Ride into work for Tuesday, 20 June, and hit by another car
Nice fast ride in today with the new pedals and new tyres, right up to the point where I got hit by a car. I was at the front of the line waiting for the traffic lights to change, in the left hand side of the right hand lane, waiting to go straight on. A car came up behind and to the right next to me, and I figured he was turning right. As the light changed, I went straight across, aiming for the right hand side of the lane ahead, as the driver tried to overtake me on the inside and whacked me with the side of his car.
I called the police and asked them to send an officer out, while ignoring the driver's plaintive pleas of "but your bike looks ok to me...". The fire truck arrived first (they always get sent out for road accidents), did a quick first aid checkover on me to make sure I was OK, and headed back out. The police arrived and I explained what happened to one officer, while the other officer talked to the driver. The officer I talked to agreed that it was definitely the driver's fault, so I got all the information and headed off to work.
I took my bike into IdealBikes to see what needed doing:
* New bar tape ($15)
* Wheel truing ($40)
* New handlebars ($40)
* New rear derailleur ($24)
* New Brooks saddle as the leather was shredded by the rivet and it'll probably tear ($lots)
* New pedals to replace the ones I put on just last night ($83.90)
The total including labour and taxes came to $394.34. I called the driver while I was at the shop and he said it wasn't his fault, and the most he was willing to pay was half the damages (why he was willing to pay if he wasn't at fault was odd). We had a heated discussion with the guys at the bike shop listening in and it ended with me saying I would call his insurance company and run it through them.
I'm now off to the hospital after getting the insurance process started, hopefully there's nothing too badly damaged...
Distance logged: 13.973km
Time: 34:54
Average speed: 24km/hr
Max speed: 63.9 km/hr
Temperature: 13C, cloudy
Cumulative distance: 3621.394km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.47
Monthly distance: 506.746km
Monthly cost per km: $0.42
I called the police and asked them to send an officer out, while ignoring the driver's plaintive pleas of "but your bike looks ok to me...". The fire truck arrived first (they always get sent out for road accidents), did a quick first aid checkover on me to make sure I was OK, and headed back out. The police arrived and I explained what happened to one officer, while the other officer talked to the driver. The officer I talked to agreed that it was definitely the driver's fault, so I got all the information and headed off to work.
I took my bike into IdealBikes to see what needed doing:
* New bar tape ($15)
* Wheel truing ($40)
* New handlebars ($40)
* New rear derailleur ($24)
* New Brooks saddle as the leather was shredded by the rivet and it'll probably tear ($lots)
* New pedals to replace the ones I put on just last night ($83.90)
The total including labour and taxes came to $394.34. I called the driver while I was at the shop and he said it wasn't his fault, and the most he was willing to pay was half the damages (why he was willing to pay if he wasn't at fault was odd). We had a heated discussion with the guys at the bike shop listening in and it ended with me saying I would call his insurance company and run it through them.
I'm now off to the hospital after getting the insurance process started, hopefully there's nothing too badly damaged...
Distance logged: 13.973km
Time: 34:54
Average speed: 24km/hr
Max speed: 63.9 km/hr
Temperature: 13C, cloudy
Cumulative distance: 3621.394km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.47
Monthly distance: 506.746km
Monthly cost per km: $0.42
posted by steve at 6/20/2006 10:50:00 am
9 Comments:
Just catching up on the last week or so on yer blog and not one but two mishaps, gah! Hope you aren't too banged up and that you get your repairs paid for without too much hassle.
I saw someone roar past a cyclist on Portland St. yesterday (gotta gotta pass and get to the next red light first!), and I thought of you. It seems like a lot of drivers have this thing where they see a cyclist and their first instinct is to try to pass them rather than give them space and share the road, dealing with that every day must get *really* tiresome.
Be safe!
Dude! That totally sucks. What was that driver thinking???!
Hope your visit to the hospital works out ok!!
Passing on the inside, what a dork. Since you told us about the bike -- any abrasions on you?
I've had that happen too. I usually move left so a right-turning car can go, but the next one sometimes tries to pass on my right through the intersection. Now, I move up to the stop bar and wait in the center of the lane, leaving very little space to the right. It's enough for a slow-moving motorist to negotiate, yet one planning to go straight ahead finds it too narrow.
Sometimes they don't like that. Screw 'em.
Well, I went to the hospital this morning and got treated pretty quickly; the doctor suspected a scaphoid fracture, so I went in and had 3 X-rays done. The results came back negative, but he said there could be a tiny hairline fracture there that wouldn't show up, or it could be torn muscles and/or ligaments. I also have a torn rotator cuff. After that I went back to the office and called my chiropractor's office, and managed to get in this afternoon. My chiropractor was deeply annoyed at having his "handiwork", as he put it, damaged so much after putting so much work in. He managed to fix up my rotator cuff pretty well, but he diagnosed me with a hairline scaphoid fracture, which he reckons will take anywhere up to 6 weeks to heal. I'm booked in for another appointment tomorrow where he's going to try some procedures to speed it up, he's hoping he can get it down to 2 weeks. He also told me to go see my family GP to get her to check me over and sign me off work; earliest I could get in is Thursday, as she's on vacation and I'm seeing the doctor covering for her.
When I got home I had a message to call the claims adjuster at the insurance firm; I called and left a message, but I haven't heard back from him yet.
I've been told I'm not allowed to type or ride my bike until the end of the week at the earliest (hence I'm typing this with one hand, rather slowly), which sucks. I guess I'll be catching up on past posts on bikeforums.net...
Man, that's too bad. I hope you recover quickly.
My son got hit on the way to high school a few years ago by a guy turning right into a gas station. He offered to pay half, and like a wimp I let him get away with it. I've always felt I let my son down about that.
Holy crap, Steve! I jyst start reading your blog, and everything is fine and nice, then I take a few days off, and whammo!
Everybody seems to be giving you good advice, but I wanted to note a couple things for if you go to court:
1.) There was a recent post on a local Portland blog about someone who went to court after being hit by a car. You can read it here, and it's insightful for knowing your place in court. The basic rule is that you are the lowest rung on the ladder, and if you act as such, things will go okay. Speak when spoken to, blah blah blah.
2.) If you get the chance, make sure to bring up the fact the driver offered to pay half. It's a clear admission of guilt, and the judge will hopefully see it as such. You probably shouldn't say that it was fishy to you, but let the facts speak for themselves.
I'm glad to hear you're healing nicely, and I hope it all works out in the end. Save your receipts, and bring them into court with you.
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