I got hit by a car last night (I thought she was stopping fully, she did a rolling stop and didn't look in my direction). I'm fine despite riding her hood and ending up in the road - bumps, scrapes, and bruises, nothing more, luckily.
My bike looks fine, the frame is steel and I don't see anything obvious (beyond a tuneup needed to adjust the whacked shifters), but I want to be sure. Which shops have mechanics who know enough about frames to do whatever checks can be done to know if a frame has been compromised by a crash? I don't want something to happen suddenly while I'm riding and I want to followup with the driver's insurance if necessary.
Also, on my back following the crash, I gave her car a dent-leaving kick in an adrenalized heat-of-the-moment thing (the unhelpful, unsympathetic police who showed up later told me about the dent - I can't really say that I knew what was going on but I hit back at what hit me). I don't know whether that's going to come back to bite me, but can anyone recommend a good bike-saavy accident lawyer in case it does?
Thanks in advance for any advice.
I got hit and I have questions
...conrads, r+a (brooklyn), toga, etc., all have alignment tables and competent mechanics who can give you specific printed measurements. it's not really possible to eyeball a frame...especially with today's tight gearing (read: like 10-speed sti drivetrains).
don
"I hope the police report indicates that the driver was at fault. A couple years ago, I was in a minor accident. My handlebars scratched the car's fender. I was a nice guy about it. The driver's insurance company took me for a grand. Here's what I learned:
The driver's insurance company is your worst enemy. Assume that the driver will get the dent fixed in the most expensive possible way, and that her insurance company will do its ugly best to stick you with the bill. Get a copy of the police report. Get photos of the dent. Get an independent estimate of the cost to fix the dent. Get pictures of your cuts and scrapes. Get estimates of the damage to yourself and to your bike. Get witnesses. Get their numbers. Get them to go on the record saying that they saw the driver roll through the stop and hit you. Either that, or get lost, fast, before the police arrive (neither a legal option nor a likely one when you're on the ground). Either that, or get ready to pay.
I talked to a couple of bike-savvy lawyers. They wanted to work the personal injury angle. If you and your lawyer can pursue the insurance company for damages, they might think twice about making you pay. (Personally, I wasn't comfortable with this. In retrospect, I should have screamed in pain, got names, and gone to the hospital.) With those folks,
it's you or them.
As others have mentioned, TA is a good resource. Carry a copy of their ""what to do when you get doored"" sheet, available at http://www.transalt.org/features/checklist.html. It's full of obvious stuff that's easy to forget when you've just been hit.
Best of luck."
Dude, never mind the bike, well, you know what I mean... or her car! Get yourself a good physical, 'cause these little bumps & bruises can come back to haunt you. And if they do you want the driver held accountable. I had an accident that has set me back quite a bit. Back in 2001 a limo driver let his passenger out on the wrong side of the road...to make a long story short, It's been a long hard road to recovery...Greifer & Tunick 212-964-4751. Did a good job of helping me get well compensated...they should be able to protect you.
Good luck, and be safe...
transportation alternatives have lawyers for that sort of thing.
http://www.transalt.org/info/lawyers.html
