Stupid Question there again it might not be

mik...1
mik...1 Posts: 39
edited January 2008 in MTB general
I,ve doing abit of fitness on my bike on the road near me after work as i have not been out on the trails for abit since november .
Anyway the question is twice i,ve nearly been knocked.esp tonight by some shiny arse in a rush to get home ,so if she would of hit me then bingo i,m playing the pain game new bike on the horizon and all that. but what would happen if i belted someones car and i,m not insured because i,m on a bike or should i be ?.
Told you its a stupid question but it got me thinking becuase i dont usually do road . :D

Comments

  • dirtbiker100
    dirtbiker100 Posts: 1,997
    You peg it, they chase you, you pretend to go one way then dip down a side street and lose them. never happened to me on my bmx....
    The other incident was me on my bmx - again - and i was riding along the pavement listening to Ska music on way beck from uni. having great fun listening and there was a long queue of headlights stuck in a jam. Then just as i used the up bit of a curb as a jump (you know they often look like mini tabletops :D ) some woman pulled into her drive and i hit her wheel/wing and flew across the bonnet. i was fine but she was s**t scared and was ever so sorry. i shouldn't have been on the pavement and should have had lights and she said she didn't really look (you wouldn't would you). I wasn't really gonna offer to pay for anything i just wanted to get away scot free :)
    So yeah both times i've got away with it and although i needed new forks and a new wheel for the bmx, i didn't need to replace her wing mirror or fix the dent in her bodywork.

    I'd like to know the official stance though ha ha.
  • mik...1
    mik...1 Posts: 39
    Hence why i asked the question funny story thou someone will know the anwser to this question ?.
  • Obviously, if they are fully comp insured, the insurance company will pay, but they can make you pay if they wanted. If you didn't then cough up they can sue you for the cost of the damage to the car plus whatever else they can throw in (loss of earnings etc).

    Moral is, either don't hit anyone, or run like fuck if you do!! (Or do the law abiding thing obviously)
  • GHill
    GHill Posts: 2,402
    My boss was in an accident with a Porsche (the boss being on his bike). It was essentially my bosses fault and he ended up doing £4000 of damage to the car (and more than a little to his own body), AFAIK it's currently awaiting court time to see if he has to pay.

    You can get insurance to cover you against this sort of thing (I vaguely remember one scheme via British Cycling), but most people don't usually bother.
  • FSR_XC
    FSR_XC Posts: 2,258
    I have heard mirrors are a good thing to 'have your arm to catch' if cars are a little too close.
    Stumpjumper FSR 09/10 Pro Carbon, Genesis Vapour CX20 ('17)Carbon, Rose Xeon CW3000 '14, Raleigh R50

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  • ChrisLS
    ChrisLS Posts: 2,749
    ...boring old fart time ,but this lot offer good third party insurance and legal cover should you have a prang...

    http://www.ctc.org.uk/
    ...all the way...'til the wheels fall off and burn...
  • How about the near misses?

    I was happily buzzing along the local cycle lane along the edge of the main road, doing about 17mph. A car pulls out of a turning on my right, swings across to carry on ahead of me, then pulls over and stops, blocking the cycle lane. This happened right in front of me, maybe 20 or 30 feet. By the time I'd looked over my shoulder to see if there was room to pull out (which there wasn't - the next car behind me could only just squeeze past) looked forward again there was nowhere to go and no time to stop easily. Ended up over the bars in a pile just behind the car, cut knees, hands and elbows, gouged and bent bar end and a few other scratches.

    The car had pulled over to drop off a passenger, and by the time I'd picked myself up he'd buggered off. Highly pissed off I turned to the passenger, who was a little old lady, and managed to control my temper.

    She then looked at me and said: "Oh dear, are you all right? That's happened to me to just recently...."

    This was such a stupid comment, and raised so many points like: "Well if it happened to you, why in gods name have you just done it to someone else?" etc. In fact I could only tell her I was "fine thank you". I knew that I'd absolutly blow my top if I started so I didn't say a thing.

    Now I just wish I'd braked later and done my best to do some damage to his car! :twisted:

    I imagine he drove off vaguely wondering why some cycllist fell over, without a hint of an idea what he did. Stupid bloody car drivers!
    Proved by testing to be faster than a badger.
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  • dave_s
    dave_s Posts: 4,362
    I'm sure I'm not on my own on this but commuting into a busy city centre can be more dangerous than offroad mainly because of idiot drivers.

    I've been knocked off about 6 or 7 times usually by cars overtaking me and then turning left across the front of me or forcing me into the pavement/kerb, and not one of these drivers has ever stopped.

    If I scratched their car, then it's ok in my book.
    Dave S
  • ride_whenever
    ride_whenever Posts: 13,279
    I know about a blacksmith round here who, by reputation, cycles a lot and as you can imagine is quite packed from all the smithy. He carries an old chain and is in the habit of chasing and attacking cars that cut him up...
  • Will Snow
    Will Snow Posts: 1,154
    my shoulders get sore after i take off peoples wing mirrors
    i ride a hardtail
  • I'd like to know the official stance though ha ha.

    I would have thought the official stance would be get some lights and get off the bloody pavement. If she had claimed on her insurance and had your details then sure as likely the insurance company would come to you to recover their costs.

    My commuting bike
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  • garethjones85
    garethjones85 Posts: 8
    edited January 2008
    I've had a few near misses with cars. If contact was made it would be a road traffic incident if it is your fault find an escape route. If its not your fault then stop contact the police as it is an incident. If contact is not made I don't think there is a lot that you can do other than report them for dangerous driving, sometimes requires a statement.

    Now I am a road hog (when there is no cycle lane) if I don't think the car can overtake e.g. cars parked on left hand side and there isn't enough room for them to go past or narrow lane i'll let them past in place which is safe.

    I've had so many close misses they overtake and then its like they aim for the front wheel. If someone does wipe you out then I'd ring the old bill with their reg plate, they will probably be doing a dot to dot diagram or swimming in speeding fine money lets face it they need something to do. Alternatively, contact the council about the route you cycle on and request a cycle lane as the road is a hazard or if you don't drive on it ask for the speed limit to be reduced or even worse request for speed bumps that will slow them right down.
  • Will Snow
    Will Snow Posts: 1,154
    I've had a few near misses with cars.

    or even worse request for speed bumps that will slow them right down.

    and gives you something to jump off!!!
    i ride a hardtail
  • scale20
    scale20 Posts: 1,300
    A friend of mine, her son fell off his bike and damaged the paint work on a neighbours car, she ended up paying out a lot of money to get the car re-sprayed. bit of a grey area isnt it. do you get your kids insured against this kind of thing?? admit it the world has gone mad with this age of 'where thers a blame theres a claim'!

    I know that if some idiot hit me in a car, I'd like to think that their insurance would pay out towards the repair or replacement of my bike, but what happens if the shoes on the other foot? what if it is your faut, you do a lot of damage to a car and your too injured to do one?? the drivers going to want someone to pay for it. Ok you could offer to pay his excess but will they be willing to lose their no claims??

    I keep off the roads where i can, ive had too many near misses.
    Niner Air 9 Rigid
    Whyte 129S 29er.
  • P-Jay
    P-Jay Posts: 1,478
    I think it would go like this. Driver calls insurance co. about the accident and makes a cliam. They fix the motor and then chase you like hell (though the courts if ness) to get the money back.

    Insurance loss adjusters can be evil if needs be. I know a few.

    I'd like to think I'd confess if I damaged a car and offer to try to have it repaired. But chances are if it looked expensive (like a bleeding Porsche!!) I'd be nothing but dust and a faint memory by the time the driver even got out to speak to me.
  • gpjones
    gpjones Posts: 33
    The website below clears it up a little:

    If, for example, you are involved in an accident that causes damage to a car, and you are adjudged to be responsible for the damage, third-party insurance would protect you from a potentially very expensive bill. Anyone who owns a car will tell you that even the smallest bump can often cost a lot more to repair than you would estimate.

    http://cyclingforfun.co.uk/CyclistsAndInsurance.htm