**Update** Bikers: Have you ever been the victim of a hit-and-run?

[gabemcg]

So, I'm wondering how common this sort of thing is, so I thought I'd share...

I commute to work about 4-5 miles each way, on surface streets. I always ride as far off to the side of the road as I can safely, and always use front/rear blinking lights and wear a helmet.

Regardless of how respectful I am of traffic, there are always those who think bikes belong on the sidewalk. I get my fair share of honks and hollers for riding in the road, but I always let it roll off my back, and lately I've been in the habit of giving the peace sign to anyone who honks or yells something obscene.

Today on my ride home I got a nice big long honk from some jerk in a rusted out old full size van. He yelled something in Spanish as he passed, and pointed at the sidewalk. I just gave him the peace sign and kept riding. About a block up I passed him at a stop sign, and as I was doing so, he deliberately hit me in the shoulder with his side view mirror. As I was right next to him, and saw it coming, I was able to stay up, and not fall. It's a good thing he and I were not going any faster, because if I had lost control, I could have ended up under his tire very easily.

He sped up, and I kept pace with him long enough to memorize his license plate number. I quickly dug through my pocket for my cell, and called 911. While many of you may be thinking, "no harm no foul" it was immediately apparent to me that a line had been crossed, and I didn't hesitate to call.

The cops took their sweet time getting there (probably because I hadn't reported any injury). The officer obviously didn't want to deal with the paper work associated with making a report, and tried to talk me out of it, saying that without witnesses, or damage it would purely be my word against his, and not something that would win in court. I insisted that I'd feel wrong if I didn't do every thing I could to let this guy know that what he did wasn't alright.

So I guess my question is, has anything like this, or (heaven forbid) worse ever happened to you?

[br]

***UPDATE***

So, I got a call back from the officer I spoke to, who went to the guy's address that the plate was registered to.

Apparently the guy was quite uncooperative, and even went so far as to lie to the cop and tell him the van in the driveway didn't run. When the officer felt the hood was warm, and cussed the guy out for lying he finally admitted to being there, but not specifically to hitting me. Its impossible that he didn't know he hit me because 1) he tried to and 2) his mirror folded in.

The officer asked for his insurance, and he was unable to provide proof, so he was written a ticket for that. The policemen said that if he doesn't actually have insurance it will cost him hundreds of dollars He continued to advise that I wouldn't win in court, and seemed ignorant when I asked him what else I could do. I talked to my dad who is an attorney (and avid cyclist) and he advised I contact a local bike club to see if they have an bicycle advocacy group they work with who could assist in pressuring the County Prosecutor to take the case.

I'm not sure if I want to devote much more time to this asshole, but I feel like he could have ruined my life, and I wouldn't mind if he knew how it feels...

so what do you think?

Fight it for all its worth? Or let it go?

 

[LS20]

once i was riding with my friend. as he was stopped at a light (with rear blinkies), an escort comes up behind him, screeches the tires as it halted, and rammed my friend. knocked him off his bike, onto the sidewalk. he said he was okay and flagged the car off.

later, i was driving in my car in lane #3. #4 is right-turn only. #3 is optional right-turn. i started making a right, without blinking. bike comes flying to my right (between lanes 3&4), clips the front right corner of the car and flew off his bike. guy gets up, dusts himself off, and flagged me off.


circular world

 

[tomywishbone]

"I commute to work about 4-5 miles each way, on surface streets. I always ride as far off to the side of the road as I can safely, and always use front/rear blinking lights and wear a helmet..."

I think this is frequently the cause of car v. bicycle accidents. You have every right to the lane, and trying to be Mr. or Mrs. Nice Guy/Girl is a mistake... IMO. Vehicles driving in your lane don't see you as quickly, vehicles pulling out don't see you as quickly (if at all) there's far more debris in the curb lane and that leads to puntures. I ride in LA County, mostly on the Westside and trying to be nice, only leads to trouble.

In your particular incident, the Vato was just a jackass.

 

[Tweak155]

All roads were designed for all pedestrians, which includes walking. Screw the cars. People need to have respect for other humans. If there is a biker in my lane I use the other lane (even if its opposite direction) to pass the biker. If I have to wait for traffic to clear and go 10 m/h then so be it.

 

[Soundmanred]

I thought this was going to be important.
Like about motorcycles.

 

[JulesMaximus]

I've been commuting for a couple years now (20 miles round trip 2-3 days a week) and I've had a few close calls but so far no accidents.

Glad you're okay, and good job getting the plate number and calling the cops. That fucking asshole could have killed you. Hope he has warrants and he rots in jail for a long time. :|

 

[funkymatt]

got hit on campus once, but the guy stopped. everyone was okay- no damage to the car, but my bike was a mess. he paid for the repairs and we called it a day.

 

[DrPizza]

Heck, you should have at least complained of your shoulder being sore, and sought your own medical treatment. Hit and run with injuries would really screw over someone who intentionally hit you. (And, that person deserves to be screwed over.)

 

[StageLeft]

Good man, went for the license plate and didn't let off on pressing charges. Fvcking beautiful being, doesn't he realize that over some perceived slight or something equally asinine he could have killed you/paralyzed you? I'd chomp on like a bull dog, and yes I'm a cyclist. Most cars are fine but it takes just one sh*t for brains to ruin a life, doesn't it?

 

[gabemcg]

updated OP bump

 

[FoBoT]

dude, if you got the guy a ticket, that is pretty good. you did right, but don't get obsessed

 

[FP]

Did you stop at the stop sign too like you should have?

Not obeying the traffic laws is the only thing that pisses me off with cyclists.

 

[theeedude]

There are enough retard drivers out there, we don't need people deliberately trying to hit us.
<- bikes to/from work 18 miles every day.

 

[Nik]

Well, honestly, what can you do? What can you prove in court?

 

[badkarma1399]

Originally posted by: binister
Did you stop at the stop sign too like you should have?

Not obeying the traffic laws is the only thing that pisses me off with cyclists.

So true. Every time i see a cyclist pass waiting cars at a stop sign or blow through a red light, i silently wish that they get hit by an oncoming semi.

But yea if i were the OP, i'd just let it go. I think a ticket is pretty good punishment.

 

[tomywishbone]

Originally posted by: FoBoT
dude, if you got the guy a ticket, that is pretty good. you did right, but don't get obsessed

I'll go with that. Dude got busted... let it go.

 

[Tiamat]

while it would be tempting to take it to the next level, I think that there just isn't really a lot of proof for you to have much of a case on. The dude got a ticket, so he got some sort of punishment, you are still alive without serious injury, so I would consider that win-win and move on with life.

 

[ArmchairAthlete]

I got hit while on my bike by a guy pulling out of a parking lot. He was looking the other way, waiting for an opening to turn right. He didn't bother to look right in front of him. (NOTE: Yea it may seem odd that I was going that way, but there was construction on a little stretch of road on the other side and no room for bikes, it's a fence in the road. Right after the parking lot he was pulling out of I cross over.) I now assume that cars won't be looking for me, and I always wear my helmet...

Luckily all that happened was my front wheel being bent up. I didn't even notice it at first, the guy at least rolled down his window to see if I was unhurt. I was able to stop from falling down since he hadn't sped up much when he hit me, but didn't notice the bent wheel till after he sped off.

I'd have to agree with the other people here, that guy already got some punishment so hopefully he'll wise up. It's probably not worth your time to go further and who knows if all the effort would really lead to much.

 

[Henrythewound]

I would want to take it further but it sounds like it would be a waste of time. Maybe just by getting a visit from the cop he will think twice next time. I bike to work occasionally, I hate cars that refuse to give even the 5 feet of space. Share the road asshole!

 

[jagec]

Originally posted by: gabemcg

so what do you think?

Fight it for all its worth? Or let it go?

At this point, he got the no-insurance ticket, and a big hassle. His day was ruined, so I would just call it even. Any more, and he might declare a vendetta.

Awesome that he got the ticket. I'm surprised the cops even bothered to show up, given that they just had some guy's word for it...

 

[DivideBYZero]

Originally posted by: badkarma1399

Originally posted by: binister
Did you stop at the stop sign too like you should have?

Not obeying the traffic laws is the only thing that pisses me off with cyclists.

So true. Every time i see a cyclist pass waiting cars at a stop sign or blow through a red light, i silently wish that they get hit by an oncoming semi.

But yea if i were the OP, i'd just let it go. I think a ticket is pretty good punishment.

While as a Cyclist I do NOT condone running reds and stop signs YOU have to be borderline psychotic to even think about wanting someone dead for doing it.

Bottom line is, if you hit a car with a closing speed of 10mph, you have a repair bill, hit a cyclist with a closing speed of 10mph, potential major injury or even death.

Think about it. It takes nothing out of your commute to be considerate.

 

[novasatori]

be sure to keep clear of his van in the future

 

[fuzzybabybunny]

Like the cop said, it's your word against his considering there were no other witnesses. He can simply say you ran into him and no one will be able to prove anything.

However, you may have a case considering that his word has already been tainted since he lied to the cop, was uncooperative, and didn't have insurance. And considering that the burden of evidence is not that high in civil cases, perhaps your word against his now-tainted word will be enough to win. Basically you have to find a way to blast away at his credibility.

 

[jandrews]

a mexican with a piece of crap car and no insurance *shocked*

 

[dquan97]

FIGHT!!!!