Road Cycling

Right. It finally happened. I got smashed off my bike last night. He was entirely at fault.

The guy pulled over, reluctantly gave details and then I reported it to the police. They came around to take a statement and then headed off to find him to do a breathalyzer test. He was unable to provide his insurance details, but the police said he was insured and that they can get the deets for me.

So at the moment I've not heard back from the police so I'll do a bit of chasing.

The damage? Bruised back, grazed hips, gashed knee, bruised elbow and a sore ankle. I came off pretty well considering I smashed into his number plate and went over his bonnet.

As for the bike, well, surprisingly in very good nick. The only damage to the bike that I can see is scuffed derailleur, bent handlebar and smashed Garmin power meter pedal pod. My helmet is cracked and a hole in my shorts.

So, that's the damage I can see. Whether the frame has taken any hidden damage I do not know. Surprisingly the front wheel is pretty true still!


I'm aware many of you have had accidents in the past, so where do we go from here?

Cheers guys!
 
Last edited:
You made the right choice reporting it to the police. I'd chase them to see if he's admitted fault - that's an important first step.

Get your bike checked by an LBS that you trust. If it's a carbon frame I'd personally write it off - or get the LBS to state in writing that it is safe. Make a note of everything that is knackered, including clothes and stuff that is just 'scuffed' - it could well be more damaged than you think.

Do you have your own insurance or are you a member of BC?
 
Roady said:
What's a Powersense? :p

Self attached PWM that just superglues to your crankarm? What could possibly go wrong...! :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

There are other similar PM's available, or have been. I'm only looking for something is a back-up/for temporary use while P1's are out of action :o

Shamrock said:
I can't offer any specific advice but this post sprung to mind...

http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=40052&t=12722930
Click to expand...

Not seen that before, bookmarked to read later, thanks :cool: Personally I'd always report any RTA to the police regardless of how the other party proceeds. Chances are they will do the same and throw you under the bus (if they haven't literally already! :eek:)
 
Got my 16cm discs for my new green bike so have fitted them, and now ridden up and down the street. The brakes work, the gears work, all good. It'll take a bit of time getting used to the gears, but I'll get there. I'm hoping to get out Saturday morning for a bit of off-road action for the first time in years, so that should be fun.
 
Felt tired heading out tonight, did far too much work as usual and had a mental battle about big hill or wee hill. Went for big hill and got half way up in the big ring, settled in the wee ring with a guy that should climb better than me,turned at the top and my boss nailed it down the hill. Three of us hammered it back up to the slow guys so not much chance of recovering there.

The section I linked the other day I tried to stick with 3 guys at 28-30mph but snapped, left a gap to them and a similar gap back to the bunch. Decided to make some time up through the S bend that some people get scared of but was met by an X5 stopped in the road at the narrow bridge. Back wheel slid, then was up in the air pointing to the right as I aimed for the bushes at the side of the road rather than the back of the car.

Tried to jump on a wheel but from a standstill I made it but then blew and swung left to the gutter, much to the guys on the inside getting some shelters annoyance. I did apologize for not heading to the middle of the road but I was like a rabbit in the headlights after that near miss.

This corner https://goo.gl/maps/QQ9KMQysz9t
 
Shamrock said:
Sorry to hear that! Hope you are okay.

I've recently felt less safe on the roads since getting assaulted by a driver and seeing so much media coverage of accidents, fatalities and general anti-cyclist hatred.

I can't offer any specific advice but this post sprung to mind...

http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=40052&t=12722930
Click to expand...

Cheers sir, yes, I'm fine. Sore yesterday but feeling much better today! I'll take a look at that thread.


FrenchTart said:
You made the right choice reporting it to the police. I'd chase them to see if he's admitted fault - that's an important first step.

Get your bike checked by an LBS that you trust. If it's a carbon frame I'd personally write it off - or get the LBS to state in writing that it is safe. Make a note of everything that is knackered, including clothes and stuff that is just 'scuffed' - it could well be more damaged than you think.

Do you have your own insurance or are you a member of BC?
Click to expand...

Bike has been taken today to an LBS for a check. It is a carbon bike, my Colnago C60 :(.

My BC membership lapsed at the start of the year, and no additional bike insurance. Gaa!
 
topgun06 said:
Right. It finally happened. I got smashed off my bike last night. He was entirely at fault.
<snip>
I'm aware many of you have had accidents in the past, so where do we go from here?
Click to expand...
First off, glad to hear you're mostly ok and fingers crossed the bike is too! Take stock your injuries today after sleeping (as you probably have done already) and check yourself over again. Make a list of them while it's still fresh in your mind, similar to anything you recall of the collision, where (area) and how many times your helmet hit the floor, where your body took the brunt of the impact with the car and the floor. Keep all the info as you may need it in future (hopefully not!). If you're even slightly unsure of anything see a doctor to get checked over. It might be worth doing this anyway as I hate to say it - a driver who 'doesn't know' their insurance details is probably going to be slightly reluctant to tell his insurer the full details of the incident, much less admit liability.

The most important thing is keeping communication alive with the Police as they're the ones dealing with it at this stage - make sure you have the incident number, name of the officer you saw as well as the name and contact details of the officer dealing with it (if different). It helps to be seen as being 'proactive' in any communication with them, they're generally so busy you otherwise won't get the information you need ASAP without being slightly 'annoying' by calling them and asking every day... When I reported my incident over the phone they said to 'pop down to the station in the next few days', I was there within 7 hours (after finishing work) to fill out all of the RTC details.

Once you have his insurance details make contact with them to confirm it's been reported (at the very least), they'll probably want to contact their client if not. Don't volunteer any blame, let them take your side of the story, they should then decide for themselves that their client is at fault. When I reported mine I had communication open with the guys insurance within 2 days (and him admitting fault to them) and my compensation within 2 weeks. I didn't get a followup call from the police officer until a week after that (so 3 weeks after accident) asking for more information. He was surprised I'd sorted things so quickly with the guys insurance, they were happy to close the incident and to consider things resolved as there where no injuries. They'd visited the guy around a week after the accident to take his statement as he hadn't reported it to them (only his insurer), this sided them very favourably with me and they saw him being at fault.

Get your bike checked over at a good LBS, tell the the whole story and if possible get a written diagnosis/quotation from them for the repair to pass along.

YMMV but in my instance once the other parties insurance considered it a fault claim against their client they wanted much more information from me, once I confirmed I wasn't pursuing a personal injury claim (only compensation for equipment & clothing) they were really really helpful. I almost felt as if I was their client/customer. My other half works in insurance and said that as soon as there's no injury claim they'll probably write off at least £1000 to close the matter, only looking more closely if the value exceeds that. I supplied invoices for all of my damaged equipment along with a diagnosis from the LBS on the repair. As my bike was only a cheapy Halfords one (£350) the insurer were happy to cover the complete cost of a replacement, rather than repair. With all of the damaged equipment (I even got costs for scuffed shoes) totalling £150 they had agreed a compensation of £600 within 4 days of the accident (so around £100 for my half day off work, injury and other 'costs'). It took 2 weeks for the payment to appear in my account.

Jonny ///M said:
The section I linked the other day I tried to stick with 3 guys at 28-30mph but snapped, left a gap to them and a similar gap back to the bunch. Decided to make some time up through the S bend that some people get scared of but was met by an X5 stopped in the road at the narrow bridge. Back wheel slid, then was up in the air pointing to the right as I aimed for the bushes at the side of the road rather than the back of the car.
Click to expand...
Close call! You somehow didn't come off?! Amazing recovery regardless! :)
 
Roady said:
First off, glad to hear you're mostly ok and fingers crossed the bike is too! Take stock your injuries today after sleeping (as you probably have done already) and check yourself over again.

snip

As my bike was only a cheapy Halfords one (£350) the insurer were happy to cover the complete cost of a replacement, rather than repair. With all of the damaged equipment (I even got costs for scuffed shoes) totalling £150 they had agreed a compensation of £600 within 4 days of the accident (so around £100 for my half day off work, injury and other 'costs'). It took 2 weeks for the payment to appear in my account.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info too Roady. I've compiled a list of damage and injuries with accompanying photographs. I'll chase the police at lunch, I need to get the incident number and his insurance details. My dad has taken the bike to one of his LBS today. I'll message him to ensure he gets a written report of the diagnosis.
 
Good, hope you get things resolved as painless as I did! Your frame/bike is obviously worth much more than mine so would be worth digging out any invoices for it and any parts you have just in case.

Hope the bruises and rash are all ok! You don't feel 'thick headed' at all? Good! :D

I even sent them a scan of the parking ticket I'd bought when taking my bike to the LBS...
 
I got involved with my local club coached track session last night, I went for a trial/taster in the intermediate session which seemed pretty much spot on for me. My daughters are members and do all their riding on track, I've never been on track before I've always done my miles out on the road.

Quite a step up from riding out on the roads I found - more intense, out on the roads on your own or with a friend of two you are dictating your own pace, on track if you're not doing the pace of the group you soon pay the price. Warm up involved 15 laps at around 18 - 19 mph which was fine, then a few drills - lumps and bumps/breaking from inside the pack, cops n robbers type stuff - fun. First 30 mins I was completely happy then then the coach picked me and a few others to break from the pack and form a new pack - I didn't react in time - the pack was gone, the aero assistance had gone and I got stranded between pack I was supposed to be in and the pack I just left. The shame. Lesson learned pretty quick there - if you don't get into the break quick you're in a spot of bother. :p Fun race at the end of the session, feedback from the coach afterwards to show a bit more confidence - naturally I wasn't going to start throwing myself around first time ever on the track and I certainly didn't want to be the one to cause a crash. I think my membership should be sorted by today/tomorrow so I think I'll be back on track Monday, subject the weather of course.

Garmin - FFFFFriggin Garmin - end of the session I took it out my pocket and it had switched itself off and only around 4 mins or so was recorded. FFS. :mad:
 
topgun06 said:
My BC membership lapsed at the start of the year, and no additional bike insurance. Gaa!
Click to expand...

Unlucky about the accident :(

If you have legal cover on your home insurance (or parents home insurance if you live with them) then that will provide legal assistance for your accident.
 
merlin said:
Unlucky about the accident :(

If you have legal cover on your home insurance (or parents home insurance if you live with them) then that will provide legal assistance for your accident.
Click to expand...

I've had a look, Legal Expenses: Not Covered. :(

I didn't think I'd be covered for things outside the home, a little naive of me. I'd have probably taken the option if I had know/done more research. I'll know for next time anyway.
 
I was hit by a car on this day 6 years ago - I was turning right into a country through road and a car behind me, travelling in my direction, slammed into the side me. Basically they overtook me but didn't realise I was turning into a road (it's tricky to see on the approach).
I was knocked out but someone called the police and ambulance and I was driven to a nearby hospital. I had a massive gash on my leg which required stitches but other than that I was okay. My bike, helmet, clothing and iPhone were trashed though.

On that evening their car insurance company called me and said they would cover the replacement costs of the damaged parts and sort compensation - which was all sorted within 6 months.
 
topgun06 said:
Right. It finally happened. I got smashed off my bike last night. He was entirely at fault.!
Click to expand...

Heal up well - good advice so far on here and good luck with getting everything sorted.

On the same note - 6 of us out today, me on the front and a stupid women in a Range Rover pulled out in front of us from a side road. Thankfully we all managed to avoid each other and the car in time but it was bloody close.

Her comment out of the window was "sorry - didn't see you" - I pointed out she might need an eye test then considering what I was wearing

IMAG2171.jpg
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom