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Post by wildcard on Oct 4, 2012 21:22:30 GMT -5
well i got in a wreck today. the jack a$$ infront of me decided to lock up his brakes and try to slide his truck around in the road. i droped gears and stood on the rear brake but i still hit his backbumper at around 45mph.i got some roadrash on my knees,broke my left front blinker and clutch handle, bent the headlight bucket a little, turned the handlebars some and dented my front fender. it took a few kicks but i got the bike started again and managed to get it the 1 1/2 miles home by RPM shifting and hitting neutral when i had to stop. i fixed everything in about 30 mins exept the front fender and the flat spot on my back tire. im not gonna take the guy to court or anything but i probly should. hes just lucky i was in a good mood today and not on my 750 v twin bobber or he'd be in the ER and id be in jail.o well. ill be sore for a few days but i live to ride another day.
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pamcopete
Full Member
'78/E, '81/H, '82 XJ550, '74 CB750, '81 CB750, '73 CB450
Posts: 167
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Post by pamcopete on Oct 5, 2012 6:27:40 GMT -5
wildcard,
Well, about 15 years ago I had a kid driving his aunts car pull out in front of me and I slammed into the rear door of the car. Kid was all apologetic. Didn't want to get into trouble with his aunt, etc. We did call the cops and make an accident report, just for the record, and I told the kid that I would just get an estimate for repairs and not worry about making an insurance claim. Well, I got a call from the aunts husband and he tried to blame the accident on me and said he wouldn't pay. The idiot must not have known that we had made an accident report with the cops, so I just called his insurance company and made a claim, which they did not dispute. Got a bunch of money to buy some new parts for the bike. Fixed it up myself but the insurance company paid me $40 an hour to work on my own bike. Sweet.
Well, complacency set in over the years, and I had another accident. Lady on her cell phone driving an SUV pulled in front of me...BAM...smashed up again, only this time with some road rash and bent parts, so remembering my previous experience, and how I tried to be "Mr. Nice guy", I got an accident report, I insisted on going to the hospital, got a report from the hospital and then called a lawyer. Best decision I ever made. This lady also tried to wiggle out of her responsibility, but the accident report was cast in stone and she was named the guilty party. The lawyer went to work on her insurance company and the end result was all of my expenses were paid and I got an extra $25,000 for pain and suffering. My wife and I went to Italy with some of the money. Great trip.
So, the moral of these stories is that you cannot be Mr. Nice guy like we used to do back in the day when people were reasonable and tried to help each other out. Today, have an accident and you could end up getting sued and paying all the bills if you don't do something to protect yourself, even if you think you may have been at fault, although it is very rare that the motorcyclist is at fault. So:
1. call the cops.
2. Get an accident report.
3. Go to the hospital.
4. Get a report from the hospital.
5. Call a lawyer.
6. Don't sign anything.
7. Let the lawyer handle the whole deal.
Actually, I had a similar incident when I was just a teenager driving my Chevy to the Levy. A teenage girl in the left lane suddenly came over to my lane and scraped the side of my beat up Chevy. We stopped and she was so cute and crying, of course, that I said "don't worry about it, it's just a scratch". Two days later I got a threatening call from her insurance company wanting a ton of money. they kept calling and it sounded like I was going on death row if I didn't pay up, so I finally called a lawyer. Same story. I got paid for the scratch on my beloved Chevy. Never did see that sweet girl again.
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Post by headcase on Oct 6, 2012 8:17:58 GMT -5
You must have been growling along pretty good to still have 45mph on you when it happened, even after brakes and downshifts. Glad you're ok though.
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Post by wildcard on Oct 7, 2012 19:22:55 GMT -5
i was doin around 60mph when i ducked out to pass him and thats when he locked his brakes up and started to slide his truck. i was on the double yellow when we hit. he got a reckless driving ticket and i got to ride home with a busted clutch handle and left front blinker,turned handlebars and a flat spotted rear tire.
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