Cyclist Scams Drivers In Houston
 

My gf got hit by a cyclist in her car while she was on her way to work. She was taking a right on red when a guy decided to ride his bike through a red light and he was riding on sidewalks through the crosswalk. She stopped thinking that she had hit him, and of course he started yelling at her about her ruining is $2,000 bike and him being hurt (He was riding a Scott junk bike worth $750 max). Luckily she actually knows something about bikes and started to put things together. She offered to call the police down and they can file a report. He insisted that is not necessary and just wanted her insurance information. She told him to get ****ed and called the police. The officer had them exchange contact/insurance info. and he wen't to the doctor that day. Her insurance ended up not paying him a dime. Not even for his visit to the doctor.
--Another police officer told her that this was common in houston. Cyclists hang out at busy intersections geared up acting like their on a ride waiting for a nice car to have a collision course with. Probably works most of the time.
--The biggest thing that doesn't add up to me is 1) Why was he even there in the first place. If you are a real cyclist then you know the rules of the road. And 2) He wen't to a doctor with unexplained back injury. Obviously they would not find anything.
http://i983.photobucket.com/albums/a...istproblem.jpg

Where was the intersection?

Not 100% sure. SW Downtown is all that I know off hand. I'm not from Houston and don't know the area very well, but its a business district.

Seems like a painful way to pull a scam, though riding on the sidewalk downtown rarely ever ends well. Wouldn't surprise me though people are always looking for new ways to commit insurance fraud.

This was at 7am. And the guy didn't really hit the car. No damage was done to his bike, but he left a dent on the side quarter panel where he slammed his hand down. So he probably sustained injury to his hand more than anything.

That's very interesting to me. I live in the Montrose area, southwest of downtown, and though I've never seen something like this before I'll be sure and keep my eyes peeled for such a setup.