"I have never hit anyone before!"

[OakLeaf]

your stories of semi-blind or -comatose drivers freak me out!

Oh you have no idea. The thing I always emphasize is that their not seeing you has NOTHING TO DO WITH YOUR BEING ON A BIKE. It's only that they assume (usually correctly) that the cop, prosecutor, judge and/or jury are not cyclists, and so "I didn't see them" becomes a valid excuse. The truth is, they don't see ANYTHING (and the authorities and triers of fact need to stop it with this idea that you become invisible the minute you get on two wheels).

Just last week someone rear-ended a fire truck with lights flashing in my area. The latest news is that although she will be charged with careless driving (assured clear distance in other states), she will not be charged with violating the move-over law, because two witnesses also didn't see the fire truck's lights and a third one said he "could barely see them."

Every couple of weeks someone rear-ends a school bus. A carload of kids rear-ended a garbage truck in the spring. They don't see ANYTHING. I've said it before, but that's why I nickname my hi-viz gear "Exhibit A." They still won't see me, but they'll be less likely to get away with it.


ETA: I don't know about Canada, but in the USA insurance won't pay unless you file a police report.

[badger]

I wouldn't bother with the police. They won't do anything. If he had hit and run and you got the license plate then it's another matter, but he did stop and you got some relevant ICBC info. Believe it or not the police apparently have other things to do, which baffles me because I see them all the time at Starbucks!!

I once was hit as a pedestrian on Drake/Pacific. I had the green light and my dog and I were running across the street when I got hit. Luckily my dog was to my left or he would've taken the brunt of it. I took out the woman's side mirror and the force knocked me down on top of my dog (he was ok). I look at it as both lucky and unlucky. Lucky that I only got away with bruising to my thigh and my dog was ok. Unlucky in that I got hit at all. A split second either way would have had very different and one possibly catastrophic ending.

The woman obviously stopped and was shocked but very cooperative. She said she'll follow whatever I decide to do. I was originally going to just do out of pocket, but people told me to go through ICBC. I've heard so many horror stories of ICBC but I had a very good experience. They gave me everything I asked for (chiropractor, replacement of my new jacket).

So, long and short, I wouldn't bother with police, they won't do anything.

[OakLeaf]

The point of filing a police report is not for them to "do anything," it's so the insurance company has your sworn statement on file and an easy third party way to have you prosecuted if you're defrauding them. That's why in the USA they insist on a police report. As I said, I don't know about Canada.

[badger]

I honestly don't think she'll get anywhere by reporting, and in fact, I don't even know if they'll take the report. Things do work differnently here. Minor fender benders don't require police reports.

When I was mowed down, police wasn't involved at all, nor was it necessary for me to file the insurance claim.

[Zen]

I once witnessed a car slam into the back of a tractor-trailer that was stopped at a light.
Well, not so much saw it as heard it.
What a noise! She obviously was not paying attention.

[Tri Girl]

Oh my goodness! I'm so glad that you're mostly unhurt. I know you'll be in more pain tomorrow, but I'm glad it wasn't any worse. What a goofy thing to say "I've never hit anyone." He's lucky he didn't hurt you worse.
I hope everything works out for you. Take good care of yourself!!!!

[bmccasland]

One of the reasons to file police reports is that it add to the statistics for accidents at certain locations. When Hwy departments do studies one of the things they look at is the accident rates, based on the paper trail. If there are no reports, then there are no accidents. Could have been one last week, but if there's no report, then it didn't happen. Must be a paper trail.

Besides, I pay taxes, and dang it, they're going to come out and file a stinking report.

[Serendipity]

Grog, glad to hear that you are okay. I tend to agree with those who recommend filing a police report. I know you said that you weren't injured, but there is always a chance that something may start bothering you several days down the road. A police report would be supportive in case you ever needed medical treatment at some point.
I live in Ontario, not B.C. so I don't know about filing a report post-accident, but I'm sure it wouldn't be the first time they've (police department) seen that!

[Grog]

Ok, I checked this in more depth.

This is what the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia says:

"Do I have to call the police?

Answer: You may be required to report an incident to the police if the combined property damage appears to exceed $1000 ($600 for a motorcycle).

You must report to the police in any of the following cases:

* Injury or death occurred
* A hit-and-run accident. Please note, police reporting requirements for hit-and-run claims may vary among police detachments around the province. You may be asked to contact ICBC directly for further information.
* A break-in or vandalism to your vehicle
* Your car is stolen

Make your police report within 24 hours if the crash happened in the city; within 48 hours if it happened in a rural area."

There is definitely no injury detectable with 24 hours. The lady at ICBC said that when I visit on Thursday to have them inspect my helmet, we can reassess how I'm feeling and file that as needed. (Ex: was I to need PT or something.) I have a claim on file already so this is sufficient.

I believe - although I still need to verify it - that the stats are provided by the ICBC in this province. That's what I recall from some news article about pedestrian-automobile accidents (the highest rate in Canada is in this province). ETA: I have checked. It seems that the police keeps track of people killed, injured, and of heavy damage as above. The ICBC counts all claims. So I'll be in the stats.

Insurance and roads are a provincial matter, so this might be different in other Canadian provinces...

And, for the record, if I was in the USA, I would definitely file a police report, and recommend everyone in a similar situation to do the same.