Close encounter with a Toyota SUV

[drclark]

Well, it finally happened. After 10 years of commuting I finally got hit by a car. Fortunately, I was not severly injured (I'll definitely be sore tomorrow) but my poor bike is a little worse for wear.

I decided it was such a nice day that I left early and was planning to go down to the beach and take an extended ride rather than take my normal route home. I was riding through the parking lot at dockweiler to get to the bike path when a Toyota SUV (sequioa??) backed out infront of me. I ended up hitting the driverside rear corner bumper, going over the bars and hitting the pavement hard on my right shoulder and neck. My left side bar-end pretty much shattered the tailight assembly and is bent in pretty good.

It sounds cliche, but it happened so fast that I had no time to react. I had looked down at my cranks for just a second, looked up and there was this car backing out from a parking stall in front of me. I was just coasting down the middle of the parking asile so I would be visible to cars backing out on either side. The thing that really sucks was that the moment before the crash, I had mentally noted that the parking lot was mega crowded since it was a hot day and that I should be extra careful....

What really pissed me off was not a second after getting up these two ghetto-looking-biaches jump out and start yelling at me for hitting their car and asking what I was going to do about it... not one of them bothered to ask if I was OK. I told them that they backed out and hit me, but was more than happy to call the police and file an accident report if they like. They kept badgering me about paying for their car (like i was going to whip out my checkbook or something) until someone came up and said they saw what happened and said they would be a witness. After I got their name and phone number, the two women shut up and just want to leave. I asked them if they would like to exchange information incase I needed to find them later. They didn't want to at that point. I asked them several times to exchange info and they wouldn't. So as they backed out, I wrote their plate number down just in case. They saw me writing, stopped and got out and asked why I was writing their plate down. They then insisted on calling the police. Long story short, the police show up take our information, determine that there was not enough damage or injury to file a report and that anything further would be a civil matter between our insurance companies.

After the police leave and the women leave, I finally get to checking my bike out before riding home and thats when I discovered my front wheel was all jacked up. It wasn't taco'ed but was so out of true I had to diconnect the front brakes to get it to spin. Futher investigation, I discovered the force of the impact with the bumper ripped two spokes out of the front chris king hub and caused the hub itself to fail. Force of the crash also knocked the rear wheel out of true. I need to inspect the rear hub closer to make sure its spoke holes are not damaged. I was able to straighten things out enough to ride the bike home. I'll need to go over it with a fine tooth comb tomorrow to make sure the forks and/or head tube aren't cracked. Ugh.... assuming the insurance companies determines the other driver is at fault, I might just take the bike into a shop to get fixed up and file a claim against the driver.

I think I'm pretty much OK. My helmet did its job. I landed mostly on my right side shoulder/neck, side and knee. I think I might have pulled some muscles in my abdomen/lower rib cage since that is the most sore. I also notice that my pinky-middle fingers on my left hand are pretty achy. I assume that is from when my handlebar hit the tail light. All in all, I think I got pretty lucky. I didn't get too many cuts or scrapes. Luckily, I think they recently repaved that parking lot as the pavement was pretty smooth and there was no broken glass or gravel where I landed. I guess, all these years of mtb has at least taught me to crash well.

Sorry for the long winded post. Partially wanted to vent my frustrations with the lack of compasion by the driver and her friend. Also wanted to post this as a reminder to be extra careful/defensive if you're out riding anywhere near the beaches this weekend. The hot weather is sure to draw lots of people out there.

What a way to start off the weekend,
drc

p.s. if anyone has a front 32H chris king hub (non-disc brake is ok) that they're willing to part with, feel free to shoot me a pm.

[CaDownhilldoll]

Hey Doug,
glad you're ok!! Unbelievable how people are!!! Stinkin' file a new report with the damage costs..
Ride ON,,,,,

[Blue Rat]

Glad your going to be OK ... +1 on filing a report.

[sdyeti]

So glad to hear you are relatively okay. I'm so sorry to hear about this...

What major tools they were...I woulda been soooo mad!

[Wrecker]

Glad you're okay!

[BrewMaster]

Glad you are more or less OK. Sounds like you handled yourself well despite the bad situation.

[Winger]

Glad you're OK. That really sucks. Those women need some manners.


....but you might be cautious about filing a claim since your front end was involved and you were moving forward.

[kdog4130]

That was a pretty lazy police officer.... not enough damage? They can file for whatever amount there is, he just chose not too.

[tbowren]

Wow I'm glad you're ok.

My wife always hates me riding road but at least you were hit by a slow moving car and not a 65mph one,

I would definitely treat the collision like any motor vehicle collision. I was rear ended once and the damage was minor so I didn't file a report, but if something had visibly broken I probably would. (Especially if the people didn't seem too sorry or concerned for your safety)

[TMS]

Originally Posted by Winger

Glad you're OK. That really sucks. Those women need some manners.


....but you might be cautious about filing a claim since your front end was involved and you were moving forward.

I would definitely file a claim with the driver's insurance. The vehicle backing up must always yield the right of way to anyother vehicle/pedestrain. The insurance company will typically replace the entire bike rather than risk some kind of catastrophic bike failure at a later date because of the damage caused by their driver. They will also offer you an injury settlement because you hit the ground, typically between $100 - $2000.

[OMR]

Low road: Dood, you have soft tissue damage... I smell money. This was entirely their fault and they are liable. You need a good lawyer!.... and a new bike!

High road: OK you seem to be a little hurt but nothing major ... we'll just let this go, maybe file a report with your insurance company, who usually won't fight for you unless you really press them.

Sorry, but I vote low road on this one especially after the way they handled the whole incident!

[TMS]

Originally Posted by OMR

Low road: Dood, you have soft tissue damage... I smell money. This was entirely their fault and they are liable. You need a good lawyer!.... and a new bike!

High road: OK you seem to be a little hurt but nothing major ... we'll just let this go, maybe file a report with your insurance company, who usually won't fight for you unless you really press them.

Sorry, but I vote low road on this one especially after the way they handled the whole incident!

High road or low road, at very least you are owed for the damage done to your bike. If you take the low road, I would due so without the attorney, (unless you have substantial injuries and confusing medical bills) as this is pretty cut and dry and they won't do much, yet they will get 1/3 of your settlement.

[CPATCRASH]

Originally Posted by OMR

Low road: Dood, you have soft tissue damage... I smell money. This was entirely their fault and they are liable. You need a good lawyer!.... and a new bike!

High road: OK you seem to be a little hurt but nothing major ... we'll just let this go, maybe file a report with your insurance company, who usually won't fight for you unless you really press them.

Sorry, but I vote low road on this one especially after the way they handled the whole incident!

know if you need a good lawyer. I have one in the family. Hope you recover quickly.

[Pain Freak]

Glad you didn't get it any worse then you did. I'd call the insurance company and get my bike fixed to my satisfaction.

[drclark]

I was just discussing this over dinner with my fiancee who works for a chiropractor and deals with many personal injury patients (and their lawyers). She sees many low road types in her business and knows all the steps necessary to ensure a big payout. I've always been a high road type of guy when it comes to these things in general. Actual damages should be compensated but I don't see these type of things as a payday (unfortunately, I'm pretty sure I'd be getting taken to the cleaners if the roles had been reversed). I am glad I didn't get hurt anyworse than I did, and despite the drivers reaction, I am sure it was an accident (had it been intentional, then "getting all I can" would be considered). However, all I really want is my bike to get fixed and feel good enough to ride it to work on monday.

I took the bike to Helen's in MB today to get a repair estimate for the front wheel. I will be calling their insurance company tomorrow to get the claim process started. I will report my injuries to keep my options open in the event that the damage to my shoulder is more significant than it seems. It is still pretty sore and feels weak if I raise my arm above 90 deg (i.e. straight out). If it still feels this bad on Monday, a trip to a doctor may be warranted.

Oh yeah, taking it easy and not riding today really sucked. Despite the high temps, I was looking forward to getting out and riding some dirt this weekend. Somehow the heat felt worse today just lying around doing nothing than if I had been out riding or working in the yard or something.

drc

[Keith B]

Some b1tch in a flash Merc yapping on her cell phone so nealry took Sarah and I down this morning. She was in the lane to go straight ahead but wanted to turn right to get on the 5 so jsut came alongside us and turned. I have no idea how I didnt get knocked off. Really pi55es me off that there are people out there that dumb, that inconsiderate.

[Nagaredama]

Heal up!

[the_un4gvn]

wow, that sucks man. Hope you heal quick and get back on the trail.