accident advice

26ounce

Hey everyone, longtime lurker frst time poster.

I was unfortunate enough to join the roundabout club yesterday arvo. Car failed to give way - driver didn't see me. Luckily I managed to get on the brakes just enough that she hit the front end of the bike only and just missed me. Got her details and also a witness.

I ended up with two medium gashes on my calf (pedal I think?), but the bike has a badly bent front wheel and probably some other as yet unrecognized damage to the forks/brakes/frame etc. Bike is a 2nd hand cheapie but was somewhat expensive new.

Questions:
Do I need to file police report to make a damages claim?
Do i deal with the driver directly or her insurance?
Will my RAC membership be of any help, ie call them and they will help me sort it out?

I read the other threads on this topic but they seemed more relevent to more serious injuries and more expensive and damaged bikes.

Any advice would be appreciated.
Thanks

cruisin

A police report is always a good idea.
Sometimes a driver will be all sweet with promises but later on will deny liability.

OldGoat

Were I you I'd (1) file police report immediately; (2) contact the car driver's insurance company and file a claim, also immediately.

26ounce

Will file a report today. Cheers for the advice.

Now off to the bike store for a damage check.

sogood

The witness is your trump card. Read too many cases where the driver just denied the event.

__________________
Morphed Bianchi Camaleonte IV 2006, Ridley Damocles 2006, Garmin, Mac

62vette

I've had the same crash with a ride on the car's bonnet. Insurance bought me a new bike.

Assuming carbon forks, you'll need a new front wheel and new forks at a minimum. Carbon that has sustained a decent blow should not be trusted. Get the frame alignment checked, especially the chain and seat stays if you landed on the bike. If it's out of alignment you'll want a new frame as well.

roshea

I'm not sure where you are, but here in VIC (any maybe all around AUS), you are required by law to report the accident to police when there is injury or property damage, so that is the first thing to do.

If you have the insurance details of the other driver then deal with the insurance company. Be prepared for them to run you around, treat you like crap and try to lowball you on the repairs / replacement etc - it's their job! Keep a clear head about what you deserve (ie return of your bike in pre-accident condition) and don't be afraid to escalate (go to the drone's supervisor) if you feel like you are getting nowhere.

This thread (particularly post #5 by "Fraggle" was incredibly useful to me when I went through this crap a year ago:
http://www.cyclingforums.com/t352085.html

46kgToDate

26

Here's what I would do:

Get an estimate of the cost of the repair to the bike, plus any bill from your doctor.

Write a polite letter to your assailant asking her to reimburse you or to give you a call letting you know who her insurer for property damage is telling her to call them and notify them of the claim and what claim number they have given her. Whilst third party personal injury insurance is compulsory, property damage insurance is not, so even if she is a licensed driver she might not have cover in which case you need to sue her if she does not pay - don't worry there are inexpensive ways of doing that eg Chamber magistrate..

Once you have the claim number I would deal directly with the Insurance company.

If you can't get that info from her she probably does not have insurance (or is a goose) in which case you need to go down the suing path.

If you were in the right location and signalling properly you should be able to recover most of your legal costs from her if you need to sue her.

As soon as you don't get a response form her or if you get a bad response form the insurer I would ask to meet the witness for a coffee or at least call up take notes of what they recall and offer to draft a signed statement for them get it faxed over and signed and the original sent to you asap.

Also did you know you can insure yourself for personal injury and property damage? Joining the local bicycle organization often carries insurance protection for you losses as well as those you cause others.

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Now 64.1 kg to date. (and its 94.9kg but who's counting)

26ounce

Thanks 46 and everyone else who replied. In a roundabout way I am following everyones advice. The driver did have insurance and seemed reasonable during post-crash discussions, fingers crossed this will sort itself out easily.

I'm actually happy that I came out of this incident with no significant injuries.