A timely reminder

spasypaddy

So a follow up to my accident of a few weeks ago...

The guy whos car that was involved in the accident has issued me with a claim from his insurance for the damage to his vehicle. thank god i have LCC membership which will cover me for all of this stress.

So my timely reminder is everyone should join one of:
LCC - http://lcc.org.uk/
CTC - http://www.ctc.org.uk/
BC Silver membership (for racers) - http://www.britishcycling.org.uk/member ... membership
BC rider membership (for commuters/sportive riders) - http://www.britishcycling.org.uk/membership/ride

We may not be required to have insurance for riding on the roads, but believe me the £38-£40 it costs to join these organisations is worth the peace of mind for the 3rd party insurance.

The worst part is, he got a broken front light and nothing more. I got a ruptured patella tendon, cant walk, cant go to work, and wont be back riding for 6 months minimum i'd guess.

oh and i also advise buying one of these:
http://www.roadid.com/Common/default.aspx

rubertoe

This is sound advice.

if you are a club member speak to your club as you may be entitled to discounted benefits or have arrangments in place with the organsiations already involved. There is of course no need to join a club.

I hope this sorts itself out spasy.

pblakeney

spasypaddy wrote:

oh and i also advise buying one of these:

A sad reminder indeed.

I always carry my drivers license for ID and my BC card which has contact phone number.
They do not take up any meaningful room and weigh even less but could prove invaluable, though I pray that they are not required.

I also carry a bank card for emergency purchases or taxis and a £10 note for emergency coffee & cake.

cookeeemonster

Since I started riding I've always had insurance either via BC or due to my bike being insured. After many years riding Vespas and motorbikes I couldn't imagine riding on the road without 3rd party insurance (even though I've never had to use it for damage I've caused). The thought of being sued for many, many thousands due to something which might not even be my fault was enough to convince me.

veronese68

Completely agree, you don't even need to go as far as BC Silver. Ride membership covers you for about £24. I think I pay about £42 to cover the whole family. Even though when I was knocked off it was the drivers fault, having their legal expenses was a great help.
No reason not to do it.

Kieran_Burns

I think most of us would be covered by:

http://www.britishcycling.org.uk/membership/ride


and I just joined.

spasypaddy

ive added the ride membership to the original post, i didnt know about it but i have a bronze membership which doesnt give insurance which is why i linked the silver.

i also have LCC membership thankfully.

ugo.santalucia

In fairness you can hardly blame the guy for seeking compensation... he is driving up a road wearing his seatbelt and within the speed limit listening to The Eagles collection Vol. 1, when suddenly a cyclist lands on his car... I bet he has recurrent nightmares at night about it...

Hope your healing is going well...

spasypaddy

im not blaming him. where have i said im blaming him. i would have preferred him to have just contacted me direct and i would have paid for the light. please show me where im saying i blame him?

MonkeyMonster

spasypaddy wrote:

im not blaming him. where have i said im blaming him. i would have preferred him to have just contacted me direct and i would have paid for the light. please show me where im saying i blame him?

Oh Paddy, he's not being serious blaming... who in their right mind listen's to the eagles I mean come on!

tgotb

spasypaddy wrote:

im not blaming him. where have i said im blaming him. i would have preferred him to have just contacted me direct and i would have paid for the light. please show me where im saying i blame him?

He may be worried that if he contacts you directly and you then refuse to pay up, his insurance company may refuse to cover it because he didn't notify them in a timely fashion. By doing it through his insurance company, he eliminates that risk. I obviously don't know what the small print of his policy says (and he may not either) but he's entitled to take that line of thinking. He may also feel he's covering himself against a potential claim for damages if you subsequently start claiming the accident was his fault.

I was once in a similar situation to his, when an out-of-control cyclist came careering round a hairpin in the Alps and straight over my bonnet. I'd been doing about 5mph when I first saw him, and had been stationary for a good second by the time he hit me. In that case I had no comeback; he jumped straight on his bike and rode off down the hill, leaving me with a cracked windscreen, dented wing and CHF600 insurance excess to cover.

ugo.santalucia

With legal matters it's a minefield... if you don't go the insurance route, you risk compromising your position as described above...
It's a bit like I claim against you first so you can't claim against me. I once didn't claim for a scratch on the car as I couldn't care less, but then I had second thoughts, as the lady could have easily filed a claim against me saying I scratched her car instead... luckily she was honest and she didn't, but you never know who or what lands on your car...

EKE_38BPM

Kieran_Burns wrote:

I think most of us would be covered by:

http://www.britishcycling.org.uk/membership/ride


and I just joined.

Indeed. BC Ride membership only costs £28 and it even covers me when I'm teaching. The CTC equivalent is over £100 apparently.

msmancunia

I get Gold membership as my one work perk, but after hearing some of the stories we get on the accident line (I take the overflow calls if it gets busy) there's no way I'd ride without insurance again.

A word of warning though - check the different packages to make sure that the one you buy covers you for what you need. Some people ring up after a racing accident only to find that the one they have hasn't covered them for their accident. And just because your club is affiliated to BC this doesn't automatically mean you're covered.

In addition, the more people that take out membership of BC, or the CTC, or other organisations, the more money you put back into the sport, and the more members they have, the more clout they have, so they can do more things like campaigning, or attracting professional events to the country, or training up coaches etc.

spasypaddy

if there was a like button, i'd press it for you msmancunia.

EKE_38BPM

spasypaddy wrote:

if there was a like button, i'd press it for you msmancunia.

There is a like button, but its private and you have to ask her permission before you press it.

msmancunia

EKE_38BPM wrote:

spasypaddy wrote:

if there was a like button, i'd press it for you msmancunia.

There is a like button, but its private and you have to ask her permission before you press it.

I knew I could count on you to lower the tone EKE

Get well soon Spasypaddy.

rolf_f

spasypaddy wrote:

im not blaming him. where have i said im blaming him. i would have preferred him to have just contacted me direct and i would have paid for the light. please show me where im saying i blame him?

To be fair - how do you know there was no more damage than the light? I can't see you managing to go over his bonnet without causing some damage even if it isn't obvious at the time - poor lighting etc. I wouldn't expect to see everything in that gloom.

Incidentally, went down Tanhurst last week. It looked just dodgy enough to me to not be too bad - visually scary enough to temper speed. But then you always go slowly on roads you don't know. Where did you hit the car - I recall a left hander after the initial straightish bit that I thought could be a catcher outer.

spasypaddy

i wasnt going fast as like you say the road is dodgy and i'd never ridden it before, and it was on the left hander that is almost 90 degrees.

it was what people told me, anyway it doesnt matter. insurance is dealing with it, its why I have it.

tgotb

I'm amazed no-one has asked this yet, so I will:

Were you wearing a helmet?

Assuming you were, did it save you from an even more serious knee injury?

dhope

TGOTB wrote:

I'm amazed no-one has asked this yet, so I will:

Were you wearing a helmet?

Assuming you were, did it save you from an even more serious knee injury?

And if not, will you be wearing kneepads in future?

spasypaddy

i was indeed wearing a helmet.

the helmet is in fact fine as i dont think i banged my head but i will still buy a new one.

lastant

spasypaddy wrote:

oh and i also advise buying one of these:
http://www.roadid.com/Common/default.aspx

This. Wouldn't leave home without mine, and now on my fourth one thanks to renting in London (got lots of of the neoprene bands!). Mine has the following on it:

Name (D.O.B.)
Home Address

---

Dad's name and mobile number
Mum's name and mobile number
G/F's name and mobile number

For the sake of £12.00 or whatever it works out as it gives me piece of mind that should anything happen to me whilst out and about then at least there's an easy way for my family to be got hold of. Keeps them happy too!

pblakeney

Is that one for each girlfriend?

seajays

Having read this thread I've now taken out insurance! (With CTC for me). Never thought of the ID thing either... notice there's a couple of UK companies do something similar too... anyone use those?

https://www.onelifeid.com/
http://www.iceid.co.uk/

roger_merriman

spasypaddy wrote:

i was indeed wearing a helmet.

the helmet is in fact fine as i dont think i banged my head but i will still buy a new one.

I found retail therapy worked quite well, before I was able/ready to get back on the bike.

spasypaddy

roger merriman wrote:

spasypaddy wrote:

i was indeed wearing a helmet.

the helmet is in fact fine as i dont think i banged my head but i will still buy a new one.

I found retail therapy worked quite well, before I was able/ready to get back on the bike.

may or may not have bought two new winter jackets in the sale this week...

i cant decide which new helmet to get. for the last 5 years i've had the top of the range specialized helmets. But now i'm tempted to try something new like the Giro Synthe or the catlike mixino. however the prevail is almost 60g lighter than the other two...

rubertoe

get a hair cut if you are worried about 60grams...

dhope

spasypaddy wrote:

roger merriman wrote:

spasypaddy wrote:

i was indeed wearing a helmet.

the helmet is in fact fine as i dont think i banged my head but i will still buy a new one.

I found retail therapy worked quite well, before I was able/ready to get back on the bike.

may or may not have bought two new winter jackets in the sale this week...

i cant decide which new helmet to get. for the last 5 years i've had the top of the range specialized helmets. But now i'm tempted to try something new like the Giro Synthe or the catlike mixino. however the prevail is almost 60g lighter than the other two...

Have just ordered a Kask K50 Evo to replace my stolen Prevail. Will let you know if it's even the slightest bit noticeable weight-wise.

spasypaddy

thanks, ive held a prospero in my hand and then a prevail and it is noticeable.

oh and rubertoe have you seen me recently!? i look like a yeti. but due to my leg i cant get to a barbers... the beard is coming along nicely as well. maybe i'll join ICC and start audaxing.

richk

Interesting thread. I'd always had my 3rd party insurance through LVRC, but on checking the T&C is turns out that commuting isn't covered :shock: So check you've got the cover you need for the cycling you do!