dogzilla

I was a out for an afternoon bike ride today. After about 48 miles, 5 mles from home I'm cruising along at a pretty good clip. As I got near an intersection I noticed a car starting to cross the intersection. I yelled to try to get the car to stop, but no luck. The car hit me and sent me flying. I landed and screamed at the driver to get me a cop and an ambulance. The paramedics strapped me to a board and took me to the ER. After three action packed fun hours at the ER and x-ray machine the result was no broken bones, just a badly bruised shoulder and a bruised wrist. So I guess I was pretty lucky.

The bike wasn't so lucky, at least the front wheel is bent by what I was told. So now I have no bike and wondering what I can do when the weather is so nice.

I'm pretty careful when riding and always watch for cars since I've had so many close calls with stupid drivers. I wear bright colors and always wear a helment. Even so, I finally had my luck run out after 20 years with no crashes.

To any bikers out there, be careful of cars .

Jinn

Damn damn damn!!! Well -- hopefully they have insurance and you can sue the crap outta them?

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dogzilla

At least the driver gets to pay for a new bike and my checkup. Even with just bruises I'm pretty sore, and might blow off a couple days work. Probably talk to a lawyer tomorrow to see what he thinks. There's no way I can be in fault in this since I was on the thru traffic road and there were no stop signs or traffic lights, and I was where I was supposed to be on the tight hand shoulder of the road.

Siege

This is why I refuse to bike on the road. Until there are bike lanes, I will keep biking on the sidewalk. I don't care if it's illegal. There are too many crappy drivers who think they own the road where I am.

I wish I could say this is the first car-bike accident i've seen. But sadly, it isn't.

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shakran

you didn't say what the traffic signal situation was. Did the driver run a red light or what?

aberkok

dogzilla, I salute you. It is the courage of people like you that will one day set the precedent for a pro-bike society. One day the world's traffic laws will have a place - a safe place for bikes. Until then it is up to the bold road warriors like us a assert our presence on the roads. Hope you are doing well and have a speedy recovery towards making drivers nervous again.

I hope your ride wasn't too expensive....

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dogzilla

The car was either in a parking lot or stopped at a stop sign on a side road. I was on a state highway with no stop signs or traffic lights and had the right of way. The car pulled out of the side road and into a driveway on the opposite side of the state highway, right in front of me, so I had nowhere to go. I was wearing bright colors and it was a clear day so there was no reason not to see me. I tried to stop once I saw the car moving, but there wasn't enough time to go from 20-25mph to zero before getting hit. But I tried :-)

dogzilla

Thanks. I'll probably be sore for a few days then back in action. I'm luckier than my brother since I didn't break anything. My brother has been hit twice by cars that turned in front of him. One time he broke a toe and trashed the bike. The other time he broke a finger and broke some stuff on the bike but was able to fix it.

I ride away from the cities around here for just this reason, since I've had so many close calls with city trafffic and stupid drivers. I don't get intimidated by the cars since I've been riding for some 30 years, but I suppose I'll be a little more paranoid for a while.
This was a $500.00 or so bike that was 6 years old and about 20,000 miles. I was told the only damage to the bike was a bent front wheel but I haven't seen the bike yet. Probably get $0.00 for the damage.

Daniel_

You can always go for the injury claim - in the UK you can get several thousand pounds for whiplash and trauma in such cases.

A friend of mine (a policeman) was run off his motorbike and suffered a minor (but chronic) back injury and he managed a rather respectable claim.

Not that I'm suggesting that you should FAKE injuries - just bring EVERYTHING to the attention of the legal system.

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Leo

A good friend of mine rode to work for the first time a few months ago and got hit by a car that didn't give way at an intersection, similar to you. Like Seige, I would love to ride, especially to work, but it's just too risky without designated bike lanes.

Catdaddy33

I toyed with the idea of getting a bike and riding around my new neighborhood. So I decided before I spent $$ on a bike to map out a 5-10 mile route. After actually watching the fools driving around I changed my mind and decided it would be safer to use the stationary cycles at the gym. I live real close to a lake and there is a nice place to ride, but surviving the ride there day after day would be a trick..

Glad you didn't get busted up to bad... I hate driving a car with other folks on the road, I have a feeling a bike would multiply that x100...

Siege

You have no freaking clue.

Seriously though. Those rare areas in Toronto that actually have bike lanes, I love it. But unfortunately, none of those areas are close to me, or close to anywhere I frequently go to.

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Nazggul

I got bounced off the front of a jeep a few weeks ago. $600 damage to my bike and some spectacular color changes on my thighs for 2 weeks. This woman came from behind me and took a left turn across the bike path right into me. I didn't even have time to touch my breaks. I ended up spread eagle on the hood of her little wrangler. Then, she has the balls to step out of the car and accuse me of speeding. What a maroooon. I just wanted to slap her, but in the end I just got my bike as together as I could and took off. Brand new bike too, it was my second ride on it.

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Mister Coaster

Damn, glad to hear you are relatively allright.

I go for walks every day on my lunch hour, and try to stay in residential areas so the amount of traffic is less. Even with that, I tend to have at least one close call every month or so. People kust are not paying attention. I'm pretty easy to see too, I'm 6'4".

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dogzilla

That's too bad that you didn't get any money to fix your bike. It seems the driver should be liable for any accident, especially if you were on a bike path. The important thing is that you didn't end up with any lasting injuries. People I talked to say that car/bike accidents usually don't turn out too well for the bike rider.

dogzilla

It seems that most of the soreness has gone away. My shoulder still bothers me but not as much as a couple days ago when I couldn't even remove a t-shirt without a lot of pain. I figure I must have slammed my shoulder the hardest when I landed.

I took my bike to a bike shop and the shop owner told me it looked like the bike was totaled, with a bent frame. My insurance agent says that the driver was 100% at fault, since in NY, bikes and pedestrians have the right of way. I talked to the driver and her son and they both apologized and essentially admitted the driver was at fault. The son offered to buy me a new bike and pay my medical bills personally to keep the insurance out of it, but a lawyer I talked to said that wasn't a good idea.

So I should get a decent amount of money towards a new bike and not have to worry about the doctor, assuming the insurance co doesn't start to play games.

Grasshopper Green

Glad to hear you made it through without too many injuries. A very similar thing happened to my brother years ago, and he was lucky and came out relatively unscathed, with a totaled bike. My dad rides his bike to work daily...he's been doing it for years, and he's been pretty lucky so far, although he's been run off the road. People just don't pay attention, and I think some of them just honestly don't care about cyclists.

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Zeraph

So I don't get it, what went wrong with the driver? Did he/she have his/her eyes closed or something?

dogzilla

I'm not sure since I only talked to the driver a couple of days later to get the insurance info I needed. I didn't want to get into a confrontation and maybe screw up my chances of getting compensated for injuries and totaled bike.

Visibility might have been a problem as people have a habit of not seeing bikes and motorcycles. It might have been that I was moving faster then the driver thought I was moving since most people have a hard time believing bikes can cruise at 20-30mph.

I try to make myself visible by wearing bright colors. It doesn't seem to help. More than once I've been riding, hearing skidding tires behind me and thinking that I was really going to get it.

Siege

Well, where I live, people are simply blind or something. I've lost count the number of times i've been walking across a street (green light for me) and some person on the otherside turning left stops about 2 inches from hitting me. Mind you, most of the time this is broad daylight.

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beetle bailey

i am a lawyer, but only since 1982. i have been a bike rider for almost 50 years [i'm nearly 52]. i've been a bike racer since 1984.

do what i say, ok?

go to a bike shop--with your damaged bicycle--IMMEDIATELY and tell them what happened. explain that you are concerned there may be concealed damage to the frame: cracks or other stresses to the tubes, welds, lugs or whatever, depending on frame design and construction.

take your helmet, shoes, other clothing. get estimates for repair, or most likely, replacement of them. you WILL need a new helmet; it's what the manufacturer recommends after an impact.

do NOT take this situation lightly. those damn motorists will NOT start noticing bicycles until they notice them economically.

i have given this advice to MANY friends and other cyclists, and they recover $$$. it is NOT insurance fraud. it's just that most folks don't think about damages not obvious. your wheels might be structurally f*cked beyond repair. your tires may have suffered sidewall damage, and might be ready to explode at your next highspeed turn. perhaps your cables are overstretched due to the sudden death-grip you applied before impact. maybe your saddle got scuffed, and had its rails bent. things DO happen as a consquence of accidents. have a bike mechanic check them out.

you think auto repair shops don't do this?!?!?

be TOUGH with the insurance agent. use a lawyer. he/she will only get money if you do.

and i'm NOT a slimeball lawyer. i'm just a pissed-off cyclist who knows his rights!!! [i've had seven friends and teammates hit and killed by motorists over the years, and i do NOT take this stuff lightly!]

and DON'T give up riding the streets: as a matter of fact, we DO own them!!

keep me posted!! good luck. and get a REALLY good bike next time!

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dogzilla

Thank you for your advice. I've done most of this. The bike shop guy guessed my frame was bent and the bike totaled, but I'm still waiting for the final word. I do need a new helmet as there are small impact/scratch marks on the helmet and my face did hit something.

I did take advantage of free consultation with a couple injury lawyers. One of them advised me to take pictures of all my injuries, which I did, even though there's nothing much to see. Neither is willing to take my case at this time since all I have is bruises.

My brother, who has been through this twice, also suggested taking pictures of the bike, and I suppose it doesn't hurt to take pictures showing the layout of the road where the accident occurred.

My next step is find out how to file a claim with the insurance co and to see my doctor mid-week. My shoulder seems to be healing, but it still doesn't take much to set off again with sharp pain. So I will have the doctor take a close look at it.

If my doctor says this is will be an extended recovery or that if therapy is needed, then the lawyers might be interested. If not, then I'm still mad enough about this that i might try small claims court, dragging both the driver and the insurance agent into court, but the most I get there is $3000.00. I'd like to get something for the pain, since that has made me pretty much housebound (and angry) the last few days.

My wife has been after me about getting a new bike (even before the accident), and now is the nicest time of year to riide here, so I might buy one even before the settlement, unless the doc says bike season is over.

dman2

Wow, what a story. I have only been riding my mountain bike for a short time. I have owned 3 motorcylces and wrecked them all. Most of the accidents were from other drivers. They simply do not watch out for bikers, motorbikes or cyclists.

I agree, there was nothing you could have done in this case. It sounds like you have the experience and mileage to back that.

Well, good luck in your settlement with the insurance company. I hope they will take into consideration how long you have been riding. That is an accomplishment in itself!!!

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raeanna74

I'm am glad you are ok with nothing beyond the bruises and bumps. Good luck with damage recovery. Thanks to you, one more motorist may be a little more careful.

Drivers piss me off when it comes to cyclists. Hubby, I and my daughter all ride frequently. Hubby had an accident trying to avoid a car on the road. No one was there to witness it except the driver and hubby remembers nothing about the incident. That accident left him with asthma (from hospital error) and a siezure disorder. I myself have had a head concussion as well from a bicycle accident before we had helmets.

I recently just about chewed out a motorist. The woman was stopping at a stop sign when my daughter and I were starting out to cross the intersection. The woman did not fully stop and started to continue through the intersection just about the time my daughter was in front of her. I screamed "Hey" and luckily she had her window open. She jumped, saw my daughter, and slammed on the brakes. Then she glared at me like it was her right to go through even though we'd been waiting at the intersection. I ride with my daughter on the sidewalks in several parts of town because it is COMPLETELY bicycle unfriendly in some places. There is literally no room for bicyclists and the cars refuse to wait for room and try to pass us. Thankfully we live close to the outskirts of town and riding along backroads and fields is so much more safe. Deer seem to be more considerate than some drivers.

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dogzilla

The bike dealer told me the bike is totaled. The fork and frame are bent. He gave me a replacement cost estimate for the bike and helmet. I decided to get a Trek 1200 which is similar or maybe a little better than my GT Force. The gearing looks a little better, anyway.

My scrapes are just about healed up and most of the shoulder pain is gone. The only time it seems to hurt now is at some limits of motion, so I guess I need to just keep exercising it will be fine. Listening to other stories, I think I got off easy.

The only thing left for me to do is file the insurance claim for the bike and see how that turns out. Some people tell me the insurance co will just settle and others say the insurance co will try to stick it to me.

dogzilla

Yeah, I understand that. Too many drivers think bicycles don't belong on the road. I try to avoid riding thru towns because I was having too many close calls with cars.
I usually yell at drivers who don't grant me the right of way and give them a nasty stare, and once or twice was tempted to chase them down a side street, but figured I would just get in trouble for that
I've been charged by deer once or twice and once ran over a squirrel. Maybe NY deer are more rude tham midwest deer

dogzilla

I wanted to let you all know how this ended up. The driver's insurance ended up covering all my hospital and doctor bills and paid for my new bike. The insurance company says I don't get anything for injuries since New York insurance regulations say the threshhold for that is that there has to be broken bones. All I ended up with was scrapes and bruises.

I bought a new Trek 1200 bike that I have ridden about 500 miles in the last three weeks. It's not the best bike, but it seems like a pretty decent bike that I'm pretty happy with it, and in the range I expected the insurance would cover. It's a little better than the bike I had.

This is the old bike with the bent wheel



This is the new bike

greyeyes

sweet new bike man, I saw one of those yesterday and I was really impressed. I've got a Trek Carbon series it's about five years old. You're old bike's frame doesent look bent at all. it seems that all you would need to do is take the tyre to a bike shop get them to straighten it out, probably change a few spokes, and get them to retighten your left brake and you could sell your one for a few hundred bucks. I know how it can be to get beamed by a car, I've been slamed about four times and I can't say how many close calls I've had. Just keep ridin' man, and I hope you heal up well!

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Manuel Hong

Man oh man. I'm glad you're okay. Cyclists get hit by cars so often! My boyfriend has been hit a few times...once pretty seriously, smashed up his hip. He's fine now, but I worry when rides on the road bike. I know he crashes on the Mt. bike too, but trees aren't going 50mph. Gotta always watch out for the idiots. Stupidity is more common than the carbon molecule.

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DEI37

Glad that turned out like it did, and you're pretty much OK. I don't ride a road bike, but just a mountain bike ON the road. Had a couple of close calls recently...mainly, drivers rolling in to an intersection while you're already there IN THE CROSSWALK. Some old fart missed by literally a couple inches at my rear tire. Had I been a quarter second slower, I'd have been on his hood. Glared at my like I should have been stopped for the green, so he could take his right on red.

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