Afternoon all, now events of yesterday have sunk in, I was wondering what the collective advice/experience of this kind of thing is.

Accident was: Me, riding along main road. Bit of pace. Probably around 30mph as gentle downhill. Her, waiting to pull right out of side road to my left. Looking other way. Pulled out, as I passed her and hit into my rear triangle/frame.

I slid along the road for about 10 metres, but am unhurt, other superficial roadrash and bruises. Bike is an utter mess. Not checked it over fully yet, but looks like everything bar the frame is screwed.

Police and ambulance attended. Police took statements from two witnesses who confirmed the driver pulled out into me. Driver didn’t deny this either.

I’ve got her insurance details. Is it simply a matter of phoning up her insurance company and listing off the damage? Assume they will want to check this somehow. Are they likely to try and screw me over? I don’t want to take the piss, just want to replace everything that was damaged and be able to ride my bike again as soon as possible.

Is it worth speaking to a solicitor? Can’t imagine I’ll be trying to claim much over £1000.

I’m not a member of CTC (But will join in a classic case of bolting stable doors etc, etc, etc), but think I read somewhere they offer cyclists advice? Has anyone got any experience of this?

Sorry for the million questions. Just want to approach this in the best way to ensure I get my bike up and running asap, at no cost to me.

When something similar happened to me, I went through my house insurance as the bike was covered under it and they dealt with the claim.

She should have already contacted her insurance company but I would phone them myself and also phone your insurance company i.e. bike insurance or your home insurance as they are likely to deal with third party claims or you may have legal protection. I wouldn’t bother with a solicitor at the mo unless it get dirty?

http://WWW.BIKELINE.CO.UK

as been recomended before many times, your typing error you meant cycling at a moderate nd safe speed ,not at 30mph as bike milometers are not properley calibrated, as are cars and other vehicles.

Take you bike to a good LBS & get it assessed with a full breakdown of the cost to repair/replace

You need a solicitor – its likely their insurance company will put you in touch with an independent one.

I recently used Irwin Michell – great service.

She might offer to pay for the damage without bothering the insurance company, as it’ll wreck her no-claims. Tell her how much it’ll be and ask how she wants to do it.

Try asking on Mumsnet ? 😆

Thanks for the advice so far guys. Might contact her – got her details via the police record (and she has mine). She could be in for a bit of a shock though. £900 bike… +helmet +shorts +shoes (buckle got ripped off while I slid along).

Getting LBS to give it a full check over this weekend and note down all damage. Project – thanks for the tip. I was within the speed limit for the road and riding in control. Police have already confirmed she was at fault, and are taking action.

Roadrash and bruises is an injury – claim for those too (hence using a solicitor). Don’t see why you shouldn’t get a little compo for your pain.

You want my opinion… sue her for damages and ask for her to be charged with dangerous driving.

The fact you are still alive was a lucky draw of millimetres and milliseconds.

A friend of a friend died in a similar incident down in Plymouth. He bled to death because his carotid artery was severed on the roof rack. You’re lucky.

The insurance will pay up, she will hopefully learn to pay more attention.

What Ax3M4n says may sound harsh, given that you are, more or less, unhurt, but there are far too many cases of bad drivers getting away with it. While I applaud you for not trying to screw every last penny out of her, she should be made to really appreciate how bad it could have been. A ban for sixth months say, ought to give her time for it to sink in.

If the rear triangle had taken the impact too i’d be looking to see if the frame has been weakened.

She might offer to pay for the damage without bothering the insurance company, as it’ll wreck her no-claims. Tell her how much it’ll be and ask how she wants to do it.

That’s one way of going about it but bear in mind that once you’ve accepted a payment there is no going back – you can’t then try and sue for damages because you’ve already “settled” in the eyes of the law.
For low damage cases it’s well worth doing that route (I had a woman pay for my new helmet after she brought me off but, as that was basically the only damage there was no point pursuing it further).

For your case though it sounds as though the LBS will write the whole bike off, plus the costs of your clothing – there’s other costs then to factor in like you having to use your car/public transport while you’re without a bike, compensation for injuries etc. I applaud your attitude of not trying to take her to the cleaners but for a large scale legitimate claim, use the proper channels – that’s why insurance companies are there.

Then go and join British Cycling or CTC for their comprehensive insurance cover and other benefits (discounts at bike shops etc)

You want my opinion… sue her for damages and ask for her to be charged with dangerous driving.

It wouldn’t be ‘dangerous’ driving – careless maybe

If by bike is how you typically travel, also claim for the cost of bus journeys until you have a replacement

edit: too slow. already mentioned above

I am currently dealing with something similar through my home insurance providers, just check your policy, there will probably only be 30 days in which you can make the claim, bear in mind it will affect your future insurance policies though. No experience of chasing compensation myself – an ex colleague got hit by a car in a car park and went through a no win no fees type set up and wished he hadn’t, it snowballed out of control and he spent a massive amount of time on it all. I’d be happy with just getting damage to the bike compensated for, can’t stand this american style suing culture. the person who hit you is probably cacking it enough to have learnt their lesson.

Driver was massively shook up… probably more so than me. And so she should have been too. Police will be charging with driving without due care and attention.

Spoken to my LBS who agree that it is probably best to write off the frame. No obvious structural problems, but looking at the state of the rest of the components, it will have undergone a hefty impact.

Adding up the total cost of bike, pedals, clothes that were torn and new helmet. Coming to closer to £1500 to replace like for like.

I have no desire at all to pursue for injuries, unless I genuinely am injured. I have a headache at the moment, have noted with my GP (who I was seeing for a routine appointment today anyway). Assuming this doesn’t materialise into anything else, then I will only be claiming for the damage to my possessions. To do anything else would feel morally wrong.

fair play to you Captain – a sensible approach, trying to punish people financially doesn’t work anyway – it just adds to everyones insurance premiums.

Good stuff. Stupidly I assumed my home contents wouldn’t cover damage to the bike outside the house, and didn’t realise until after 30 days. Aaargh.