. Think again!

 

props for stopping and offering assistance....hope the driver is caught.

 

Exactly... this particular part of the freeway is pretty rough as it is and its asphault. Just gonna cheese grade your ***

Im glad it wasnt worse, but it helped me make the decision to buy that leather jacket ive been looking at for a while now

 

 

I used to live in the Bay Area and I did lane-split when traffic was slow. Not sure I would agree with you that lane splitting is safer than staying in lane, particularly if traffic is moving at 25+ mph. Your single anecdote doesn't really prove anything. If traffic is moving, someone can suddenly come over at you regardless of whether you are splitting or in-lane. And when you are splitting, you have less time to react if they are already just a couple feet or less away from you. Seems to me that the slower traffic is moving, the safer lane splitting is and above a certain threshold, like 25-30 mph, I think it starts to get quite a bit dicier.

Not saying you are wrong, just offering another perspective.

 

which brings up a good question..should you stop and assist the down rider or chase the hit and run driver?

 

Good on you for stopping to help out. Its the right thing to do. Hope they catch the driver asap. Did anyone get enough of a description of the car to help make that happen?