Rimmer

So I was cycling in the bike lane around 6 p.m. minding my own business when all of a sudden some lady just cuts me off the last second and turns right into an “exit only” road meaning you’re not suppose to turn onto that road. My taillight is very bright, and I have reflective strips on my jacket and backpack. I think the light is brighter than car lights. Anyway trying to avoid collision, I had to also turn right but slid across the side of her car as there wasn’t enough space on the inside of the turn. I was braking and you know how motorists turn at crawling snail pace, so the impact turned out quite minor. If I continued straight I would’ve hit the back end of her car and perhaps flown over my handlebars in the process. Fortunately, I didn’t get hurt. My brake calipers got out of adjustment, but I was able to readjust them. I got her plate number, name, and number. I was contemplating making a police report, but I didn’t do it considering everything was okay. Should I have made a report? What else should I have done? She offered $20. That’s pretty cheap, but I didn’t decline it.

10 Wheels

How many accidents has she caused this year?

enigmaT120

Dunno about the wreck, but did you pick your handle (Rimmer) from that weird British sci-fi show? Red Dwarf, something like that?

Chris516

While the $20 was something of compensation, she obviously is oblivious to the cost of bike parts and repair. Also, Her offer of $20 can also be her way of hoping you will keep your mouth shut and not report her. I wonder how many people she has offered money to keep their mouths' shut about her driving.

Lastly, Depending on the behavior of law enforcement in your locale, if you had reported it, it might have been 'swept under the rug' with the excuse 'we had to see it'.

ItsJustMe

Who will she hurt next? Or will she kill someone? It's a he said/she said without video so you're not going to get a ticket issued but you may get the cops to talk to her.

Chris516

I would love to look up her record and see if she has any serious convictions related to her driving.

Rimmer

I didn't think of her harming other people. I have a camera but haven't been using it recently due to battery life. I commute to work an hour five days per week and by the time I get home battery life is just about dead so I have to recharge it everyday. I'll be using it again that's for sure.

I've got license plate. Can you look it up? A lady in her 30s or 40s, I'm thinking she probably has some kind of record.

dralways

lol

FBinNY 

This is a tough question we all ask ourselves after a minor, no damage collision. For me it's a balance between my general no harm, no foul attitude, and the need to possibly establish a track record for a bad driver.

Here in NY the police usually aren't interested in writing accident reports for no harm accidents, so I'm usually willing to settle and move on.

OTOH the end of the left grip of my commuter bike is gone, leaving a bit of bar showing through. In my last right hook, the bar left a long scratch down the side of the car. Otherwise there was no damage, so I figured to forget it. However the driver was pretty exorcized and insisted on phoning the police. I waited patiently and the officer took both our stories which amazingly were very similar (he commented that this was very rare), then took out his book and issued a citation for unsafe turn.

genec

Just because I want to enjoy the ironic chuckle here... I want to make sure. So the driver insisted on calling the police, and then ended up with a ticket written against the driver?

So did the driver somehow feel it was your fault just for being on the road?

FBinNY 

This was the second time something similar happened. The first was when I was doored riding home from school and damaged his door. Drivers get incensed when G-dammed bicycle riders damage their cars. I don't know if they think the police will get us to pay, or if they want a report to file an insurance claim.

As the cop said, it makes his job much easier if both parties in an accident give him the identical story.

There's also times to apply the no harm-no foul rule. I was right hooked by a cop. He apologized immediately, and asked if I was OK, which I was. We both figured this was one to forget about. I suspect the scratch I left was chalked up to vandalism.

dralways

Haha wow! I'll keep your experiences in mind, FB, if this ever happens to me while I'm out there on the roads. Then again, I'm fortunate enough to live in an area so safe that some drivers actually STOP when they see you on a quiet back road to let you pass (love this place for that).

If I ever move though.. can't imagine the puzzled fury for the driver (I'm a car-lover aswell)..

Chris516

yes

Rimmer

I PMed you her plate number.

mr645

Throw her keys in a lake and leave

prooftheory

The fact that she offered $20 means that she recognised that she had made a mistake and she is probably likely to be more careful in the future as a result of it. I think that is the best possible outcome. Too many similar accidents would have resulted in the driver thinking that the bike was to blame, per FBinNY's story.

spivonious

Do you report minor fender benders to the police? No injuries, no serious property damage, no need for police. I would have gotten her insurance details though, in case something starts hurting in a few days, or you realize that she cracked your fork.

bmontgomery87

If she offered money, and you accepted it, I'd say the matter is over.

I got right hooked when I first started commuting, the woman wasn't very friendly about it and didn't offer compensation, but I didn't feel the need to file a report.
If someone hits me and I'm injured, or if they leave the scene of the accident/refuse to cover damages, then I'd call the police.

genec

Well you have to admit it is worth the ironic chuckle when the driver calls for "help" and instead ends up with a ticket.

FBinNY 

Absolutely. It's always worth the wait so watch some @#$%@ bring it on himself. For me it's doubly nice since I'm a no harm, no foul believer, and this spares me any internal moral conflict.

I-Like-To-Bike

The OP might be heading in the same direction of self inflicted harm, depending on what trouble making/harassment/"education" he plans for the motorist with the questionably obtained personal license information.

FBinNY 

Like you, I can't see any good from a delayed police report of a no harm accident. I don't know if there's anything to lose, but no gain is enough for me to simply put this behind me.

In an case, what's he going to say. "We had an accident with only minor damage, she offered me $20 and I felt it was fair and took it, but now I'm having second thoughts?" I don't know police where he lives, but all he'd get here is rolled eyes, followed by "and what do you now want us to do?"

I-Like-To-Bike

I suspect that the OP might take the bait from some of the more aggressive A&S enforcers and seek some sort of extra curricular after action justice/education (harassment) either in person or more likely through social media. Why else did he seek personal information about the license plate owner from questionable sources?

FBinNY 

I don't have a dog in this fight. I only posted on the thread to add a bit of color. If the OP were to ask me directly, my answer would be to stick to his original instinct and move on.

genec

I tend to agree... for any collision the best thing to do is NOT accept money on the spot but to exchange information, should something be found to be amiss later. The motorist is going to have to trust the cyclist... the cyclist can get info such as a license plate from the motorist to aid in any report.