Another accident....

redddraggon

Simply the driver was coming in the opposite direction to me and makes a right turn. I hit the front wing of his car, go over his bonnet and land on a patch of grass. I get up, no damage to me apart from a grazed leg, but my front wheel is destroyed, my crankset is bent out of shape, my front mech is wasted, my back brake is bent also, plus other things that are obvious to me.

I plan on taking the bike to the LBS 2moro to get a full quote for the damage. I got his name, address, number plate, and he promised he will contact me at 8 oclock this evening with his insurance details.

His actions were the opposite to the guy I had a run in with last week, and he gave me a lift home. I wouldn't say he was driving recklessly like the guy last either, but he's admitted its his fault.

What's the first thing I should do? Should I report it to the police.

redvee

Give the Old Bill a visit, they might not prosecute the other party but it'll show him you ain't messing around. Another port of call would be a no-win solicitor. I had an accident 4 years ago and got a solicitor on the case and won, the other party tried all she could to wriggle out of paying and didn't admit liablity. In total it cost me £400 to get £2,285.

fossyant

Report it....sometimes an insurance issue.....or it will be when the driver sees the bill............... Hope you are OK

bryanm

Report the incident so it's on file.

Don't go straight down the solicitor route. Give the guy a defined ultimatum. Get the quotes, give him a period of time to respond. If he doesn't, then get solicitors involved. Once the solicitors are involved it could take you months to get it sorted.

redddraggon

Well after your advice I rang up the police, and they said that if we swapped details it's not a police matter and I don't need to report it.

Jonah2940

That's wrong mate. You suffered an injury which has to be recorded.

Gambatte

redddraggon wrote:

Well after your advice I rang up the police, and they said that if we swapped details it's not a police matter and I don't need to report it.

Did you tell them there had been an injury?

redddraggon

Gambatte wrote:

redddraggon wrote:

Well after your advice I rang up the police, and they said that if we swapped details it's not a police matter and I don't need to report it.

Did you tell them there had been an injury?

I've rang them up again, and they took me seriously this time.

I gave them all my details. The guy rang back with his insurance details.

So I guess all I need to do now is take my bike into the shop, get it looked and get a quote. There's no visible damage to the frame and fork, but its looking like I need at least a new groupset and a new set of wheels, so it's possible that the bike is an entire write off.

spen666

redvee wrote:

Give the Old Bill a visit, they might not prosecute the other party but it'll show him you ain't messing around. Another port of call would be a no-win solicitor. I had an accident 4 years ago and got a solicitor on the case and won, the other party tried all she could to wriggle out of paying and didn't admit liablity. In total it cost me £400 to get £2,285.

I'd recommend a solicitor who will win. A no win solicitor is a loser by any other name

BentMikey

Unlucky, chum. Glad you're OK though.

tyskie

Good to see that your injuries were fairly light. I sincerely do hope that the police take action against the driver as when you are a victim of bad driving, I feel that it is important that justice is done.

Regarding solicitors - even if you don't need one this time, join the CTC and then you can make use of their legal services if required in the future.

Gussio

tyskie wrote:

Good to see that your injuries were fairly light. I sincerely do hope that the police take action against the driver as when you are a victim of bad driving, I feel that it is important that justice is done.
Regarding solicitors - even if you don't need one this time, join the CTC and then you can make use of their legal services if required in the future.

That is a bit harsh. The OP said that the driver wasn't driving recklessly and went on to do all the right things. If he follows through and pays for the repair / replacement, isn't that enough? Accidents do happen and they are just that, accidents. At least in this case the driver has been man enough to take responsibility.

redddraggon

tyskie wrote:

Regarding solicitors - even if you don't need one this time, join the CTC and then you can make use of their legal services if required in the future.

I'm already a member of the CTC, joined back in July. Been to the bike shop today, damage is looking like a new front wheel, two new chainrings, new bar tape, rear wheel true, new bottle cage. At a quick guess just over £100 damage, I think I've come off rather lucky.

BentMikey

I would be very suspicious of frame damage, when the impact was hard enough to destroy your front wheel and your chainrings. Do you know if the bike shop measured up the frame dimensions to check for bending?

Don't be too quick to accept any settlement. Imagine that frame later broke unexpectedly and caused you to have another crash!!

tyskie

Gussio wrote:

Accidents do happen and they are just that, accidents.

So someone driving whilst not paying attention to other road users and clobbering a cyclist is just a simple accident and no further action should be taken? So, if the injuries had been far worse but the actions of the driver the same, it would still be just an accident meriting no further action? On the face of it, it seems to me to be a case of driving without due care and attention which is an offence.

redddraggon

BentMikey wrote:

I would be very suspicious of frame damage, when the impact was hard enough to destroy your front wheel and your chainrings. Do you know if the bike shop measured up the frame dimensions to check for bending?

Don't be too quick to accept any settlement. Imagine that frame later broke unexpectedly and caused you to have another crash!!

They are giving it a proper run through today, hopefully get it back at the weekend. My LBS doesn't stock much road bike stuff, so they'll have to order it all in unfortunately.

redddraggon

Bad news.....

LBS did £150 worth of repairs, walking the bike home the back wheels jams, so I walk the bike to the shop. Turns out the Frame is bent.

So I've gone and spent £150 and the frame was knackered meaning I might as well have bought another bike from Halfords for that.

redddraggon

Better news.....

It seems that the dishing of the back wheel had somehow gone awry on the walk home, seems all right now though.

Gazzaputt

Seems you need a new LBS ;-)

redddraggon

Gazzaputt wrote:

Seems you need a new LBS ;-)

Unfortunately I'm without a car, and they are literally across the road. They don't stock much road bike specific kit, all I've seen is SPD-SL cleats and tubes, and they seem to have a very poor supplier - the stuff they buy costs them more than if I bought the same stuff from Wiggle. As I wasn't paying, I wanted to get a proper receipt and stuff for the work done, although it would have cost the driver less if I had ordered the stuff and done it myself.

secretsam

Gussio wrote:

tyskie wrote:

Good to see that your injuries were fairly light. I sincerely do hope that the police take action against the driver as when you are a victim of bad driving, I feel that it is important that justice is done.
Regarding solicitors - even if you don't need one this time, join the CTC and then you can make use of their legal services if required in the future.

That is a bit harsh. The OP said that the driver wasn't driving recklessly and went on to do all the right things. If he follows through and pays for the repair / replacement, isn't that enough? Accidents do happen and they are just that, accidents. At least in this case the driver has been man enough to take responsibility.

It's a tough one but this seems fair, we all make mistakes and he's in for a hefty bill regardless - bear in mind his excess may well be £200+

secretsam

redddraggon wrote:

Bad news.....

LBS did £150 worth of repairs, walking the bike home the back wheels jams, so I walk the bike to the shop. Turns out the Frame is bent.

So I've gone and spent £150 and the frame was knackered meaning I might as well have bought another bike from Halfords for that.

...but your LBS are rubbish, get a taxi to a decent one, get the frame checked, and if it's bent, sue your LBS for incompetence, etc., their PI insurance can cop that one, they should have done a better job. :evil:

wildmoustache

i had a very similar accident two years ago in london. guy turning right, apparently didn't see me coming towards him at 20mph, turned across me ... SLAM into his wing (which was trashed!) , cleared the car somersaulting and landed on the tarmac. nothing broken thanfully but bruises, sprains and cuts. thankfully also i had witnesses.

the driver was initlally apologetic so i didn't want to act in an aggressive or money-seeking way, but i was very careful about what i said, and immediately and repeatedly stated that it was 100% his fault.

the driver was bang to rights because of the witnesses, but it was interesting how when he (or rather his wife) received the bill for about £250 (fork, wheel, handlebars and labour) he immediately started trying to wriggle out, with his wife asking why I was riding a "Tour de France" bike in London (to which I asked what he thought the cost would be had I been driving a Ferrari).

Anyway, I kept my options open on going for medical damages as well as a stick to get the cash out of the guy ... he did pay in the end, albeit grudgingly, with me marching him to an autobank in Barclays, and asking me to sign a no future claims piece of paper with a witness present ... indeed having parted with the cash he then said that I had to be more careful at which point I got very close to the guy and told him very loudly to improve his driving or get off the roads ... you get the idea.

The Police did pay him a visit actually (to their credit), and during their visit I got a very panicked phonecall indeed from my assailant with kids crying in the background etc.

Anyway, the point here is that as others have said, once the bill lands on the doormat, you might see a change in attitude so be wary of that. Don't say anything that might prejudice your case.

The comment on this thread I don't like is the "accidents happen" approach. Police now call them collisions rather than accidents because they are almost always the result of avoidable human error.

tyskie

Agreed with the above. The word accident seems to imply from the dictionary definition that it's just an unfortunate event that is not really anyones fault whereas in reality almost all RTA's are due to someone driving/riding/walking carelessly, negligently, recklessly or dangerously.

redddraggon

The guy has already informed his insurance company and admitted liability to them - I've got the letter saying this from his insurance company.

The frame wasn't damaged, they however some how messed up the truing of the rear wheel meaning it went wonky after leaving the shop. So it looks like the damage will be <£160. The LBS got me a silver wheel, and I've told them to get me a black one instead, so it's going to be a couple more days until I get it back.

Flycatcher

Gussio wrote:

tyskie wrote:

Good to see that your injuries were fairly light. I sincerely do hope that the police take action against the driver as when you are a victim of bad driving, I feel that it is important that justice is done.
Regarding solicitors - even if you don't need one this time, join the CTC and then you can make use of their legal services if required in the future.

That is a bit harsh. The OP said that the driver wasn't driving recklessly and went on to do all the right things. If he follows through and pays for the repair / replacement, isn't that enough? Accidents do happen and they are just that, accidents. At least in this case the driver has been man enough to take responsibility.

Have to agree, accidents happen, luckily no major injury. Driver promised to give insurance, he has. He's been reasonable, so should the OP.

robkernow99

My experience was somewhat simmilar, I got hit head on in a cycle lane - went right over the bonnet, landed on my back. Bumps bruises etc but no bones broken, but I was concussed.

The police here in Birmingham decided to prosecute the guy who initially denies responsibility, before on the day of his trial pleading guilty.

He got fined £500 and 5 points on his licence.

I am still seeing a physio for the damage to my neck and shoulder - and am due to see an Orthopeadic surgeon (prolapsed disc in my neck).

I did see a solicitor and so far he has turned down an offer for £4k - is looking for closer to £10k.

Personally I would just prefer to get out and ride, but I think if people are irresponsible to the extent that they are successfully taken to court, then they should pay a decent amount of compensation too.

Commuter_2000

Hi,

I presume most people carry mobiles these days with cameras - get photos of the scene as it is at the time - don't let anyone move anything. This will save you a lot of hassle later if it ever goes to court, and always insist the Police are present (just hope you didn't do anything wrong!!).

Best regards,
Commuter_2000.

spen666

robkernow99 wrote:

...I think if people are irresponsible to the extent that they are successfully taken to court, then they should pay a decent amount of compensation too.

This is not what compensation is about.

compensation is there to compensate the victim for their loss ( Damage, injuries etc). Compensation is not punishment for the driver. ( Indeed it is his insurers who end up paying, not him)

The criminal proceedings are there to punish him.

The two types of proceedings are seperate and have different purposes- and different rules and different evidential standards.

whome

I presume most people carry mobiles these days with cameras

Hmmm, camera phones are much more popular, but not sure "most" is true. And many of them are very low quality.

I currently don't have a cameraphone, hoping to upgrade soon.

Bassjunkieuk

I got hit last year when a driver who was coming the opposite way up the road didn't see me and turned right. I has already seen her turning (without slowing down, I was the only "traffic" on my side of the ride) and had started braking but couldn't help but hit the rear of her car. I swerved back in towards the kerb but still ending up going over the handlebars and into a metal post.

I ended up with a nice cut on the back of my hand, a rather sore jaw and avoided a serious head injury thanks to my helmet. After a check up at the local A&E I was transferred to St Thomas's as I'd damaged the tendon that controls my finger. I then couldn't use my bike again for 3 months until my finger was healed and strong enough.

The police attended the scene of the accident, and arrived before the ambulance did and said they had to attend as it was an RTA. The driver was convicted of driving without due care and attention and had to take a 1 1/2 day driving course.

I'm glad to hear you got away with only grazes, and your bike doesn't sound to trashed! Since my accident I have always worn gloves now and swear by wearing a helmet!