Cars and trailers

[Greyham]

I was crusing home from a wedding today over the haywards and towards state highway 1 on state hightway 58 i think, anyway this guy pulls right in front of me pulling a trailer, so i think 'well if i don't brake i'll hit his trailer and superman and if i do brake i'll lock up(being an older bike with no ABS)'
so i decided to try and brake didn't work i locked up ind rode of my first bike :violin: and am out of poket of at least two grand, but that doent bother me because i managed to walk away with a couple scrapes and bruses (pretty lucky i think) anyway fucken driver clames he didn't see me, how can this be? my lights were on and it was a bright day and i was totaly visable....I guess some drivers are half asleep permantly:bash:

[JimO]

get the cops involved, him not seeing you doesnt mean he isnt responsible

[KS34]

Hey dude, hopefully he is insured, and you can claim against that.

[Dave Lobster]

"I didn't see you.." means I didn't look. A bigger admission of guilt, you wont find.

[Greyham]

i have full insurance so no wories there, i was just talking to a mate and he rekens i can take his to small claims court and recoup the cost of my now wasted gear, thoughts?

[Richi]

most car drivers have insurance - for times like this. His fault - His insurance. They should fix/ replace ur bike and also ur gear. Id claim a new jacket and pants and gloves. Maybe even helmet. Just because he didnt c u doesnt mean its not his fault so he will have to pay up. glad ur ok though

[BMWST?]

i hope you got his details and hopefully a witness....most insurance companies have a claim form on the web now,they will then chase his insurance company,not sure about your gear might have to claim on your contents ins.....

[Greyham]

yeah he does, and my helmet is rooted, i will look into heting some cost back, the worst thing is i now have a loan for a bike that is stuffed

[Ixion]

So, he pulled out in front of you. And said he didn't see you. Did you see him ? If you did , why didn't you prepare for the probability that he would pull out. It's what they do. When you ride a bike you can't afford to rely on other's doing what they should. It's down to you to keep safe. As you have discovered.

And if you didn't see him , you can't really complain about him not seeing you, eh?

[Greyham]

So, he pulled out in front of you. And said he didn't see you. Did you see him ? If you did , why didn't you prepare for the probability that he would pull out. It's what they do. When you ride a bike you can't afford to rely on other's doing what they should. It's down to you to keep safe. As you have discovered.

And if you didn't see him , you can't really complain about him not seeing you, eh?

its all good to say that, i did see him but we were so close that you would expect him to wait, but he didn't so what is one to do?

[Ixion]

its all good to say that, i did see him but we were so close that you would expect him to wait, but he didn't so what is one to do?

Crash. that's expectations for y'

[Greyham]

no kidding

[<Rhino>]

Where exactly did it happen, I have watched the exact same thing happen at the whitby turnoff intersection!

[Kickaha]

anyway fucken driver clames he didn't see me, how can this be? my lights were on and it was a bright day and i was totaly visable....I guess some drivers are half asleep permantly:bash:

Don't ever rely on lights on, Hi ves vests, guardian angels etc to save you, to the motoring public you are invisible, ride accordingly


its all good to say that, i did see him but we were so close that you would expect him to wait, but he didn't so what is one to do?

I'd say that was your mistake right there

[discodan]

A lot of the time you can predict that you may have to take evasive action to avoid a cager but there are times where you have no warning. Anyone who says that you could have avoided any accident is deluding them selves.

My opinion is that if you fail to see someone and cause an accident because you could'nt be bothered checking properly; then you are not fit to drive and should lose your licence.

[sunhuntin]

why is it cagers with trailers seem to be even worse at driving? i had one pull out from a fruit stand on the other side of the road down kapiti way. luckily, i spotted him, took a stab at what he was likely to do, and had applied the brakes before he even started to move. i was fully loaded with gear for a two week trip, so it would have been a case of gear all over the road had i been hit him.

[Little Miss Trouble]

why is it cagers with trailers seem to be even worse at driving? i had one pull out from a fruit stand on the other side of the road down kapiti way. luckily, i spotted him, took a stab at what he was likely to do, and had applied the brakes before he even started to move. i was fully loaded with gear for a two week trip, so it would have been a case of gear all over the road had i been hit him.

Because they often fail to compensate for the extra time it will take to complete a manouver with the extra length and resistance a trailer provides

[Greyham]

Where exactly did it happen, I have watched the exact same thing happen at the whitby turnoff intersection!

it was at the james cook drive turn off

[DarkLord]

Who will the insurance company be most likely to blame?

It sounds to me like there is fault on both sides - he obviously didn't look or didn't "see you" as he claims and probably failed to compensate with the difference made because of the trailer.

But Greyham could also be considered at fault in a way for expecting him to not pull out and therefore not adjusting his riding accordingly.

Thoughts?

[Greyham]

Who will the insurance company be most likely to blame?

It sounds to me like there is fault on both sides - he obviously didn't look or didn't "see you" as he claims and probably failed to compensate with the difference made because of the trailer.

But Greyham could also be considered at fault in a way for expecting him to not pull out and therefore not adjusting his riding accordingly.

Thoughts?

well usually you can see if someone is about to pull out, thats all good, but when you are really close and they are statioary and then decise to turn, who is to blame?

[mdnzz]

Any driver of a vehicle that pulls out onto a road without giving way to on coming traffic is in the wrong if their actions cause an accident. If there was sufficient room and you failed to take action then your in the wrong.
From the sounds of it his admission that he didn't see you does not mean that he was in the wrong, it just means to him you were not visible enough to warrant his attention.

One thing you never mentioned though if you reported the crash to the police, regardless of injury or not.

[Ixion]

Thing is, right or wrong doesn't really matter. Motorcycling is about surviving, not about being right.

He's driving a cage. Ergo, he's probably stupid. So you have to do his thinking for him, because he's incapable of it.

Not right, not fair, but that's the way you survive on two wheels.

[Greyham]

police were there in a matter of minutes

[Greyham]

Thing is, right or wrong doesn't really matter. Motorcycling is about surviving, not about being right.

He's driving a cage. Ergo, he's probably stupid. So you have to do his thinking for him, because he's incapable of it.

Not right, not fair, but that's the way you survive on two wheels.

Well after walking away from this, i can tell you although i'm am stiff, sore and grazed I have never felt more alive as I do right now

[MsKABC]

How fast were you moving Greyham? If you were in danger of running up the back of his trailer, it sounds as if he had time to pull well away from the intersection before you got there.

(You said "when you are really close and they are statioary and then decise to turn") This suggests to me that either he pulled out quite quickly (unlikely) or you were perhaps going a bit too fast? This may have had the two-fold effect of:

* he couldn't accurately judge your speed and you were approaching faster than he thought

and

* you had less time to react.

As someone who tows a trailer on a regular basis and who also rides a motorcycle, I can see both perspectives. I also resent the assertions that cagers & people who tow trailers are stoopid! :Pokey: :bleh:

No, he didn't see you (didn't look properly) and technically he was in the wrong. But if you could see him, you should have been able to anticipate his intentions and escape.

Also, I don't understand why you are out of pocket almost 2 grand if: (a) you have insurance and (b) it was his fault anyway? You can probably get your gear repaired, and yes you'll need a new helmet, but insurance may cover that. Small claims court is probably not worth the piss-assing around.

JMHO, FWIW :D