chidizzle
Well-known member
False, loud pipes would have made the driver aware of the rider before all this would have happened.
Lane change w/o a shoulder check and broken bones
- Thread starter oxymoron
- Start date
exactly what im wondering and why i asked that.
I should've asked the cop when he stopped by, but at the time I was in the ER, had not yet been given any pain medication and not in a talking mood. It's entirely possible the guy clipped me, that's what would make the most sense.
Thanks for your support guys. It's good to know that no matter what kind of bike you ride you have a group of people who know what you're going through and are there to listen. Car drivers don't have the same luxury
Deimos
Well-known member
I check my mirrors often whenever I drive/ride, but I am certain most cagers with the stereo cranked will not hear pipes or see the biker until they're passing the cager by.
I had the same accident happen to me last October on church street north of dundas, but the driver was found 100% liable after a 3 month wait/investigation. No broken bones, just a couple of scrapes thanks to my gear. I can't really crack my right thumb anymore because of the way I landed, still feel some strain when I clench it hard, but otherwise fully functional.
If you really feel you've suffered enough to warrant a lawsuit, then go for it. I wouldn't personally, nor did I when it happened to me. I claimed everything including my gear to my insurer and bought my current bike with the money.
icecube172
Well-known member
holy *****, what a story. I hope your wrist and your body will heal soon and well.
there are a lot of idiot drivers out there that refuse to use their breaks when come behind a vehicle turning left, turning right, a bus stopping/slow down, etc. it only takes a few seconds to actually stop and make sure the next lane is clear before merging, but people have the habit of rushing, seems to them like slowing the car down or stopping is a lot of work.
thanks for sharing the story
there are a lot of idiot drivers out there that refuse to use their breaks when come behind a vehicle turning left, turning right, a bus stopping/slow down, etc. it only takes a few seconds to actually stop and make sure the next lane is clear before merging, but people have the habit of rushing, seems to them like slowing the car down or stopping is a lot of work.
thanks for sharing the story
sure have been. but 7 years later, after 4yrs of physio, still missing an eye, permanently 'disfigured', lacking the proper use of a couple limbs, constant pain, being unable to work full-time, and more, im sure not rich.
negligence you have to prove it was intentional. emotional distress? i barely got to sue for that. pain and suffering? well, it wont sure wont cover my pain meds over the long term (at this rate).
go read the "after an accident" sticky in the ins. forum.
you can't sue for replacement of his gear. your own ins. co will cover that.
it really does not sound like you even comes close to pass the lawsuit threshold.
do not go to your insurer for a lawyer advice. (your own insurer could potentially be one of the defendants) contact several different lawyers and ask for references. i can pm you a couple decent ones that MAY take the case.
as for the laying down idea, some accident reconstructionists believe that if you had time/skill to lay it down, you had time to stop or avoid. i personally am not convinced either way.
unfortunately it also sounds like the offender will most likely get off (most charges), esp. with a decent lawyer. i have good knowledge of 3 different "failure to remain" where they got off b/c they or their rep. succesfully argued that they were not aware an accident had happened.
good luck OP, follow the docs/physio's advice carefully. go sit down and write everything you can remember down. everything. weather, time approximations, every thought through the incident, EVERYTHING! you want to be able to recall what happened years down the line. oh, and a settlement (if there ever is one, would come 5+years from now)
Thanks for your insight. I feel incredibly lucky compared to you. I hope you get better.
The cop who visited also said that the guy could try to make a case against failure to remain/render assistance but considering I was right behind him lying on the roof of the car he just passed and I probably hit his vehicle.. I hope that the judge doesn't buy it.
I know that I was lucky to get away with a month of pain and a hard-learned lesson, in other words I got off pretty easy. I'm not sue-happy by disposition, when something happens to me my first thought isn't "I should sue!" That being said, this guy was too lazy to either a) wait five seconds for the car in front of him to clear the way or b) take two seconds to do a shoulder check. His negligence directly caused the most traumatic experience of my life.
The fact is, it's hard to miss a person flying in the air and landing on the roof of a car. He saw it, I know he did, and he just kept on driving. He didn't even know if I was alive or dead. How can you almost kill someone and not even slow down?
I want to look this guy in the eye and ask him why he thought that 5-seconds of his time was more important than my life. People like him need to be held accountable for their actions.
You say that he cut you off because he failed to check his mirrors or do a decent shoulder check. If this is the case, he didn't see you before the crash.
Unless you actually made contact with his car, then why would you expect that he would have seen you crash into a parked car that would also be behind him and out of his direct line of sight?
If the Crown can't offer up convincing evidence that the other driver was actually aware of the crash, that set of charges could easily be dismissed. Any admission by the driver that he didn't see you prior to changing lanes will only add credence to the further argument that he also didn't see you crash. It's quite difficult to be convicted for leaving the scene of a collision that you were never aware of in the first place.
As for the careless driving charge, it could easily get pled down to an improper lane change or fail to yield right of way conviction. Minimal points, minor ticket, minimal fine.
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kiwi
Well-known member
There's a ton of posts on other forums. Google is your friend
espro
Well-known member
This is ridiculous, why would the law allow ignorance to be an excuse? It's the responsibility of a driver to make sure what they're doing is safe. By this logic I could just drive around not checking my mirrors anywhere and be able to get off scot free for any accidents I cause.
This happens all the time.
I was also under the impression that if you don't hit the actual car that caused the accident, it can easily be deemed your fault (I know, it's stupid as are most of our insurance rules).
Glad to hear you made it through such a crappy situation.
Nah, a black spidi jacket.
The convolutions of law frustrate me. I suppose next time I have an accident I should plow into the offending vehicle instead of an uninvolved party
I'll have to ring the cop up and confirm whether I made contact with the car. It all seemed like it happened in a split second, I wish I could rewind and go through the frames one-by-one. I'm also giving serious thought to mounting a 'dashboard' video camera.. the number of times it would catch stupid drivers would make it worth it. Video evidence would also have come in handy in court.
Cha0s00100
Well-known member
So good to hear that your going to heal up w/o any major long term damage.
The fact that you hit the parked car would not look so good for you, however the fact that the sgt showed up advising you they got the guy is pleasing. It sounds like the guy took off after cutting you off however there was a witness that saw it happen and called the police.
Try to see if you can get a report of the incident from the police station and see if the witness is willing to testify in your defense. If this is the care get a lawyer and you should have a good steady income for a while ;P. If there is no witness it is a lost cause.
The fact is that we have too many dumb #$%^ing cagers who have problems finding the door in the morning driving cars. I preach this a lot to the riders I know but you need to ride like anything bad that could happen could so be ready for it.
Some tell me I need to ride closer or harder and I understand the reason for it in groups however the fact of the matter is you never know when a worse case scenario will present itself.
Be ready for anything and ride safe on the roads, if you want to drag knee then take it away from the city ( watch out for people crossing the sold yellows in the twisties ) or hit the track.
Enough of my rant I have work to get done ;P
Thanks to the Op for sharing this and be safe all.
The fact that you hit the parked car would not look so good for you, however the fact that the sgt showed up advising you they got the guy is pleasing. It sounds like the guy took off after cutting you off however there was a witness that saw it happen and called the police.
Try to see if you can get a report of the incident from the police station and see if the witness is willing to testify in your defense. If this is the care get a lawyer and you should have a good steady income for a while ;P. If there is no witness it is a lost cause.
The fact is that we have too many dumb #$%^ing cagers who have problems finding the door in the morning driving cars. I preach this a lot to the riders I know but you need to ride like anything bad that could happen could so be ready for it.
Some tell me I need to ride closer or harder and I understand the reason for it in groups however the fact of the matter is you never know when a worse case scenario will present itself.
Be ready for anything and ride safe on the roads, if you want to drag knee then take it away from the city ( watch out for people crossing the sold yellows in the twisties ) or hit the track.
Enough of my rant I have work to get done ;P
Thanks to the Op for sharing this and be safe all.
Didn't I read a story last season where someone said they had to swerve into the oncoming traffic lane to avoid a major collision because someone in front of them cut them off or something, got into a much more minor accident, then got charged and was found at fault and the cop actually told the person they should've just slammed into the person in front of them (in a much worse accident) instead? Or maybe they avoided the accident but still got charged for something... I don't remember but it was kind of stupid.The convolutions of law frustrate me. I suppose next time I have an accident I should plow into the offending vehicle instead of an uninvolved party
I know I have definitely heard of situations where you slam your brakes because someone cuts you off or makes a left in front of you or whatever and you lock the front, your bike goes down and slides down the road, but unless it actually hits the car of the guy that caused you to lock the front, it's probably going to be deemed your fault.
Splash
Well-known member
Not a youtube video but....
http://www.gtamotorcycle.com/vbforum/showthread.php?95140-Stebel-Nautilus-horn-instalation
