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I hope your wife makes a good recovery & it hasn't put her off riding on the road.
How long do you think she'll be off the bike for? Has her confidence took a battering?
Good luck with proceedings against the car driver,at least a Police van turned up quickly & you've got cycle cover to pursue a claim against the car driver.
One thing with drivers using the sun as a excuse for their incompetence,I try & plan the journey so that I'm not on roads where low level sun is a problem,or when I am on them,they're really quiet country lanes so I can hear any vehicles in the area & try and avoid them.
Granted it's a bit different when you're not surrounded by quiet lanes or you've got to cycle down the main road...
Jesus Stu, must have been horrible for you both*, hope Amanda heals up quick, it's too nice out to be sat at home
*Obvious worse for her, but you seeing her go though it must have been awful too.
The motorists in question has told the police that the sun was in her eyes and it’s not her fault…
Jesus wept. Like the driver who claimed to be traumatized after nearly being hit head-on by a car that had been ‘forced’ to overtake cyclists on a bend. Utter ****ing halfwits.
Healing vibes to Mrs Stu. I’ve had a few near misses over the years despite avoiding riding on roads as much as possible. Each one just makes you think how utterly defenseless you are against a ton plus of metal being piloted by a moron who is likely to get away with it.
Hope she makes a full recovery swiftly and that the driver is nailed (unlikely though the latter is). Must have been terrifying for the both of you.
Sorry to rant, but this stuff just makes me so angry. I’ll bet the daft wench in the car wouldn’t have used that excuse if it has been a lorry and it had mullered her. Then it would have been something about the lorry speeding or somesuch. Anyway, no need to focus on someone not worth the effort, really hope mrs Stu gets well soon and isn’t put off by this incident.
Agree on the level of driving, was out on the roadie yesterday and had 2 overtakes on blind summits, this is on a rural A road with absolutely bugger all traffic. Second one was almost a head on followed by my hand on the passenger window. Thankfully I could sense it coming and was making my escape onto the verge. Got the number plate and reported to 101 later in. Just complete lack of patience , in fact it was that he and it was a he, was following another car so close he assumed it was clear.
healing vibes good to hear nothing major but distressing all the same
Thanks for all your good wishes, advice and healing vibes. I am okay, although in my defence I am quite hard. I wish it hadn't happened but could be worse, just frustrated that I cant ride for a few weeks due to someone not paying attention.
The A&E experience did open my eyes as to how many people use it unneccesarily, there was a guy in there with mild sunburn that thought he was going to die ffs, although it did make us laugh! To be honest I wouldn't have gone if I hadn't thought my wrist was fractured and the ambulance crew hadn't persuaded me. Big thanks to ambulance crews and A&E staff everywhere, you do a great job under immense pressure.
Amanda (mrssstu) xx
get well soon mrs stu.
do you still have the tandem. get the big lad to take you out on that, you can ride no hands on the back, and good training for him. ;o)
Similar happened to me, but I broke my back and 4 ribs. Phone CTC's accident help line and they will put their solicitors in touch with you.
Keep all receipts and also log any time you or anyone spends looking after your wife - this is something that's been built into my claim as my wife now has to do more as there are things I now struggle with.
Keep records of hospital and GP appointments, and prescription receipts.
Very sorry to hear this, and I wish Mrs Stu a speedy recovery.
Unfortunately I've been over the bonnets of two cars that pulled out in front of me (both at the same junction on my old commute, and both on my way in to work in good light), so I can sympathise with her. Even if the injuries are not too bad, it serves as a rather sharp reminder that cars are hard metal and their occupants are well insulated, whilst cyclists are not. On the road, a cyclist is dependant on drivers being diligent all the time. I've always known this, but such a forceful reminder really knocked my confidence, and this took longer to heal than my physical injuries.
In terms of claims process, your best move is probably to give the CTC (now Cycling UK btw) claims advisers (Slater Gordon) a call on 0844-736-8452. I didn't, but that was only because in both cases the drivers seemed absolutely mortified/in a state of shock that they had hit me, and (at that time at least) I had deep enough pockets not to worry about replacing stuff. So I can't say what the process is like.
I do agree with others who have said injuries may not be apparent for a few days or even weeks. Shock (adrenaline!) seems to be really good at hiding things, and swelling takes a while too.
Once again, I hope she recovers quickly. Glass half full, it could have been a far worse day.
No advice but I hope recovery is swift.
In terms of claims process, your best move is probably to give the CTC (now Cycling UK btw) claims advisers (Slater Gordon) a call on 0844-736-8452. I didn’t, but that was only because in both cases the drivers seemed absolutely mortified/in a state of shock that they had hit me, and (at that time at least) I had deep enough pockets not to worry about replacing stuff.
Amanda will be ringing them first thing in the morning.
As the woman showed no remorse or concern for Amanda's injurys despite having a smashed up face with blood all over it we will be doing everything we can to claim everything back.
Wrecked frame, skuffed up fork, helmet, oakleys and garmin watch will all be on the list just to start with.
I just can't get my head round how you can do that to someone then not even ask if they're going to be OK.
If helmet damaged be aware of concussion. I wasn't after mine and only became apparent a month or so later when it started to ease. Interesting article in last month's Rouleur about concussion and reading it was about the point I'd realised I was suffering.
Yep quite aware of the dangers of head injury.
We've me Lorraine and seen what it did to her.
https://www.pinkbike.com/news/girl-interrupted-lorraine-truong-head-injury-bmc-bikes.html
Sorry to hear this, hope all goes well and you’re back riding soon.
Healing vibes ✌️
Sorry to hear this and hope your wife mends quickly.
Need to check if her windscreen washers had water in. Loads of dust in the air now after days of hot weather coating windscrrens and bright sun with deep shadows due to roadside vegetatation being high. However many people dont fill washer bottles in summer thinking its just a winter thing. If she had dirty winscreen and empty bottle then you have her.
Sign on to STW for the first time in ages and see this. I remember seeing a variety nearly hit my missus on a ride and it's scary!
Heal well Amanda, hope you're back on your bike soon and the driver gets their just desserts.
I got caught by the sun in the eyes thing in the car on Friday. An issue was, car had been parked under trees and had tree goo on the windscreen which windscreen washer wouldn't get rid of quickly. I had to stop and clean it by hand. I suppose really I should have done that before setting off. Thing is, the tree goo was no problem at all until the direct sunlight hit.
CTC lawyers were quite slow to respond when I had a similar accident last year. Be patient if you want your free legal advice/claim (or go with someone else and pay). Definitely claim though, the burden of proof in a civil claim for damages is lower than a criminal case, so even if there is no successful prosecution, you should still get compensation.
Glad it wasn't more serious.
Hope she heals well. Had the same but was not catapulted, just absorbed all the energy in a dead stop. Had similar injuries and a lot more. Recovery took three months.
Watch that wrist. I had mine set, then three weeks later a consultant said it was at the wrong angle, and would need breaking and resetting once healed. I went private and had a plate put in two days later.
CTC use Leigh Day. They are experts in all aspects of cycle injuries. You have three years to make a claim. Mine is ongoing.
Wrist still gives trouble. Separated shoulder is an aero gain on the TT bike! I won’t be separating the other one if I can help it!
Sh*t - jut seen this Stu, which makes the comment on my post about 36s look a bit daft ("nothing too serious" etc). Anyway, really soz to hear this - obviously best wishes and a speedy recovery to Mrs Stu. Hope everything's sorted soon.
Glad she's reasonably OK - I seem to have several near misses every time I go near a town, it always seems like it's a matter of when, not if.
Get well soon Mrs Sstu, surely a good excuse for a new frame at least hey!
The A&E comment is so true as well, although guessing the A&E you might have ended up in, it more than likely resembled the bar from Star Wars anyway 😉
Hope Mrsstu gets better soon 😞
Assuming it does go to court, make sure you add as much information to your statement as possible, assume you are the only witness take plenty of photos and blag a screenshot of the location from Google maps satellite image. I witnessed a friend in a near fatal motorcycle accident and was shocked by how little evidence the prosecution presented.
do you still have the tandem.
First emergency stop on ours yesterday after car pulled out on us, must be something in the air 😞
If it can be presented in court as part of your statement, how about a video following the car's route at the same time of day and conditions?
Would be useful if it contradicts the 'sun in the eyes'.
Hope Mrsstu gets well soon. Horrible situation.
Just playing devils advocate for a second with regards to the 'sun in the eyes' situation.
How are all these people who are judge, jury and executioner managing to get around on anything other than foot if they so whiter than white.
1) Bike on road - Yep I have been blinded by sun on the bike. It just happens sometimes, regardless of sunglasses etc. Thankfully only a couple of seconds and no harm done. Coming over the brow of a hill or around a bend quickly and bam, cant see for a few seconds.
2) Car - Most definitely. So many hills and reflective surfaces (wet road), it doesn't just have to be a blatent sunny day for this to happen. As pointed out, tree sap, ice, water, even just washing your windscreen on a sunny day to get rid of the midges can result in dangerous levels of vision.
In my line of work we sometimes get asked by the police accident investigation teams to 'lend' them a particular vehicle if that is what was involved in an accident. It turns out we lent a truck on one where there had been a fatality. All the witnesses were adamant the sun wasn't a hinderance to anyone. Police took the truck to the accident location and bam, sun was right in the eyes of the truck driver who was sat another 10ft up just as he came over the brow of a hill.
You can plan for the worst and try to avoid as much as you can but in my eyes this is the kind of situation no one actually wants so its what insurance, thank god is there for.
What I would be utterly disgusted at is someone not showing compassion for someone they have knocked off a bike regardless of what happened. That's low.
Nasty stuff for Mr & Mrs SSS - hope you get a suitable outcome from it.
I’d be interested to know how the police would react if that motorist knocked a policeman off a bike and claimed she had the sun in her eyes,
What I would be utterly disgusted at is someone not showing compassion for someone they have knocked off a bike regardless of what happened. That’s low.
Thats what I just can't get my head around.
How could a woman in her late 50s be so callas when she could see Amanda's injuries.
My theory is that if she showed visible concern that might translate as guilt.
Hope Mrsstu gets well soon. Horrible situation.
Just playing devils advocate for a second with regards to the ‘sun in the eyes’ situation.
How are all these people who are judge, jury and executioner managing to get around on anything other than foot if they so whiter than white.
1) Bike on road – Yep I have been blinded by sun on the bike. It just happens sometimes, regardless of sunglasses etc. Thankfully only a couple of seconds and no harm done. Coming over the brow of a hill or around a bend quickly and bam, cant see for a few seconds.
2) Car – Most definitely. So many hills and reflective surfaces (wet road), it doesn’t just have to be a blatent sunny day for this to happen. As pointed out, tree sap, ice, water, even just washing your windscreen on a sunny day to get rid of the midges can result in dangerous levels of vision.
In my line of work we sometimes get asked by the police accident investigation teams to ‘lend’ them a particular vehicle if that is what was involved in an accident. It turns out we lent a truck on one where there had been a fatality. All the witnesses were adamant the sun wasn’t a hinderance to anyone. Police took the truck to the accident location and bam, sun was right in the eyes of the truck driver who was sat another 10ft up just as he came over the brow of a hill.
You can plan for the worst and try to avoid as much as you can but in my eyes this is the kind of situation no one actually wants so its what insurance, thank god is there for.
What I would be utterly disgusted at is someone not showing compassion for someone they have knocked off a bike regardless of what happened. That’s low.
All very well, but the impression I got from the OP was that the car didn't suddenly hit a blinding ray of sunlight whilst just driving along within the speed limit. More that there was a conscious manoeuvre when the driver couldn't see properly to make said manoeuvre safely.
If the impact was bad enough to wreck the frame and damage the forks, I'd not trust the handlebars, stem or front wheel and by the time that's replaced, you may as well just claim for the whole bike.
Being very generous, perhaps the driver was in some shock herself, (perhaps she was genuinely a cow bag)
Oh and of course, get well soon.
I really don't think its possible for the sun to be in your eyes on a flat road surrounded by houses at 5 in the afternoon at this time of year.
Thanks again for all the kind words
Think it best to just leave it for the police to deal with for now
Just to update this a little.
The woman's insurance company have contacted Amanda and told her that the driver has had a think about it and admits it was her fault...
They want her to sort the claim out ASAP.
Think we'll wait to see what the CTC people have to say first.
Not heard back from the police yet though.
the driver has had a think about it and admits it was her fault…They want her to sort the claim out ASAP.
Good news, but don't. The injuries and subsequent rehab could take weeks or months to reveal the full extent. maybe go for an interim payment to cover out of pocket stuff, but not for the injury / distress / compensation. Talk to the CTC lawyer.
Wot Jonv says - - thats very unusual to me for a company to want to settle quickly and you don't know the extent of the damages yet. You could ask them what they are offering? Replacement bike and kit plus how many thousands for the injury. there is a table somewhere on the net that shows what injury payments usually are iirc - motor insurers or something?
Just a little update on this.
Been in touch with the police and the woman is being sent on a driver improvement course where she will be assesed.
They will then decide what to do with her after that.
So good news and at least she will now realize that she's done something wrong and quite dangerous.
Hey Stu, how's Amanda doing? Recovering well hopefully. Is she back out on the bike yet?
Peter.
She's slowly getting there but having to use a wrist brace to ride as she still has no strength in it and a lack of movement.
I'm sure it just needs a bit more time and exercise/physio and it'll be back to normal.
Cheers for asking though.👍🏻