cyclist would like a bit of help

[CatherineB]

I am glad you're OK. It's a bit late now I suppose - but for future reference, make sure that you don't admit fault in any kind of wreck, even if it seems obvious that you're at fault. Check that the other person is OK, give them your information and what have you, but don't apologise (I know, it's hard, I tend to apologise to other people when THEY bump into ME on the street!) and don't offer to pay for anything. And if someone hits you, don't say 'oh I'm fine' and let them drive/cycle off without exchanging information, because you might not be fine in a few hours. And watch out what you post online - if there is information out there (like admitting fault in a cycling forum) that can be used against you in an insurance claim or any kind of civil or criminal liability case, you can bet that the other guy's agent or attorney WILL find it.

It seems a bit harsh, but all the details about fault and liability can be worked out later, once the shock wears off and the situation can be looked at objectively. Any lawyer or insurance agent would tell you the same.

 

[Sheffield_Tiger]

I mean to add you would certainly not be the only person to have cycled into a parked car on here.

Nope.

Years back I rode straight into the back of a queue of traffic (an elderly gent on a sit up and beg that I was passing suddenly veered out across me, I swerved round him and didn't make it back into the nearside lane in time). My fault entirely.

I wrote the car off with my bike and my shoulder. The car driver couldn't work out what had happened, big bang, back of the car caves in, but nothing to be seen behind, until I stand up counting the pretty little birds tweeting around my head. How, with no helmet, I didn't have any injuries except some big purple bruising I will never know.

Thankfully I was insured by the fact of being 15 and "umm...here's my mum's phone number!" so I'm not sure exactly what arrangements were made, other than a cycle helmet as an early Christmas present!

 

[fossyant]

I mean to add you would certainly not be the only person to have cycled into a parked car on here.

I've done it....neighbour's new Porsche 928

 

[thomas]

I am glad you're OK. It's a bit late now I suppose - but for future reference, make sure that you don't admit fault in any kind of wreck, even if it seems obvious that you're at fault. Check that the other person is OK, give them your information and what have you, but don't apologise (I know, it's hard, I tend to apologise to other people when THEY bump into ME on the street!) and don't offer to pay for anything. And if someone hits you, don't say 'oh I'm fine' and let them drive/cycle off without exchanging information, because you might not be fine in a few hours. And watch out what you post online - if there is information out there (like admitting fault in a cycling forum) that can be used against you in an insurance claim or any kind of civil or criminal liability case, you can bet that the other guy's agent or attorney WILL find it.

It seems a bit harsh, but all the details about fault and liability can be worked out later, once the shock wears off and the situation can be looked at objectively. Any lawyer or insurance agent would tell you the same.

Apologising does not mean you are responsible. You can admit liability all you want and that doesn't mean your insurance party won't dispute it....it also does mean that you can check the highway code (or whatever) and discover that your initial reaction was wrong.

Don't however, start paying for the wipers, etc, until you've spoken with the CTC lawyer/etc.

 

[rusky]

I mean to add you would certainly not be the only person to have cycled into a parked car on here.

I give you...
View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VyeJU6U00wA

 

[Matty]

I mean to add you would certainly not be the only person to have cycled into a parked car on here.

I've done it, Saab 900, many years back. I was concentrating hard on my 'new' odometer, the tick-tick type that attached to front fork right down at the mudguard fixing!

 

[mr Mag00]

I've done it, Saab 900, many years back. I was concentrating hard on my 'new' odometer, the tick-tick type that attached to front fork right down at the mudguard fixing!

whoa dated!

 

[Sheffield_Tiger]

whoa dated!

Indeed.

At least my embarrasing (and fork-bending) ride into a hole was due to being transfixed by the knight-rider-esque display on the Raleigh Sensor

 

[PpPete]

I've done it, Saab 900, many years back. I was concentrating hard on my 'new' odometer, the tick-tick type that attached to front fork right down at the mudguard fixing!

Did that once too - but into nothing so grand as a Saab. It was one of those pale blue "invalid carriages" as we used to call them in the 70s. I think they were glass-fibre body, because even at an indicated 25 mph I just bounced off.

 

[hackbike 666]

Or try (I liked them) BikeLine.

Highway Code 140:
Cycle lanes. These are shown by road markings and signs. You MUST NOT drive or park in a cycle lane marked by a solid white line during its times of operation. Do not drive or park in a cycle lane marked by a broken white line unless it is unavoidable. You MUST NOT park in any cycle lane whilst waiting restrictions apply.

That may explain why that cab driver didn't stop in it when he let his fare out at High Holbern the other night then.Looks like he was obeying the law?

 

[Virtual DBP]

<<I am glad you're OK. It's a bit late now I suppose - but for future reference, make sure that you don't admit fault in any kind of wreck, even if it seems obvious that you're at fault.>>

the problem with that approach is it causes unnecessary worry and grief.

recently a driver reversed into my parked motorcycle, completely denied it and drove off; i was in a shop so saw the immediate aftermath.

i only have third party fire and theft insurance so it took loads of calls, visits to police stations, requests for CCTV nearby, etc. before my insurance company would pick up any recovery costs and fix the damage.

had they just held their hands up, swapped insurance numbers etc then it would have saved me 3 weeks major grief...

so you can imagine, advise like that really grinds my gears. if you made a mistake then hold your hand up.

 

[dellzeqq]

I don't think that's quite right - I always thought use of the CTC-affiliated lawyers was on a no-win no-fee basis. Joining afterwards wouldn't help from an insurance point of view.

It's still best to be a CTC member - they do a lot of good for cycling quite apart from the insurance benefit.

I think we're talking about 3rd party here (ref. the dent in the roof), and that's what the OP might be in need of - together with RJW's excellent advice. Obviously I'm in agreement with you on the merits of joining the CTC

 

[dellzeqq]

I doubt it, you're only covered from the point of starting a policy. Insurance wouldn't exist if you could claim retrospectively...

see my post above

 

[CatherineB]

so you can imagine, advise like that really grinds my gears. if you made a mistake then hold your hand up.

I'm sorry it grinds your gears. Anyone who leaves the scene of an accident is a terrible person and a criminal. You should always stay around to help pick up bike, car, and body parts, make sure everyone is OK, and you should exchange names/addresses insurance information and wait for the police and any other emergency services if called for.

HOWEVER - in the aftermath of a crash, there is confusion and all different versions of what happened and if you say 'oh my gosh I'm so sorry this is all my fault' - and then it turns out it WASN'T your fault, and your bike or your car are completely destroyed, and you're out of work for six weeks because of a cracked vertebrae that didn't really manifest itself until the next day, the other person's insurance company WILL use your admission of fault as reason not to pay out for your bike or your lost wages. The OP's story - he wasn't looking, but the car was in a bike lane where it shouldn't have been- is a perfect example of a situation where deciding fault (and who pays for what) isn't completely obvious and cut-and-dried.

You can be a nice, helpful person and do the right thing without immediately admitting fault. Things you can say instead of 'it's my fault' include 'are you OK?' , 'Do you need to use my phone to call someone?', and my favourite, 'Do you need help to pull my bike out of your windscreen?'

 

[thomas]

You can be a nice, helpful person and do the right thing without immediately admitting fault. Things you can say instead of 'it's my fault' include 'are you OK?' , 'Do you need to use my phone to call someone?', and my favourite, 'Do you need help to pull my bike out of your windscreen?'

View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=reK9GuP-YFU


I no longer have the full version and never got around to uploading it...but as soon as the lady in the rear car (100% at fault IMO) got out of her car she started passing blame..."why did you stop"...blah blah.

Unsurprisingly this pissed the other people off as well as me. In the end I suggested one of the ladies in the other cars phoned the police. She did. They never phoned about the video footage so I guess the police must have put this lady straight.

There are times when just putting your hand up and apologising is the right decision.