Silly slow-mo bin

[CDFloss]

I went and did it. Me & bike + side of ute = offroad excursion. :bye:

On the way home from work this afternoon along Petone foreshore, indicated to turn off left, pulled into turning lane, and as I was passing a ute (the main stream of traffic was stop/start) he pulled left into the turning lane as well.

Collected me with his passenger door, or more specifically his passenger-side wing mirror. I was then deflected back towards the pavement (I somehow managed to stay on the bike). Hit the pavement pretty hard (I remember seeing the front wheel bounce at least a foot off the ground), and then straightend up in time to smack into one of those little electricity or phone line boxes. Sat on the bike for a few minutes trying to figure out what had happened. :blink:

Luckily I was just about to turn, so was pretty low in 3rd gear - probably only doing around 30k's. I was trying to figure out why I hadnt stopped quicker (the ride seemed to go on forever!), and then noticed that my front brake lever was completely gone thanks to the wing mirror. No wonder my right hand was flapping around uselessly. <_<

The thing that pisses me off is that I'm usually so careful. I'm a car driver of about 15 years, and did anti-hijacking & defensive driving courses back home (in South Africa), not that that in itself means jack, but I'm not a hoon and try to drive/ride carefully. I was so busy watching a people-mover parked to my left waiting to pull into the road that I didnt notice the ute until he tried to let me in through his passenger window. :innocent: Oh well.

Strange how things slowed down when it happened, but happened all in an instant at the same time. I can remember things pretty much frame by frame, but at the same time I didnt have the time (or more likely reflex/experience) to touch the rear brake. The front was gone by then, so not much I could do with that. When I hit the curb I remember having my right hand jarred off the handle, and when I grabbed it again I accidently gave it a squirt, which meant I hit the electricity box a little harder than I otherwise would have.

The chaps in the ute (a work truck) were cool. I almost laughed out loud though when the first thing the guy says to me is "Are you ok? I just didn't see you!". I read that line so many time on here, and here he was using it on me. :stupid: We swapped details, I rang the cops and my insurance, so we'll see what happens. I had the number for TSS on my phone, so rang them and they were kind enough to send someone to pick up the bike straight away. I didnt want to ride it home without the front brakes, and they'd have to have a look at it at some stage anyway to make sure my curb-jumping didnt damage anything. Oh, and if stewart reads this, sorry I left a rambling message on your phone, and then it cut me off before I could leave a number. I rang back and got hold of someone else so forgot to ring back.

All in all I came away with some lessons learned, a bruised & swollen little finger, and a few train rides to work and back for the next little while.

Stink ow!

[twistemotion]

Oh well, glad you're not hurt much. Some accidents can't be avoided though, so don't be too hard on yourself, but I guess one has to learn the lessons one can. Make sure your bike hasn't suffered "hidden" damage, so have it checked out thoroughly.

I saw a bike vs car myself today on the way home. It looked like a 90's Ninja 250 had hit an old Corolla hatchback from behind. Not very hard, just enough to send the rider partially through the back window. He didn't look badly hurt, and the ambulance was there already (happened in front of the hospital). I didn't stick around, as he already had all the help he needed, and I was trying to make sure I wasn't hit myself by a rubber-necking driver (lots of clips on Youtube as evidence).

[gijoe1313]

Crikey, glad you had a relatively benign incident on the scale of things! :sweatdrop Guess those asphalt angels suddenly woke up and zipped into action!

I guess its one of those things, where you need to keep a "bubble" around you away from other vehicles. Staying away from their blind spots and making sure you aren't in a position to be collected! :pinch:

Lets hope your ride is back on the road soon! :yes:

[DarkLord]

Gutted man. Still, any crash that you can walk away from is a good one, really. Glad that you are not hurt. I lost my old red Hyo in a crash back in May - 2 cages stopped right in front of me and I hit the front brake in the wet - bike flew out from under me and got bowled by an oncoming car. Horrible experience but valuable as I learned so much. All you can do is learn from it and move on.

Hope it all goes well with insurance etc.

[CDFloss]

Awesome - the guy is disputing it now. Says I "swerved" to avoid a non-existent car, and smacked into HIM. Have sent insurance a sketch and statement... this should be fun... :angry2::bash::blink::shit::angry:

[Roki_nz]

Awesome - the guy is disputing it now. Says I "swerved" to avoid a non-existent car, and smacked into HIM. Have sent insurance a sketch and statement... this should be fun... :angry2::bash::blink::shit::angry:

Yeap thats some people for you. Will admite fault when they knock you over then try to find a way out of it later.

[steelestring]

Good luck with all that stuff man... keep on top of it. Can end up taking a while.... :yawn: try to get it out of the way so you can get back out there!

[twistemotion]

It happens sometimes. At the scene they're all appologetic, then afterwards when the reality of the boss' wrath or an increased premium hits them, they change their story. One should always try to get witnesses (I know it's hard when you're just gathering your senses or yourself off the road).

I once saw a huge bull run out from an access road in front of a car, then getting hit on the head, spinning around, but the car coming off 2nd best. I stopped and prevented the rest of the herd from following into the road, with the owner herding them back into a paddock. Then I gave the lady driver my details as a witness. Sure enough - 3 weeks later I get a call from her insurance company, stating that the owner of the herd claims they jumped the fence (act of God), so I put the matter straight.

So, if I'm the witness of an accident, I always try to stop and give my details. It could save someone a lot of anguish (and our insurance premiums from going up due to unrecoverable costs to the insurance company).

Any news on the damage to your bike yet CDFloss?

[FJRider]

Have another chat to the cops.

[chubby]

Sorry to hear about the crash and sorry to hear about the driver not taking responsibility. Its emotional enough without having to fight the whole thing to get to the truth. I am glad that your not badly hurt, well you haven't said that you are so i have assumed..... and hope this gets sorted out for you asap. Good luck.

[CDFloss]

Yup, would've been nice if someone else who saw it happen had stopped, but no luck there. I now know that I should've raised the point of fault at the scene, and if he'd made a fuss there then I could've got the cops to make an appearance.

No word on the bike yet. They're looking it over tomorrow morning. I'm guessing its nothing more than replacing the indicator and brake lever, unless hitting the curb did some unseen damage to the front-end. How do they check for that on a bike? Alignment or something?

Had to email a statement and diagram of what happened to the insurance - but not sure what difference that will make if he's already changed his tune. I really dont want to have to piss around with disputes tribunal, but its not looking good.

:wacko::weep::yawn:

[BIHB@0610]

Just glad you're ok :yes: and hope your bike isn't too hurt either :scooter:. Take arnica for your poor little finger :crybaby:

[mowgli]

If you'd swerved right into him while he was going straight then you'd have most likely remained in your lane after the collision. The fact that you exited stage left suggests strongly that he was the one moving across the lane. Cops will see though his lies. Good luck.

[FJRider]

Go back to the scene and take a few photos of the area without traffic,draw lines where you went/ they went etc...may be handy in court. Insurance does have its benefits...good LAWYERS. If your policy was up to date, nor in breach of laws or licence "restrictions", THEY will back you up (pay up). A cut finger is an "injury" accident and must be reported to the police ( within 24 hours I think)

[Pedrostt500]

good to hear ya walked away, break leaver and indicator dont sound to bad, the only front end damage I could think of would be a bit of a ding to the front rim, though they are desighned to take some fairly serious knocks.

[CDFloss]

If you'd swerved right into him while he was going straight then you'd have most likely remained in your lane after the collision. The fact that you exited stage left suggests strongly that he was the one moving across the lane.

Good point there. Frankly I've watched a mate side swipe a van before and doubt I wouldve remained on the bike at all. With your momentum going to the right, the bike is naturally going to try to turn into the vehicle it hits.

When I contacted the cops they didn't give me any kind of reference. How do they look it up again? Rego?
From talking to the insurance (state) so far, I haven't been filled with confidence. They implied that if he still disputes my diagram and statement, then I have to take him to dispute tribunal if I want to. ??

The cop asked me if there were injuries and I said no. Finger isn't cut, just bruised (not even very sore today) so didn't think it counted.

Yes insurance is paid up. And I've had 2 cars, house, and contents with them for over 5 yrs now... So they better bloody come to the party.

Oh well. We'll see what tomorrow brings. Yes hoping there's no damage.

Thanks folks. :)

[mowgli]

Good point there. Frankly I've watched a mate side swipe a van before and doubt I wouldve remained on the bike at all. With your momentum going to the right, the bike is naturally going to try to turn into the vehicle it hits.

When I contacted the cops they didn't give me any kind of reference. How do they look it up again? Rego?
From talking to the insurance (state) so far, I haven't been filled with confidence. They implied that if he still disputes my diagram and statement, then I have to take him to dispute tribunal if I want to. ??

The cop asked me if there were injuries and I said no. Finger isn't cut, just bruised (not even very sore today) so didn't think it counted.

Yes insurance is paid up. And I've had 2 cars, house, and contents with them for over 5 yrs now... So they better bloody come to the party.

Oh well. We'll see what tomorrow brings. Yes hoping there's no damage.

Thanks folks. :)

Go to your doctor. Fill out an ACC form and get the finger checked. It's not uncommon for injuries, especially fractures, to present later when the swelling goes down.

Call the cops, describe the incident and ask for the file reference. Let them know that there were injuries and that you've filed an ACC claim as a result. This guy drove into you! Don't give him any quarter.

[FJRider]

How much excess do you have to pay... how big a bill to fix/check bike ????
If the cops don't want to pursue the issue, insurance Co. aren't going for your blood(cash).... is it worth the hassle of further arguement ??? You now have more "life experience" to remember...

[CDFloss]

How much excess do you have to pay... how big a bill to fix/check bike ????
If the cops don't want to pursue the issue, insurance Co. aren't going for your blood(cash).... is it worth the hassle of further arguement ??? You now have more "life experience" to remember...

Yes, there's the question of whether its worth getting stressed about, but my excess is $400, and then there's the no-claims bonus. I dont see why I should let this prick get away with blaming the accident on me, which will effect me finincially in the short term, and come back to haunt me in years to come whenever I insure anything again. :buggerd:

Find out today about the bike, so will give me an idea of how much its gonna hurt cost-wise. Will call insurance co as well to chase them up after I sent them my statement and stuff. Dont want it to drag out too long if I can help it. :girlfight:

[FJRider]

He may blame you, but is he taking the matter further. If he isn't taking it further...no worries. If repairs are under $400, pay yourself and keep insurance out of it. If no court action is taken, future insurance problems wont happen. Accidents do happen. Thats why insurance costs. How long before you turn 25 ????

[CDFloss]

He may blame you, but is he taking the matter further. If he isn't taking it further...no worries. If repairs are under $400, pay yourself and keep insurance out of it. If no court action is taken, future insurance problems wont happen. Accidents do happen. Thats why insurance costs. How long before you turn 25 ????

I'll only know if he's taking it further once they go back to him (or his insurance) with my statement - which in itself has been a headache getting to them (you'd think they'd understand the concept of email by now).
I understand the reason we have insurance (and I'm 27) - but want the insurance to pay for what's going to be at the very least the cost of an inspection and new indicator & lever from TSS - even if its only 1 or 2 hundred, thats WHY we have insurance, so I dont have to pay even that when the accident wasnt my fault. Let his (or his employer's) insurance pick up the tab for my excess.

Thats ideally of course, but like you said if he doesnt take it further, and the damage is minimal, then its probably not worth the grey hairs taking it further myself.

Meh, we'll see. :calm:

[nivram]

Any more news on damage to the bike and has the other guy admitted liability yet?

[CDFloss]

Any more news on damage to the bike and has the other guy admitted liability yet?

Nope & nope. :soon: (hopefully)

[FJRider]

I'll only know if he's taking it further once they go back to him (or his insurance) with my statement - which in itself has been a headache getting to them (you'd think they'd understand the concept of email by now).
I understand the reason we have insurance (and I'm 27) - but want the insurance to pay for what's going to be at the very least the cost of an inspection and new indicator & lever from TSS - even if its only 1 or 2 hundred, thats WHY we have insurance, so I dont have to pay even that when the accident wasnt my fault. Let his (or his employer's) insurance pick up the tab for my excess.

Thats ideally of course, but like you said if he doesnt take it further, and the damage is minimal, then its probably not worth the grey hairs taking it further myself.

Meh, we'll see. :calm:

With the excess at $400, no matter how much the final bill is, the FIRST $400 is what you pay. You agreed to that when you signed the policy. Minor prangs and "incidents" are annoying and costly, but part of the real world. Learn from it... move on... and if there is a next time...you will be looking harder for dickheads in cages...

[CDFloss]

Yeah I get the concept of an excess, but the point is that if he's at fault, then he (or his insurance) pays my excess for me... win/win for me.

Have spoken to my insurance again, and after reading my statement (which they say puts him firmly at fault) they're going to get a statement from him, and if they reckon that he's in the wrong, they'll waive the excess.

In the mean time the bike's getting fixed either way, so I'm happy-ish. ;)

[Rev DJ]

Hi CDFloss, sorry to hear about your off - and I support fully your actions in seeking to clarify the 'at-fault' issue. This is where mowgli's point is important about making an ACC claim and a statement to the Police as this is where you can record the comments made at the scene - "sorry mate I did not see you" - this is an admission of liability. Many companies specifically instruct their drivers to NOT ADMIT LIABILITY - i.e. dont say anything! In my book you have got these guys simply because they have admitted liability already.

Hope all goes well...

DJ

[CDFloss]

Bike is ready. :clap::2thumbsup:banana:

$306 - not too bad. Now just need to find the time today to pick it up.

[FJRider]

Sounds like you got a good insurance co.

[CDFloss]

Sounds like you got a good insurance co.

Isn't that an oxymoron? :lol:

[Yossarian]

Hello CDFloss,

I just came across your thread regarding your bin. I have a similar story that happened two weeks ago.
I was on my Honda VTR250 going striaght through a roundabout. A truck driver failed to give way to me and clipped my front wheel , knocking the bike over......No injuries and after much swearing I calmed down. Truckie says "I didn't see ya mate"......this was midday and nice and sunny...
Two people who saw the crash left me their contact details, and me and the truckie go to the cop shop just up the road. We filled out a formal statement and I drew a diagram indicating what happened and he signed it admitting that he was totally at fault.
I wanted to maintain an amicable relationship but it turns out this idiot is self employed but said he worked for a company, I finally got the contact details of his boss, I rang him up and gave him the benefit of the doubt and asked him was he aware that his employee was involved in a road accident, to which he said no....I explained what happened. The boss said that he didn't come in to work for two days and when he finally came in on Thursday, the boss gave him the bullet (because he didn't turn up for work)
So I'm being told a load of different stories. I can't claim on my insurance as it ran out three weeks prior to the incident.....and (believe it or not) I was actually on the way to a bike shop to sell it. So now it looks like I'll have to go down the small claims tribunal road to try and get 1700 bucks out of this idiot. Has anyone on here ever done this? as I would be very greatful for any advice regarding this.

Thanks for reading.

Yoss.

[twistemotion]

Bike is ready. :clap::2thumbsup:banana:

$306 - not too bad. Now just need to find the time today to pick it up.
Excellent, glad the bike's sorted. Hope you get the rest sorted too!