Hit by motorist in Germantown at Great Seneca Highway and Cottage Garden.

[trailrunner]

Did the police cite the driver?

[rachel_c]

No they did not! Afterward I was curious why they didn’t. I got ran into when I had a green light and the driver had a red light. The fault is clearly the driver’s but no citation. I did ask the officer to write a report. The driver was super apologetic, offered to pay damages and gave me a ride home. So maybe the officer thought he would “let it slide.” Clearly it was a violation though.

[ImaCynic]

@rachel_c 177449 wrote:

I was hit by car while using bike lane crosswalk with a green “ok to cross” signal. Motorist stopped at red light then turned right while looking left and ran into my left side. Police and medics dispatched. No serious injury on scene. I have bruises and scrapes. Bike damaged. Cell phone smashed. Motorist and witness stayed on scene.

Holy crap, sorry to hear this. Glad you’re not seriously hurt. Hope the motorist’s insurance will take care of your bike.

Sent from my moto x4 using Tapatalk

[streetsmarts]

So sorry to hear this. Glad you’re not seriously hurt. You might want to get checked out at the ER anyway (I’ve heard this is a good idea, even if after the fact).
And as said above, i do hope your damages are covered by the driver’s insurance .

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

[ImaCynic]

@rachel_c 177451 wrote:

No they did not! Afterward I was curious why they didn’t. I got ran into when I had a green light and the driver had a red light. The fault is clearly the driver’s but no citation. I did ask the officer to write a report. The driver was super apologetic, offered to pay damages and gave me a ride home. So maybe the officer thought he would “let it slide.” Clearly it was a violation though.

The officer’s decision can impact how insurance treats this incident. You may want to follow up with the reporting officer to make sure a fault is assessed, and get a written statement of apology from the driver if possible. I assume you have driver’s insurance info? Lastly, have LBS provide a written estimate on a repair/replacement cost of a comparable bike, type, groupset, etc. Insurance typically do not have a good way to assess bike damage, so have a copy of this will be useful.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

[rachel_c]

Thanks. The driver’s insurance company already called (Geicco). Geicco clearly stated their driver was at fault. My bike is brand new (almost), completely carbon, Ultegra, Di2, disc brakes and carbon wheels. I’m a little concerned the insurance will balk at the potentially very high cost for bike damage. My iPhone was completely smashed because it flew from pocket and got ran over several times. That already cost me nearly $800 to replace, but is cheap compared to cost of bike. I also have Geicco so we will see how they treat me as a claimant.

[jrenaut]

So sorry this happened, and very glad you’re ok. Go to a bike shop that handles your brand and get them to write you a letter explaining that the bike is totaled (it is). There’s ZERO CHANCE any manufacturer will tell you it’s okay to ride a carbon frame after getting hit by a car.

The insurance company will probably be thrilled to buy you a new bike rather than a new car – you can probably salvage most if not all of the components.

[ImaCynic]

@rachel_c 177461 wrote:

Thanks. The driver’s insurance company already called (Geicco). Geicco clearly stated their driver was at fault. My bike is brand new (almost), completely carbon, Ultegra, Di2, disc brakes and carbon wheels. I’m a little concerned the insurance will balk at the potentially very high cost for bike damage. My iPhone was completely smashed because it flew from pocket and got ran over several times. That already cost me nearly $800 to replace, but is cheap compared to cost of bike. I also have Geicco so we will see how they treat me as a claimant.

Was your bike factory or custom built? If there are upgrades, were these included at the time of bike purchase? Have the bike checked out by a LBS, if the shop decides the frame is deemed unrepairable (totalled), the insurance should replace the whole bike, regardless of the condition of any individual components. Also be sure to include the cost of any upgraded items along with the original bike invoice, if you still have it. Insurance *may* insist on keep the damaged bike if it is deemed a total loss.

Good luck!

Sent from my moto x4 using Tapatalk

[rachel_c]

The bike had some custom options. I only bought a few months ago so I have invoices. Dealer believes the impact from the car will void the manufacture’s warranty (Trek). Based on that I will need to get a new bike. Don’t know what happens to the damaged one. Hopefully I can keep to salvage something, but if insurance has to keep than so be it. The more I think about the more I’m sure a new bike is the only solution I’d be happy with because I researched and waited for this bike for many months and paid a lot of hard earned dollars for it.

[mstone]

@trailrunner 177450 wrote:

Did the police cite the driver?

lol, good one

[Crickey7]

Insurance companies will usually not balk at a few thousand in property damage. What they worry about is medical expenses. And I’ve never had the insurance company ask for the old bike, which I try to replace with the same model, including color, for parts-swapping.

[dasgeh]

WABA has this great resource listing what to do after a crash: http://www.waba.org/resources/what-to-do-after-a-crash/

PLEASE report this to their crash tracker, which is listed on that page.

I would also recommend reaching out to the Police to ask about the citation – even if it’s not a deal in your case, it will be for someone else. More importantly, they need the citation to have their information correct for their Vision Zero efforts. Montgomery County is a Vision Zero county, and a big part of Vision Zero is being data driven. Collision reports and citations are an important piece of that data. There may even be a Vision Zero coordinator who can help you make the case to the Police.

Thanks and glad it wasn’t worse!

[rachel_c]

Thanks for the information. I will definitely check on that with MoCo. It is rather absurd when you think about it. A driver hits someone in a pedestrian crosswalk and doesn’t get a ticket. It’s like he didn’t take seriously because I was still alive.

[jrenaut]

rachel_c;177522 wrote:

it’s like he didn’t take it seriously because i wasn’t in a car.

ftfy

[rachel_c]

I added my info to the WABA tracker. I feel better prepared if this ever happens again. I really hope it doesn’t. I did get a copy of the police report and clearly states driver at fault. Driver was distracted. Now I’m just dealing with the insurance process and hoping to get back on a bicycle soon.

[Author]

Posts