Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - Bike accident story

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http://img34.imageshack.us/img34/6505/dsc00838wjp.jpg

no brakes and im hoping these are clipless pedals, right?

Looks like someone owes you a new bike. Get the paperwork together (receipts, bike specs, pictures, statements) and put it in a nice manila folder with nice labels. People are usually intimidated enough by this that if they know they are wrong, you will get what you deserve.

Especially since this is a $350 bike we are talking about. That's not a HUGE amount of money.

Post this over at the C and V, and also at the FOO, they are both pretty good at this legal stuff, they will help. :)

Did you file a police report? If not, do so. Insurance companies will just laugh at you without one, and it sounds like the driver won't reimburse you without a bit of a struggle.

http://img34.imageshack.us/img34/6505/dsc00838wjp.jpg

no brakes and im hoping these are clipless pedals, right?

If by "clipless pedals" you mean pedals without clips, then YES they are :p

all jokes aside, I'm really sorry this happened to your friend and your new bike but glad that no one was seriously injured

always file a police report. the sooner, the better.

always get their insurance and contact information. file a claim along with the police report and bike shop replacement estimate.

your friend was stupid to just walk away without calling the cops.

File report, get insurance involved. Unless you want to get screwed. Unbelievable how many people still don't know their rights.

Let me guess, the gearing is stock too and your friend was riding without clips. Both of you are at fault.

Where I come from, turning against the traffic is illegal. Report it to the police, get a lawyer... oh, and a brake too.

You let your friend ride a bike without brakes or foot retention and you are trying to get money from the motorist? That's just silly. Your friend wasn't hit, he ran into a car.

I've had two experiences with insurance companies concerning bicycle crashes. One was auto insurance when someone pulled out right in front of me and the other was homeowner's when an unleashed dog did the same. In neither case was there a police report or involvement of any attorneys, but both insurance companies seemed quite eager to settle once they knew that I was only seeking reimbursement for the bike damage and not for any personal injury, pain&suffering, etc. Both times I got a written statement from a local bike shop on the cost to replace the bike and the insurance companies quickly gave me a check in exchange for my signature on a statement that this constituted payment in full for the incident.

In this case I'd report it to the police and contact the auto insurance company with your receipts for the bike cost as well as a bike shop assessment of the damage and estimate. See if they're willing to reimburse you fairly before bothering to look for an attorney or escalate the process further.

But be sure first that there aren't any lingering medical issues with your friend.

http://img257.imageshack.us/img257/7280/dsc00840o.jpg


tight azzzz clearance yo.

There's always one (or 2) in the crowd.

Let me guess, the gearing is stock too and your friend was riding without clips. Both of you are at fault.


You let your friend ride a bike without brakes or foot retention and you are trying to get money from the motorist? That's just silly. Your friend wasn't hit, he ran into a car.

There's always one (or 2) in the crowd

You and your friend are stupid. The driver is in the right, you are going to get nada out of this, quit bugging the family or you are going to be out of pocket for a new paint job on their car. You and your friend are stupid.

This type of stuff happens - even when everyone involved is a nice person. Play it by the book. File a police report, etc.. Also, get the bike in order. Fixed gear with no brakes you need to have a clipless system or clips/straps. No matter who is at fault the car is a lot bigger and will ALWAYS win this type of fight. Car vs bike = injured/dead cyclist. Period. Be careful and be smart.

There's always one (or 2) in the crowd


Ahhh you're right, I totally change my opinion. Sheep.

Let me guess...this was your friend's first time riding fixed?
Sounds like it could have been avoided if he either knew what he was doing or if it had brakes.
No brakes + no retention = you don't know what you're doing either.

You and your friend are stupid. The driver is in the right, you are going to get nada out of this, quit bugging the family or you are going to be out of pocket for a new paint job on their car. You and your friend are stupid.

you're an idiot. if he was driving a car and the homeowner in this situation pulled into his driveway, cutting off the friend and they crashed, the homeowner is at fault for cutting off traffic.

bikes get treated no differently from cars imo. they shouldn't be. if this was a situation where brakes couldn't have stopped anything, then the driver of that car obviously cut the biker off and is totally at fault.

get a brake, throw clips on, and hope you make it out of this one. depending on your state, brakes may be required. it may throw this whole case out (even if brakes wouldn't have stopped this accident) as that's illegal.

oh and even though i usually don't, this is the part where i tell y'all to wear helmets while riding.

You should of just taken the money and left it at that. Both parties were at fault to be honest, even if the "law" sides with one. Like it was mentioned if you're in a state with a brake law, you are pretty much screwed. If the guy was going in his drive way he had to be going pretty slow, so I wonder where your friend hit the car. He could of had plenty of time for all we know, but because he doesn't know what he is really doing on a fixed gear it could be his fault more so (w/o foot retention & brake? not to be a jerk at all, but why would you ever let a friend ride it in that condition?).

theres no such thing as automotive accident insurance only... if you plow into a pedestrian you still have to pay, your premium just goes up. they want to settle out of insurance companies to avoid paying more in the long run because a pedestrian struck by a motorist looks way worse to insurance companies than vehicle to vehicle crashes. and cyclists are considered pedestrians by law in most states.

you're an idiot. if he was driving a car and the homeowner in this situation pulled into his driveway, cutting off the friend and they crashed, the homeowner is at fault for cutting off traffic.


You honestly believe that the OP's friend is not at fault? The whole thing is bogus; I typically ignore threads like this because it is kid stuff but really, read what I highlighted from the OP and ask yourself if there is any accountability on the driver's part.

"The car apparently didn't look and made the turn. My friend couldn't stop in time and ran right into the car flying over the hood grand theft auto style. From what my friend says he was close enough to the guy's driveway that brakes wouldn't have made a difference."

"Well I guess after he got hit, my friend got into the dude's face and was yelling some things that got some neighbors to come out. Apparently somewhere in there he said how the bike has no brakes (the neighbors even heard it). What I'm wondering is, can that be used against me (actually my friend) in anyway to prevent us from getting anything out of the situation?"



The whole situation is laughable, I hope it does go to the police so we can get an update on how the police don't understand fixed gear culture.

well, we're going to have to assume it's as his friend says as there's no video evidence. it's not like cars cutting off bikes is unheard of.

and you're going to say it's the riders fault because he yelled at the guy who made him crash? i dunno about you, but people who **** my day up make me mad.

the brake law will **** you. i don't think the rider was at fault, but insurance isn't going to pay **** based on that.

Insurance will pay out on this, no doubt. File a police report, though. Once the report is filed, it will be pretty standard stuff. The brake vs. no brake issue isn't going to come up unless the motorist hires an attorney who thinks about that. Honestly, insurance companies don't look into this kind of stuff that much. They will probably just write a check for 350 and be done w/ it.

If you were claiming injuries or anything else, then you might be in for a harder fight.

This is all assuming that your friend's info is correct. If he is lying, then it could be a diff. story.


P.S.--this is coming from someone who has been involved in 8 car wrecks and works at an attorney's office.

Your friend and you are like tweedle dee and tweedle dum:rolleyes:

Your friend heads out in a new bike with no brakes and no foot retention? He gets into an accident with a car and doesn't call the police? You let the other people push you around and think of accepting $150? Considering that their car and a bicycle collided and the rider was injured (and it was probably their fault), they ought to be kissing you for only asking $350.

I'm kind of curious how old you are.

You are in trouble. In the worst case, not only the car owner sue you, but your friend sue you for running your bike brakeless. Might as well go incognito and see if you can get away with it. In a meanwhile, buy a set of tools and fix the bike yourself. The bike looks fine. My bike is considerably more busted and I still ride it like a king (well, OK ... a squire).

I kinda understand your predicament. I learnt this waaay early in my life, but you should NEVER let your "friends" borrow things that are really important to you. Your "friends" can't really really guarantee that you get it back; because they can break it, crash it, or simply lose it. And, as a friend, you can't really have him pay.

In addition, some people offer you "friendship" for "favors" like this. These guys/girls are NEVER going to be your friend. Whether they are doing this willingly or unwillingly, it doesn't really matter because end results are the same, your new bike busted up.

You are lucky though. I am absolutely sure there are other people in the same condition, but they got their bike stolen (because their friend "forgot" to lock).

T

I feel bad for you, but at the same time i can only think that you were trying to be cool by buying that bike and setting it up with no brakes or clips when you don't know how to ride it, secondly letting your friend ride it with even less experience is beyond foolish- i never let anyone ride my bike unless they've got a fixed of their own and i actually think they can ride it.


You're in a super tough spot now, i'm leaning towards what a lot of the other posters are saying- may want to lay low and take your lumps because you're going to have a huge f-ing mess to deal with if it goes to court. You've sort of put yourself in a more liable spot now just because of how the situation has played out since the accident. It sucks you let the adults push you around though, gotta grow up in life at some point and realize everyone has a motive.


edit: oh and don't ride that bike- if the tire touches the bottom tube your **** is ****ed no going back, buy a new one.

http://img34.imageshack.us/img34/6505/dsc00838wjp.jpg

Lol.

Wasn't really sure to put the thread here but I figured it's about a fixed gear so why not

So I finally got the Kilo TT that I ordered from BD on Tuesday. Loved it! Unfortunately... yesterday my friend took the bike out for a ride. He came back pretty mad, and the bike looked a little 'off'. Turns out he was riding up the street on the right side and a car (facing towards him is driving on the left side) makes a left into his driveway. The car apparently didn't look and made the turn. My friend couldn't stop in time and ran right into the car flying over the hood grand theft auto style. From what my friend says he was close enough to the guy's driveway that brakes wouldn't have made a difference.

So the fork is bent, the back wheel is bent, the seats a little ripped, the side of the grip tape is scratched up, and the tires walls have some damage (maybe not but you can see where it hit).

After everything we talked to him and his wife about how to go about it. I have absolutely no knowledge of bicycle laws, accidents, and insurance so I really didn't want to go that route. Both parties wanted to just go through cash and forget about it, but THENNN they realized how expensive the bike is (at least compared to what they thought bikes were worth $50-100). We tried to negotiate and the most they said was $150. The wife was starting to get a little stubborn and saying how she's not going to pay more than $100 for bike repair (her husband was the one that was going to give us $150). So I thought **** it let's just do $150.

After talking to my brother and mom about everything, they were pretty mad that I would even consider the $150, and let me know that insurance was the best way to go financially and just in case my friend ever got injured down the line. So yeah ended up going back and getting her insurance information.

Well I guess after he got hit, my friend got into the dude's face and was yelling some things that got some neighbors to come out. Apparently somewhere in there he said how the bike has no brakes (the neighbors even heard it). What I'm wondering is, can that be used against me (actually my friend) in anyway to prevent us from getting anything out of the situation?

Everyone I talk to about it basically is telling me: "He was on a bike, and that guy is in a car, whose fault do you think it is?!" I mean I understand the situation and I feel that as a driver he needs to take responsibilty, especially since my friend wasn't doing any tricks or riding stupid, but things like having no brakes, or the fact that he made the turn THEN my friend ran into him (not the other way around), or that my friend "could have slowed down or swerved" i feel could be used against us.

Also what I thought was wierd was when we came to her and changed our mind about taking the money she didn't seem like she wanted to do it. She kept saying how "My insurance isn't going to help you guys out, I only have automotive accident coverage" (or something like that). And she kept asking if we're sure that we want to go through with this instead of just taking the money. I admit I can be pretty gullible, so the thought of just taking the money came back. At the same time though I thought it was fishy of her to keep mentioning it so I figured she might have been scared. She also kept mentioning how the car got scratched too so WE'RE going to have to deal with that. AND she said that MY FRIEND ran into HER HUSBAND, so it's not his fault (it seemed like she was getting more stubborn at this point). Do you think that she's right when she says it won't be covered? I'm sure we won't have to deal with the scratch and dent on the car, I mean if you hit someone walking you can't expect them to pay for your paint. All I really want is my bike to be fixed. Yeah I could also just blame it on my friend and tell him to give me money but yeaa..

Could you guys give me any opinions or thoughts on the situation? Any recommendations on how to handle this (besides not letting other people ride my bike in the future). We already decided to go through insurance but just thought I'd see your guys opinion.

I thought it was kind of ironic that her 8 year old son was riding his bicycle in the front also. I don't think she would have cared who hit who, or anything about brakes if it was her son

here's some pictures:

http://img32.imageshack.us/img32/3661/dsc00834z.jpg
http://img31.imageshack.us/img31/1563/dsc00835n.jpg
http://img30.imageshack.us/img30/3443/dsc00837g.jpg
http://img34.imageshack.us/img34/6505/dsc00838wjp.jpg
http://img198.imageshack.us/img198/3892/dsc00839ewf.jpg
http://img257.imageshack.us/img257/7280/dsc00840o.jpg
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http://img34.imageshack.us/img34/5717/dsc00846f.jpg
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sorry for slight booty crack

Since you chose to ride without brakes I think you should just suck it up and get over it.

Think yourself lucky that the stupid car driver didn't run completely over your ass.

I don't buy that having brakes wouldn't have made a difference one bit.

Also riding without brakes AND without foot-retention is just asinine.

You should not have let anyone ride that bike. If I were the car owner, I would not pay a dime and I would go after you and the rider for damage to my car.

Your friend could probably sue you as well for letting him ride such a dangerous bike.

You and your friends sense of responsibility is in question here. Because of that, the facts of the incident are in question as well.

My guess is that the OP is approx 17 years old.
If I am correct, nuff said!

My guess is that the OP is approx 17 years old.
If I am correct, nuff said!

how open minded of you.

don't hesitate to call insurance. The odds of this "going to court" are like 1/1000. Insurance will happily write you a check for the full value of the bike

I have had one insurance claim due to being hit by a car in Manhattan and it was hell trying to get the insurance to pay for repairing my bike and my claim was for $350 or something.
It took a year to settle and an ungodly amount of phonecalls and personal restraint when dealing with the insurance rep who during EVERY phonecall was trying to get me to lose my top so that she could have it on tape... Was a nightmare. The accident /cracked rib was nothing compared to the insurance co.

when i got hit, the illegals just gave me 400 cash to keep quiet

Like others have said, I'd drop it, and consider it a lesson learned. Replace any parts that need replacing, get some clips, and put on a goddamn brake (or two even!) until you're confident and skilled enough to ride without them.

There's only one Ted Shred and he's on the Darwin Awards' waiting list.