natesi

[deleted]

Chris L

This is a common situation, and you'll have to deal with it again before you're much older. Never overtake on the inside of a car at an intersection -- and certainly not at that speed. Either stop and wait or move out and pass them on the other side. If that means riding outside the bike lane for a while, so be it.

The first thing I'd do is see a doctor to ascertain the damage. There are some intelligent people on this forum, but you can never be sure on the Internet. Go and see someone with the medical training to give you a proper diagnosis. My own personal opinion is that the arm will be stiff for a couple of days, and will start to recover after that, but as I said, I'm not a doctor, and nor have I seen the injury first hand.

As to the rest of it, I'm fairly certain you'll end up paying for it yourself. The police let the guy go with a warning, so as far as they're concerned, that's probably the end of it. The chance to speak up was probably at the scene of the incident itself. You can call the cops and try to get something done retrospectively, but I doubt anything will come of it. I know it doesn't feel right, and it probably isn't, but that appears to be the way it is. All you can do is put it down to a lesson learned, and get on with life.

natesi

4am. Just getting back from "urgent" care -- what a farce.

my arm is broke--lots of pain.

I wasnt passing him on the right -- he was never ahead of me at any time, and was beside me when he decided it would somehow be a good idea to turn into me. What a moron.

mulchie

Natesi: Very sorry to hear of the broken arm. Given that... I think you need to contact the police, share the medical information, get in touch with the kid's family and try to get insurance coverage. This will help you, of course, but this is probably a difficult but important lesson this young driver needs to learn. I'm sure the whole thing frightened him a great deal, and the lesson may already be learned. But worth pursuing, I should think on both counts. And if you are firm but courteous, you will be educating an entire family and all that family's friends.
Good luck with your recovery.

ax0n

That definitely sucks. What I do when there are bike lanes and I approach an intersection is I signal a left, then get out into the lane between cars, as if I'm a motorcycle or something. I go through the intersection in the traffic lane before merging back onto the bike lane. Bike lane or not, it's best to go through intersections with the traffic than relying on someone seeing you on their right. Yes, you might slow them down and piss them off, but they'll get over it. Your crash was simply an issue of them not seeing you, or assuming that they could get around you before turning. You're a lot harder to ignore, and impossible to pass if you're right in front of them.

I recently did a nice Endo, landing on my hands and chest, and scraping my chin. It took a day or two for the pain to really set in, and I spent a few days riding to the bus stop (3 miles each way) instead of all the way to work (14.5 or so). It goes without saying, but take the doc's advice when it comes to staying off the bike to heal up. I hope you mend quickly.

Leiniesred

When I broke my arm a month and a half ago, it was the same thing. Yes, it didn't work very well, but it didn't hurt all that much and I rode out (mostly one handed). 3 hours later, I could only move it an inch and the X-ray images show it is broken.

Pain dropped off over 3 days and I could do almost everything with 1 hand. (probably a thermostat too.)
Pain dropped over the next 4 weeks as it healed and I got back on the bike 2.5 weeks ago. I'm still lacking SOME mobility and lots of strength, but, it is getting better, not worse.

Check out the "rider down" forum on MTBR for shared recovery experiences/tips.

squegeeboo

You need to call his insurance (or if he doesn't have any, the car owners(assuming it's his mom/dads)) the only other potential issue that I can think of, is that he never actually hit you. Which could be enough wriggle room for the insurance company to get out of paying. But ether way, follow it up with the cops and with his insurance. And heal up quick.

idcruiserman

He wasn't cited, so you may have some trouble getting his insurance company to pay up. Talk to the cops.

Shaverda

Sorry for the crash/fall, and I hope your arm feels better.

That being said, I went through Driver's Ed recently, and the information about cyclists, bike paths, etc. is ridiculous--there was none. At all. (This was in San Antonio, Texas.) I wasn't a cyclist at that time, so I didn't say anything, but now I'd be afraid to ride by any of those people . . .

allan6344

What about your own auto insurance (required in WA and OR)? Wouldn't the UIM or PIP coverage apply?

Banzai

I don't know who I'm more upset with at this point...the driver or the cops.

The driver obviously was paying no attention, and has little sense that he is employing a one ton lethal weapon every day out there on the road.

But the cops...they let him off with a warning, in spite of having no registration, because it was MERELY A CYLIST that he hit! Wouldn't want to get junior in trouble with the law for just hitting a cyclist, after all. Jeez, what were you doing out there anyway? Shouldn't you be on a sidewalk or a path? (Dripping sarcasm has set in by now, in case you didn't pick it up...)

If the kid's insurance doesn't pick it up, then the police dept. had better. That's practically dereliction of duty on their part, just letting the kid go.

I'm sorry to hear about your broken arm, and I hope you heal quickly. I've said it a few times before on this board, but I'll say it again: Do not trust your own on the scene spot assessment! Those self evaluations/diagnosis are quite often inaccurate, frequently because of the very adrenaline you described. Once the adrenaline subsided, you could have gone into shock as well.

Anyhow, follow up, and get the kid's insurance to pay those hospital bills. If he doesn't have insurance, then the cops should have cited him for that as well. If you can't get justice there, find a supervisor at the PD.

Cheers!

natesi

Thanks all.

Typing one handed here....

Got the police report created TODAY -- officer came to my house.

He said the kid in the car thought I had to stop at the intersection -- he definatly saw me, but thought he had the right of way.

WOW.

Not sure how I'll even type much at work--might have to take more time off. The rest of my vacation is destroyed. I have to take at least Monday off work and want to get reimbursed for all expenses. I'm not sure as to the best way to go about doing that.

My insurance co?
His insurance co?
Just hire a lawyer and go for the whole 9 yards -- pain, suffering, yadda yadda.

What a mess. And the vicadin makes me want to hurl.

Is there a certain time frame I have to repot this, to my ins co?

natesi

Called my ins co -- they were of no help.

I think i will just file with the drivers ins co or get a lawyer. Insurance is so confusing.

Artkansas 

My grandfather, an oil company executive, said that you should drive as though all the other drivers were completely insane. Now you know that drivers are not to be trusted. Ever.

Most drivers seem to think that if you are not visibly ahead of them, that they are completely ahead of you. The rest of them think that if you are visibly ahead of them, that they are completely ahead of you.

I glad you survived. It could have been much worse.