I got hit this morning on a 40mph road by a car this morning, been to a&e and X-rays ok, cut up hip, leg and arm, jarred shoulder.
I was doing 58kmph and coming up to a traffic island, slight downhill, about 10m-15m before there was two potholes/ drains/grids
I glaneced over my shoulder and I moved out , I heard the noise of a vehicle, it hit my back wheel and shunttered me into a slide 30-35m , the driver said as I swerved out he slammed on but was going to hit the traffic island , so he released the pedal.

We both skidded to a halt, as I was sliding I turned around to check if car was stopped, it was still sliding about a1-2 foot off

Lad pulled over, shocked and I asked him why he was so close, he said I swerved out ,
I asked him why he hadn’t left a full car width to overtake me and especially as a traffic island was coming up .

I got his name address, tel number and reg no..

Just got back from a&he, topcoats service from a&he
looking at my bike the front wheel snapped in 3 places and the shifters hassnapped back, plastic looks to be broken..

A, should I report to the police
B, he said hed kandi pay for a new wheel,
C, how do I report it throw insurance, should I ring my car insurers or house insurers..

D, I’m not looking for a comp payout just to cover the costs of new wheels, parts and bike repairs , shredded two jackets and thermal cycling trousers, (but just glad I was heavily clothed)
E, no witnesses , but a kind man stopped about 5-10 mins later to see if I was ok, as the driver had left

A) Yes it a person injured it should have been reported straight away so he could be breathalysed.
B) Tell him to go through his insurance
C) You weren’t in your car.

Good the hear it’s not serious.

https://www.lfgss.com/conversations/131099/

Isn’t it an offence to leave the scene of an accident when there’s an injured party anyway? Or an offence to not report the accident, something like that?

Police should have been involved if you thought you were injured enough to go to an A & E.

As above. MUST be reported to the Police, I think it is 24hrs so either he needs to or you need to.

It doesn’t really have anything to do with either your house or car insurance in terms of damage to the bike as that is for you and his insurance to sort out. If you have personal injury insurance cover with any policy then it might be worth finding out if that would cover this type of accident for injuries. You will be sore tomorrow.

If he won’t cough up his insurance details then you have a valid reason to look on AskMID. The police will get it for you anyway. You need to report it to them ASAP. Up to you if you give the guy a heads-up. You should have called them at the scene though, even if they didn’t attend it would have had it logged and given you a reference for giving to the insurance.

At the time I was cut up, all superficial lower arm and around the hip waist and knee and shin.

I could stand up hence I didn’t feel the need for police ambulance etc

but my hip joint started aching with shooting pains,
After I had rang my partner and got picked up, only a mile from home

then decided it best to go a&E drop in centre, I reported it as a road traffic incident at the a&e ..

It’ll all be ok assuming he stands by his word and pays costs ,

Section 170 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 requires drivers/ riders to report to a police officer or police station that they have been involved in an accident involving in any of the following; any personal injury. damage only, where the other driver/ rider did not stop.

For your own security and that of others (as he might have previous) then report it. It gives you a much better leg to stand on if he decides to be awkward.

It doesn’t really have anything to do with either your house or car insurance in terms of damage to the bike as that is for you and his insurance to sort out.

My bike is insured under my house insurance.

http://www.cycleaid.co.uk

http://WWW.BIKELINE.CO.UK

or CTC 0844 7368452

ALL will take tour claim for free,

NOW REPORT IT TO POLICE, and fill in a rtc report, and hope driver is legal , insured taxed and moted etc.

How id you get to hospital, did driver take you or ambulance, keep a record of all expences, and phonecalls time and date, then wait and recover slowly, youll hurt tommorrow.

Carbon frame? Don’t risk getting cash payout for the wheel etc, chances are your frame is damaged too, even if you can’t see it straight away. Van driver who knocked me off, gave me £150 for a borked wheel. 2 weeks later cracks started to appear on my seat tube and there was no comeback…

My bike is insured under my house insurance.

For theft or damaged in an accident/RTC? If the latter then by all means contact them.

If you have home insurance legal cover then it might be worth giving them a shout.

I don’t think house insurance will pay out for a non-fault accident, they’ll surely expect you to claim off the driver?

I was doing 58kmph and coming up to a traffic island, slight downhill, about 10m-15m before there was two potholes/ drains/grids
I glaneced over my shoulder and I moved out , I heard the noise of a vehicle, it hit my back wheel and shunttered me into a slide 30-35m , the driver said as I swerved out he slammed on but was going to hit the traffic island , so he released the pedal.

also a claim against the highway authority, take plenty of picturs with the aid of a ruler or tape to show depth etc, and then report the pothole, fillthathole etc and LA website.

exactly, but they might deal with the other insurer if it is covered (probably through the legal cover bit) as your car insurance would.

He won’t pay you a penny when he hears how much all your kit is likely to cost. He’ll be sat there thinking up reasons why he shouldn’t have to part with cash. Call the non-emergency police line and get it logged. Ask if they will check insurance cover on his vehicle.

Non emergency police line won’t deal with it. You need to go to the station and full out the forms in person. Good luck.

Based on a collision (and successful claim) in October.

A, Yes, you should definitely report to the police. Without witnesses they won’t be able to charge him with any driving offences (based on my experience – traffic cops recommended ‘without due care’ but not proceeded with as little chance of success)

Police should interview driver and provide you with his name, reg, insurance details (for future reference – you really should have done this at the scene. Would have been much easier for you).

B, Deal with the insurers.

C, his insurers, not yours.

D, I’m not looking for a comp payout just to cover the costs of new wheels, parts and bike repairs , shredded two jackets and thermal cycling trousers, (but just glad I was heavily clothed)

Expect it to take a few months to get paid out.

Get your bike properly checked over by a bike shop. Quote for all damaged parts to be replaced. Make sure that you/they are comfortable about any damage to frame and fork.

You have been injured and you should be entitled to some compensation for that – at least talk to a cycle claims solicitor. http://www.slatergordon.co.uk/unions-federations-and-charities/ctc/

E, no witnesses , but a kind man stopped about 5-10 mins later to see if I was ok, as the driver had left

You could/should press Police to charge him with ‘leaving the scene’. He should have stayed and should have reported it.

exactly, but they might deal with the other insurer if it is covered (probably through the legal cover bit) as your car insurance would.

Yup they should.

Tell police. If they’d been called at the time he would have been breathalysed, interviewed and possibly reported for careless driving.

By law he has to stop to be able to give details to anyone that needs it and has 24 hours to tell police. You don’t press charges for failing to stop, that’s up to the police if he doesn’t report it to them.

If you’re with BC or CTC (or whatever it’s called) let them know. Their legal firm might not get involved yet but it’s recorded if you do need them later. As above drivers can become a whole lot less interested when the costs add up.

And you need time to assess the effect of your injuries- swelling and soft tissue injuries aren’t instant, they get worse. I rode 10 miles home from mine on adrenaline and declined ambo or a lift in the police van. Ended up off work for a month :-/ And expect to get blanked by his insurers, standard practice to discourage claims which is why I ended up going via BC legal cover (Leigh Day).

Apart from not leaving you room, and overtaking at an island, if you were doing 58kph, that’s about 36mph, so in a 40mph limit he shouldn’t have had to slam on stay behind you. Worth mentioning when you report to police.

A few posts are suggesting he could be charged with leaving the scene – but if he stopped and gave you his details, I think he was legal to go after that?

It’s an RTA so you should report it. In addition to the obvious it will also go on road accident stats and may go towards making improvements for cyclists in the future on that section of road.

If there are no witnesses he may deny it happened like it did. Similar incident happened to me, offending driver initially very contrite and offered to pay etc. 24hrs later it ‘never happened’, presumably after he had spoken to his mates down the pub. Get on to the rozzers pronto. Make notes about what happened while it is fresh in your mind.

I’d put his reg through the DVLA MOT and Tax database too. You might be in for a surprise.

Right I rang 101, they took a report and I then went to the local station to finish off the report.

I’m dropping my bike off at the shop tomorrow it needs a new wheel and the shifters all damaged
It’s alloy with carbon seatpost and forks so will get them to check it out and get an estimate

You may find that you are very bruised / stiff / whiplash type effect tomorrow when you wake up.. Have pain killers and ibuprofen by the bed.
Keep a record of any injuries and photograph them.
Write everything down now, make lists of any damage to kit, bike or your injuries. Document it all, photograph it all.

From experience, get the bike shop to wrote a report/quote on letter headed paper

Spot on cloud 9, an old shoulder injury definately got jarred yesterday I can’t lift my arm even half way before pain, the leg and hip is more superficial but will sting like a bar steward
And thanks Scaled gonna drop my bike off later I’ll ask them for an official quote, likely I’ll need to pay for damage and try and reclaim if the guy isn’t interested In Paying up
Will take plenty of pictures before dropping it off

**Update**
i have the driver name, car reg, a police report (they are not going to prosecute, no time), pictures of damage to bike (was new jan17), clothing and myself, picture of bike in relation to traffic island (35-40metres down the road) and manholes that i moved out for, and I’ll be getting pictures aprox measurements of the manholes/grates and the solid white lines immediately prior to the traffic island. He hit me from behind and should not have been overtaking at the proximity to the traffic island .
strava shows my speed as 58KMPH (36mph in a 40 zone) and location of Rest.

it was a fleet vehicle of a local garage, the police gave me the company name and address and the insurance details.

I’m now in limbo

do i ring the boss and ask for damages (bike shop have inspected frame and damage bill repairs is £300) clothing and accessories damage another £250-300.
or go via the solicitor route (i do not expect long term injury).
or go direct to the insurer.

has anyone past experience of low claim values, my bodies recovering far better than i expected, TBH i’m glad to be alive, although an old ac joint shoulder injury has flared up, hoping that will fade in a few days

it may be best to speak to one of the companies listed above and take their advice, i cant see them wanting no win no fees on such a low payout.

just interested peoples thoughts

do i ring the boss and ask for damages (bike shop have inspected frame and damage bill repairs is £300) clothing and accessories damage another £250-300.
or go via the solicitor route (i do not expect long term injury).
or go direct to the insurer.

Your solicitors go to the insurer’s of the vehicle. Always.
You could phone the boss but that then gives him the opportunity to claim that you were harrasing / intimidating / threatening him.
You / your solicitors present the bill to the insurance company, they do all the negotiating and they pay out.

Spot on cloud 9, an old shoulder injury definately got jarred yesterday I can’t lift my arm even half way before pain, the leg and hip is more superficial but will sting like a bar steward

get the ball rolling with getting a claim through his insurers…but i would hang fire on saying your injuries are fine…they may get worse later on especially making an old injury even worse. go get a medical assessment on the extent of the shoulder injury

Years ago I was hit by a car, but it was a low speed tumble and the only damage was a buckled back wheel and a cut on my shin.

Phoned up the driver to give them my quote of £150 for new wheel and the driver’s dad says jog on. They had their chance.

Got British Cycling involved and a year later received over £1000 and the driver was in trouble for not reporting it to their insurance company.

I would go to the boss with a one time offer – if he does not accept ad write the cheque there and then then its solicitors time.

Definitely add something on for pain and suffering. It’s not your fault you are chasing up your losses with a sore shoulder etc. You’ll probably not get everything you ask for anyway.

A few things to note from my own experience –

Collision claims for replacement of damaged bikes are NOT new-for-old. If your bike is written off the insurance company will only pay out for the depreciated value of the bike, clothing, equipment etc.

Based on this it’s in your interest to make sure you list all of the items that are damaged, even if the damage is cosmetic or something you’d repair. Remember that people expect their cars to be resprayed for the most minor scratches. If you do this you’ll not be too pished when they pay out a percentage of your claim.

Collision claims for replacement of damaged bikes are NOT new-for-old. If your bike is written off the insurance company will only pay out for the depreciated value of the bike, clothing, equipment etc.

They should be. You should be put back in the position you were before the accident. With cars they can offer depreciated values because there’s a huge market for second hand cars, more depreciation etc. That doesn’t exist with a bike. If you have a £7000 S-Works and they say “we’ll give you £3k”, you’re not going to get the same bike. They may offer you less, but I’d not accept it.

When I made a claim (through BC) I was encouraged to include stuff like my shorts, which had a rip, scuffed shoes etc. The claim was to restore all the items that were damaged, which is not unreasonable.

simons_nicolai-uk – Member

A few things to note from my own experience –

Collision claims for replacement of damaged bikes are NOT new-for-old. If your bike is written off the insurance company will only pay out for the depreciated value of the bike, clothing, equipment etc.

You’ve been had I think. Last time an insurer tried this on with me (clothes and damaged components, £600 odd) I read online advice saying the above is horseshit. It implies there is an established market (like for cars) where you can determine the price of SH stuff by its age (Parkers etc) but there is no such equivalent for bikes/parts.

I got a cheque by return after raising the argument above.

Insurers will lie to you to get away with paying less.

it may be best to speak to one of the companies listed above and take their advice, i cant see them wanting no win no fees on such a low payout.

You are quite right about this in my actual experience. the no-win-no-fee rules changed a few years ago to rein in ambulance chasers, so now as you say if it’s only a few hundered quids worth of bike damage they won’t be interested. I’d go straight to the insurance company, (in fact did).

edit – and unless you are sure it didn’t bash or scrape anything, definitely claim for a new helmet.

I got new for old when my bike was stolen

I got new for old when my bike was stolen

Yes, your own insurance, which may cover damage as well as theft, may well be new for old. However, when you’re claiming against someone else’s motor insurance for a collision it’s not.

Which is why i pointed it out.

They should be. You should be put back in the position you were before the accident. With cars they can offer depreciated values because there’s a huge market for second hand cars, more depreciation etc. That doesn’t exist with a bike. If you have a £7000 S-Works and they say “we’ll give you £3k”, you’re not going to get the same bike. They may offer you less, but I’d not accept it.

You’ve been had I think. Last time an insurer tried this on with me (clothes and damaged components, £600 odd) I read online advice saying the above is horseshit. It implies there is an established market (like for cars) where you can determine the price of SH stuff by its age (Parkers etc) but there is no such equivalent for bikes/parts.

I made the same point, and they didn’t mark down the cost by as much as I feared but their position is supported by the websites of the claims lawyers I looked at. I made sure that what I claimed took account of what I wanted to get out of it.

Be careful of mixing up the cover YOU have for YOUR accidents and the cover that THEY have for the losses caused by THEIR accidents.

Where you are not at fault you are effectively saying to the other party “You have caused me loss – I am now proposing to sue you for the cost of my loss.” They then say “OK, we have taken out insurance to cover ourselves when someone makes this sort of claim, we’ll then let the insurance company handle it.”

Whatever terms and conditions their insurance is arranged on is irrelevant to you – you have a claim against the person that caused you loss and the extent of their policy cannot reduce your ability to claim.

So YOUR loss is the damage to your bike, and you are entitled under normal civil law proceedings to be put back in the position you were before the incident.

Now one or other of the insurance policies that you have taken out may include Legal Cover type arrangements which effectively allow you to step back and have them deal with the negotiation on the claim, but if you don’t have that (or don’t want it) what you need to do is:-
– tell the car owner of the full extent and cost of the damage to you and your equipment and that you are claiming the full cost of replacement
– tell them of the extent of the physical injuries and that you will be claiming against them a currently unquantified amount for injuries caused

They will then forward that to their insurers and the insurers should get in touch with an offer of settlement, or they may want to try to limit their payout by challenging your levels of loss (after all, that’s how insurance companies make their money – by paying out as little as possible). At the point at which an offer is made to you by the insurers, if you choose to reject it as you don’t believe it is sufficient you will then end up having to take the company to court in the small claims. But don’t let yourself be bullied into a low figure – irrespective of what the insurers do, your entitlement remains the same, unless you’ve accepted a final offer from them.

[Edit – instead of dealing directly with the company, you may want to instruct a solicitor to do this for you, to avoid any mishps – perhaps on a no-win, no-fee basis]