Horsey Hundred rider killed :(

[Crankin]

I have no idea how to solve this, as I am no legal expert. All I know, is that I am doing more riding out in areas where there are less cars, I ride with both front and back flashers all of the time, and I just try to stay vigilant.
The woman who turned left in front of my DH almost a year ago is playing games through her insurance company. They were about to settle, when the agent left and the new one is not returning DH's lawyer's calls. Looks like we are going to court. She didn't even file this with her company, because "there was no damage." Yeah, except for DH's collarbone and hip. He's totally fine, but he really wants to make a point for cyclists.

[Aromig]

She didn't even file this with her company, because "there was no damage." Yeah, except for DH's collarbone and hip. He's totally fine, but he really wants to make a point for cyclists.

THAT is infuriating. That to some drivers "there is no damage" because she didn't hit another car and another car isn't all cracked up. I think hitting someone OUTSIDE the protection of the car should wake her up and scare her that she was so inattentive, but apparently that didn't work.

I agree with Blueberry - it is ridiculous how people are "entitled to drive" and how many chances they get after DUI/OWIs, etc. In Europe it is pretty strict liability. A car can cause a LOT of damage. I know we don't have a lot of public transportation, but so what. We have bikes, mopeds, walking, etc.

A lot of how this is handled is under "prosecutorial discretion," so when these things happen we just have to let the prosecutors know how important this is to the biking community. Frustrating and infuriating!

[Crankin]

Without going into the whole story, her car didn't actually hit DH, but he slammed his brakes so hard, he did an endo in the middle of an intersection at rush hour. Hence, the broken clavicle. His bike was affected, but it would not have been noticeable to a non-rider (shifter, brake lever). Luckily, she said some really dumb things to the cop, who wrote them in the report, even though it's not part of the protocol. She also left the scene, but came back, after several witnesses went after her. The policeman told DH he would gladly testify, if supoened (his boss told him not to do anything!). He's not doing this for the $, as most of what we get will have to be used to reimburse Blue Cross for the medical bills. We will make sure this gets in the local papers, too.

[Catrin]

Oh my Crankin, I hope some kind of resolution is reached on this soon. Yes, the entitlement issue is huge in this country and underlies a lot of crashes like this.