My first off and it was a strange one

[kingsknight]

So I guess I’m part of the real ebiker club now, had my first off yesterday and it was a super strange one.
Cycling home in the rain (in high viz and lights on) as I always do in a great mood, enjoying the bike as I had a REALLY crappy day at work when this woman in a 4x4 pulled into me as I passed the junction clipping my pedal.

I was doing around 22mph when she hit me as I was going downhill. I’m 37 and have been riding a motorcycle and driving for 20 years and I’ve NEVER had a crash lol
Less than a year on a bike and I get wiped out!

Yeah so it gets a bit strange at this point. I hit the floor and being a big guy (100kg) it took the air right out of me. I laid there for a while on the wet road with the rain hitting my face just to give myself a moment.

I’ve been winded loads of times in my youth, so I knew I was fine, and I was telling everyone around me that I’m completely fine I’m just winded. I was feeling like a complete tool just laying in the road like that but I just needed a minute to get up. Within moments I had a bunch of people around me so I forced myself to get up to show I was fine as the woman was getting herself into a right state.
Well the police and ambulance turned up as I guess someone called them.

Told them all I was completely fine, and it looks worse than it is as I was covered in road dirt. I checked over my bike and it looked fine. Few scrapes on the pedal and handle grip.
The police took both of our details and said they will be proceeding with reporting the lady for driving without due care and attention.
My bike looked fine and I felt fine so I said I’d just cycle home now as everything seemed fine. Just before I left the lady come over to me and said that she was sorry and that she would cover any of my damages to my bike and gear.

Part from my pedal and grip my bike is perfect. The road grit was washed put of my bike gear and I feel like I got off very luck.
Well…….. I got a very aggressive phone call from her husband saying that they will NOT be covering anything themselves and I will have to claim via their insurance for any damages. He said I needed to know his wife was in bits and refusing to drive her car now......

First off, I wasn’t going to claim for anything at all! I’ve barely got a mark on me and my bike is fine but I won’t let anyone talk to me the way he talked to me. He called ME! I felt like it was dealt with!
A bit of a long one I know but I found this super strange and feel like I kept my cool when others would have lost it.

This hasn’t put me off cycling what so ever but I will be investing in a cycle cam that is for sure!

My ebike has changed my life and this is just another story to tell my grandkids about someday haha

 

[Wicky]

Take any pictures of grazing / bruises - damages clothing etc. receipts for anything you're out of pocket from and contact her insurers.

 

[anon4]

The husband is an arse none of his business he wasn't there. Sounds like a control freak. I had a tumble recently too, came off due to slick wet road, I'm ok but my bike came off slightly worse, ripped my panniers and snapped rear brake lever. Still we are both lucky at least our rides and indeed ourselves remain operational. Take care out there

 

[flecc]

I got a very aggressive phone call from her husband saying that they will NOT be covering anything themselves and I will have to claim via their insurance for any damages. He said I needed to know his wife was in bits and refusing to drive her car now......

He's probably one of the too many drivers who think bicycles are a menace on the roads and hate cyclists.

Maybe if his wife is prosecuted he'll see things more clearly.
.

 

[vfr400]

I've known that sort of thing happen a few times., as I've been a motorcyclist all my life, during which time I've seen too many motorcycle accidents. At the scene, the driver knows they're at fault so they're very apologetic, but once they get home, they change completely. I've known drivers admit full responsibility, offer to pay and give his/her name and address. Because the driver seemed so honest and apologetic, the rider didn't bother with witness statements and photos, but when they tried to give the bill to the driver days later, suddenly, it wasn't the driver's fault anymore.

You should always make sure that you get all the evidence you can from the scene and as many witnesses as you can.

In your case, the police are involved. if they charge the driver with careless driving, a conviction would be difficult to avoid, in which case compensation payments are unavoidable.

If you use a claims assessor, you'll get a lot of compensation.

 

[Andy-Mat]

So I guess I’m part of the real ebiker club now, had my first off yesterday and it was a super strange one.
Cycling home in the rain (in high viz and lights on) as I always do in a great mood, enjoying the bike as I had a REALLY crappy day at work when this woman in a 4x4 pulled into me as I passed the junction clipping my pedal.

I was doing around 22mph when she hit me as I was going downhill. I’m 37 and have been riding a motorcycle and driving for 20 years and I’ve NEVER had a crash lol
Less than a year on a bike and I get wiped out!

Yeah so it gets a bit strange at this point. I hit the floor and being a big guy (100kg) it took the air right out of me. I laid there for a while on the wet road with the rain hitting my face just to give myself a moment.

I’ve been winded loads of times in my youth, so I knew I was fine, and I was telling everyone around me that I’m completely fine I’m just winded. I was feeling like a complete tool just laying in the road like that but I just needed a minute to get up. Within moments I had a bunch of people around me so I forced myself to get up to show I was fine as the woman was getting herself into a right state.
Well the police and ambulance turned up as I guess someone called them.

Told them all I was completely fine, and it looks worse than it is as I was covered in road dirt. I checked over my bike and it looked fine. Few scrapes on the pedal and handle grip.
The police took both of our details and said they will be proceeding with reporting the lady for driving without due care and attention.
My bike looked fine and I felt fine so I said I’d just cycle home now as everything seemed fine. Just before I left the lady come over to me and said that she was sorry and that she would cover any of my damages to my bike and gear.

Part from my pedal and grip my bike is perfect. The road grit was washed put of my bike gear and I feel like I got off very luck.
Well…….. I got a very aggressive phone call from her husband saying that they will NOT be covering anything themselves and I will have to claim via their insurance for any damages. He said I needed to know his wife was in bits and refusing to drive her car now......

First off, I wasn’t going to claim for anything at all! I’ve barely got a mark on me and my bike is fine but I won’t let anyone talk to me the way he talked to me. He called ME! I felt like it was dealt with!
A bit of a long one I know but I found this super strange and feel like I kept my cool when others would have lost it.

This hasn’t put me off cycling what so ever but I will be investing in a cycle cam that is for sure!

My ebike has changed my life and this is just another story to tell my grandkids about someday haha

Glad to hear you are OK.

Some really nice Ladies, pick real arse holes for partners.
Seen it many times....
My suggestion is that you contact the police and tell them the gist of what he said (a recording would be brilliant!), and simply let them deal with it.....
Hopefully that will take the wind out of his sails.
But never forget that you were REALLY lucky, you might easily now have been in hospital, for months and months, or worse. Never forget that!
regards
Andy
PS. If possible, set your phone to record all calls, and simply delete the ones you don't need, till this has already been cleared. Or even better, get the police to allow you to call him in their presence, on loudspeaker of course.....WOW!!

 

[Deleted member 25121]

My suggestion is that you contact the police and tell them the gist of what he said (a recording would be brilliant!), and simply let them deal with it.....

It's not in the police's remit to sort out insurance claims.

 

[Andy-Mat]

It's not in the police's remit to sort out insurance claims.

Agreed, but it sounded threatening. Informing the Police cannot be negative.....
Andy

 

[HarryML]

A familiar tale, I had an off on my motorbike, police ambulance etc - broken collar bone, damage to helmet and scrapes on bike. The other party admitted responsibility to police, told them he would pay for damage, I was happy if he paid up - no further action. After I got out of hospital and priced up the damage - £500. Phoned him to let him know, he hung up refused to take any calls, so I put to a claims solicitor - result was in 5 figures. I expect his excess and next renewal was more than £500.

 

[sjpt]

Yes, good to do things without solicitors etc if possible, but a very useful and necessary last resort.

 

[Deleted member 25121]

Agreed, but it sounded threatening. Informing the Police cannot be negative.....
Andy

Why waste police time when they got much more important things to be doing?

 

[Andy-Mat]

A familiar tale, I had an off on my motorbike, police ambulance etc - broken collar bone, damage to helmet and scrapes on bike. The other party admitted responsibility to police, told them he would pay for damage, I was happy if he paid up - no further action. After I got out of hospital and priced up the damage - £500. Phoned him to let him know, he hung up refused to take any calls, so I put to a claims solicitor - result was in 5 figures. I expect his excess and next renewal was more than £500.

Thats the way to do it!!
regards
Andy

 

[Fat Rat]

Why waste police time when they got much more important things to be doing?

Because its there job ffs , it was a road traffic accident and the guy behaved like a twat with an aggresive phone call

I would personally chase for all i could get after the blokes BS on the phone
He would pay for his crap attitude

 

[Andy-Mat]

Why waste police time when they got much more important things to be doing?

I would expect them to decide either way, wouldn't you trust them to do the right thing??

 

[Gringo]

Sorry for your situation, I’ve been there (RTA other drivers fault) and it took over six months to sort. These days i let my insurance sort it out. As a British Cycling member I have the best legal team on my side and they would be my first call.

 

[Fat Rat]

So what are the police going to do him for, saying that he wants the insurance claim to go through his insurance company?
Why is that aggressive?
FFS.

The OP has already said it was an aggressive phone call or did you not read that part ?
So just as a refresher the OPs quote as follows..

"Well…….. I got a very aggressive phone call from her husband saying that they will NOT be covering anything themselves and I will have to claim via their insurance for any damages. He said I needed to know his wife was in bits and refusing to drive her car now......"

The phone call recieved from the husband amounts to nothing but aggression and bully tactics in an open and potential criminal action case against a driver (his wife) of due care and attention

Malicious, abusive or threatening calls, whether from people you know or from strangers, are a criminal offence.
So last time i checked you phoned the police about criminal activity especially with an ongoing case

It would seem you either didnt read the OPs post properly or dont understand the law .

 

[Andy-Mat]

The OP has already said it was an aggressive phone call or did you not read that part ?
So just as a refresher the OPs quote as follows..

"Well…….. I got a very aggressive phone call from her husband saying that they will NOT be covering anything themselves and I will have to claim via their insurance for any damages. He said I needed to know his wife was in bits and refusing to drive her car now......"

The phone call recieved from the husband amounts to nothing but aggression and bully tactics in an open and potential criminal action case against a driver (his wife) of due care and attention

Malicious, abusive or threatening calls, whether from people you know or from strangers, are a criminal offence.
So last time i checked you phoned the police about criminal activity especially with an ongoing case

It would seem you either didnt read the OPs post properly or don't understand the law .

Maybe "someone" has also either been on the losing side of a RTA claim, or someone close to him.....just guessing of course....
Andy

 

[sjpt]

Probably no need for police intervention on the claim side, if indeed the original poster decides a claim is appropriate. Also reasonable that that claim should go to the insurance company rather than be handled directly. As Wicky said 'Take any pictures of grazing / bruises - damages clothing etc. receipts for anything you're out of pocket from and contact her insurers.' You probably won't get anything significant; but he'll likely lose his no claims bonus ... or that just spiteful of me?

There is no law of the country against aggressive calls unless they are seriously related to violence or other illegal activities. The husband is probably a nasty twat who had had a bad day; but hadn't broken laws of politeness; only laws of decent behaviour.

It seems the police are involved in what is a clear case of driving without due care and attention, and maybe some more serious variant. I hope they don't get too bogged down to take action. I suspect the shock of the accident will probably be a better warning to the wife than any legal punishment that is likely to happen.

 

[Fat Rat]

There is no law of the country against aggressive calls unless they are seriously related to violence or other illegal activities. The husband is probably a nasty twat who had had a bad day; but hadn't broken laws of politeness; only laws of decent behaviour.

I took my information from the Ofcom website
The problem being non of us know how aggressive the call was but the OP, and his description does say aggressive
As you say he is probably a nasty twat and that in itself requires a quick call to the law to inform them that the call has happened just in case it turned into something more in the future
Better to be safe than sorry and for warned is for armed as they say .

 

[Fat Rat]

I found your message to be very aggressive and, following your advice, I've reported you to the police.

It works both ways snowflake.

If you want to behave like a child you will be treated as such
you spend more time disagreeing with peoples posts than making any decent contributions to the forum
your above comments are a perfect point in case
if you have nothing constructive to add I suggest you get back in your box till you have
and by the way I wouldn't be aggressive on a keyboard or a phone that's for cowards and bullies
I shall not be responding anymore to your pointless comments
Good Bye
ps. make sure you put a little disagree badge on the post I would be disappointed if you didn't.