bicycle meets car car wins

Glad to hear you're OK, Steve. You really should get the file number from your local police, though. Just keep it filed away in case you need it later. Even if the officer didn't complete a report, there should be a "complaint" recorded. We refer to this as a "CAD" here, which means "Computer Aided Dispatch".

Good luck,

Ed

Reply to
Ed
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that would be pretty bad indeed.

Reply to
Steve Knight

hell that's nothing I fell about that far when I was about 5 off a slide onto my head. then wandered around and got hit by a car I guess (G)

Reply to
Steve Knight

Damn Steve...

I am glad you are OK and well. Cars almost always win those confrontations. I have had them run my little butt off the road a few times and ran into a door as it was opened.

I am glad that you were wearing your helmet too. They are kinda goofy and definitely not the macho thing to wear but they will save yer noggin'!

Philski

Reply to
philski

Doors can be bad news. Was coming out of class at Georgia Tech one day and there's this woman stopped in the middle of the road outside the building. She opens her door and about that time some guy on a Harley comes around the corner way too fast and lands himself in traction after he hits the door. I was surprised that she wasn't injured--I would have expected that much bike to slam the door into her pretty hard.

Reply to
J. Clarke

Agreed. That was my first season as a road cyclist. 13 years later, I now assume that nobody can see me. Haven't been hit since, after more than 100,000 miles. There's been lots of stuff I've had to react to though...

Reply to
Mike Reed

I, too, assume that I'm invisible to drivers. Where possible, I try to make eye contact with a driver before doing anything that will put me in a hazardous position with his/her vehicle. Most of the time this works. However, a couple of years ago I'm commuting to work. I come to an intersection. Guy heading in the opposite direction in a high end mercedes covertible is signalling left turn. I look at him. It sure looks like he is looking right at me. So, I keep going (it's a light controlled intersection). He then turns left right into me. I see it happening and I start yelling-- a trick I picked up many years ago). He has the top down and it isn't that noisy so he hears me. Well, don't know if he was drunk, stoned, or just stupid. I don't go down (probably because he isn't moving that fast). But I do end up with my left foot on his hood. Guy looks at me like I'm the one at fault. So, I gave his hood a love tap before leaving.

david

Reply to
David E. Penner

goofy but good. now I hope to find how bad my bike is off today. I see about

600.00 in damage so far.
Reply to
Steve Knight

Of all of the things our kids have done right, making our grandchildren wear helmets before they can mount a bike is close to the top of the list. Thankfully I have never had to replace a helmet because of impact but I still expect it to happen someday.

Reply to
RonB

We won't talk about my getting dropped on my head as a child, OK?

Tim Douglass

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Reply to
Tim Douglass

Yeah, I took a core-sample of someone's door once with my MTB handlebar. She deserved it. Turns out the material from the sample is from the industrial era. I had to drill it and pull it out with a sheet metal screw.

Reply to
Mike Reed

well I got the bill to get my bike back to the level it was. it only needs a few fork. but to get it to the level it was is about 740.00 and another 169.00 for my glasses. I contacted the lady who hit me. she is really nice and has worried about me. she can't afford that much out of pocket. she contacted her insurance company. well after talking to my bike mechanic he says I has hardly ever seen a insurance company pay for a bicycle accident. even if the person was hurt it is a big battle. so any idea's?

Reply to
Steve Knight

If her insurer won't pay, take her to small claims court.

Reply to
Dave Balderstone

Way back when, I had a touring bike, with the _big_ baskets on it. As I lived at the very outskirts of town, and sometimes rode the rural roads after dark, I had a _full_size_ "slow moving vehicle" reflective emblem across the back of the baskets. I guarantee you I was 'highly visible' from behind. Night -or- day.

One day, I'm riding *in* town, make a left turn at the tail end of the light onto a 4-lane road, into an extended up-hill section. Of course, as soon as I've made the turn, I move to curb-side, and here comes the straight traffic, as the light has changed. First up in the outside lane (where I am now) is a semi, with trailer. He just _sat_ there, about

30' (seemed closer!) behind me, for almost 3 blocks -- until he could swing _completely_ into the center lane to pass me.

That was the _first_ time anybody gave me a 'full lane' while I was on a bicycle. Somewhat disconcerting, having that "big rig" close behind me, for that extended distance, but it was nice that he didn't try to crowd past.

Reply to
Robert Bonomi

Your request is perfectly reasonable and in fact I make it a practice to observe this. On the other side of the coin is a driver's request of cyclists to exhibit the same degree of caution and concern. Don't ride right on the white line when there is 8 feet of paved shoulder. Don't look back under your arm while you're riding and have your bike veer out into the traffic lane. Remember that you're much slower than traffic and extend the courtesy of freeing up the traffic lane. Don't ride two abreast right on the very edge of the driving lane. Please do remember that you're taunting a one and a half ton vehicle and it's not worth the price simply to demonstrate some point.

Since I'm not a bike rider, my perspective is probably different than yours - mine is exclusively that of a driver. From my perspective, I see more cyclists that taunt drivers by insisting on a piece of the road that they really don't need when there is a perfectly good paved shoulder, and I see more cyclists doing things that put them in the path of a car than I do drivers who don't give room to cyclists.

Both can coexist on the roads but both have to yield a little courtesy to the other.

Reply to
Mike Marlow

Don't forget the replacement helmet. And any clothes that got torn as a result of the rough landing.

Short answer: The insurance company issue is not _your_ problem. Either her insurance pays, or she does. Which one is between _her_ and her insurance.

Either you get what it takes to 'make you whole' (everything as it was _before_ the accident), or you go to court. For _just_ the 'property damage', it is well within the limits of "small claims" -- for which the 'court costs' are likely something in the range of $20. Maybe another $30-50, if they have to have the bailiff actually deliver the summons in person. You include those costs in addition to the 'actual' damages, in figuring out how much you file the suit for. It is an open-and-shut case, particularly if she admitted liability in the presence of the police officer, or *any* other witness at the scene.

Seriously, the insurance company should _jump_ at the chance to settle for the 'property damage' costs *only*. 'Total liability' includes the value of the time you were off work (I think that's 1-1/2 days -- rest of the day of the accident, plus the next day -- figured on a "gross revenue", not 'net profit" basis), plus 'something' for the "aches and pains" that persisted past that point, _plus_ rental of a replacement bicycle until repairs on yours are completed (or, alternatively an amount for 'loss of use' of your 'vehicle', until repairs are complete -- industry standard value for loss-of-use was $15/day in 1975, inflation has to have pushed that to at least $25/day now.)

By the time you get done adding up all these "incidentals", the grand total is easily double (to close to triple) the figures you've mentioned. Before accounting for the 'intangibles' -- aches/pains/etc.

Reply to
Robert Bonomi

I was t-boned by a car in '85 which basically trashed the bike. The drivers insurance eagerly paid for a replacement bike, medical expenses, and a small amount for P&S.

-Bruce

Reply to
BruceR

Glad you made it okay. Replace the helmet, it did it's job and is a consumable item.

Wes

Trek 8700/Trek 1100 PB 251 miles in 24hrs

Reply to
clutch

first thing I did. hell it's toast anyway it is cracked right down the middle. hey think the 2500 I got in the settlement will cover it? (G)

Reply to
Steve Knight

Steve Knight wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:

Depends on how you feel two years from now...

But we're glad you're feeling better now. Keep your wits about you.

Patriarch

Reply to
patriarch

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