Oh that smarts a bit.

fizz

Not sure If I have put this in the right place.

Got taken out by a car driver last night on a training ride.

Road 1/2 mile or so and approaching a cross roads. Van is waiting to pull out and theres a Pale Blue Ford Fiesta, waiting to turn into a side road. I clock them both, shoulder check behind me and move out a little wide of primary just to maintain my road presence. Make eye contact with the van driver, had a good look at the Fiesta, Its stopped with its wheels pointing in the same direction and the indicator on.

Next thing I know the Fiesta is moving and not stopping. I jump for the brakes, heave the bike left into the side road just to try and get away, but the driver is still not stopping. Next thing I know I'm flying through the air clean over the bonnet, I land on the tarmac with a big crack. Upside down looking back down the road I've just cycled along.

I scream some foul language at the car driver who is looking at me on the floor through the drivers window of his car and then he drives off, I think he's parking up. Bloke in the van gets out and tells me to stay put, another witness from across the road comes over and asks me if I'm Ok. I ask him to phone the police and he asks me if I want an ambulance, decide to be safe and say yes.

Its chaos people everywhere, bikes in the middle of the road, people shouting. at the car driver not me.

Amulance turns up and they put me on a back board and take me off to A & E.

Whilst up there the police officer turns up and takes a statement, two witness and my story all say the same thing. I.e. driver turned across my path. Drivers admitted liability and police are going to prosecute him for Driving with due car and attention. Police Officer is coming to see me tonight with the drivers insurance details so I can claim.

Been told I hit the front near side wing, Which then flipped me up over the bonnet and I cleared the car completely then landed in the road on my head and came to rest against the van that was waiting to turn out of the junction.

Helmet is destroyed split into four seperate pieces, rest of kit / jersey etc is unscathed. Which kind of says that first thing that I hit the tarmac with was the top of my head.

Think the bike is mullered, Front wheel is destroyed, ( Mavic Kysrium SL ) Forks are bent back at the crown and the handlebars are twisted. Not sure about the frame but I think the Fork / Steerer tube may be bent at as well.

Glad I was wearing my helmet as it took the full force of the impact. Paramedic told me I'd be in serious trouble if I hadnt had it on.

Stay safe.

riggsy81

bloody hell... thank god you had your helmet on..

main thing is your ok

simonaspinall

Sorry to hear that fizz, at least you're here to share your story!

Best of luck with the claim - Looks like a formality.

Hope your recovery goes well - I found base oil with tea tree helped wonders with my skin when my face was cut up from something similar - Just mix a fair few drops and dab on the face and repeat every few hours. That and soaking any wounds in the bath.

izza

Very similar incident to one I had over two years ago. Driver refused to phone the police and instead called his son. Fortunately, a passing police van stopped. The lad appears and informed witnesses not to ask his father what he was thinking as he can't stake any stress due to illness. Dropped his Dad right in it by doing this as PC was then interested in whether he should be driving at all!

We then asked for insurance and was told that the car was not his own - that was in a body shop having been involved in another accident the previous week.

The driver admitted liability and paid for material things (such as bike) but I had whiplash effects over the next few weeks - basically couldn't get out of bed due to chronic backache. We are still fighting over compensation and loss of earnings.

bompington

fizz wrote:

police are going to prosecute him for Driving with due car and attention

driving with due care and attention is rare these days but still not actually illegal

Glad you're OK, a lot of us have been there (my personal injury comp may just be with me inside the next 6 months, i.e. probably not more than 4 years after my smash...), hope it goes smoothly for you from here on & you're back in the saddle soon.

fizz

gah, I meant driving without due care and attention, but I suspect you knew that anyway

2Phat4Rapha

Well, my son said to me "dad, if you don't wear a helmet I won't go to your funeral". I don't speak teenager but I figure I know what he meant. Bet you do too!

Lucky the ground was there to break your fall

Mr Dog

Fizz, glad to here you are ok, and I hope that continues with no latent issues sprining up to hinder your riding. Good to be aware of other road users, its hard to predict their intentions sometimes. I hate wearing a helmet. Back in the North East in the late eighties I remember the stick I got from joe public when wearing my brain case. With my kids looking on these days its a must.
Sorry to here about the bike. I would be gutted... try to focus on the new steed.

TheDrunkMonk

At least you landed on your head.

How much for your rear wheel? That looked fine... front.... not so good. We've got pictures if you want to see it.

nevman

TheDrunkMonk wrote:

At least you landed on your head.

How much for your rear wheel? That looked fine... front.... not so good. We've got pictures if you want to see it.

Its mates like this that will aid recovery-a lucky escape when you have time to reflect.

fizz

Very true. Thedrunkmonk is one of my regular cycling companions, I think he scooped my bike up off the road yesterday whilst I was in A & E. He's got a thing for the red spokes on my Kysriums.

This is the state of it now

Karl2010

Im glad the guy didnt do a runner on you, and he is getting done.
Also glad to here your in one peice.

+1 For Helmets

seemunkee

Holy Hell. Good thing you had the helmet. Hope there are no lasting affects.

Karl2010

Scooped your bike up off the road?

Was it just left at the scene of the crash? And if so how come nobody walked off with it?

sfichele

Hope you are all right and recover soon

fizz

Karl2010 wrote:

Scooped your bike up off the road?

Was it just left at the scene of the crash? And if so how come nobody walked off with it?

It happend 1/2 mile from my workplace so I rang back into the office and asked someone to come and collect my bike rather than it being left there or leaving it for the police to deal with.

Karl2010

fizz

So a little update and by way of keeping a record.

Got the insurance details through on the tuesday after I was knocked off. Rang his insurance company and logged a claim. ( 14th )

The Monday After ( 21st ) having heard nothing rang again. Was told had no record of my previous phone call on the 14th and was told would have to start again. gave details to a lady who asked me to email her a synposis and pictures / etc of the prang Which I did and had an email back to say she had received it and would send it off to the correct department in order to get a claim raised.

Had heard nothing still so emailed the lady back today to ask what was going on. Was told that she had sent my details over to setup a claim again and that they had a "Backlog"

I asked for a claim number and she said it was nothing to do with her anymore and that I had to ring another number.

At which point I lost my patience and sent an equiry to http://www.cycle-claims.co.uk/

2 minutes later I had a call from a solicitor taking my details and then an hour of so later a phone call back to say that the process was under way and to let me know what happens from here on in.

Kinda wish I had rung the solicitor in the first place and not wasted so much time. Am now looking at a claim for a replacement bike and also a personal injury claim.

Least I feel like something is being done now rather than the drivers insurance company fobbing me off all the time...

Bozman

Similar thing happened to me last April.
I didn't want to involve a solicitor but the insurance company dragged their feet(10 weeks before they contacted me after i had rang them numerous times) and they constantly lied about waiting for statements etc, so in the end i contacted cycle claims and they sorted it out without a problem, clothing and bike.
I don't get why insurance companies treat you like crap because most of us just want a bike back on the road, so when they treat you like crap and you head to a solicitor it must end up costing the insurance company thousands more in fees and injury claims.

The problem - We all end up paying for it in the end with higher premiums.

fizz

Bozman wrote:

The problem - We all end up paying for it in the end with higher premiums.

Yep which is why I wanted to avoid the solicitor route. I was just being so I thought decent about it and wanting my bike replaced. I wasnt interested in a personal injury claim.

Seems like the only way to make them cough up anything is to get the solicitor invovled. Which is going to increase the amount they'll end up coughing up for which seems a bit stupid to me.

But there we are. How did you find cycle claims ? I just want this all sorted out quickly so I can get on and get my bike replaced...

Bozman

They did a fine job by taking the pressure off and i was always kept well informed.
i made sure that i took photos of anything damaged and passed the photos on, an assessor came and checked that i wasn't pulling a fast one, the whole bike was written off and they let me keep it to strip down and save or sell the parts.
I think that they knocked 15% off for wear and tear but all upgrades are taken into account, when you price up the damage use the rrp and you shouldn't end up out of pocket.

fizz

OK thats reassuring.

I've had the bike inspected by my LBS and they've written a report saying its BER and I've sent that to the lady at cycle claims that I have been speaking to. Hopefully it'll be straight forward from here on in.

She seemed very positive that it woudl be resolved in my favour so fingers crossed.

bompington

My experience was similar, it took me a year of hassling the insurers to get an offer for personal injury (in a case where they admitted liability straight away). I pointed out that their offer was on the basis of an assessment by their physio company - over the phone! - and asked if I couldn't arrange a medical, naming a local consultant who is a renowned shoulder expert. They replied that I couldn't possibly have my choice of doctor, it had to be someone independent, so they sent me to theirs - a guy who is quite competent at amputating aged smokers' legs.
So when I got a reduced offer for personal injury a few weeks later - we're now over 2 years after the smash - I gave up trying to be decent and called in the legal big guns. The insurers have now offered over 3 times their original sum (and they'll have to pay all the expenses on top), and it may well end up more as the medical procedures (coincidentally it's my original choice of surgeon) still have a bit more mileage in them.

As other posters have commented, it's a shame it's like this, I certainly don't like feeling that I bear even a small share of the blame for insurance inflation, but it's really the insurers' fault.
I presume that delaying, manipulation and outright intimidation are effective enough, in a high enough percentage of cases, that it's worth their trying it even when some do wind up costing them a lot more.

fossyant

Don't expect it to be sorted too fast. If they admit liability, you should be paid out fairly quick - I got damage paid for within 6 weeks. PI side has taken almost 2.5 years to date, and has resulted in me battling with the NHS to get an operation to repair the damage as the third party insurers wouldn't pay for private referrals (after I'd paid out £2k on physio). All this could have been sorted in a quarter of the time.

They now have recovery time from accident, plus additional recovery time from the op, and some permanent damage. I've got BC's solicitors fighting it for me.

fizz

Heard from the lady at Cycle claims this morning. Drivers insurance company have accepted liability and shes sent off the reports etc showing my bike as BER.

Got some forms to sign on the way to me in the post.

Shes made more progress in two days than I did in 3 weeks.

fizz

So this is still not sorted out.

Police offered the driver a driver improvement course after the CPS decided enough evidence to prosecute, said if driver took driver improvement course that would be the end of it. Had another letter through to say that they are now taking the driver to court and have set a court date, but they havent had a plea from the driver.

Not sure what has happened, I wander if he didnt want to accept the driver improvement or didnt turn up for the course.

As for claim, had and accepted offer for personal injury, but insurance company still not even discussing the bike side of it, despite a solicitor dealing with it. Solicitor thinks that they may be waiting for the court case to resolve before doing anymore as it may effect the outcome of any payment made.

So 7 months down the line still no closer to closure on it...

petemadoc

Just read this thread for the first time.

A sad tail of modern day red tape

From your previous posts it sounds like all you really wanted was a new bike. Trying to sort it out by yourself got nowhere so you got solicitors involved who wanted a PI claim to get more money for themselves and to drag things out.

A sorry state of affairs. I wish you a swift recovery of your funds to get a new stead.

t.m.h.n.e.t

I'm never sure what to think when I read threads like this,but hope all goes well and there is a quick resolution.

oldnewbiker

Russell Jones and Walker are the cyclists friend I can recommend them.

oldnewbiker

Russell Jones and Walker are the cyclists friend I can recommend them.

Keith Oates

I hope you get a result soon but you know the definition of an Insurance Company "A Bookmaker who Welch'es on his bets"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!