[CMI-CM] bikes

[Paul Riismandel]

Ouch, I hope nothing's too messed up.

I had a bike accident last year, was hit while stopped at a stop sign at 
lincoln and illinois.  I got the drivers info, had her agree to pay for the 
damage.  Later, when it came time to pay, she had a change of mind and 
decided it was my fault (somehow I had snuck in front of her car, since she 
now remembers having passed me) and that we should split the cost ($80 for 
a new rear wheel).  After much finagling she decided to pay, still 
maintaining that it wasn't her fault, but agreeing that she had made an 
agreement when she hit me (in front of the guy at the bike shop).

The lesson I take away -- don't be nice like me and assume by getting a 
promise and someone's info that you and your bike will be fixed.  It's much 
harder to prove damage and fault post hoc, and so it's much less likely to 
work out in your favor.  If you get hit and you're sure you were following 
the rules, call the cops.  Not only will you have your medical and bike 
bills taken care of, but the driver might also get a summons or more.  You 
have every right to have the police there, and if the driver leaves, that 
can be "leaving the scene of an accident," or "hit and run," both of which 
are more than simple traffic offenses.

BTW, even though it's happened and you didn't do anything, you are still 
able to file a police report on the accident, if you wish.

--Paul
==


At 09:44 PM 12/18/2000 -0600, you wrote:

>Riding around town during the past week, I realize more than ever how
>needed Critical Mass is in this town, especially in the winter.   Last
>Wednesday I was biking from Urbana to downtown Champaign in the snow,
>and I was cursing the cities the whole way for doing a poor job in plowing.
>I've been lucky not to have fallen at all (yet!) this winter, and I'm
>afraid I've cursed myself.  Maybe I have.  On my way back from WEFT tonight,
>I was biking down Lincoln Ave. along the campus, and it didn't even look
>to have any pretense of being plowed.  Even with my lights on, this car
>plows into my right side.  Fortunately the driver had been stopped, and it
>was snowy, so she wasn't driving as fast as she could have been had it been
>better weather or not at a stop sign.  I don't really think I did anything
>wrong (except for not getting her info), but it seems like perhaps another
>case of drivers having to pay more attention to bicyclists, especially in
>bad weather.  I'm okay, but the bike is mostly okay... Bruce will have to
>replace a few gears and other parts to get it back in new condition.
>
>Arun
>
>
>_______________________________________________
>Critical-mass mailing list
>Critical-mass at lists.groogroo.com
>http://lists.groogroo.com/cgi-bin/listinfo/critical-mass