Truck reverse parked over my bike. Wait for cash or go through insurance?!?

[alaywa]

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this is exactly why I don't park across the back of a spot. I always pull up to the front of the spot, right in the middle. I don't care if someone thinks I shouldn't be taking up a whole parking spot or not, at least I don't have to worry about cagers trying to share a spot with me.

I park with bicyles by the front door or on some concrete island near the door. Then I walk off like I'm more special than everyone else. You'll never get a ticket in the burbs in a retail mall or something like that!

 

[croco]

Ok, this thread seems to be the best place to ask this.

I was driving home with the GF in my cage on Saturday, northbound on the 410, in the left lane. A car in front of me is doing 110. I hate riding the left lane when there is no clear need to, so I wanted to get past and move back into the middle lane, but there was another car there. So I waited until the car in front of me passed that car, and gave him a few seconds to move out of the way. He doesn't. So I high beam him. At which point, he does signal a lane change, but then, for some reason, he hits his brakes. So obviously, I do the same. It wasn't too hard, I had more than enough room, and we didn't come to a complete stop or anything. Thinking back, I think there was someone in front of him with their taillights out and they got spooked because they didn't see them.

Then, all of a sudden, we feel a knock from behind. Turns out, there was a pickup/SUV behind us that was tailgating us too. I usually am vigilant about checking my rearview and keeping enough space in front, but I'll be honest, I lapsed this time. So we felt this knock, and my GF flips out because we got hit. Luckily, we weren't stopped, I had my foot pulled in on the clutch, and I wasn't slammed on the brakes, so it just rolled us forward a bit. Calmly, I signaled, and we pulled off on the shoulder.

Before I write what happened, my question is, what is the proper procedure for handling these situations? What information should I be getting? What should I be doing? How do I ensure that all parties are held accountable?

-----

I stepped out, and we checked out the damage. It was just our bumpers knocking. I had light scuffs on my painted bumper, and his metal bumper was undamaged according to him. I confirmed that my GF and I were ok, and that he was too. I got his name, cell number (and called it, to make sure it was right), and his license plate. He started saying that I slammed on my brakes, and that I shouldn't have done that (almost making it seem like it's my fault). I wasn't argumentative, but I stated, that the people in front of me hit the brakes, and that I had more than enough room to stop. I said, these things happen, and thankfully, it looks like everything's ok. That I would contact him if anything changes.

We set off, and my GF starts freaking me out saying that we might feel whiplash in our neck the next morning. I was pretty shaken, just because I've never been in a multi-vehicle collision (except once on the track). I do my best to be a safe driver, and this whole thing made me evaluate what I did wrong. I know in the eyes of the law/insurance, it's not my fault, but still. Anyway, thankfully, the GF and I felt no pain the next day, and I haven't had to call the guy.

When you get rear ended it is ALWAYS the other driver's fault. As long as you did not cut the other driver off and got hit in the side of the car, you are NEVER at fault, even if you teleport in front of him. If the contact was his front bumper to your rear bumper, you are NEVER at fault. Look up the fault determination rules, there's a PDF explaining the possible scenarios, and you will see what I mean.

The general procedure is you get drivers license, insurance information, contact information, any pictures you can, and then you head to a collision reporting centre to have your damage recorded. That's the simplest way to deal with an accident when you are not at fault.

Now if you are unsure who is at fault (but after checking the FDRs, you will know for the future), or if you do not want a minor accident appear on your vehicle's record, you can settle this through a cash transaction. From my experience, they are more hassle than they're worth because as others stated you can get shafted. That's why you should always report the accident, with the stipulation not to have it reported to the insurance company.

 

[FiReSTaRT]

@HorizonXP: You should have also got his insurance card even if you weren't planning on going through insurance. Then you report it at the collision reporting center, but with the option not to report to the insurance industry (if you choose to do so). That way your *** is covered. The guy was a prick. He hit you from behind and that's it. 100% his fault. I was in a similar situation. While I did roll back a bit (at a light), no collision would have occurred had he waited for me to start moving forward instead of starting to move before I did. Then he gets out and starts yelling at me for "backing" into him.
That's when I got out of the car, took a pic of his plate, got in his face, gave him a very loud piece of my mind and asked him if he wanted to call the cops RIGHT NOW. He started shaking his head with a negative response, so I told him to GTFO before I do. He just left. I still reported it at the CRC (since it was 500m from the scene of the collision), but nothing came out of it. It was a no harm no foul situation, but the prick ****** me off for trying to pass the blame on me and trying to intimidate a seated driver. Coward too.. He became very peaceful and quiet as soon as I got up and out of the car, thus putting myself on an even footing with him.

 

[new2dascene]

Sorry, this thread is pretty long so not sure if anyone has said it but you only have 48 hours to report a collision, after that you will not be able to report it, thus not able to go through insurance. Many people will push you until your past the timeline and then flip you the bird.

Magic number 48 hours.

 

[Rob MacLennan]

What actions should I take before going to a Collision Reporting Centre?

1. If it is safe to do so, remove vehicles from the roadway.
2. Call Police to ensure police presence is not required and obtain the location of the closest Collision Reporting Centre.
3. Exchange information with the other involved parties, including independent witnesses. (Names, addresses, phone numbers, insurance companies and vehicle particulars, etc.).
4. As soon as possible, bring your vehicle to the Collision Reporting Centre most convenient to you.
5. Bring documentation with you to the Collision Reporting Centre (e.g. driver's licence, ownership and insurance, etc.).

 

[daveyflakes]

I still don't quite understand how fault is determined when you go to the Collision Reporting Centre. I'm speaking generally, of course; obviously in a rear-end situation, the driver in the back is almost always at fault.

But what about cases where car A sideswipes car B by changing into car B's lane? It's obvious car A's at fault. But that may not be so obvious after the fact--both cars would have similar damage.



Edit: and let's say no witnesses were present. What if driver A is a jackass and says driver B was the one changing lanes? SOL...?

 

[Rob MacLennan]

I still don't quite understand how fault is determined when you go to the Collision Reporting Centre. I'm speaking generally, of course; obviously in a rear-end situation, the driver in the back is almost always at fault.

But what about cases where car A sideswipes car B by changing into car B's lane? It's obvious car A's at fault. But that may not be so obvious after the fact--both cars would have similar damage.



Edit: and let's say no witnesses were present. What if driver A is a jackass and says driver B was the one changing lanes? SOL...?

That's the problem. If police don't actually attend the scene, which they rarely do these days, then no charges will be laid. At that point the only thing that matters, is the insurance Rules of Fault Determination. A liar can benefit, if the physical evidence doesn't provide a clear cut picture of the incident.

 

[Nixel]

I still don't quite understand how fault is determined when you go to the Collision Reporting Centre. I'm speaking generally, of course; obviously in a rear-end situation, the driver in the back is almost always at fault.

But what about cases where car A sideswipes car B by changing into car B's lane? It's obvious car A's at fault. But that may not be so obvious after the fact--both cars would have similar damage.



Edit: and let's say no witnesses were present. What if driver A is a jackass and says driver B was the one changing lanes? SOL...?

You're not SOL, but you'll have to provide a strong explanation of what happened. Insurance companies have their own people who will assess the damage and determine who was at fault. For your example of a side swipe, it's probably a bit easier to determine given that one vehicle was moving in the direction of the impact while the other wasn't.

In the end it really comes down to what the insurance companies can agree on.

 

[Bandit Bill]

My viewpoint is that the situation deals with someone who has backed up without making sure the way is clear, and hit with enough force to nail an object pretty badly. What if that object was a person, a kid, a slow moving senior?

The issue goes beyond just physical damages to a motorcycle - it goes to gross negligence in the operation of a motor vehicle that the driver didn't exercise due care and control over. A motorcycle is easy to repair or replace - the human body, not so much.

The driver needs to feel some pain to remind her of her carelessness on an ongoing basis. Report it.

OP - if i am visualising the way you say you parked your bike, it's not the normal way. It's your parking spot at that moment of time. Utilize it to the full and park down the center, perhaps slightly diagonal if you are anal about other motorcyclists sharing the spot. I park closer to the mouth of the spot than the rear simply because of the number of idjits who go power-diving for the first parking spot at an unreasonable rate of speed. The sooner they see the bike in that situation, the better for you.

 

[nobbie48]

If it is zero percent your fault why take the chances the other person will pay up? Unless a person is familiar with an activity or business they usually seriously underestimate the costs of parts and labour.
Part 2 is that they will get a reminder of their carelessness once a year from their insurance company.
The exception is a minor dent in a beater cage that's soon going to the scrap heap anyways.

 

[unL33T]

lol seriously, a knocked bike costs $2,000? So that means I would probably walked away from one if I'm the one that knocks one over.

You must have no idea what things cost. I hit a curb and did $4300+ damage (OEM parts, quote from dealer) to a $8300 bike. After new forks it was still rideable. Parts are expensive.

The two helmets alone could approach that, depending on what they are.

Yep. My two helmets which I got at 50% off would still come to over $600...

Heck, when I got into an accident with my 01 Jetta a few years back the price for a single rim was $1500 from the body shop.

OP, give her a chance to pay. If she screws you around for your money for over 2 weeks or so she's probably not going to pay you and then just go through insurance. You were not driving the bike so it does not count as a collision and is instead comprehensive so even if she isn't found at fault (which she will be) your rates won't go up. You have up to a year to make the insurance claim but the faster you do it, the easier it is for everyone except the person that hit you and doesn't want to pay for it. I say give her 2 weeks because I find if people take longer than that they're generally just trying to delay the process so that after a few months they think you'll get fed up and forget about it, they don't realize you have a year to make the claim. I've had this happen to me 3 times when I tried to let people avoid an insurance hike by just paying cash. I even went through the trouble of getting lower quotes for less work (ie not a proper repair job) and they still refuse to pay it when they get the final number. Apparently most people think almost any damage can be fixed for like $200 or something.

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