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Crashing - break, bruise or bounce - & which bits

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  1. Tulyar
    Member

    Looking at Professor Chris's tram crash study, and some personal experience, plus a recent survey or two I wondered on whether a forumite poll on cycling crashes - and the resulting bumps & bashes might be a starting point to understanding cycle crash injuries and how to avoid or mitigate them/what the most common ones are.

    This will I suspect be contentious, but might also show that most cycle crashes have very little benefit from wearing a helmet to prevent most of the common injuries, and how many of the common injuries are mainly experienced by novice riders who have not learned how to fall, or go 'tense' rather than relax and use the natural shock absorbing features of a healthy human body.

    Was there any action you have deliberately taken that reduced or avoided injury in a crash?

    Posted 5 years ago #
  2. davey2wheels
    Member

    I've had about 4 main incidences where I have been thrown from the bike at speeds from 10 to 25 mph.
    Indications from marked/damaged gloves/clothing and post bruising is that I've cushioned the fall with my hand/arm and hit the deck on shoulder, hip and knee. No broken bones in any of these events.
    I'm a past trail motor bike rider and current off road biker.

    The helmet was important in the losing front wheel on wet tram track since my head would have also been one of the road contact points - certainly enough to ripple the plastic shell on the side that hit.

    Hard to do anything deliberately in these cases since it happens so fast. There have been plenty of occasions where I could have collided with vehicles of other road users but awareness to avoid or being prepared to react to the situation has prevented this so far.

    Posted 5 years ago #
  3. wingpig
    Member

    In reverse order, starting with 2010s: Slowish left-hook by parking van on George St in the dry. Front wheel caught and squashed but I fell sideways and rolled backwards. No injuries and my head didn't touch the ground.
    Chain jammed on Easter Road, whilst accelerating. Over the handlebars and landed on my forearm, gouging a good chunk off my elbow but little else. Head didn't touch the ground.
    Front wheel slide on mud heading down into the Telford underpass. Slight scraping to hip and elbow of clothing.
    Driven into by car pulling right out of road into which I was turning right. Rolled sideways onto the bonnet, then slid into the ground. Rear triangle misaligned and rear rack bent. Hole scraped in palm of glove and slightly sore right buttock. Head didn't touch the ground or the car.
    Mud-slide on NEPN by the red bridge. Scraped clothing-knee and clothing-elbow.

    2000s: Slide on bus-oil downhill on the Mound/Bank St. Rear mech, pedal and handlebars bent. Knees and elbows scraped and four stitches in the chin.

    Low-speed left-hook on what was the Cannonmills roundabout into Warriston Road. Fell sideways out of the way prior to impact. No injury, slight scrapes to frame.

    1980s: Hit a brick someone had put on a downhill slope in a bowl in an area of woodland tracks and ramps. Over the handlebars and face-first into a tree, with a tooth going all the way through my upper lip.

    Posted 5 years ago #
  4. Arellcat
    Moderator

    how many of the common injuries are mainly experienced by novice riders who have not learned how to fall

    This particular cyclist is experienced in riding but not experienced in crashing.

    Posted 5 years ago #
  5. nobrakes
    Member

    I've had three crashes at speed in the past 2 years, all due to slippery road surfaces. They were all on recumbents - worst I got was some impressive road rash. In terms of crashing, I think the best bike to be on is a recumbent low or mid racer. You don't have very far to fall and your head is generally the least likely part of your body to hit the ground. Your thigh on the other hand takes a beating. But that is preferable.

    Posted 5 years ago #
  6. Arellcat
    Moderator

    Frank Borman, (USAF/NASA) once said, "A superior pilot uses his superior judgment to avoid situations which require the use of his superior skill."

    Posted 5 years ago #
  7. PS
    Member

    This particular cyclist is experienced in riding but not experienced in crashing.

    Likewise. I've been cycling for 40 years but my crashes/falls have been thankfully infrequent enough that I would still count myself as a novice at crashing.

    And where I have sustained injury (worst being a broken collarbone, wee dint on the side of helmet) it all happened so fast that I was on the ground before I knew I was falling.

    What I tend to take from crashing is how to avoid doing it, rather than how to come out of it injury-free.

    Posted 5 years ago #
  8. steveo
    Member

    Having mtb from my early teens I've crashed (a lot) but only once had an off on the road, when the chain on my fixed snapped as I accelerated from the lights. Never so much as got my helmet dirty even when mtb (still wear it off road mind).

    I'm off to say a dozen hail fairies to ward off the bad luck I've just called upon myself from that last paragraph.

    Posted 5 years ago #
  9. wishicouldgofaster
    Member

    The few crashes I have had I was glad to be wearing a helmet as I smacked my head every time.

    1) came off on the ice, dazed but no injuries
    2) hit a pothole, dazed and cut leg but fine
    3) knocked down, concussion, leg injury (just soft tissue) and a neck injury (which required months of physio. My last minute action of turning my wheel slightly probably saved my life as the bike took a lot of the impact. Helmet probably saved me from a really bad head injury as I really whacked my head. Don't think it would have done much if the car had been 6cm nearer as the wheels would have been right over my head.
    4) pushed into a pole on the cycle path - shoulder and neck injuries, again though saved from a serious head injury by my helmet.

    Posted 5 years ago #
  10. One significant crash

    Going around a roundabout in Holyrood Park.

    I have no recollection whatsoever of the accident but I woke up in A&E with a very bruised face, a chipped tooth, a fracture between my right eye and ear and a few broken bones in my right hand.

    I was wearing a helmet which, like the rest of my clothing, appeared to survive intact.

    Posted 5 years ago #
  11. neddie
    Member

    Of the crashes I can remember:

    - 3 were on black ice.
    - 2 were colliding with a rider alongside me.
    - 1 was unable to scrub off excessive speed on country lane descent before sharp bend - ended up facing backwards (still astride bike) in a rose bush.

    Did not hit head in any of the above (and was not wearing any helmet), only minor grazes & bruises.

    - 1 was a foolish attempt at a double jump while mountain biking. Landed on shoulder blade & broke collar bone. Hit head but not sufficiently hard enough to cause any effects to the brain and only minor cracking to helmet.

    Posted 5 years ago #
  12. Some minor spills on ice or when componentry failed me (snapped pedal spindle threw me down, bizarrely snapped handlebar didn't, which was just as well as I was going about 25mph at the time - probably as I managed to slow on a controlled fashion as I rode fixed at the time).

    3 biggies though (least impressive to most)....

    1. Chain jumped off just as I put a spurt on to make some lights, threw me down, head/road interface was hefty. no helmet, a couple of seconds out, split head that needed 3 staples and a minor concussion. Worst was being taken to minor injuries by a colleague, forgetting his name, then forgetting my address, texting my wife to find that out, then getting called in to see the doctor as she sent me increasingly worried replies trying to find out where I was.

    2. Racing, so doesn't really count probably. Training for Cycle Speedway. Thrown off by a pedal strike, and instinctively (this instinct survives no more) threw out my arm to break the fall, and broke it instead. Both sides of the elbow on my right arm, held together by pins and a big metal plate (second time I'd broken that after emulating Superman off a dining room table at 4 years of age, so I already couldn't straighten it fully.

    3. Erm, broke the same arm for a third time. Damp morning, and as I approached the roudabout I thought.... Better slow down. Used by a lot of buses, so I'm assuming there was oil or diesel as well as I was down before I knew what had happened. Arm immediately didn't feel right, which the blood of the open fracture confirmed. Basically I'd landed 'perfectly' for the shock to transmit up the metal plate, and focus the energy on a single point, which snapped completely, and dragged out some of the screws of the plate (still reading?). A couple of hours of the four (I think) surgery was dedicated to saving one nerve that had been ground against the plate. Post-surgery I was assured that my old plate was old tech (8 years old) and I'd had an upgrade.

    When I race now I pop a baseball soft-but-hardens-on-impact arm guard on as a bit of a mental crutch (less so when commuting now). I've got a wonderful set of x-rays now.

    (arriving in hospital (by car, low priority for ambulances, which were on big call outs, so wait was going to be 2 hours), with a broken arm, and clearly perfectly coherent, first question was 'were you wearing a helmet?' So I'm a stat that yes I was wearing a helmet, and there was no head injury - the fact I didn't hit my head (not a mark on the helmet) didn't make the stats as there wasn't a box for that).

    Posted 5 years ago #
  13. sallyhinch
    Member

    Having not fallen off my bike at all for 20 years I had two stupid slow-speed crashes this year - once when the Brompton lost an argument with a kerb, and once when the big bike lost an argument with a stick (I told you they were stupid). In both cases my legs got banged up and my head came nowhere near hitting anything. On the whole, I'd rather fall off the Brompton as there's less to get tangled up with.

    When I was learning to ride horses they said you had to fall off 7 times before you could claim you knew how to ride although we never actually deliberately practised (ponies generally being good enough at giving riders opportunities to learn how to fall anyway). I've been impressed when riding with mountain bikers how they make the decision to bail out where there's a soft landing rather than hang on to the bitter end. That takes either quick thinking or lots of practice.

    Posted 5 years ago #
  14. paulmilne
    Member

    The only time I banged my head was when I was going slower than walking speed, and the front tyre hit the slight rise of a 'dropped' kerb at just the wrong angle and I tumbled over and bumped my unhelmeted-head on a lamp post. Ouch. Arguably just the sort of incidents where a bicycle helmet is most useful. Otherwise the usual sprained wrists, bruised ribs/hips/shoulders, scraped legs.

    Posted 5 years ago #
  15. wee folding bike
    Member

    Sallyhinch, yes. One of my Bromptons was hit by a guy in a VW a while ago. I got off and landed on my feet.

    Rarely fall off. The only time I was injured I had a plastic hat. It didn’t help.

    Posted 5 years ago #
  16. stiltskin
    Member

    Of my two major offs. The one on black ice gave me a headache for a couple of hours. Glad to have the helmet on. The one where the car turned into me while I was waiting to turn right led to my back going into spasm owing to the contortions involved in diving out of the way.

    Posted 5 years ago #
  17. stiltskin
    Member

    Don’t want to rain on this thread but I’m not sure what this will prove. Firstly because the small, anecdotal nature of the sample & also because the OP appears to be trying to confirm a hypothesis before the evidence is in.

    Posted 5 years ago #
  18. gnr1751
    Member

    My first major off was yesterday! Cycle path from the Wisp to R.I.E major slug fest, going round one of the bends a bit too fast and front wheel slid through 90degrees , result over the top I went only to land on the bar ends .Various scrapes and two broken ribs, not a mark on my helmet.managed to cycle to A+E where I spent a pleasant morning full of morphine lol

    Posted 5 years ago #
  19. Frenchy
    Member

    managed to cycle to A+E

    One wee spot of luck there, at least!

    Hope you heal soon.

    Posted 5 years ago #
  20. gnr1751
    Member

    Im more worried about the bike lol

    Posted 5 years ago #
  21. sallyhinch
    Member

    @Stiltskin - of course, but don't spoil the fun of a chance to swap war stories and compare battle scars. Even better than the various 'what bike should I buy' or 'what mad trip should I go on' threads ...

    Posted 5 years ago #
  22. HankChief
    Member

    Trying to remember all of mine...

    Tldr: Only 1 head injury: most were leg/arm. No helmet damage.

    I must have crashed as a kid but I can remember by brothers' crashes more...

    The best one was when he pulled a wheelie and the front wheel ran away down the road. Unsurprisingly he went over the handlebars.

    As a teenager,
    A) I was hit sideways by a tractor's trailer on the A66 Appleby bypass. Landed on my arm so scrapes on my elbow.

    B) Taking the right hand corner from Silver St into Trumpington Street in Cambridge in the wet, my front wheel went away from me. I remember keeping my head up as I hit the deck. It worked to protect my head/face but unfortunately I did manage to grate my chin down to the bone...

    As an adult,

    C) a few ice crashes onto my hip

    D) a few cornering issues where the road was more slippery than I reckoned and I've bashed my hands/elbow/leg.

    D) my chain coming off as I trying to accelerate on Maybury road and I landed on crossbar still moving forward and fortunately veered to the left, hit the pavement kerb and landed heap in the verge. No drivists stopped but the next cyclist did. Elbow & leg injuries only.

    E) A unglamorous pile when I tried to guide 2 bikes home simultaneously. Leg/arm grazes only

    F) Yesterday. I stopped to take a photo of some new pavement marking at the Stenhouse tram crossing. Having secured a couple of good shots I noticed an email reply to PG's request that MCC object to a small planning application by his house... So I started to read the reply (they said no) and forgot about that stupid 3" concrete barrier at the top of Saughton Mains Street. Hit it at slow speed and took a few chunks out of my leg.

    Posted 5 years ago #
  23. LaidBack
    Member

    So much pain in these posts I feel I have to join in...

    With recliner the crashes I've had have been elbow scrapes and banged hip - less to fall being factor plus desire not to entertain people who believe that I should fall off with my choice of bike.

      Worst one was on a recliner was with a customers bike. Classic semi-low racer with small front wheel. Customer (not on this forum) had fitted a 28mm 20" (406) tyre.
      Came round fast onto MMW from Bristo Place. The not so dropped kerb blew out tyre just as I was cornering. Guy in juice bar came to see if I was ok. The bike was fine!

      Second worst one was 10 days ago with sensible upright e-bike. Rear wheel slid out on the wet glassy cobbles at junction and I went down hard onto cobbles at BoS entering Lawnmarket. People came to help then too.
      I can only cycle any distance reclined at moment - bruised ribs I think.

    If people don't come over then maybe a lesser fall - although probably random?
    Wearing helmet in both instances but not bashed.

    Posted 5 years ago #
  24. mcairney
    Member

    Quite a few when you add them up, mostly caused by icy/wet conditions and/or my over-exuberance.

    1. Chain snapped while putting the power down on my (at the time) brand-new Giant MTB. No injury other than my pride and a snapped chain and a trashed derailleur.

    2. Low-speed topple in snow at the corner at the Range. A couple of cuts and bruises but nothing major.

    3. Rear wheel going AWOL while going over one of the bridges on the Brunstane Burn path during torrential rain. Quite a bit of road-rash, a few scrapes, some minor damage to the bike (scraped paintwork, bent hanger). Ironically I'd decided to go that way due to not fancying trying to stop going down Milton Road in the rain!

    4. Running out of road/skill going downhill on gravel at the Pentlands on the MTB. Was really lucky as I walked away from this with only a mild concussion as the top of my head came to a stop thanks to a large boulder. Hate to think what would have happened if I hadn't been wearing a helmet. The helmet didn't appear too badly damaged but it went to the tip afterwards just in case.

    5. Low speed skid on wet leaves on the Brunstane Burn path resulting in a couple of bruised/cracked ribs.

    6. Brunstane Burn again this winter. Rear wheel went AWOL again on black ice. I thought I'd learned my lesson taking the MTB but that obviously isn't enough when confronted with untreated paths. Ended up toppling in slow motion on top of my bike and in particular the pedal and front cog.
    Managed to cycle into work but decided that as it hadn't stopped bleeding by lunchtime I should probably seek medical attention. I now have a gnarly set of scars on my thigh that look like I've been in a fight with Wolverine.

    7. Coming up Candlemaker Row having upgraded to clipless pedals and not being able to unclip and doing a classic sideways topple. Thankfully neither myself or the bike were seriously harmed.

    The morale of the story appears to be- avoid the Brunstane Burn path in anything other than perfect conditions- it's obviously a death trap.

    Posted 5 years ago #
  25. Snowy
    Member

    3 'offs' in the last 30 years. All my own fault.

    1. Fast downhill singletrack, pedal caught rock and I superman-barrel-rolled, then my bike landed on me, then the guy behind hit me hard as well. Much pain but no damage except pride.

    2. Icy downhill singletrack, bike chose a different route from me, somersaulted/slid 15m downhill, stood up and couldn't find my bike? No real injuries but puzzled for a while.

    3. Rode up to my house, failed to unclip, fell over in front of several of my neighbours in such a way that I was entangled with the bike and couldn't get free. I can still hear the laughter. No injuries, but considered moving house.

    Posted 5 years ago #
  26. sallyhinch
    Member

    Sorry Snowy but that made me laugh too

    Posted 5 years ago #
  27. amir
    Member

    I had two near offs this morning due to misjudging the resistance offered by post-storm flopping vegetation (umbellifer, buddleia).

    In the past, I've had painful but not serious offs due to oil or ice. I've been more cautious since. I didn't hit the ground with my head but my left hip has taken repeated batterings resulting in bursitis.

    My last crash was the most serious, up in the Lammermuirs. I came off, probably due to a flat front tyre after a cattle grid. Thanks to the support of two accompanying forumers (I'll always be grateful to them), plus the nearby training of the Borders Mountain Rescue Team, I was whisked off to the hospital. I was possibly unconscious for a short while and my helmet and ear were well grazed (helmet dumped, ear kept). I was kept in for observation, which was good because in that condition I couldn't walk (bad abrasions esp knees and arm, sholder separation. I had balance problems for a month afterwards (which cured spontaneously).

    So I do continue to wear a helmet in generally, though I made an exception on a recent tour of the Netherlands.

    When I was a kid, I cycled a lot but never wore a helmet (or fell off much). My parents gave me a hairnet style helmet but I never used it.

    Posted 5 years ago #
  28. Cyclingmollie
    Member

    Worst crash was about fifteen years ago during a criterium race at Ingliston. I'd chased down a break when a prime lap (a prize lap) was announced so the bunch caught us going flat out. I made it round a tight corner on the inside and got out the saddle to sprint when my front wheel went sideways on a patch of sand. I went straight down. Broken collar-bone, hip bursitis, concussion and road-rash from my knee to my shoulder. I couldn't walk for a week and was off the bike for two months. I found a tyre track on my cracked helmet so someone went right over my head. Sadly someone else came out of the incident with a punctured lung. It was a real mess.

    Posted 5 years ago #
  29. gembo
    Member

    @cyclingmollie, that is a bad one

    I overcooked a corner near Ullswater and went head first through a bush into field as bike went on down the road.

    Helmet stopped scratches maybe, I was very lucky. Got back on went up Kirkstone

    Posted 5 years ago #
  30. LivM
    Member

    Two slips on ice here (grazed side first time, broken specs the second), plus down on tram rails behind Commercial Quay (bruises).
    My husband has been more spectacular with one head injury which left him off work for 8 months (mountain biking) and (recently) a broken upper arm (off work for 2 months+) (also mountain biking). Plus another road bike accident on gravel in Dalmeny estate which was cuts and bruises.
    He's a definite fan of helmets as the first injury would likely have killed him without one.
    All incidents in last 10 years.

    Posted 5 years ago #

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