Hit by car!! Anyone else have a war story?

[joeyzaza]

I was out enjoying the mid winter warm weather in New England USA riding my second string retro GT. I had stopped to look at a nice lake, then started riding along the sidewalk simply cruising having simple fun. I was passing a steep hill intersection and noticed a woman coming down the hill and stopping at the bottom. She looked across at me and i started crossing the street when she punched the throttle and almost killed me :shock: I had less than a second to react, so I mashed the rear brake and threw the bike sideways. I was moving along pretty well so I couldnt completely stop. her car clipped me and threw me over the bars. I banged up the bike pretty good and hurt my wrist and back!!! As I peeled myself off the pavement she yelled at me, gave me the finger, and drove away!!!!! I was dumb founded that this lady really yelled at me and took off after hitting me!! WOW. I called the police and went to the hospital. I decided not to press charges just to avoid bad Karma but the police still went after her to give her a lesson on driving!
What pissed me off the most is my shiny new/old RINGLE skewers got all mashed up!! Damn it.
Anyone else have any war stories about stupid drivers??

 

[jonnyboy666]

a few years ago i was riding to work and a car pulled out from a junction right into me, i could see it coming and got mostly out of the way but my Rolf propel XC wheels were written off. the guy did stop and seemed quite concerned, i took a pic of his number plate and the fact that his windscreen was completely steamed up (it was winter and he had just started driving).

i limped the bike to work (my old shop) a phoned the guy, he said it was my fault and he'd spoken to the police, his insurance and his lawyer incase i tried to blame him. i couldn't believe it.

i then phoned a company called cycleclaims that we dealt with at the shop, they took all the details, in the mean time the local police cycle team came in to the shop to get some work done on their bikes, they took a statement and i had to draw some diagrams of what happened. they also found out he had reported the incident to the police after the collision saying he was worried that i would try to blame him for the accident.

all the info then went to cycleclaims with all the police reference numbers, they phoned him, presented all the info at which point they found he had told 3 different stories to the police, his insurance and the 'lawyer'.

a month later i got a cheque for £650 for damage to the bike and £1250 for damage to me

his insurance had to pay everything, and i guess they upped his premium.

i have never hit anyone while driving, but if i did i would stop and admit it.

it's always annoying when your kit gets ruined though. personally i would have pressed charges or whatever you guys do over your side of the pond, atleast get the damage paid for.

 

[saltyman]

Yeah, back in the late 90s, my beloved Cannondale, my first bike I bought with my own hard earned cash.....riding home from work.....lights on, first week back at work from new years break.

Approaching a junction, this car stops, I get closer, covering the brakes incase, but too late....bam, he pulled out and I hit him at high speed.

One dead bike, one smashed head.

Ambulance, hospital, stitches......not good.

I did get a few grand compensation though.

 

[FMJ]

I used to ride 250+ miles a week when I raced road in the 80s. I've lost count of how may times I've been hit.

 

[1duck]

Light goes green, car which has been rolling and is still rolling suddenly passenger door opens without even checking taking me out in full stride.

In fairness looking back it makes me smile thinking about how silly the whole thing was, the young lad who opened the door on me was pretty shook up, probably far worse than me. They offered me a lift home which was nice of them, although the bike was in no condition to ride it back so its just as well. Anyway no harm done, skin heals bike bits are replacable and i bet that guy looks in the mirrors now before opening the door.

If i was you i'd have pressed charges against the woman who took you out, then gave you the finger and drove off...she's due some karma for sure. People like that need to be taken off the roads for everyone elses safety as much as anything.

 

[lumos2000]

ive been lucky, though i did slip once and end up sitting on an electric fence

 

[cornholio's RC200]

Dark night, wet weather, car pulls out in front of me. I brake and slide....

Tiny crack up top, nice ripple underneath. Good job I bailed otherwise he would have had me as well. Had real trouble with the insurance because it was "an old bike" :roll:

I've reused most of the things on it so the frame is wall art now. Managed to get £100 out of him for it :twisted:

 

[Raging_Bulls]

Had real trouble with the insurance because it was "an old bike" :roll:

This makes me wonder. Old cars can also be worth a lot of money, and are quoted by experts as such.
Can't we get quotes like that for our bikes? That way the insurance can't argue that it's worthless because it's old.

Also, in the case of a write-off, you should normally get compensation for the average market price of a car/bike/frame of the same type and age in similar condition.

 

[Neil]

I decided not to press charges just to avoid bad Karma

Eh?

You're gonna have to roll that by me again, 'cos I'm not getting that.

What about the next cyclist?

Not sure I buy into karma - but I'm also not sure that the thing is about letting people off consequences - actually the reverse seems to be the case?

 

[Ernie]

Hey bud..hope you are ok..have a look at mine..claim still ongoing happened 14/12/2010

http://www.retrobike.co.uk/forum/viewto ... 94#1399394

take care

Ernie