Accident this morning. Advice appreciated.

[Lemond]

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!

Why not? Neither could see the other.

 

[Julia9054]

I once nearly hit a blind man and his dog who stepped out crossing the road between two vehicles as I filtered on the right. This would have made me the worst type of human! I filter much more slowly now.
Hope your shoulder gets better soon.

 

[steve292]

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.


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?

Well, if she hasn't reported it, she's either trying to wing it, or she does not understand how the law and insurance companies work.
I can understand you wanting to do the right thing and sort it amicably, but in IME people who don't ride generally suffer from massive sticker shock when told the price of replacement bits for a bike.

Look at it this way.
Whatever some people on here tell you, you had every right to filter. She is 100% at fault.
You have come out of it pretty lightly by the sound of it, but it could have been much worse. I would seek to be put back into the same position re the bike and gear as I was in before the collision, which to me is fair.
You say you are hurt? Do yourself a favour.Get to a doctor.

Just to show how easy the money racks up-

105 carbon pedals £100
fizik aliante carbon saddle £165
Morvelo bibs and jersey £150
broken mobile screen £100
Askmid fee £4
Plus bar tape plugs ect.
you don't need a big off to rack up the cash.

Bottom line is if you pull across traffic, its your responsibility to make sure its clear.It's your fault if you hit someone in the carriageway.

 

[Spinney]

Because the OP was cycling along the road that the motorist turned into. The onus is on the motorist to make sure the way is clear before pulling into/across traffic.
Just because the OP could have (possibly) avoided it by riding more defensively does not make it his fault in any way.

 

[mjr]

Why not? Neither could see the other.

Even if we might have chosen to see more around the corner, the road was clear when the cyclist entered it and the cycle was continuing ahead on the major route. This is much more obviously the motorist's fault for not being able to stop within what they could see to be clear than the common cyclist-over-front-wing collisions.

 

[Lemond]

I think the OP says it all really...

I am doing 15-16mph at this point and being as observant as poss, but clearly not observant enough as before I know what is happening a car pulls across my path from my left, obv pulling out to turn right into the free flowing lane. As she pulled out in front of a stationary van she had not seen me coming, nor was I able to see and anticipate the junction with her car pulling out.

 

[vickster]

Not the OPs fault in the eyes of the law but he does recognise he could have been riding more defensively if you read the first post

@EasyPeez have you been to the hospital yet? If not, go today

 

[EasyPeez]

you get her insurance company's name from the askmid website

I'd never heard of that website so wasn't sure how official it was. Thanks.

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

Having serviced the headset on my other bike just a couple of months ago I should have realised that. Hoping it isn't damaged then as new forks won't be cheap.

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.

I'm pretty sure my collarbones are intact; I've given them a good poke and no pain. The pain is all at the back, around my shoulder blade. It's more bending and twisting of the torso, or trying to lift anything, than moving the arm itself that causes sharp pains in my shoulder and neck. Hence I'm sure it's bruising/straining rather than any breaks. Am going to get checked out tomorrow though. Cheers.

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?

I do accept that some of my choices could have been better, as mentioned in my original post. Advice on riding style in such situations and how to avoid a repeat of this is/was actually the point of this thread, if you read my OP. As to the "why should I expect her to see me" bit, I don't necessarily expect her to see me. I expect her not to drive into a space if she can't see it's safe to do so. She was the one who crossed a white line, not me. If she couldn't see the way was clear, she shouldn't have done that. Do you drive out of junctions if you can't see that the road you're turning into is clear? I don't.
To put it another way, if that had been a pedestrian crossing rather than a junction, I as the cyclist would not have been able to see (because of the van) whether or not a pedestrian was waiting to/starting to cross. And so I would have stopped alongside the van and checked, then resumed riding if it was clear. If for some reason I couldn't see to the kerb past the van I wouldn't cycle across. The pedestrian crossing would have been obvious to me (which the junction was not) because it would have stretched right across the road in front of me. Surely the same principle applies to her? The junction stretched right across the road in her path, she was well aware of it yet chose to drive across it when she (presumably) couldn't see past the van to know whether or not it was safe to do so.

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

It's not on my normal route so I didn't know there was a junction there.

Well, if she hasn't reported it, she's either trying to wing it, or she does not understand how the law and insurance companies work.

I'm pretty sure it's the latter.

 

[vickster]

Ask the hospital to do an X-ray or preferably an MRI

If I had done so I might not be in the potentially fruitless position of arguing that my Labral tear is the result of my accident and facing up to surgery and potentially 8 weeks not working and no salary

 

[Pale Rider]

I'd never heard of that website so wasn't sure how official it was. Thanks.

Sound advice from @vickster about a hospital visit.

I know you are not keen on the insurance route, but were you to ring her company on Monday to start the claim, and were you to also mention the shoulder pain, you might find her insurers will offer to assist with/pay for a medical examination.

I've known that to happen in a situation similar to yours.

 

[EasyPeez]

Thanks for the advice @vickster & @Pale Rider

I went to the walk-in minor injuries clinic this morning and the lady there reckons there's no fracturing and the pain is from bruising and consequent contraction of my trapezius muscle. She was concerned about my shoulder blade sticking out further on that side than the other and a nasty clunking/grinding sound when I rotate that shoulder so have been referred to physio to get that looked at, though she seemed sure it would be to do with a tendon running over the bone rather than any damage to the bone itself.

Still waiting for an update on the bike.

This has certainly all been good life experience!

Ask the hospital to do an X-ray or preferably an MRI

If I had done so I might not be in the potentially fruitless position of arguing that my Labral tear is the result of my accident and facing up to surgery and potentially 8 weeks not working and no salary

I didn't see this in time to act on it. No X-Ray was done as it's pretty clear I haven't broken anything. Although having broken my hands a few years ago I'm not sure if this muscle pain isn't worse?! Anyway, I'll see what the physio says and ask them about an X-Ray.
Really sorry to hear about your issues. A labral tear sounds nasty. Hope you're not in too much pain day-to-day and the surgery fixes it. Is it keeping you off the bike for now?

Cheers.

 

[vickster]

Thanks for the advice @vickster & @Pale Rider

I went to the walk-in minor injuries clinic this morning and the lady there reckons there's no fracturing and the pain is from bruising and consequent contraction of my trapezius muscle. She was concerned about my shoulder blade sticking out further on that side than the other and a nasty clunking/grinding sound when I rotate that shoulder so have been referred to physio to get that looked at, though she seemed sure it would be to do with a tendon running over the bone rather than any damage to the bone itself.

Still waiting for an update on the bike.

This has certainly all been good life experience!



I didn't see this in time to act on it. No X-Ray was done as it's pretty clear I haven't broken anything. Although having broken my hands a few years ago I'm not sure if this muscle pain isn't worse?! Anyway, I'll see what the physio says and ask them about an X-Ray.
Really sorry to hear about your issues. A labral tear sounds nasty. Hope you're not in too much pain day-to-day and the surgery fixes it. Is it keeping you off the bike for now?

Cheers.

Not off bike but I do suffer after cycling. Reckon it will keep me off the bike for most of not all of next spring/summer. No driving for 8 weeks but luckily surgeon has advised that I should be able to work after 2 weeks or so!

GWS. Lots of ice, heat and rest for that shoulder. Do what the Physio says. Assuming you are using nhs, hopefully not too long to wait (it's 8-12 weeks here)!

My shoulder crunches horrendously and feels unstable and out of place. My whole arm hurts when I do certain things too hence needing the surgery

 

[EasyPeez]

My shoulder crunches horrendously and feels unstable and out of place. My whole arm hurts when I do certain things too hence needing the surgery

Glad you're still enjoying the freedom of cycling.
I assume the labral tear would have shown up on an X-ray, but you didn't have one done at the time of your accident? I'll mention the possibility to the physio but as I have pretty much full mobility of my arm and no feeling of instability I suppose it's highly unlikely I have a problem in that area.
I hope your recovery goes well - it'll require a lot of rest and patience during the healing process I guess, two things I'm not very good at! Best wishes.

 

[Pale Rider]

Isn't physio one of the things that can be a bit hard to get on the NHS?

I grasp your reluctance to make an insurance claim, and I might well feel the same way in the circumstances.

But if you are going to need a lot of out patient treatment, her insurers ought to know about it for a couple of reasons.

Firstly, they should cover any expenses.

Secondly, in the unlikely event your treatment is not as straightforward as looks likely, a claim underway now will stand you in very good stead if things don't go as well as predicted.

 

[vickster]

Glad you're still enjoying the freedom of cycling.
I assume the labral tear would have shown up on an X-ray, but you didn't have one done at the time of your accident? I'll mention the possibility to the physio but as I have pretty much full mobility of my arm and no feeling of instability I suppose it's highly unlikely I have a problem in that area.
I hope your recovery goes well - it'll require a lot of rest and patience during the healing process I guess, two things I'm not very good at! Best wishes.

No showed up on MRI as the surgeon suspected what he was looking for after examination. I'm an atypical case as they are most often seen in rugby players or baseball pitchers! I would think bruising is much more likely!

No X-ray done, soft tissue injury only diagnosed. Tbh the shoulder was the least of my worries, the leg injury was much worse