Hit by car, no police, no ticket
This could go pretty much anywhere in the forum so decided to put here. My amazing daughter lives in Portland, OR. She commutes by bike, everyday, from NE Portland to OHSU (SW Portland) As she was descending off the steep hill the OHSU hospital is perched on a car turned, no signal, right in front of her, across the bike lane. The good news is she is a defensive rider but the bad news is, she still couldn't stop in time and was knocked over by the car. More good news is no blood, no broken bones - she will go to the Dr today to have her knee looked at.
Needless to say, she was totally upset and very scared. The woman driving the car did stop. My daughter confesses to much screaming and a few choice words. Thankfully the driver was not aggressive beyond hitting her with her car... Long story short, my daughter called the police and they refused to investigate. They told her that because the driver had stopped, given her all the insurance information, her name and phone number that they would not come to the scene of the accident. Wow, how does that make you feel - kinda like chopped liver...
Her bike was non rideable, still in shock, she started walking with her bike. She called me sounding very upset and confused - not the best time to live 500 miles away. Thankfully she stopped into a bike shop and they were able to help her get the bike working - she rode to meet a friend who did the concussion test and then gave her a ride the rest of the way home.
I am just shocked that an incident such as that is not something the police deem as worthy of responding to. I did send an email to bikeportland.org to see if they know more about police and bike accidents in Portland.
Still to early to call the DD but will shortly. Know she will be sore today and may have to take the bus but knowing how stubborn she is I bet she will do her best to ride again today.,
Oh, just a final note, she was wearing her bright green cycling jacket, with a bright yellow mess. bag, both lights on and of course her helmet.
Re: Hit by car, no police, no ticket
WTF?! I guess I'm totally ignorant. I thought if a pedestrian or cyclist was hit, regardless of the circumstance, the cops always respond if called.
Hit by car, no police, no ticket
I had a similar incident a couple of years ago, fortunately I was able to ride the right hand curve with the van who was pulling into a private lot (again, impromptu right hand turn across the bike lane). The van also stopped except in my case the van driver got out and started yelling at ME? A police car was on the street and pulled to the side, calling out the window as to whether I was all right. When I indicated I didn't appear to have any injuries they indicated they didn't want a statement from me and drove off, no intention of ticketing the driver.
