If a car hit you...
 

...and your body and bike weren't damaged, what would you do? Assume it's a right hook and the driver is at fault.

Would you call the cops?

Would you try to make some kind of deal with the driver?

Would you let it go and ride away?

Funny you mention it. I have a video of nearly that situation except it was a left cross and the bike was a little beat up.

Here is what I did:


In the end I had to call my auto insurance to track down his insurance info anyway because he was not willing to pay for the damages to the bike and I should have seen a doctor sooner as I have been having problems with my left shoulder since about 3 weeks AFTER the accident.

I had to promise my wife I would never leave the scene of the accident without getting the drivers insurance information.

Yes, get a report. This is important in case you find damage later, something breaks, or you are injured (and discover it later). It never hurts to call their (and your) insurance company and file a claim, for the same reason. Also, if you've used a lawyer before, it might be worth asking them. :)

Not unless you can get it in writing.

I've done this many times. Learn from my mistakes.

When an incident like that occurs, you're typically running on high adrenalin, which can mask injury to the point that you are sure you're not hurt. Play it safe, go ahead and call it in and let the EMT's check you out.

It depends. But that happened to me 20-25 yrs ago. A right hook, her fault, she sped up to get in front of me and turn. I almost out turned her. 2 of the most scariest seconds of my life. The only thing damaged was my favorite shirt.

What I really wanted to do was scream obscenities at her. But she was crying, real I think. And after checking out my bike I settled for glaring at her and riding off without a word. I just really didn't trust myself to talk right then.

Don't think I would always do that.

most drivers have been apologetic when causing an accident, in my experience.

the cyclist in the video above should have slowed for the gap in stopped traffic.

I got ran over before, crossing an intersection, I got thrown like 10 feet. She hit my back tire so I kinda slingshotted off the bike. The lady was real nice. The cops came and gave her a ticket for running a red light(She was trying to make the yellow but it changed on her). She was in her 60's and she crying and upset. I gave her a hug and told her everything was fine. All I had was a scraped knee. I took my bike to the shop and she paid for the repairs. When we went to court, they asked if I would be willing to accept lower the charge for her (which I did). And she just got a minor fine. Immediately after the accident I was angry but I also realized this it was also traumatic for her as well. **** happens

ya well...

What would you expect from "some kind of deal" where no damage or injury occurred?

there's only one reason cars stop that way ... to let a turning car through. with enough experience you'll learn to see the gaps. not a big deal as everyone is OK :D

Gotta love hindsight and knowing an accident is about to happen. If I stopped everywhere I thought an accident might happen I would never ride. I don't wanna jack this thread and would love to discuss my situation further in PM if you would like but I fear that you would never see it as I see it so I am sure it would serve no real purpose.

Now back to our regularly scheduled program...

lol

For real. Guy puts his stuff out there and gets called on it. Now he wants us to move on. I say lets tough love him out of his smug attitude.

+1

My first year of commuting I got right hooked. I got up, brushed myself off and rode home thinking all was well. By dinner time I couldn't bend my elbows enough to get a fork to my mouth.

....hit it back....

I also agree with his advice. I rode away without realizing that I had a pretty good scrape on my leg. I lucked out that it wasn't serious, but I could see how someone could ride away with a real injury without knowing.

what to do if you are in a bike accident with an at fault motorist:

always scream in agony (even if you are not).
decide whether you want to go to the er.
obtain the driver's license plate, dl #, and insurance info (or ask a witness to record it).
obtain the contact info of any witnesses and ask if they would be willing to make a statement (some emts/paras may take this info to the hospital with you).
do not say a single unnecessary word to the driver, no matter how remorseful they appear. anything you say can be used against you.
inform the police that the motorist broke the law and injured you. exaggerate any injuries (they will almost certainly feel worse later). do not say anything unnecessary to the police officer.
contact a lawyer ...i will repeat...contact a lawyer.
take pictures of scrapes, bruises, cuts, torn clothing, and bike damage.
decide whether to sue. and remember that many motorists who hit cyclists/peds/other motorists are repeat offenders.

Interesting video. I suppose a lot depends on the attitude of the driver. The guy in your video seemed a little shady.

+1, Well, unless it was my fault... :cry:

I'm almost hesitant to suggest this, it was advice given me by a personal injury lawyer when I was struck on my motorcycle, the same should hold true for a bicycle. This is for a legitimate accident, not just a tap or small bump. So I guess in answer to the OP's question with NO injury or damage then I would do nothing and go on about my way.

For a real accident with injury and damage, if you are ever hit and knocked down YOU ARE HURT and should call the police and an ambulance. He suggested falling on the ground and waiting there and complain about ANY discomfort, scrapes, cuts or hurt joints.. This establishes your injury. ALWAYS get a police report and make sure you get a copy of it. Contact an injury lawyer and let them take care of business. He stated, "I'm not suggesting that you, ahem, 'game the system' but there are actions that you can take to preserve your right to compensation." The initial consultation is usually free and you almost always come out ahead over if you try and take care of it yourself. I've had to avail myself of their services twice now and have always been taken care of. I was genuinely injured twice bu other's negligence and the whole process was fairly smooth and without any major issues.

Make up your own mind, I usually view lawyers with an aversion but they can come in handy when a real accident happens.

(I was writing this message while spare_wheel was submitting his)

Never assume the bike and body are OK. Call the police and get a police report. Get the drivers contact and insurance information. Wait 24 hours for aches and pains to decide you are OK. Check the frame alignment at a bike shop to make sure it is OK.

In Illinois, you are required to fill out a crash report if: "The accident caused a death, bodily injury, or more than $1,500 of property damage." Odds are, I'm going to have some kind of injury if I get knocked off my bike, so the cops are getting called. If the driver decides not to stick around, well, that's another nice citation (property damage, or it's even more fun if they flee the scene of a personal injury accident!). Either way, the cops are getting called. Start the paperwork early.

No need to be a jerk. ckaspar was riding in a right turn lane and the motorist was required to make sure the lane was clear before violating ckaspar's right of way.

Cheap vid cams are good for this kinda thing too. I have had many times where the driver was close but not enough to hit me(fortunately). In a lot of cases the violations are still considered reportable, so I would score as much info on a near miss as possible because many times people are drivers of habit. Either they will effect a continuing pattern or the bread crumbs could add up to a conviction if anything more hazardous happens.

No disrespect to ckaspar, but that is EXACTLY how accidents happen. What I saw in the video is a cyclist in the bike lane passing two lanes of stopped cars, and approaching a gap in traffic. Could a car be coming there? Possibly. Should I slow down until I am sure it is safe to go? 999 times out of 1000 zooming on is no problem. The video showed the 0.1%.

No doubt the driver of the car had little chance of seeing you approach that gap from behind 2 rows of stopped cars, the last one being a SUV or van that blocked line of sight completely. The car turning left was visible in the video between the cars, and the rider looked down twice right before the accident. On a different day, the rider would have seen the possibility the car might turn in front of him and reacted accordingly.

You have to ride like you are invisible and that no one else follows the rules. Not doing that invites accidents, injury and death. When you are on a bike, you will loose every time. If you get reimbursed for damage and injury, I suppose that helps, but it is infinitely better to be able to keep riding.

I write this to raise your awareness while riding, in case the video did not do that already. Thanks for posting that ckaspar to help us deal with what happens when the inevitable happens while cycling. Please don't interpret this as an attack on you. I watched the first 30 secs of the video a dozen times to see what could have happened differently to avoid the accident. I hope that I will think of that situation while riding so that I will not go over the bars and end up with a hurt shoulder or worse. I hope that other readers will do likewise. Going down is no fun, I know for personal experience.