bike vs. big rig truck (accident on the 18th) | GTAMotorcycle.com

bike vs. big rig truck (accident on the 18th)

B

barrebeast

Well-known member
i got into an accident on the 18th and am lucky to be alive

after dropping off my gf i went down cherry st. turned onto unwin ave. (2 lane road i believe) ahead of me was a big rig truck who shortly after pulled onto the shoulder slowly and looked like he was stopping.
as i approach the clear path (truck parallel with the street) the truck driver makes a sudden sharp left, i quickly grab the clutch, gear down and apply both brakes, the bike skids and goes out from under me and i end up underneath the truck, 3 sets of double tires roll over my helmet and i am taken to the hospital.

'witnesses' and hospital/police reports say i rear ended the truck, the truck driver didnt even know he hit me until he was flagged down

god bless, my helmet didnt crack.. my gf's brand new helmet that was in my duffel bag ended up in the front and in my arms bracing some impact has cracked down the center of the chin. no broken bones or major internal damage.. just a lot of back and chest pain, some foot injury and scrapes and bruises.

at the hospital the police served me with a ticket for careless driving ($490 and 6 demerit points) and didnt even care to take my side of the story

i will fight the ticket... any advice? i do not trust to hire any lawyers that will tell me to plea
 
I agree; you want to get some sort of representation. You also want to check the area where it happened, as quickly as possible, and see if there are any security cameras on buildings. You need incontrovertible evidence, because right now everything is against you.
 
barrebeast said:
how come the truck driver wasnt charged?
Click to expand...

You'll have to ask the officer why. If the truck had his signal on to turn left and you went around the left to pass him, he may feel you were in the wrong and were simply improperly passing the truck. Or he may think you did indeed rear-end the truck. You'll have to go to court and ask him.
 
he was on the shoulder and the road was clear when i was approaching within 5-10 meters, the report says i was going 20kmph

he turned left onto the road and i couldnt stop in time, bike skid and i slid a short distance under the truck.. bike wasnt hit but damaged from the fall

no evidence of rear ending the truck on my bike
 
Well, if he had his signal or hazards on and you crashed because of the truck, I think you're pretty much in the wrong. If he just turned without any signals, the witnesses hopefully would notice that and back you up. It seems the witnesses and the truck driver think you hit the truck or crashed because of the truck because you weren't paying attention. I suppose that's why the cop charged you.
 
This is a pretty good example of why more people should wear action cameras while riding and install dashcams in their cars.

The idiocy and selfishness boggles my mind. If what you said was true, the truck driver would know damn well that you didn't rear-end him yet he's willing to screw you over.

invictus43 said:
Well, if he had his signal or hazards on and you crashed because of the truck, I think you're pretty much in the wrong. If he just turned without any signals, the witnesses hopefully would notice that and back you up. It seems the witnesses and the truck driver think you hit the truck or crashed because of the truck because you weren't paying attention. I suppose that's why the cop charged you.
Click to expand...

What?

A vehicle pulled over on the side of the road does not have right of way, regardless of any signals being displayed. Stopped vehicles re-entering the roadway must always give right of way to vehicles already on the roadway.
 
so anytime a vehicle has its turn signal on they automatically get the right of way?

i understand what you're saying but i was already approaching the vehicle, the truck driver should double check his mirrors before committing to the turn, no?

thats what i do when im driving anywhere, i signal and wait for a clear path, if there is a vehicle behind me i usually wait, especially if im on the shoulder of the road
 
DaveTheCanuck said:
What?

A vehicle pulled over on the side of the road does not have right of way, regardless of any signals being displayed. Stopped vehicles re-entering the roadway must always give right of way to vehicles already on the roadway.
Click to expand...

First, neither of us was there so we don't really know what happened. Second, if I'm signalling a left-hand turn on a two-lane road and you choose to pass me on the left, you're breaking the law. It's a truck..they make wide turns..they often use the whole road to complete the turn. If he's signalling a left turn and you pass on the left, you get charged. The OP said he "looked like he was stopping"..that's not stopped.
 
nameless? said:
Except that if you pass someone making a left turn on a two direction, two lane road its partially their fault, if the truck was pulling out from the curb the truck is 100% at fault. See example six here http://www.ibc.ca/en/car_insurance/documents/brochure/on-fault-determination-rules.pdf
Click to expand...

According to section 6 for vehicles travelling in the same direction in the same lane, the vehicle behind is always 100% at-fault if the vehicle in front is in motion or stopped in the lane. There's no partial there. Unwin is only one lane in each direction I believe. I agree if the truck is stopped on the side of the road and turns left into traffic he is at-fault. I'm just not sure that's what happened. It would appear the officer and witnesses don't believe that's what happened either.
 
Glad to hear you're ok....what a scary incident! best of luck with the fight....definitely get a lawyer....gather evidence because no one else will do a s good a job as you and perhaps prepare a point form story line and find the evidence to back it up....visual evidence.

Not to poke fun....but....is this incident like lane splitting??...lol
 
unwin IS one lane each direction.

http://goo.gl/maps/HoiE
i hope this shows, its the street view of unwin

when i made the turn from cherry st. the truck was ahead of me maybe 70-80 metres, as i approach 60 -50 metres he was slowing down and pulling to the side onto the gravel, made the stop and was completely off the pavement. i had a clear road and had no reason to STOP, if he was checking his mirrors he would see me.. those trucks have blindspot mirrors... i continue, 30-20 metres and i see the front end turn quickly onto the road again, i squeeze clutch, gear down and apply both brakes, bike skids and im under the middle of the truck, *thump* *thump* *thump* and im lying hugging my duffle bag with gf's helmet in it.

section 7 diagrams (1) (2) (3) is what happened

fyi i ride a 250cc dual sport, i know my limits and would never test them especially against a big rig
 
invictus43 said:
First, neither of us was there so we don't really know what happened. Second, if I'm signalling a left-hand turn on a two-lane road and you choose to pass me on the left, you're breaking the law. It's a truck..they make wide turns..they often use the whole road to complete the turn. If he's signalling a left turn and you pass on the left, you get charged. The OP said he "looked like he was stopping"..that's not stopped.
Click to expand...

I believe the point is that if his hazards were on, another possibility that you stated, then the truck driver would be at fault. Vehicles re-entering traffic must signal their intent to do so and hazards do not perform this function.

He would also be at fault regardless of the situation with his signals, as you must make sure that it is safe to re-enter traffic before doing so.
 
Rob MacLennan said:
I believe the point is that if his hazards were on, another possibility that you stated, then the truck driver would be at fault. Vehicles re-entering traffic must signal their intent to do so and hazards do not perform this function.

He would also be at fault regardless of the situation with his signals, as you must make sure that it is safe to re-enter traffic before doing so.
Click to expand...

Well, the OP stated he didn't actually stop..so I don't think that's the case. And if he's moving, however slowly, and is turning left, the OP is obviously at-fault. If the truck was re-entering, I agree, truck is at-fault. Obviously the police and witnesses say that wasn't the case.
 
so the difference here is if he completely stopped or was moving? what if he was crawling, foot off the brake going 2 miles an hour, checks his phone for second then looks up and makes the turn? who can prove that?

he definitely wasnt in semi circle formation to make the left turn, i was meters away i would have seen the front tire as big as my body already on the road.
again he was parallel to the road, slow moving or not, signal or not, i am in clear vision and approaching at regular speed limit.

there were witnesses apparently but i dont think they were (close) behind me... i believe they were in the oncoming direction and may have seen the truck turning from afar and possibly my bike sliding out, as well as the aftermath.

im praying there are cameras but what if there is not?


i wake up everyday uncertain about my future, my health, my relationships, my career and it seems like a joke
 
If he pulled onto the road and you were in your marked lane he is at fault.If the is no evidence of your bike hitting the truck you did not rear end him.I would be talking to the hospital CEO with regards to staff talking to the police.Unless you were shot or stabbed they have no business making statements and only what they witnessed .This is a privacy act issue and they can be taken to task and sued,the ER knows better.We have specific training with regards to patent privacy and the police.Lodge a complaint against the LEO as well.The police only get certain information under certain conditions.
 
Last edited:
1) If this is going to court should it be discussed in the internet?

2) If the police failed to gather ALL of the evidence IMO their credibility should be challenged.

3) Fortunately this is a careless not dangerous charge so it will go away. Whether the financial hit is bearable is your math.

As a side note I know a guy that got driven into a concrete divider by an out of control rig and almost died. He is back riding but has some memory issues. The truck driver got it worse. The jolt of the collision with the wall caused him to hit hit head on the truck roof, breaking his neck. He is now paralized from the neck down.
 
OP get a lawyer. They will get witness statements and form a case for you, something that not a single person here can do for you, unless they are a lawyer.

As a truck driver, seeing other drivers not signalling makes my blood boil. Cars are bad enough but a normal drivers cannot possibly make predictions about how much room a truck will need to turn. We have a higher seating position and experience operating the vehicle to make these decisions where cars do not. A failure to indicate on the part of a truck driver can and does get people killed.

Don't fail to consider that approaching a vehicle stopped on the shoulder at the speed limit is not advisable, safe or riding within the limits of your vehicle even if it might be legal.

Best of luck with your case and GET A LAWYER.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top Bottom