T-Boned off Motorbike - Insurance claim

magnethead

Hi THere,
I was wondering if I could get an apinion on a crash I was in last week...I was driving past parked waiting cars , with 500M clear in front of me in the oncoming lane, I was overtaking them all at 30km(thank god) in the oncoming lane, suddenly a lad got tierd of waiting and whipped his car 90 degress across the oncoming lane in an attempt to do a U-Turn. THis was 2 seconds before I crashed straight into the side of his wheel arch sending me over the bonat and turning me black and blue...

Does this sound straight forward? for insurance purposes or was I at fault too? The white line was broken so over taking was allowed.

Thanks

The Muppet

What does "Parked waiting " mean?

thomas anderson.

I'd reckon he was at fault

Bio Mech

The Muppet wrote: »

What does "Parked waiting " mean?

In line in a que I think. OP was overtaking stopped cars in the driving lane by driving on the right.

RosieJoe

The Muppet wrote: »

What does "Parked waiting " mean?

I presume it means he was filtering past stationary traffic.

dar83

Sounds like he was overtaking cars in a queue on the opposite side of the road.

Op as long as he line was indeed broken, the way was clear for you and you had your indocator on etc... Then the driver who pulled out in front of you will be at fault for driving without due care and checking to see if anything was coming before he turned out.

imitation

The Muppet wrote: »

What does "Parked waiting " mean?

This sounds like a slow traffic queue situation where cars are waiting at a roundabout or lights and you were overtaking in the opposite side ? I'm actually not sure what the story is, the driver wasn't paying attention, although being overtaken like that would be unexpected. I don't know what the rules of the road say, but to me they were both dodgy mannovers, maybe it would be a 50/50 thing ?

Bio Mech

imitation wrote: »

This sounds like a slow traffic queue situation where cars are waiting at a roundabout or lights and you were overtaking in the opposite side ? I'm actually not sure what the story is, the driver wasn't paying attention, although being overtaken like that would be unexpected. I don't know what the rules of the road say, but to me they were both dodgy mannovers, maybe it would be a 50/50 thing ?

I don't think it will be 50/50 at all. OP was entitled to overtake if the line was broken. Car driver should have checked his mirrors.

magnethead

Wow, that some fast replies, yes the traffic was just backed up in the driving lane, (of a normal 2 lane road) and I was slowly overtaking in the oncoming lane because it was clear....The Gaurd said that we were both kinda at fault but obviously one was more at fault(the other guy)....I think he was just sitting on the fence carefully ;p

maceocc2

I would think the Insurance company on the other guys side will advise him to take fault, he might argue back and forth about your position and speeding, but the reality is he cannot prove he checked his mirrors or blind spots correctly before moving off.

It happened to my wife, although the other driver had to be speeding in 50km zone (finished 100m past impact site), and was saddling a solid white line. She fought it, mostly with her own insurance company and eventually let it go.

imitation

Bio Mech wrote: »

I don't think it will be 50/50 at all. OP was entitled to overtake if the line was broken. Car driver should have checked his mirrors.

Yeah your probably right. The only thing is that overtaking is with the provisio that it's done when it safe to do so, it's possible to argue that over taking a long column of cars with no room to pull back in isn't safe (i wasn't there though, so maybe that wasn't the case). While the driver should have checked, it's not typical to find traffic overtaking you in that situation.

Rory28

Are you okay? I would say that was terrifying.

jameshayes

Filtering is the action you were taking and yes, it is legal although the RSA say it should only be performed by experienced riders and if the traffic and road conditions allow.

You were in the right and the other driver was in the wrong. Maybe you were going a little too fast to be honest, if they were at a standstill and you were moving at 30 thats a fair difference - but hopefully it wont come to that.

Here is the RSA publication which includes some notes on filtering on page 8 http://www.rsa.ie/Documents/Campaigns/Motorcycle%20Safety/This%20is%20your%20bike.pdf

smcgiff

What did the car driver say? I know you're not supposed to accept responsibility, but did he at least say sorry?

I can't see how you were at fault.

Dermot Illogical

I had one a few years back which was exactly the same. The insurance tried to settle it 50/50 but I dug my heels in and argued.
The point I made with the insurance was that I was doing nothing wrong while the driver was completely wrong to switch lanes without checking that the road was clear. The insurance settled 100% in my favour.

Plopli

Glad you are ok.

I had the same kind of experience few years back on Parnell Road in front of the petrol station.
I was slowly filtering and a guy that had enough with the waiting suddenly turned into the petrol station without indicators.
Knowing the place, I was very slow so nothing happened to me (but it still managed to bend the fork).
I got 100% from the insurance without much discussion.
I pushed them so that they collect the CCTV from the petrol station and that's maybe what got me off without a fight.

You want to be very clear in the statement you make to your insurance.
The road was clear in front of you, the line was a broken line allowing you to drive on that side of the road, you were driving at an adequate speed (meaning slow ...), your light was on, you indicated before changing your position on the road, the other party did not indicate and made a sudden turn without warning and so on.
You also probably want to insist that the point you hit him shows that you were nearly at his side when he started his move (otherwise you would probably have hit the rear side or the back to the car), that you had no way to avoid the collision and that it was his responsibility to check his mirrors and dead spot before performing his turn.

Good luck !

This obviously do not constitute legal advice and so on ...
I remember there was a solicitor in Dublin that was also a biker and was pretty good for this kind of event but I cannot remember or find his name.

magnethead

THanks for all the replies, It was a terrifying experience, I was seeing flashbacks for 2 nights THe other Driver was saying sorry and admitted fault straight away, It was only when I was starting to talk to his insurance company, that those pricks started himming and hawing about who was repsonsible.

THe Last statement is brilliant, That is exactly how i PLAN to make out the statement..and everything you say is true, my lights and indicator were on, he didn't have anything on, even though it was 5:30 and there was good light.

Thanks for all your replies, I feel much more confident, and I'm sorry to hear how bloody common this seems to be

Pedro K

magnethead wrote: »

THanks for all the replies, It was a terrifying experience, I was seeing flashbacks for 2 nights THe other Driver was saying sorry and admitted fault straight away, It was only when I was starting to talk to his insurance company, that those pricks started himming and hawing about who was repsonsible.

THe Last statement is brilliant, That is exactly how i PLAN to make out the statement..and everything you say is true, my lights and indicator were on, he didn't have anything on, even though it was 5:30 and there was good light.

Thanks for all your replies, I feel much more confident, and I'm sorry to hear how bloody common this seems to be

Absolutely the other guy's fault. He obviously didn't check his mirrors before pulling out, and assuming you were overtaking legally, you had every right to be there. Do not accept any liability.

h3000

magnethead wrote: »

THanks for all the replies, It was a terrifying experience, I was seeing flashbacks for 2 nights THe other Driver was saying sorry and admitted fault straight away, It was only when I was starting to talk to his insurance company, that those pricks started himming and hawing about who was repsonsible.

THe Last statement is brilliant, That is exactly how i PLAN to make out the statement..and everything you say is true, my lights and indicator were on, he didn't have anything on, even though it was 5:30 and there was good light.

Thanks for all your replies, I feel much more confident, and I'm sorry to hear how bloody common this seems to be

The other guy was at fault alright. I hope you were not too badly hurt.
Very similar incident happened a mate of mine a few years back, he broke his leg in three places and was on crutches for over twelve months.

magnethead

Fairplay to all of you again

Just to sign this thread off, the other company admitted liability which is only bloody right...

I'm just putting in for damage to the bike even though my shoulder hurts a bit still, my left hand ligaments are still killing me (common where a motorcyclist doesn't let go fast enough) , right side of the right knee, ligaments are damn sore..

THe guy wasn't a dick so I'm not going after personal injury even though I could really use some money right now.

Thanks again everyone

jameshayes

Personal injury isn't for financial gain, its for paying for the pain meds 2 years down the line when you're bones still hurt from an accident...

make sure you claim for a new lid and any gear that was damaged.

goz83

Brings me back about 13 years ago, I was on a moped, riding slowly in the right lane at merrion square north. Traffic was stopped in the left turn lane and from behind a van, a pedestrian walks right out in front of me with a bicycle. I had a split second to react, slamming on, stopping just as by bike hit his, but my bike went right up on the front wheel and I came crashing down on my arm. When I got up, the pr1ck had disappeared :mad:

My bike had a busted indicator, cracked headlamp and fairing. My arm was pretty sore too.

Pedro K

magnethead wrote: »

Fairplay to all of you again

Just to sign this thread off, the other company admitted liability which is only bloody right...

I'm just putting in for damage to the bike even though my shoulder hurts a bit still, my left hand ligaments are still killing me (common where a motorcyclist doesn't let go fast enough) , right side of the right knee, ligaments are damn sore..

THe guy wasn't a dick so I'm not going after personal injury even though I could really use some money right now.

Thanks again everyone

Don't forget to get a new helmet...

EDIT: James already said it two posts above.

Esel

magnethead wrote: »

I'm just putting in for damage to the bike even though my shoulder hurts a bit still, my left hand ligaments are still killing me (common where a motorcyclist doesn't let go fast enough) , right side of the right knee, ligaments are damn sore..

Don't be too quick to sign off on the claim. Have you seen a doctor? You should at least have a thorough examination, and possibly take legal advice before signing anything that might precluded you from claiming for personal injuries later.

Your injuries may well not manifest in the short term. You mentioned a sore shoulder, hand and knee ligaments. Have these checked out. You can claim for your medical expenses.

Someone advised claiming for your helmet (if it sustained any impact). The same goes for clothing, gloves, boots.

You should not be out of pocket in any way as a result of the accident.

It's nice to be nice and all that; but you must look after your own interests first.

imitation

Esel wrote: »

Don't be too quick to sign off on the claim. Have you seen a doctor? You should at least have a thorough examination, and possibly take legal advice before signing anything that might precluded you from claiming for personal injuries later.

Your injuries may well not manifest in the short term. You mentioned a sore shoulder, hand and knee ligaments. Have these checked out. You can claim for your medical expenses.

Someone advised claiming for your helmet (if it sustained any impact). The same goes for clothing, gloves, boots.

You should not be out of pocket in any way as a result of the accident.

It's nice to be nice and all that; but you must look after your own interests first.

Yeah, at the end of the day it's the insurance company paying, his no claims is gone either way. Get checked out, it wasn't a 10mph bump at a roundabout where you suddenly have "whiplash".