Watching softball not the road!

[DrBee]

I've already posted my crash story on the Open Topic board, but thought it was appropriate to add it here. A woman in a very big truck ran me off the road today. She was coming toward me and drifted all the way into my lane. She almost ran off the road on my side. My choice was get run over (thankfully I didn't freeze up - as Bikeless in WI pointed out) or go off the road down about an 8-10 inch drop off of the road. Thankfully my brain chose the latter. The bike suffered more than I did. The woman gets out and asks if I'm okay. I said a few choice statements like "what in the h*ll were you doing????", "I'm not worried about me, I'm worried about the bike", "how did you not see me - I'm wearing bright yellow", etc. You get the idea. She was very apologetic, helped me straighten the saddle, reset the chain, and offered to pay for all repairs. People here in MS are very likely to file lawsuits, so I guess she feared that. Or she was just nice. Hopefully she won't space out and kill someone next time.

[DeniseGoldberg]

Did you get her license? It sounds to me like this accident should be reported to the police (and to her insurance company too).

Obviously the first concern is your health (and the second is your bike) - and maybe this scared her enough that she will be more careful in the future. Yes, it's good that she offered to pay for the damage (and I hope that you take her up on that), but still...

--- Denise

[DrBee]

I'm definitely taking her up on that! I see what you're saying about notifying the police. You sound just like Mr. Fish. I have her contact information and have verified that by calling her as soon as I got home. At this point I'm happy that she's going to pay for the damage (and a new helmet). Most people wouldn't voluntarily do that. I'm still considering the police/insurance option.

[Duck on Wheels]

What's this about watching softball? Like, on tv? Or in a field on the other side of the road? Jeeeez, some drivers are inexcusably dumb!

Back to contacting police and insurance, tho' ... Where I come from (CA) I think the law is that when there's a personal injury accident the police HAVE to be called. Maybe even before you leave the scene. You've already left the scene, but you ought to call them anyway and clarify that. You can hardly be blamed for breaking that law, if it does exist where you are, since you were shaken up and needed to get some care and rest quick.

Then there's the insurance side of things. She's offered to cover material damages. Well, duh! But there's also whatever time you lose from work, for instance time spent at that clinic getting checked out on Monday (sorry to hear your ER is such a dangerous place!) and any work time you lose following whatever instructions you're given at the clinic. And then there may be so-called "general damages" -- pain, suffering, fear, inconvenience. I was in a car accident about 6 months back -- neck sprain, bruises, eye injury. In addition to replacing my mom's car and covering all my medical expenses, the insurance company has offered me about $2000 for time and general damages.

Of course, going the insurance route also gives some security to the guilty party. By accepting the insurance settlement you also guarantee that you won't sue. And the driver pays only the loss of insurance bonus, which may amount to less than the settlement. So for both parties' sake, you should get her insurance information and send in a claim, maybe preferably via your own insurance (so it's not you as an individual dealing with that company, but another company on your behalf).

[Technotart]

The other reason to file an accident report is so that the accident is counted in statistics. Doesn't seem so important - but if 1/2 the accidents are unreported, then cycling safety issues are udner reporesented by 50% for example.

[DrBee]

Good thoughts on the insurance and police. You made some excellent points.

About the softball - there is a new softball complex in the park that was build by the park commission. There were some teams prepping for a tournament this morning. That's where she was looking. It was well off the road - on my side of the road, hence why she drifted in my direction. It turns out she was on the front page of the local newspaper - she and her husband have worked together for the Park Commission (for irony - see above) for 31 years. My neighbor has met her and says she's very nice. I guess that explains why she stopped. It wouldn't look too good to have one of the boss's in the park commision reported for bad driving and nearly running over a cyclist IN THE PARK!!!!

BTW - I'm discovering new bruises by the hour. I think my knees must have hit together because I have symmetrical bruises (about 4x3in) on the inside of each knee. And one on my butt. Tomorrow should be a blast!