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Crashing on ice – is faster better?

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  • February 5, 2015 at 12:49 pm #23193
    Daveyraveygravey

    I’ve come off twice in the last three weeks on ice. The first time I was doing between 15 and 17 mph, hit some ice, went down hard and slid along the road. Whilst it wasn’t great experience, I thought at the time and after “Phew, got away with that, could have been a lot worse.” My right shoulder took most of the fall, and I also managed to bang my helmet.

    Second time I was going a lot slower, probably around 5 mph. I was about to turn into a gated entrance to a country house, wheel went out from under me, and I landed heavily on both wrists; mainly my left (possible broken scaphoid bone) but also my right wrist, right knee and left shoulder. Again I banged my head – perhaps the main benefit of wearing a helmet is you don’t tense up and try too hard to stop your head hitting the deck in cases like this?

    Anyway, logic normally says if you are going to have a crash in any vehicle, the slower you are travelling the better. Perhaps if you’re on a bike, if you are travelling along at a reasonable speed, you don’t impact the ground dead square, more obliquely, and so don’t suffer as bad injury wise?

    Get my induction at the gym tonight, sitting on static bikes for a few weeks 🙁

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  • February 6, 2015 at 12:31 pm #830827
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    jaymack

    I’m afraid it’s all down to
    I’m afraid it’s all down to lady luck, if she smiles you’ll just be brushing away the road grit, if she’s wearing a frown you’re in for a world of pain and a few weeks off of work at best. Try as we might to get all Newtonian about it if it’s your turn to take a tumble there’s not a great deal you can do other than carry a fully charged mobile phone and to make sure someone at home knows your route.

    February 6, 2015 at 12:28 pm #830825
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    redmeat

    monkeytrousers wrote:Here’s

    monkeytrousers wrote:
    Here’s one for you all.

    I was doing 18mph, found some ice and done my collarbone. Currently on my 6th week off work (hopefully back next week), doing turbo rides and hoping to get out for real next weekend. (Watch it snow on Saturday morning. You heard it here first).

    If it’s not 5mph or 18mph, what speed is the optimum to have an off?

    Any volunteers?

    23.2mph

    February 6, 2015 at 12:07 pm #830823
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    monkeytrousers

    Here’s one for you all.
    I
    Here’s one for you all.

    I was doing 18mph, found some ice and done my collarbone. Currently on my 6th week off work (hopefully back next week), doing turbo rides and hoping to get out for real next weekend. (Watch it snow on Saturday morning. You heard it here first).

    If it’s not 5mph or 18mph, what speed is the optimum to have an off?

    Any volunteers?

    February 6, 2015 at 12:35 am #830821
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    Colin Peyresourde

    Some boffin will probably be
    Some boffin will probably be able to tell you, but there maybe something in travelling fast and crashing and travelling slowly. It will largely depend how the crash happens. In your scenario it sounds like it was skidding with no external factors like a brick wall absorbing the kinetic energy. It’s likely then a combination of the force of the direction in which you were travelling did something to counteract the immediate force from gravity. Whereas at lower speeds the counter active force is quickly over whelmed by gravity…..but last time I studied physics was 23 years ago.

    February 5, 2015 at 8:10 pm #830819
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    Chasseur Patate

    If you’re going to crash,
    If you’re going to crash, crash fast. You can continue riding whilst missing some skin, crashing slow leads to broken bones. Plus I find hitting the deck at pace is infinitely more stylish than simply toppling over.

    Ergo, go as fast as you possibly can all the time. We’re talking ludicrous speed.

    February 5, 2015 at 8:04 pm #830817
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    unistriker

    Crashing is an art. You want
    Crashing is an art. You want to take out as much energy from the crash in the longest time period possible. It hurts less if you tumble than come to a dead stop. Again Sliding is better than a dead stop.

    In a Dead stop the energy is concentrated in a split second, resulting in bigger injuries.

    That said Crashing is Crashing, Crashing at a low speed is less energy, but falling square on to the road is bad technique for crashing.

    Basically don’t crash 🙂

    February 5, 2015 at 8:04 pm #830815
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    Daveyraveygravey

    I’d been a bit lucky (and/or
    I’d been a bit lucky (and/or smug) about riding on ice for a few years, been riding through winter for a few years and had a few moments but until you actually smack yourself hard into terra firma you don’t really appreciate how horrible it can be. I was lucky both times to be on very quiet roads and could lie there for a few moments getting my act together. Really scary to think how bad it could be if there were lots of other vehicles around

    February 5, 2015 at 1:02 pm #830813
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    Simmo72

    Its all so variable. Higher
    Its all so variable. Higher speed off means you tend to slide more which might lessen the impact but depends what you slide into, ie a wall, a car. How you fall also has a bearing, not enough time to get a hand out can work for or against you. Low speed can result in worse injury but again depends how you fall or what you fall on to.

    Falling on ice, yes you are are more likely to slide, but then you are more likely to fall off in the first place. I’ve experienced a bad ice related crash where yes I slid, but unfortunately the wall I slid into was not very absorbent, neither were my bones. I now avoid icy days full stop.

    best thing is don’t fall off 🙂

    Good idea with the gym, currently doing the same

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