# And just like that..... she's gone. car v/s Grand Record



## dr.mediocre (May 7, 2008)

As the title states, my bike is toast. I was riding to work Friday morning and was about 26 miles into my 30 mile trip when it happened. I was traveling along at a 24mph pace when a Mustang coming from the opposite direction made a left turn right in front of me. I hit my brakes and slammed into the rear quarter Panel of the Mustang. I'm not sure what happened for the next 1/10 second but I ended up on my back in the middle of the street with my bike on top of me. Surprisingly enough I only suffered a bloody arm, sore neck/back and a *HUGE* bruise on my butt. The bike suffered a worser fate. See the picture. (Sorry it's at the scene with my camera phone. note the seperation at the head tube.


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## elevated (Apr 26, 2007)

BUMMER. condolences to you and RIP to your roller. glad to hear that bodily damage was superficial.


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## Marc (Jan 23, 2005)

dr.mediocre said:


> As the title states, my bike is toast. I was riding to work Friday morning and was about 26 miles into my 30 mile trip when it happened. I was traveling along at a 24mph pace when a Mustang coming from the opposite direction made a left turn right in front of me. I hit my brakes and slammed into the rear quarter Panel of the Mustang. I'm not sure what happened for the next 1/10 second but I ended up on my back in the middle of the street with my bike on top of me. Surprisingly enough I only suffered a bloody arm, sore neck/back and a *HUGE* bruise on my butt. The bike suffered a worser fate. See the picture. (Sorry it's at the scene with my camera phone. note the seperation at the head tube.


Dam. Well-I hope you got the pricks name, number and insurance etc etc.


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## 88Shawn88 (May 28, 2008)

Can you make a claim against the drivers insurance?


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## dr.mediocre (May 7, 2008)

88Shawn88 said:


> Can you make a claim against the drivers insurance?


yeah, I called the police and filed a report. The driver is going to foot the bill for repairs. I've already ordered my new frame/fork and can salvage everything else. .


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## 20sMotoSpirit (May 27, 2007)

Sweet. Fines for bike and bike claims are going to start getting more common with more and more people selling their cars and riding to work.


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## [email protected] (Aug 30, 2007)

dr.mediocre said:


> yeah, I called the police and filed a report. The driver is going to foot the bill for repairs. I've already ordered my new frame/fork and can salvage everything else. .


You need to get his insurance involved. You were injured and have a legitimate bodily injury claim. Even if you have no medical bills, they still owe you for pain and suffering. I'm not saying to get an attorney but you should be able to get a reasonabe settlement. It was the drivers fault.


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## dr.mediocre (May 7, 2008)

[email protected] said:


> You need to get his insurance involved. You were injured and have a legitimate bodily injury claim. Even if you have no medical bills, they still owe you for pain and suffering. I'm not saying to get an attorney but you should be able to get a reasonabe settlement. It was the drivers fault.


We'll see how this goes first. I got a copy of the police report today and sent her a list of items. If she doesn't want to pay the detailed figures I provided for bike parts, helmet and elbow brace then I'll go to her insurance company.


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## Poppadaddio (Apr 15, 2007)

*You should get a totally new bike*

AND go to the doctor and they should pay for everything.
Why should you have to salvage the old bike? What happens if you discover something wrong later? Especially on your body. The cost of the bike is a pittance compared to what an injury can cost.
DON'T SIGN ANYTHING!


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## derwoodski (Apr 25, 2008)

Sorry to hear about your wreck, hope you are ok. Sucks about trashing a brand new bike, I would push for a new one (then spend your Pain N Sufferin money on another frame and have 2 bikes  ) . Get well soon.


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## chas0039 (Jun 26, 2007)

You are much better off avoiding the insurance companies as it is probable that you have a percentage of fault and most likely have no insurance that would cover her damages. Glad to hear you survived. It amazes me how the body can deal with falls.


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## dr.mediocre (May 7, 2008)

chas0039 said:


> You are much better off avoiding the insurance companies as it is probable that you have a percentage of fault and most likely have no insurance that would cover her damages. Glad to hear you survived. It amazes me how the body can deal with falls.


Now how would I have a percentage of fault? Here's the situation. I was riding in a lane on a state highway. There are 8 total lanes at this point (2 in each direction and 1 turn lane in each direction). I was traveling with traffic at the same speed as traffic. Since this area was a little congested I elected to occupy a lane rather than risk it on the non-existent shoulder. I wouldn't normally travel this route but a construction crew was blocking the back road a would have taken. The driver of the car was sitting at the light coming from the other direction. She saw me and made a left hand turn in front of me. I know that she saw me because she floored her Mustang GT to try and get across before I got there. I hit her directly in the side of her car going between 25-28mph. I held my lane because there were cars to the left of me and they barely missed her.


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## chas0039 (Jun 26, 2007)

My assumptions are based on a lot of court cases and what I have seen as far as insurance company policy concerning damages. 

If you were a car, it could be assumed that it was your responsibility to be aware of traffic in front of you and be traveling at a speed that would allow you to stop in time. Obviously, I was not there and the law in your area dealing with auto/bike accidents will determine things. I would just hate to be in your shoes and to find out that the insurance company was adding to your trouble, especially as you won't have any insurance company on your side to argue for you.


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## dr.mediocre (May 7, 2008)

> If you were a car, it could be assumed that it was your responsibility to be aware of traffic in front of you and be traveling at a speed that would allow you to stop in time


Hold on a second, If you are traveling North-bound and a South-bound vehicle makes a left-hand turn across the lane in front of you they are 100% at fault. A vehicle traveling in a lane is under no legal obligation to ensure that they can stop in time for any possible person that may illegally enter their lane from the opposite direction. The vehicle making the turn across the opposing lanes must yield right-of-way to any vehicles in traveling in the opposing lane(s). Where do you live that this would not be the case? That's absurd.


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## [email protected] (Aug 30, 2007)

I've been handling insurance claims for 30 years. I'll guarantee you that the responsible party's insurance company will gladly pay you for your bike and throw in something extra for your injuries to get a release. Just be reasonable. I doubt that the driver who turned in front of you will be making any claims against you. What does the police report say? FYI, many of the car vs. bike claims we handle are a result of the vehicle driver talking on a cell phone. We had one last year where a guy driving a pick-up dropped his cell phone on the floor, reached down to pick it up and swerved right into a bike lane and killed the cyclist.


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## dr.mediocre (May 7, 2008)

[email protected] said:


> I've been handling insurance claims for 30 years. I'll guarantee you that the responsible party's insurance company will gladly pay you for your bike and throw in something extra for your injuries to get a release. Just be reasonable. I doubt that the driver who turned in front of you will be making any claims against you. What does the police report say? FYI, many of the car vs. bike claims we handle are a result of the vehicle driver talking on a cell phone. We had one last year where a guy driving a pick-up dropped his cell phone on the floor, reached down to pick it up and swerved right into a bike lane and killed the cyclist.


Thanks for the comment. I have now submitted a claim to her insurance. We had agreed to meet last week but she never showed. When I called her insurance they said she had submitted a claim herself for the accident (damage from my head to her vehicle) but her claim said that another car hit her and ran. hmmmmmmmm


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## russotto (Oct 3, 2005)

dr.mediocre said:


> Thanks for the comment. I have now submitted a claim to her insurance. We had agreed to meet last week but she never showed. When I called her insurance they said she had submitted a claim herself for the accident (damage from my head to her vehicle) but her claim said that another car hit her and ran. hmmmmmmmm


Sheeeees a WIT..., err, rather, a crook. A pretty stupid one seeing as she gave you legitimate insurance information. Now if they're feeling cranky they might prosecute her for insurance fraud.


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## [email protected] (Aug 30, 2007)

dr.mediocre said:


> Thanks for the comment. I have now submitted a claim to her insurance. We had agreed to meet last week but she never showed. When I called her insurance they said she had submitted a claim herself for the accident (damage from my head to her vehicle) but her claim said that another car hit her and ran. hmmmmmmmm


People always like to say how the insurance companies are out to screw people. I've been an independent adjuster for 30 years and have worked for hundreds of different companies and handled thousands of claims. In all that time, I've seen maybe two times where an insurance company tried to screw an insured. However, I've lost track of the times I've seen insured's and/or claimant's try to screw insurance companies. OK, now I'll get off my high horse. Once again, if I were you, I'd deal direclty with her insurance company, get paid for your bike, ask for a reasonable injury settlement and life goes on. Good luck.


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## chas0039 (Jun 26, 2007)

Sorry guys, not trying to start an argument or win one. Just offering a suggestion.


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## gobike1 (May 12, 2008)

Sorry for your accident, but glad you are ok. Where I live, the burden is on the person making a left turn to be sure the way is clear for a safe turn. Obviously this lady doesn't qualify for that. Get a new bike and do not sign anything until you are absolutely poisitively sure you have no residual injuries. Make sure your neck and back and everything feel right as rain first even if it takes a year to make sure.


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## dmar836 (Nov 17, 2007)

So what ever happened?


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## hirosugi (Jul 30, 2008)

Just read it, sorry for what you had to go through, good thing you have a police report


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## explodingtaco (Aug 7, 2006)

Im curious as well.


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## dr.mediocre (May 7, 2008)

Thanks for the concern and kind words, Sorry for not posting back earlier. Everything ended up ok in the end. The insurance company paid me 3x the original amount I had asked her for so I can't complain. I was able to take most the parts from the Motobecane (sans fork) and used them to build up a new bike. I bought a Leader 736r frame and couldn't be happier.


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