Another rant about cyclists
 

I agree, it's the small number of bad ones that give the rest a bad name. Just like motorcyclists.

Anyhow, had one cruise through an intersection while I had a green, plowed into my door. Got some nice scrapes and dimples in the sheet metal. So, off to a body shop to get the damage assessed.

And yes, they were OK. They kept insisting they go about their way and I kept insisting on medical attention. As soon as they had my contact and insurance info, off they went. I hope they went and got checked out regardless.

Did you get their contact & insurance information? They are the one that caused damage to your vehicle by running a red light.

I guess he will get their info when they make a claim.

So if cyclists are not required to carry liability insurance, and they damage your vehicle, who pays for repairs?

I'm sorry to hear about that, Brando.

We're not all like that - I don't know anyone that I regularly ride with that wouldn't have taken responsibility for the damage to your car...

What a maroon.

When I'm on a bike, cars always get the right-of-way.

Even if I legally have it, it doesn't make sense-

Me plus bike, less than 250 lbs, vs. 4000lb car. Yup, car get to go first, every time!

Any time that gets brought up here, they usually say that their homeowners policy covers it, or they have some special rider to their auto policy, or whatever sounds good to shut you up. In the end, you'll probably just have to fix it yourself - yet another subsidy for their hobby.

Did you get them to admit on record, ie via smartphone, that they ran the light and smashed into you?

I once had someone back into my car, so to prevent any issues where it turned into a he said/she said kind of story, I recorded them admitting guilt.

Seems like the police just leave it up to the people to work it out in situations like this. When i was hit riding my bike the police didn't even show up, they told me to come in and file the report. When i did they told me they wouldn't do it and it was a private matter. Fortunately i had witnesses, gps data, and the driver, who was clearly at fault, cooperated so it was settled.

I dunno.

When I'm on my bike, I blow through stop signs. Because I'm morally superior. And then when I'm driving my car, I don't move over when bicyclists swerve out of the bike lanes. Because I'm morally superior. See how that works?

Spoke with insurance today. They are sending me a list of places to check out. My car's metallic so my concerns are 1. NO BONDO!!! 2. Quality spray to match the tone.

Any places y'all might be able to recommend in OC? I get to choose...

Worth the trip to the San Fernando Valley to see Mr. John Esposito. Trust me on this.

Back in the 70's when we started bike racing and eventually were riding 400+ miles a week I learned what some have already said.....the car will always win. I also had a copy of the CA bicycle laws I used to carry since it basically said the bike was supposed to adhere to all the laws of the road as a car was supposed to. The biggest one was "bikes stay to the extreme right unless a bike lane or you are going the same speed as the vehicles since after getting warmed up I could zip along the same speed as the traffic on regular streets. I was stopped several times by SDPD officers and they said I had to stay out of the traffic lanes until I showed them the copy I had?! They would also ask for my drivers license and I never carried it, only my military ID card and was ticketed once for not having a drivers license! I went to court and the judge threw it out and chewed out the officer for not knowing the rules of the road!

I was lucky I guess as I never got hit or hit a vehicle but I was with groups that would run through stop signs or red lights and those guys had several accidents where cars were hit. In all of those cases, the car's driver made the cyclist provide contact info so they would have to cover repairs. If I had been you, I would have gotten their contact info and put them on the spot for the repairs. I will be guessing that in a couple weeks you will be making a post about getting sued for their injuries and bike damages!

funny, people in cars do the same thing, run red lights.
had a lady in a car pull out in front of me while i was on my bike. i plowed into her. woke up in the ambulance....i was in a bike lane BTW, not someplace i would normally ride.
she bought me my 930.
had a guy in a pickup pull out in front of the group i was riding with. no other traffic, no reason not to wait. 3 went in the bed (with tools in the back), one into the door and one over the front hood. me? i managed to miss the tailgate that was down. pretty scary because of not knowing if he was going to stop, then i would have hit the tailgate.

maybe there needs to be a rant about drivers??

sorry to hear that. sounds like you will have an uninsured motorists claim.
been there done that. it did not turn out well for us. we had to fight our insurance company. (allstate, you know, the ones with their hands cupped and held out. well they pulled them back when they saw us coming).

i dont know why you put someone on a bicycle and all of a sudden they deserve less respect than a rapists or murderer.

Smart.

It's always better to choose the laws of physics before the laws of man.

San Diego Union Tribune recently posted a related article on cyclists vs. cars. Back in the '90s I used to ride 300-400 miles a week. The groups I rode with always obeyed the stop signs and traffic lights - even when we were 30+ riders. I think that was more the norm then with traditional cyclists. That all started to change when triathlons started to become really popular. Those riders tended to ignore traffic and rules and wanted to stay in their aero position as long as possible. We didn't ride with those clowns ;)

I have been hit by cars, while on my bicycle, three times, in total.
1 of them ran a red light. 1 of them ran a stop sign. 1 of them made a left turn (red light) onto a one way street
All three of the car drivers denied responsibility. Until the witnesses stepped forward.

I ride the local bike path most Sundays. The people tend to fall into two groups: those with all the equipment, wearing spandex with logos all over, who are openly hostile to everyone else; often ride in packs up to 3 abreast and yell at everyone else to get out of their way and ride single file.. I'm in the other camp: mountain bike; street clothes, riding with friends and keeping a moderate pace.

It may be universally true that when people do things in "packs" it changes behavior in a negative way.

1 driver took off, after hitting me. Buddy grabbed his plate number. The left hand turn guy.
1 driver stopped, admitted guilt, said he would replace the watch that was ripped off my arm. He still has my watch, AFAIK. The roll through the stop sign guy.
The third guy. I have a thread. He was a complete liar. Anything to protect the insurance discount. He almost killed me.

The article mentioned above was in today's paper and I found it humorous that the cycle activists all said the data was misleading or wrong or any number of other reasons?! I used to ride with either the LaJolla Cycling Club (defunct now) or the San Diego Bicycle Club and there was always a designated "leader" that controlled the ride and as noted you had better obey the signs and lights or you would be "uninvited" to the rides which was a sign you were not welcome around!

LaJolla used to be the worse place for cyclist getting tickets and they do give them out there for example Mark Gorski ran a stop sign while on a training ride the week before the 1984 olympics and it cost him. Also the famed 7-11 cycling team was stopped on a training ride and all but #1 rider ticketed for following too close going up Torrey Pines Hill at 30+ MPH!

I had a guy on a bike ride between me and the car ahead of me at a stop light the other night. Next lane over, the guy didn't see him in time. Nobody hurt, but he walked away.

Not sure whom is equating bicyclists to rapists and murderers - projecting much?

My "rant" (very mellow) was more about people whom fail to follow rules. Bad drivers, cyclists, and motorcyclists all around. I was only painting those whom fail to follow the rules in a bad light. Obviously the one who hit me is in that camp.

I don't think it's reflective of the type of vehicle being operated - I think it's more those personalities. I see them on all vehicles.

I just returned from "Sterling Collision Center" in Tustin. They're supposedly factory certified by BMW and have an overall good rating on Google and Yelp. The other place I'll get an estimate is Sandpiper Collision in Costa Mesa. Anyone else have recommendations for OC?

Thanks!

Quick update - looks like even though my carrier says they'll waive my deductible if I'm not at fault, I still have to pay it because I wasn't hit by another vehicle - I was hit by a bicycle. That's baloney.

So remember kids, even when a cyclist is clearly at fault - you pay. Your C&C deductible, the claim against your "uninsured motorist", and the medical claim the person will make against your insurance.

Another wonderful insurance saga. :(

Take a look at the "Definitions" portion of your policy and see if the definition of "vehicle" is motor vehicle or something towed by a motor vehicle. If it is, then that would explain why a bicycle damaging you car is not covered. That leaves your comprehensive coverage to pay for the damages, just as if a vandal had damaged your car. By the same token, "uninsured motorist" coverage would not apply because you were not injured and because the bicyclist is not a motorist. If you had uninsured motorist property damage, it still would not apply because he was not a motorist. If he makes a medical claim against you, it will have to be in a civil suit and your insurance company should deal with it, if that's any satisfaction.

All in all, your whole situation doesn't seem fair.

Raw deal for Brando. I'd be all over that cyclist, regardless of what the police would say, would file a report and with hope, had witnesses statement(s) and take it to claims against him plus all the extras. I get pissed at seeing lots of moron cyclist on the road.

BTW: I'm an avid cyclist-

Last summer I was legally, properly riding, medium speed approaching a country club drive entrance. Old man in his shiny new Cadillac is waiting and watching me approach. I could clearly see his head turned towards me and we made eye contact. Yes, I was able to do even though I'm on a bike.

At the last moment, the azzhat decided to pull out in front of me! I hit the hooks and no foul, but damn it was close.

Nearly hit a cyclist on the way to work this morning. I was behind a line of cars turning right at a light that had just turned green. There was a cyclist waiting for traffic to clear so he wouldn't get right-hooked. He started to move, then stopped with feet down as I was preparing to turn right in front of him. I was certain he wasn't going to take off in front of me so I began my turn. Unfortunately, I didn't see the cyclist approaching from the other direction and I almost plowed her right over. Saw her just in the nick of time. We both got quite a scare.

So the cyclist you almost hit was riding on the wrong side of the street?

Under normal circumstances, yes, but this was a two-way bike lane. It's not much of an excuse, but I'm not used to looking the wrong way for cyclists and was feeling pretty good about assessing the situation correctly. It could have gone so badly.

Bummer......I bought a Honduh beater for commuting.

So, a quick update to this dramedy.

Looks like my policy is pretty darn explicit. My deductible is only waived when liability is on the other party's fault when involved with 1 or more other automobiles, not cyclists. Even though CA law dictates that cyclists have to follow the same rules & regulations as automobiles insurance carriers can craft their policies in a fashion to include/exclude damages from pedestrians and/or cyclists.

So asking my adjuster point blank: "How do we make this right? I shouldn't have to pay for another person's negligence." The answers were...

1. Contact Mr. Cyclist and ask them to reimburse my deductible.
2. Pursue in small claims court.

The first option I worry might incite vindication on Mr. Cyclist's part. I believe my insurance has presented some sort of waiver of liability or intent to not seek damages against my policy, but I don't know. The second option seems better and would really show what type of integrity that person has.

Thoughts from the brain trust?

If you pursue small claims, you still have to show evidence that you attempted to receive compensation from the person before you file for court action. This could be in the form of a letter sent to the person (registered mail) in which you ask for payment of the deductible, or phone logs in which you addressed the issue with him. If you simply file and show up in court, the judge may dismiss the case on the grounds that no attempt was made to settle the issue outside of the court system. You never know what a judge will do, so having as many ducks in a row as you can will help your case. The court considers itself the venue of last resort to make someone whole after a loss caused by another so some record of attempts to make yourself whole by asking the person who caused the accident for reimbursement is expected. With that in mind, option 1 is almost a precursor to option 2. You may be surprised and the cyclist may pay your deductible, or offer to split the amount. You can then decide whether or not to move to small claims.

The saga continues...

I got the car in to the shop last week. Expected to get it back next Tuesday. So the cyclist has signed the waiver saying he will not pursue a claim or sue but we know how useless those are in California.

I've seen him riding up that path every Sunday for the past 3 weeks - looks totally fine and his bike is A-OK.

My agent and the BI adjuster have both advised that I not even contact the responsible party. I do not agree with eating my deductible.

Should I call him and ask? I suppose it could be proven as frivolous and retaliatory if he filed a claim immediately after me asking for reimbursement.

What say you?

Pics before and after to come when I get the car back...

See my post just ahead of yours.

Do you have any evidence that he was at fault? Time has passed and unless there is a third party witness or a statement on record of him running the light and hitting your vehicle, it becomes your word against his. I agree, you should not have to eat the deductible--that is the least the cyclist should be required to pay. If you have evidence that he was at fault, I would suggest you contact him and ask for the deductible and if he refuses, go ahead and pursue a small claims action. The more tangible evidence, the better when in court. Small claims is designed to restore monetary damages to the injured party. You, clearly, are the injured party and the cyclist is the cause of your loss of the deductible amount. Personally, I think you have a good chance of recovery, in court.

Seems like, with good insurance coverage, the company would go after him to cover their pay out to you. Insurance is just making a bad story worse, as is often the case. I've been there, where I get to know my policy after the fact. This guy is not only giving cyclists a bad name but citizens in general.

hey ossiblue - I did read your thread. The challenge is there are no 3rd-party statements. All the witnesses who were at the intersection drove off. No-one was willing to stick around and give a statement. Cops/ambulance also did not show. So it's just my word vs. his if it came down to it.

I know small claims is really supposed to be my last-ditch effort. Once I get the car back and a total for everything I'll call the cyclist. "Hey buddy, how's it going? Remember that Porsche you ran into? ..."

Kraftwerk - to me it seems like they don't want to expend the effort due to the risk of a BI claim. I get they want to cover their ass(ets), but it is becoming apparent to me that this company does not want to represent my interests there in the least. However, if it were another motor-vehicle, I am sure this would be a different story.

Wife was stuck behind about 6 cyclists riding 3 abreast, so she hung well back, waited for an opening and turboed past. She passed entirely on the other side of the dividing line, so no way did she "buzz" them.
Shortly thereafter she had to stop at traffic lights. The cyclists filtered through and took up formation in front of her car. When the lights turned green, they took their time taking off, obviously with the intention that she miss the green.
She decided she didn't want to be around suicidal cyclists, so turned off and took Route B.

But.............Whiskey Tango Foxtrot ??
The crazies were not only taunting a driver (big balls, small brains), but possibly instilling hate in that driver for all other cyclists. Struggling to see an upside here.