In the June issue of Bicycling, we shared the story of Nako Nakatsuka, a UCLA triathlete and bike commuter who was sued by the driver who plowed into her bike from behind.
The unfairness of Nakatsuka’s story—both her injuries and legal nightmares—sparked support from cyclists in similar situations and spurred her to launch a new crash database: bikewoke.com. The site is an incredible resource to help cyclists know their rights in the event of a crash, gather evidence at the scene, connect with each other, and contact bike-friendly lawyers. We caught up with Nakatsuka to find out where she is today and what motivated her to craft this exhaustive new resource.
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What made you want to create bikewoke.com?
When I started my GoFundMe after the crash, a lot of people reached asking for advice because they’d been in a similar situation. I thought my scenario was so crazy but it seemed to be way more common than I anticipated. Then when the Bicycling article about me was published on Facebook, I was struck by some of the comments. Most were positive, but there were some negative things in there saying, “This can’t be real,” and “Here are the things she should have done.” Comments like the last one interested me.
As cyclists, there are so many things we don’t learn until after we’re in a crash. What I’m hoping to do with the website is help other cyclists realize they should have all this information prior to cycling anywhere so it’s more instinctual. For me, I was in shock—but I think I would have reacted better if I’d had some of the information prior to the crash. I’m hoping other cyclists in similar situations can learn from the site and have the resources to make better decisions in the event that, God forbid, they need this information.
What are the things you wish you’d known when you were hit?
The biggest thing I learned is to expect the worst and be fully prepared for anything after a crash. I never expected to get sued because in my mind it was such an obvious open-and-shut case and the driver was liable. But even if you’re clearly not in the wrong, make an extra effort to get all the evidence so you can protect yourself.
Watch Dulcie Canton recall her own experience with getting hit by a motor vehicle:
My personality is to not overreact in the moment. But I underestimated my injuries and should have gone to the hospital in the ambulance and gotten it all on record because later there wasn’t that proof that I had been seriously hurt. Also I should have checked that the police filed a report because there was none when I went to look two and a half months after the crash. The LAPD has a 48-hour period where you can check if they wrote a police report—they give you a slip of paper that says they’re writing the police report with the station address, and I wish I’d gone. I also wish I’d been in an OK enough state to take photos of my bike crushed underneath the car because that could have gone a long way when we were contesting liability.
Are you thinking cyclists will check out your site preemptively or just find it after a crash?
I’m hoping people will look at it beforehand. It’s like training for martial arts—your goal isn’t to go beat someone up, but in the event someone attacks you, you have a rehearsed reaction in the back of your mind. It’s also useful for people who have already been in crashes, which is why I’m trying to make the reference page bigger in terms of lawyers other cyclists have recommended. After my crash I couldn’t find a lawyer for a long time, but I was just looking at personal injury lawyers. Now I know there are cyclist lawyers who are also personal injury specialists who would have had more experience dealing with my situation.
Have you been surprised by how many people have reached out to you?
That was a huge motivation. I felt uncomfortable asking people for help and money when I started the GoFundMe campaign. I didn’t expect it to be as much of a success as it was. Now I really wanted to give back to all the LA-area cyclists who took my story to heart. That people went out of their way to support my story really pushed me toward putting the site together. I hope some cyclist in the future can use the resources on my site to get out of their crash easier than I did.
Check out bikewoke.com—and hope you never need it.
