You are hereForums / General Discussion / Off Topic / Harbour Bridge Incident 06.09.12
Harbour Bridge Incident 06.09.12
This isnt exactly a MTB post but I'm sure i'm not the only one commuting from the northern beaches (Manly in this case) to the city. This means crossing the harbour bridge twice daily and so far I've never had any trouble apart from the occasional near miss when some weekend warrior decides to overtake at the last minute and misjudges the gap.
Until yesterday morning.
Coming into the city I made it all the way to the down ramp where another cyclist ran wide on the little right hand bend and crashed into me - head on.
At first I thought I was okay and yelled some not so well chosen words but then I realized that something was off and I couldn't possible get up. Some nice people helped me onto the grass stretch where I then passed out.
The other cyclist meanwhile took this opportunity to make a run for it.
I was convinced I had broken my arm as it looked like a piece of bone was sticking out. The ambos thought so too, and only after X-rays in the hospital did I find out how lucky I was. Nothing broken, just cuts and massive bruises.
The bike wasn't so lucky though, but fortunately it was only my roadbike so i should be back on the trails soon.
Anyway, the reason i'm posting this rather lengthy story here is to say thank you to the people who did stick around and looked after me. You know who you are are - unfortunately I don't, so if you read this please pm me so I can say a proper thank you.
To the person who caused the accident:
I can't believe you took off. In fact I can't believe you ran wide on that corner in the middle of peak hour traffic. I do hope you're having sleepless nights over this and if the cops don't get you (they are looking at the security footage), I hope karma will.
(although I can't imagine you being a member of this forum I hope you somehow read this)
- Login to post comments
- Bookmark & share
Thats a disgrace. Get well soon.
Was wondering what happened.
That ramp is a problem. The alignment of the path feeding into it needs changing. People swing onto the wrong side at the base of the ramp every time they come down the short hill from the Observatory, trying to maintain momentum for the climb.
I stage my fingers on the brakes whenever I go down it and have often had cause to give people a mouthful about keeping left. I figure it's only a matter of time before someone coming up the ramp times it exactly wrong. Looks like you drew the short straw.
When I passed you on Thursday morning, the ambos had you on your back and looked to have the situation in hand. I looked for your bike in case you needed it stored somewhere safe, but it wasn't anywhere to be seen, so I didn't stop as I didn't want to get in the way.
Hope you're back on your feet soon.
Do you have a description of the rider, I'm sure we can track him/her down
In 5 years of commuting from the north I've seen a few incidents on that stretch. It's dangerous, and it's quite easy to swing a bit wide on that corner, especially if you're a less experienced cyclist. I've seen guys going very fast as they come down off the bridge, too fast in my opinion. We all need to be careful.
Hi,
Thanks for your replies. Healing up much quicker than expected and rode home from the city for the first time again today. (had to butcher the second bike for parts)
Coming past the on-ramp to the bridge I stopped and had a look at the skidmarks on the ground.
You can actually see my mark about 10cm away from the wall going straight for about 2m before veering off into the wall. Don't really remember but I must have seen this coming for quite a bit then.
Oh, and there is a security camera right above the accident site.
Regarding a description of the guy, the cop I was talking to warned me specifically about this. (to go looking for him using a forum)
I'll see what turns up from the cops first but if nothing happens, i might still post a description at a later date.
Cheers
What were the cop's concerms?
Same reason why they're not allowed to release the footage to me. They're worried about a bunch of people ganging up on the (possibly wrong) guy. He said something about follow on crimes, but to be honest I was still pretty out of it, so not sure about the exact wording.
Man, that camera is directly above the crash site. Sure would like a look at the footage. That could be one for the family album.