Accident this morning. Advice appreciated.

[Pale Rider]

You are not a fault and in your first post you acknowledged what you could have done better to maybe avoid it happening again. I hate filtering either side, and I always make a judgement on how long it will cost me to behave like a car and if it is worth the extra risk. Junctions if you know the road are easier to judge and show caution. Driveways, pedestrian refuges or pedestrians false stop are much harder to predict but for me the closest I have always come are the people who suddenly without warning see a gap and pull out to either overtake or U-turn.

The problem these days and it might be effecting the Ladies reaction is the advent of the Ambulance chasers, if she does contact her Insurance they will advise to to not admit liability and do not make any payment as this will be taken as an admission of liability even if you all sign a full and final settlement. She might be hesitant for that reason you know today £50 and tomorrow (or 2 year 360 days) she get a letter claiming for injury, distress, time off work and a full carbon bike and has the problem of trying to explain to her insurance company why she never reported it and paid you £50 to go away.. So I do understand how she might be feeling, or she could just be a callous so and so..

Which is one of the reasons - even if there's no claim - why she should report the accident to her insurers 'for information' only.

I doubt that will happen, but there's nothing to stop the OP from doing it for her.

 

[steve292]

The woman has a legal requirement to report an accident involving an injury to the law, and it will be a condition of her insurance to inform the company of an accident whether she is to blame or not.
I was knocked off back in September, The guy gave me a false contact number & failed to report it, both to his insurance and the police. I wasn't hurt, but damaged the bike and my clothing. I refused to discuss any payment at the roadside. As I took photos on my phone he was busy moving the car away from the junction he had just zoomed out of.
I tracked him down through Ask mid & got an insurance claim which has now paid out. FYI the claim came to over 500 with damage to bike and gear, so not huge but not chickenfeed either. I though as you did that it would be a few quid, but not so. She thinks that she 'll bung you a 20 spot and it will all go away, when you give her a real figure watch her attitude change.
My point is, he was very eager to settle up at the time but as you can see not so much later.
Report it to her insurance. her premiums are shot anyway. don't deal direct with her you're only leaving yourself open to being arsed around.

 

[Tin Pot]

Yeah, time to get your head straight.

She is to blame. She owes you apologies and reparations for what she did to you. No point farking about.

People naturally justify their actions over time, and she will have listened to her friends tell her how it's all your fault, "them cyclists" etc and by day three she will believe it. It's what humans do.

The law exists for this purpose to mete out justice because people cannot do it if left to their own devices, and we in Britain are lucky to have it.

Use it.

 

[EasyPeez]

Sorry - I think I've written it in a way that you might have misinterpreted!
ing
"15+ mph is ok if you were filtering on the other side of the road (had it been clear) giving you a better view of any gaps, but not otherwise.".

When I said that, I didn't mean coming the other way on the other side of the road. I meant, doing exactly what you were doing (filtering up the drivers side of all the cars), but further out so you were effectively cycling in the middle of the lane on the "wrong" side of the road, rather than squeezing yourself in to the remaining couple of feet on your side between the drivers doors and the white lines.

That aside, how are you feeling today?

Ah, sorry I did misunderstand. I thought you meant filtering to the left (i.e kerb side) of the stationary traffic.

Shoulder and neck more painful and less mobile than yesterday but luckily a rare weekend of rest and recouperation was always on the cards due to the op.
I can still lift my arm (though it's painful to do so) and turn my head from side to side (though painful when looking to the right) so I can't have broken anything. There's a rather underwhelming amount of bruising and no swelling. So I think I'll be back in the saddle in a couple of weeks. And filtering much more carefully! Thanks for asking.

 

[EasyPeez]

Bear in mind it is not entirely her choice to go down the insurance route, you can make a claim against her insurers.

Reported experience suggests many such simple claims - a few quid for some bike bits - are paid without a great deal of fuss.

The insurance company may not even contact their insured before paying.

That happened to a mate of mine - he only found out about a paid claim for a minor supermarket car park bump when his renewal arrived a few months later.

Yeah, I understand that it's my choice as to whether to make a claim or not. I didn't bother pointing that out on the phone when she talked about herself 'deciding to go down the insurance route' as I was very keen to be reasonable and not sound threatening. If it turns out the bike can be fixed for just a few quid and I don't have any injuries that will keep me off work then I'd sooner not make a big deal out of it. One thing I'm not 100% on though, and please forgive my naivety here, when you and others refer to an insurance company paying out without their (at fault) client's knowledge, how would that work? Am I right in thinking it would be a case of the injured party enlisting a PI lawyer, or contacting British Cycling or similar if a member, and they would be able to trace the driver's insurance details via the car registration number and would deal with them direct? Seems weird but I guess in cases where it's small amounts it's cheaper for the insurance to just cough up than pay their own legal costs. In that case would the settlement be agreed by the injured party's legal team and the insurer, with no input from the injured party nor the at-fault driver? Presumably based on whatever repair bills and/or doctor's report info the injured party supplied to their lawyer?

But do report to the police over the weekend and I'd text her to say you've done so so she is aware as they'll contact her probably. I wouldn't read anything into her reaction, shock and upset makes people react oddly

Yeah, I contacted them on Friday evening. The chap was very polite and helpful. I had rung her prior to explain that I needed to contact them in case I wasn't able to go in to work next week or in case she had discovered damage to her car and wanted to make a claim of her own. She seemed surprised but compliant. I asked if she had reported it to her insurance or the police and she said she hadn't. She said she was happy for me to give them her number but they didn't want it when I offered it.

Or if the range of motion is restricted, just go straight there over the weekend

Motion very much restricted and I'm in a fair amount of pain. Can't really bend or lift anything. I'm not able to drive just yet and my wife can't drive so have decided to give it til Monday when I figure I will hopefully be safe to steer by then, or else I can get a friend to give me a lift. I'm pretty sure it's just bruising and/or straining to muscles and possibly tendons.

The woman has a legal requirement to report an accident involving an injury to the law, and it will be a condition of her insurance to inform the company of an accident whether she is to blame or not.

I'm pretty sure she hasn't done that. I only have her landline so can't send a quick text. I'll mention it when I speak to her again next week. Although she might have heard from the police anyway by then, but I'm not sure they'll contact her in relation to my incident report. I wasn't looking to get her in trouble and they said they didn't need her phone number.

FYI the claim came to over 500 with damage to bike and gear, so not huge but not chickenfeed either.

Glad you got it sorted I can't see my damage coming to more than £60-80 for a new helmet, saddle bag bracket and rear hanger, unless Halfords discover anything I've missed. Not sure what a new carbon steerer costs if that's gone. Was your payout for a new bike or replacement bits?

 

[Pale Rider]

As @steve292 said in post 32, you get her insurance company's name from the askmid website.

You then contact their claims department and say you wish to make a claim against their insured - the woman.

I believe you are right when you say claims for a few hundred are paid, partly at least, because it's not worth the hassle and expense for the insurance company to fight them, assuming the claim appears genuine which yours will.

As I mentioned earlier, the insurance company may not contact her, but what they do on that side of it is up to them, and is of no interest to you.

From your point of view, you are dealing solely with the insurance company, which as you can imagine takes a lot of heat out of the transaction.

You have nothing to lose by making a claim, the worst the insurance company can do is reject it, but they are obliged to look at it fairly.

Actually, you do have something to lose, it will cost you four quid to get her insurance details.

http://www.askmid.com/askmidenquiry.aspx

 

[vickster]

Don't drive if you don't feel right. Get a taxi and keep the receipt

 

[raleighnut]

Yeah, I understand that it's my choice as to whether to make a claim or not. I didn't bother pointing that out on the phone when she talked about herself 'deciding to go down the insurance route' as I was very keen to be reasonable and not sound threatening. If it turns out the bike can be fixed for just a few quid and I don't have any injuries that will keep me off work then I'd sooner not make a big deal out of it.


Glad you got it sorted I can't see my damage coming to more than £60-80 for a new helmet, saddle bag bracket and rear hanger, unless Halfords discover anything I've missed. Not sure what a new carbon steerer costs if that's gone. Was your payout for a new bike or replacement bits?

The Steerer is part of the front fork, any damage and its a new fork, plus they'll probably need to fit a new headset although only part of it is needed (bottom race) they'll charge you for a full one

 

[si_c]

Sorry to hear about the crash

Motion very much restricted and I'm in a fair amount of pain. Can't really bend or lift anything. I'm not able to drive just yet and my wife can't drive so have decided to give it til Monday when I figure I will hopefully be safe to steer by then, or else I can get a friend to give me a lift. I'm pretty sure it's just bruising and/or straining to muscles and possibly tendons.

I'd get myself down to A&E just to get checked out sooner rather than later if I were you. After I broke my collarbone, it was agony and I was unable to move my arm, lift anything, or move my neck freely. Even if they just say it's badly bruised and to take it easy, at least you'll know one way or the other.

Hope you get everything sorted and GWS.

 

[raleighnut]

Sorry to hear about the crash


I'd get myself down to A&E just to get checked out sooner rather than later if I were you. After I broke my collarbone, it was agony and I was unable to move my arm, lift anything, or move my neck freely. Even if they just say it's badly bruised and to take it easy, at least you'll know one way or the other.

Hope you get everything sorted and GWS.

+1, its easily possible to break a collarbone and not really know that you have until it has been X-rayed DAMHIKT.

 

[Lemond]

Personally, I'd be blaming myself. I know that I'm less visible on my bike and act / ride accordingly. Secondly, if I couldn't see her, why should I expect her to see me? Filtering past a stationery line of traffic is risky, as you cannot see junctions on your left, and equally, cannot be seen by traffic waiting to move out. When passing the van, what actions did you take to ensure the way ahead was clear? Sounds like six of one, half a dozen of another to me. But that's just me.

 

[mjr]

Yes, I'm pretty sure that's just @Lemond. Maybe it could have been avoided but the motorist drove into the SIDE of the bike, trusting an invitation from the van to drive out blind, which is pretty damning.

 

[Lemond]

Yes, I'm pretty sure that's just @Lemond. Maybe it could have been avoided but the motorist drove into the SIDE of the bike, trusting an invitation from the van to drive out blind, which is pretty damning.

So you have a choice: trust yourself or trust, say, a van driver will check his mirrors for an approaching bike before inviting the car out.

Filtering past stationery traffic is not without risk. Take precautions for yourself; don't assume other road users will do this for you. Seems sensible to me.

 

[goody]

Maybe you couldn't see her pulling out but you could see the gap between the van and the car in front and if you knew the road you should have been aware of the junction and the possibility that a car may pull out of that gap. If there was no traffic coming the other way move way over to the right (into the opposite carriageway) to increase your field of view if it's not clear then slow right down. Maybe you have a claim or maybe sometimes we need to take a bit of responsibility for what happens to us, but whatever it's not much consolation if you're in the right but laying in the gutter injured.

 

[mjr]

Filtering past stationery traffic is not without risk. Take precautions for yourself; don't assume other road users will do this for you. Seems sensible to me.

Yes and many of us old hands will have seen enough madness to take those precautions but that does not make the OP equally to blame with the motorist who T boned them!