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Rear mount bike carriers and auto accident.

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Rear mount bike carriers and auto accident.

Old 09-04-12, 03:00 PM
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Originally Posted by Nermal
I'm very sure the driver who rear ends someone is going to be held liable, and their insurance will pay. If that driver departs for places unknown, you're probably covered only if you carry uninsured motorist insurance.
You are correct; the other driver would be at fault andshould be held liable…
However…

1.
You are assuming the driver at fault hasinsurance coverage. Of the 5 accidents (allnot at fault) that I have been involved in in the last 14 years of driving,only 1 driver had insurance coverage.


2.
You areassuming the other driver’s insurance will cut you a check for a bike…notlikely. The other insurance will want toassess/depreciate your bike to the point where you have to fight them to get afair value out of it.

Holding a bike on its own small, freestanding policy willlet you and your insurance carrier have an agreed value for your bike. If it gets stolen, vandalized, crushed in anaccident, etc., you can claim for the agreed value of your bike. When your insurance company finds out thecause of damage, they will go directly after the liable party to recover theclaim’s costs.
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Old 09-04-12, 03:17 PM
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You are correct; the other driver would be at fault andshould be held liable…
However…

1.You are assuming the driver at fault hasinsurance coverage. Of the 5 accidents (allnot at fault) that I have been involved in in the last 14 years of driving,only 1 driver had insurance coverage.
No, what I really assume is that you only read the first sentence. Here, let me help.

Originally Posted by Nermal
I'm very sure the driver who rear ends someone is going to be held liable, and their insurance will pay. If that driver departs for places unknown, you're probably covered only if you carry uninsured motorist insurance.
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Old 09-04-12, 11:08 PM
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Originally Posted by Nermal
No, what I really assume is that you only read the first sentence. Here, let me help.
Thanks for helping me learn to read...now that you put it in bold it still does not show the point I was making.

My point is that if your bike is of any value, it should be insured seperately for an agreed value. I would advise everyone reading this to call your agent and find out what actually is, and is not, covered by your auto liability, comprehensive, and uninsured motorist insurance. Chances are, those policies won't replace that bike that was hanging outside of your vehicle when you got hit.

Another thing to consider is that with your bike on the back of your car, YOU could be a certain % liable for obstructing your brake lights. If I rearended someone with obstructed, blacked out, or modified taillights I would sure be letting my insurance claims person know that I couldn't see the back of the vehicle clearly.
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Old 09-05-12, 10:22 AM
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if someone were to hit my hitch mounted rack, they would serious F up my/our bikes, but their car would be worse cause that rack is a BEAST! I even have a hard time hefting it around (allen rack that extends out of the way to access the van rear door, so ALOT of steel involved, makes a great drying hanger for clothes at camp sites though)
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Old 09-05-12, 04:59 PM
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Originally Posted by clarkbre
Another thing to consider is that with your bike on the back of your car, YOU could be a certain % liable for obstructing your brake lights. If I rearended someone with obstructed, blacked out, or modified taillights I would sure be letting my insurance claims person know that I couldn't see the back of the vehicle clearly.
My thinking exactly. Insurance companies aren't going to fork over payment if they can get away with it.

And you just added another idea to my Million Dollar Ideas book. Not to be confused with the sequel Million DOLLAR Ideas.
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Old 09-05-12, 05:15 PM
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I'm an out of the box kind of a guy so roll with me for a second. Home Depot sells small landscape trailers for less than a grand, I think somewhere around $500 but I could be wrong. You could mount a bike rack to the floor and a waterproof plastic box on the tongue for gear and parts. When I had a car USAA (my insurance company) told me that a trailer and its contents would be covered under my insurance policy. If you frequently transport bikes this would be a viable option. You could also install d-rings on the floor of the trailer and chain the hell out of your bikes to discourage theft and put a padlock on the hitch and hitch pin to prevent theft of the trailer.
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Old 09-05-12, 05:50 PM
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True, and there are small enclosed cargo trailers too, same deal + the contents
are not out there to be seen, and coveted by others..

you read the source badge? US welders, or Asia?

Last edited by fietsbob; 09-05-12 at 06:13 PM.
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Old 09-05-12, 05:53 PM
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That's right, Home Depot sells the small enclosed trailers too. Those have a plywood floor which would make it easier to floor mount a rack.
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Old 09-05-12, 06:12 PM
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Lots of others too , I'm envisioning one tear drop shaped.. they are 50s revival ,
but they usually had the coleman stove kitchen in the back, sleeping berth in front..

but the shape would be less like pulling a a flat box draining the fuel tank, faster,
now that the oil companies have every one by the short-n-curlys..

I recall seeing somewhere some that opened like a clam shell ,
so lower, an more aerodynamic to save Gas.

Last edited by fietsbob; 09-05-12 at 06:15 PM.
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Old 09-05-12, 06:42 PM
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I pulled a midsize U-Haul trailer with a PT Cruiser across a good chunk of the western U.S. on a move/vacation. If I recall correctly I went over 7 significant mountain passes, including Donner Pass and I crossed the Continental Divide 3 or 4 times. A U-Haul trailer is really heavy, fill it up with household goods and you're talking real weight. A lighter trailer filled with bikes could easily be towed by anything larger than a Smart.
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