I’m just a bit shaky today so you’ll excuse me if I leave in some typos.
I was running errands on Blue, getting things ready to go before I leave for vacation. I went to the bank to make a mortgage payment (directly so I know it went through). As I was turning left into the bank parking lot I was passed on the right in the same lane by two pickup trucks. The first one was scrubbing the curb so I was startled more than anything else by that one. The second one was a bit further over and I started waving it to the right or to stay behind me and my right elbow came in contact with the driver’s side mirror hard enough to break the mirror.
I’m OK, my elbow does not even hurt and you can barely see the scuff from the contact. The big problems I’m having is the PTSD attack from my third skin-to-vehicle contact with a vehicle in motion since the turn of the Century, and the adrenaline crash. When I got out of the bank (task fixation, part of the PTSD) I called 911 and the cops were already on their way from another person (not the driver of the weapon vehicle) calling in the contact. I discussed the incident with the cop, who said I shouldn’t have been on the street making a left turn. I quoted TX VC 551.103a and b by number and paragraph which stated what a person on a bike is supposed to do when making a left turn.
The driver of the truck got a ticket for an unsafe pass to go with his broken mirror. I got a massive case of the shakes.
PSA, Opus
Witch on a Bicycle 