Northern California - I had an accident commuting yesterday :(

I was heading into DT San Jose down Santa Clara St, going around 22mph or so.

An SUV heading in the opposite direction made a left through a gap in the traffic to get to a parking lot.

Unfortunately, I was right there when he did it and slammed into the passenger side of his SUV.

I broke my clavicle (collar bone) all the way through. It is VERY painful, since the 2 bone pieces want to overlap. However to heal correctly, they should not overlap. I have some straps holding my shoulders back to stretch out the bones.

This really sucks :( I won't be riding for quite a few weeks.

- Marco

Sorry to hear that. I have those close shaves almost daily and the funny part is some rider kooks will try to blame it on you, that you were going to fast to control your bike. 22 is nothin.

Get better soon, what happened to your bike? Make sure you get the frame and fork checked out.

Another thing, you may have other injuries besides what you think. I had cracked ribs I didn't even know about until 3 months later. All the focus was on my knee.

Sorry to hear about your accident. I hope you have a speedy recovery, I've heard that's one of the more painful breaks you can have.

Yikes! Best wishes for a speedy recovery.

Did the cops nail the driver with a citation?

Doh! Sorry to hear that man! I hope you get better soon.

Can you at least spin on the trainer to at least keep some of your fitness? I hope so!

Yikes!
Marco, get better!

i haven't seen the police report, but the insurance co. said it was the the driver's fault since I had the right-of-way.


damn it sucks though!

For accidents with cars, do you report this to your own auto insurance company and let them deal with the other company? Or do you go directly to the driver's insurance?

Hope you feel better soon!

Make your claim to the other persons insurance company. It wouldn't hurt to notify your own as well but they won't be covering the cost unless the driver had no insurance.

Something very similar happened to me a couple of years ago. Same situation and same injury. The driver's insurance was very good about paying promptly with no fuss. I've heard a lot of stories of companies that are hard to deal with but I had no problems.

Say, could you send me your leftover percocets when you're healed, I miss them.:D

Dang Marco. Heal well.
Make sure you don't sign anything with their insurance company. You want to keep your options open.
Find a lawyer to review your options. You could be riding your dream bike shortly.

:eek: :eek: :eek:

Sorry to hear that, Marco. Glad you're up and typing. Hope you're back on the bike soon.

that's terrible! get well soon, I pray for quick and complete healing.

Wow, that's awful. Sorry to hear about that, Marco. Broken collar bone is the worst fear of a cyclist. Get well soon.

I will try and pull a Tyler Hamilton, except on the trainer, in about a week or so. ;)

Thanks for all of your thoughts and concern :)

Yikes! :eek: How awful for you!

I'm sorry for your pain and time off the bike. I hope you heal quickly and thoroughly, and with good drugs. ;)

sorry to hear what happened. get well and heal soon.

I used to ride that everyday on my commute from the Caltrain station to Reid-Hillview airport in east SJ and back. I found a better route through the backstreets because Santa Clara is just too busy. Sorry to hear about the accident. At least you're still here writing to us about it. This brings back memories for me .....

Whoa, glad you are OK though. Heal fast, heal up well.

Similar incident just happened to a friend. Make sure you get your bike checked by a shop and don't let the insurance company total it. Unless its a total loss, even then, get the value of the bike checked by a shop, or you'll get a reimbursment that wont buy you a costco bike.

The insurance companies generally don't have any cycling specialist that do claims so you'll have to be patient and persistant. But don't let them low ball you.

Hope you have a full and speedy recovery, and like the others said, make sure there is nothing else tweaked. I had a crash that pinched a nerve in my neck, nobody knew because the focus was on my shoulder a face.. but when that nerve finally caused the muscles in the neck to spasm... WOW!

You ain't lyin'. That is one of the most painful breaks one can experience. When dad broke his racing motorcross, he explained he was never before aware that even his pinky toe was connected to his collar bone. Take the happy pills, bro.

yeah vicodin = good right now

Similar incident just happened to a friend. Make sure you get your bike checked by a shop and don't let the insurance company total it. Unless its a total loss, even then, get the value of the bike checked by a shop, or you'll get a reimbursment that wont buy you a costco bike.

The insurance companies generally don't have any cycling specialist that do claims so you'll have to be patient and persistant. But don't let them low ball you.



That wasn't my experience at all. I've had two bikes totalled and in both cases the driver's insurance gave me what I said they were worth with no questions asked. The first one was a $15.00 police auction ten speed that I said would cost about $100.00 to replace. They cut a check for that amount without arguing. The second was a Windsor steel frame from the 70's that had been built into a commuter/tour bike (total cost, about $450). I gave the insurance company a quote for a new Trek 520 since it was the nearest equivelent in a new bike. I told them my bike had older, less expensive components so was worth a little less. They offered $1000 and I took it.

If you're even halfways honest about the bike's worth, they wont hassle you about it.

Rode the trainer today :) Only like 15 - 20 min, damn I got out of shape quick in 2 weeks.

Too bad I wasn't out on the road instead :(

yeah vicodin = good right now

Did you receive any morphine at the scene of the accident? They gave some to my buddy when he broke his collarbone going down the sketchy section which is now roped off on the single track that goes around the landslide area of Alpine.

I hope you recover soon and that both your medical expenses and any bike damage are fully paid for by the SUV driver.

Did you receive any morphine at the scene of the accident? They gave some to my buddy when he broke his collarbone going down the sketchy section which is now roped off on the single track that goes around the landslide area of Alpine.

I hope you recover soon and that both your medical expenses and any bike damage are fully paid for by the SUV driver.

I could've got morphine via IV in the ambulance, but opted not to since there were other alternatives at the hospital.

I wanted to be as coherent as possible.

The bike has been paid for already.. I got the MSRP for it, after about 2 min of negotiating. However, it's basically fine, other than truing front wheel, and re-aligning the bars to the wheel, new bar tape, etc.

I took most of the impact, not the bike.

The medical/pain & suffering etc, is separate, and being handled by my lawyer.

Hopefully it will all work out.