Just saw this post - glad you are basically ok - hoping you continue to heal quickly and completely.

The local bike shops around here have been good about telling me what it will cost for replacement parts/labor, so I'll likely handle the property claim myself. No need to hire an attorney for what will be a straightforward transaction - We know what's been damaged, and what it takes to replace them. I need to check out the Garmin on another bike to make sure it still works OK, but the MiNewt's work fine. The AirZound doesn't work anymore, and the SuperFlash on the back is kaput. Front fender is trashed, and the fork-mounted lights are, too. So, I've got a spreadsheet with everything, and also a pic of the bike in it's "before" condition, so I don't have much concern there. (It'll cost less to replace everything than it will to fix his car).

I got a quote for labor for installing all the accessories, so I'll probably submit those quotes in a few days so I can set a budget for a replacement bike once I get cleared for riding.

How am I feeling? Still sore - at my first PT appt., they took some measurements - I'm tilted to one side from the muscle spasms, and can't reach any further than my knees (19" from the floor). The sides are worse - 22" and 23" from the floor, and bending in any direction is a chore. They finished up with electrical stimulation (not nearly as fun as it sounds), and lots of heat. I get 4 weeks of this, and will hopefully get cleared for riding by 9/1. We'll see what the doc says.

Do you have any pics of what the Kona looks like?

You won't believe this.....

The guy intends to plead "not guilty" to the "Failure to Yield ROW" ticket. Traffic tickets take a week or more to show up in the on-line system, so I hadn't looked until this morning.....and I called the court to find out when the 'court date' would be (all tickets have a court date, in case someone intends to contest the citation).....I got the docket number, and found that he had asked for a continuance within 7 days of the accident, because he intended to plead not guilty.

I'm REALLY pissed. I got no notification about this AT ALL.

It amazes me though the degree to which people will lie when they have an accident or when they get a ticket. And don't get me started about insurance companies - they are the slimiest of all.

I've got a call into the county prosecutor, and into the ticketing officer. I'm going to make sure that we're all in court that day....

My guess is he's going to claim that I blew through the intersection, ignoring the stop sign ("You know how these cyclists are.").....If he does that, I'll get to introduce my GPS data......That shows me STOPPING COMPLETELY before proceeding through the MUP crosswalk (because the other cars had stopped to let me through).



http://members.cox.net/hollingsworth/Bike%20Comp.gif

Good luck and kick his ass (proverbially speaking)

That's gonna leave a mark.

:D

bet his lawyer is not expecting something like this.

I'd be pissed, too, if someone hit me and then claimed I was at fault. :mad: I hope karma gets him whether or not you do. If you didn't have the GPS data, like most bikers wouldn't, that would really suck! :eek:

Are you feeling better day by day and week by week?

Definitely bring the data. Judges *love* data. My wife got out of a parking ticket she deserved just because she had actual data showing that the previous one (she came back to the car to find 2) was in error.

I can stretch a little bit further, but my ribs don't feel any better than day 2. I was working the concession stand at my daughter's swim meet yesterday (it's not really work - mostly just standing around and taking money), and my ribs hurt so bad by the end of the meet that I was almost in tears. I had to go straight home, take a full does of the super-Motrin, and a Valium to try and go to sleep.

I'm going back to the doc to find out why (my ribs) they still hurt so badly.

Is your lawyer going to court?

I haven't selected one yet, but I don't think they'd be allowed in this case - the prosecutor represents the state, and the officer, myself and the other witnesses support the state's case.

This asshat comes out of this with nothing more than a "Failure to Yield" ticket, and instead of feeling lucky that he's not getting blasted for reckless driving, he actually has the gall to plead not guilty? Is he trying to fight this so he can get out of the insurance claim?

Sheesh. Sometimes you have to man up and admit when you make a mistake. Whipping around stopped cars to blast through an intersection and hitting somebody is a pretty big screw up.

Hopefully there will be enough witnesses and info piled up to make the judge angry at sentencing time.

If he signed off on the ticket, it would cost him $92, 4 points on his license for 3 years. Taking it to court to plead not guilty only risks an additional $76, so even if he doesn't have a lawyer, why not take the chance?

If he does have a lawyer, you can bet they'll go after the 'Tour de France/crazy cyclist' defense.

I would bet that he's banking on the officer not showing up for court. Doesn't show up, case dismissed.

I will personally drive the officer to court if they can't find a ride.

The assailant and his insurance company are probably not worried about the $92 fine. They are worried about a law suit from you. If they get the ticket dismissed, then their defense in the civil suit with you is stronger. Just my intuition. I don't have any personal experience in these matters.

Kind of the way it works in VA. Getting off the ticket won't close the civil claim, but it certainly doesn't hurt in the defense of it. I ran into something similar in a car accident in NoVA years back. I won the ticket portion (as I should have) and he lost his ticket but the guy who hit me's (from the rear no less) ins company wouldn't pay based on "contributory negligence". My ins company said that claim is used heavily in VA. Basically means "you were there and if you hadn't been it wouldn't have happened"... That's *exactly* how they described it too. That's why I always scoff at the "you were hit from the rear therefore the other guy is guaranteed at fault" claims.

kokomo61, Hope you get better soon. Bikes can be replaced, make sure you're OK.

-R

What a tool! People have no shame these days...

Maybe you should also bring another version of the graph with you, showing only the very last part? Short period of time, stretched over longer distance on paper, would make changes in your speed clearer.

Good luck in court - I hope the guy gets what he deserves.

Others may know more though.

I'll be bringing the GPS, the full chart, and a snapshot of the last 1/8 of a mile. I'm finding tools to export into CSV format - just have to turn it back into a speed chart.

A PI lawyer told me that in Virginia, if you plead guilty to a ticket (by paying and sending it in), it can be used in a civil suit later, but if you are acquitted, or take it to trial and found guilty, it's not admissible.

Doesn't matter. Money is secondary to him getting the conviction and points on his license. He shouldn't be allowed to walk away with no consequences.

I'm sorry for your pain and suffering and losses. I hope you get back to normal soon.

Sadly, I've been on both sides of this type of accident. I was a first year driver in high school and two or three out of four lanes were stopped at a green light. A young boy on a bicycle got waved through and I was cruising along in the left lane thinking, "Why are these people stopped in the middle of the street? I don't see anything." Then I saw him emerge from in front of the car in the lane next to me. He was a young boy on a bmx bike completely shielded by the car next to me. I locked up the wheels and just tapped him with my front bumper. I felt absolutely horrible, especially since the boy was so young. He wasn't visibly injured, but I'll never forget this 10 or 11 year-old boy cussing me out after I hit him. It's hard to forgive yourself after something like that. Wave throughs are definitely dangerous. I hadn't thought about this in a long time and it's a very good reminder against them.

In 2004, I got broadsided by an F-250 turning left while I was going through a green light commuting to work one morning. I don't remember anything after the initial impact. I came to on the ground about 30+ feet from where the impact occurred. A witness said I rolled over the windshield. I suffered a completely detached collar bone on the should side and torn muscles and bruises. I was in a lot of pain for a long time and was in a compression sling for seven weeks, so I'm really glad that you aren't more seriously injured.

Good luck with your case and I hope this guy learns his lesson, too.

Bring some 8x10 photos of the intersection as well, to show how this guy could only pass by going into the parking lane.

Did you mean to write found not guilty? If he's found guilty I couldn't imagine it not being admissible, but our laws are funny sometimes.

I hope you have enough evidence to convince the judge. It sounds like you do but they can be capricious. Good luck with the trial and hope you feel better soon.

According to an attorney from one of the largest PI firms in the area, the only thing admissible about a traffic citation in Virginia is a guilty plea. If you don't plead guilty to a traffic citation, it doesn't matter if you're found guilty in traffic court - the conviction isn't admissible in a civil trial.

So, this guy has very little to lose by pleading not guilty. I have to make sure that the evidence, witnesses and officer are all there on the court date. Even if there's no civil trial later, he needs to get the points and conviction on his driving record.

Sounds like the other guy has been getting "good" legal advice.