Hit by a Car! - London Bridge - what to do next

jjbrit1031
jjbrit1031 Posts: 21
edited June 2009 in Commuting chat
Hi All,

Maybe you will be able to help me. This morning, I had the fun of being hit by a sales rep in a compnay car. He was turning right accros traffic and did not see me... i ended up making a "me" size dent i the passenger door and the bonet. Ouch!. Nothing broken on my (i think) and besides a dodgy wheel the bike looks OK. Not great, just OK.

My question is, with carbon stays, and carbon fork I am worried that there could be some damage that I cannot see. It is pretty well built bike and I assume that 9/10 times would be fine.

Do you guys have any advice as to what I should do and how I should deal with his insurance company?

Many thanks.

Comments

  • londonbairn
    londonbairn Posts: 316
    Firstly go to a police station ASAP to report a colision. This is not necessarily mean prosecution will occur but legally all road collisions must be reported. This means you will get a reference nummber etc should the insurance be involved.

    Insurance..do you have cycle insurance? If not, then I would probably ring them up and see what their process is. If you do, get them to deal with it. If you have to deal with his directly be prepared for a length process...

    Did he admit liability at the scene? If so, include that in your statement above to the police.

    Edit: Get your bike assessed in the meantime, get them to draft a letter (To whom it concerns, letterhead etc) of estimated cost of repair and get that as part of any correspondence to insurance. It is likely they will ask you to submit pictures, a report etc.
  • artaxerxes
    artaxerxes Posts: 612
    Hope you are ok. Take your bike to Onyourbike on Tooley Street (by London Bridge station) and have a damage assessment done there.
    Hope you managed to get the driver's details? Were there any other cyclists who stopped and could they act as witnesses?
  • Landlocked
    Landlocked Posts: 37
    Cycle across London bridge every day.

    Amazed that i havent actually seen an accident on it!

    The busses and traffic turning right onto it from King William Street and Cannon Street never seem to pay attantion to the hoards of bikes trying to get accross.

    And everyone seems to fight for a position at the front of the traffic at the Lights on the southern side by Tooley Street.
  • jjbrit1031
    jjbrit1031 Posts: 21
    Very odd... The police were at the scene and said that unless I was injured they would not get involved.... oh well.. the guy seemed very sorry and admitted that it was his fault... I will have on your bike take a look. I am sure that I will have to deal direct with his insurance company. ahhhhhhhh
  • Roastie
    Roastie Posts: 1,968
    Given that carbon is involved, +1 to getting a professional assessment of damage. If the hit was sufficient to cause significant damage to the car, I'd say replace the forks as a matter of course.
  • Gussio
    Gussio Posts: 2,452
    Glad that the OP escaped relatively unscathed.

    As an aside, based upon regular recommendations on this forum, I joined the CTC at the weekend to take advantage of their third party cycling insurance. £36 well spent.
  • AllTheGear
    AllTheGear Posts: 248
    +1 to never trusting the forks again. Even if they are removed and examined, there could be internal cracks around the steerer tube that could spread. You could be cycling along in 6 months and go over a speedbump, only to see the front wheel head off without you.

    EDIT: If you had a helmet on, check that too, particularly the foam. If there is any crushing you will be needing a new one.
    ... and no idea ...

    FCN: 3
  • artaxerxes
    artaxerxes Posts: 612
    Cycle across London bridge every day.

    Amazed that i havent actually seen an accident on it!

    The busses and traffic turning right onto it from King William Street and Cannon Street never seem to pay attantion to the hoards of bikes trying to get accross.

    And everyone seems to fight for a position at the front of the traffic at the Lights on the southern side by Tooley Street.

    I go across it every day too, and I actually prefer it to other bridges like Blackfriars. Although there is no cycle section marked on the bridge, there is plenty of space on the road and the bus lane is wide. On the south side traffic lights on Tooley St, I tend to hang back as lots of trucks and taxis do left turns there.
  • Landlocked
    Landlocked Posts: 37
    linoue wrote:
    Cycle across London bridge every day.

    Amazed that i havent actually seen an accident on it!

    The busses and traffic turning right onto it from King William Street and Cannon Street never seem to pay attantion to the hoards of bikes trying to get accross.

    And everyone seems to fight for a position at the front of the traffic at the Lights on the southern side by Tooley Street.

    I go across it every day too, and I actually prefer it to other bridges like Blackfriars. Although there is no cycle section marked on the bridge, there is plenty of space on the road and the bus lane is wide. On the south side traffic lights on Tooley St, I tend to hang back as lots of trucks and taxis do left turns there.

    thankfully i turn left into Tooley Street!

    You're right though, it's a much better bridge to cross than many of the others.

    the busses moving from the right lane to the left to get to the bus stop at the beginning can be a slight problem though.
  • AndyManc
    AndyManc Posts: 1,393
    Gussio wrote:
    Glad that the OP escaped relatively unscathed.

    As an aside, based upon regular recommendations on this forum, I joined the CTC at the weekend to take advantage of their third party cycling insurance. £36 well spent.

    I have also recently joined ..... just before I found out that Wiggle do a 15 month for the cost of 12 months, and they also offer a sizable discount :roll:



    .
    Specialized Hardrock Pro/Trek FX 7.3 Hybrid/Specialized Enduro/Specialized Tri-Cross Sport
    URBAN_MANC.png
  • dilemna
    dilemna Posts: 2,187
    Ouch! Go to your doctor or casualty for a check up. Take pics of any injuries. Keep a diary. Visit a cycling solicitor for some free inital advice. You will fair much better against the other side's insurer if you have representation. There are several that advertise in the LCC mag. If the damage done to your bike and the car was significant you would also expect injury to yourself. It is difficult to pursue a PI claim against an insurer without a solicitor.

    Did you secure the details of any independent witlesses? If the insurer proves difficult you might consider CCTV if no witlesses. You will need to request this pronto as images are not stored for more then 28 days I believe.

    Also get a couple of estimates for repair to your bike. Places that come to mind are Condor who were excellent when I was knocked off, my bike was re-shaped and I was injured. Your bike should ideally go on a full bike jig for a geometry check. Not only could the carbon forks have suffered a hair line crack the head tube could be out of alignment as could another part of the frame could be if ali or steel. How about your handle bars and levers? What sort of bike is it? Is it a full carbon frame in which case you need a specialist check that only a very good bike shop can do or arrange for. You don't want it subsequently failing due to undetected accident damage.
    Life is like a roll of toilet paper; long and useful, but always ends at the wrong moment. Anon.
    Think how stupid the average person is.......
    half of them are even more stupid than you first thought.
  • The Rookie
    The Rookie Posts: 27,812
    Firstly go to a police station ASAP to report a colision. This is not necessarily mean prosecution will occur but legally all road collisions must be reported. .

    Absolute rubbish! No need to involve the Police at all if both parties swap details satisfactoraly and no injuries occur. where did you get this 'fact' from?

    Simon
    Currently riding a Whyte T130C, X0 drivetrain, Magura Trail brakes converted to mixed wheel size (homebuilt wheels) with 140mm Fox 34 Rhythm and RP23 suspension. 12.2Kg.
  • Gussio
    Gussio Posts: 2,452
    AndyManc wrote:
    Gussio wrote:
    Glad that the OP escaped relatively unscathed.

    As an aside, based upon regular recommendations on this forum, I joined the CTC at the weekend to take advantage of their third party cycling insurance. £36 well spent.

    I have also recently joined ..... just before I found out that Wiggle do a 15 month for the cost of 12 months, and they also offer a sizable discount :roll:



    .

    Gah! Wish that I had been aware of that offer :roll: