In June 12, 2009 I purchased my very first bike: a beautiful Harley Iron 883.
Last night, as I was heading home I got into a wreck, I was hoping to get some knowledgeable opinions about what I need to do and how to handle things.

I was driving home from the city last night. It was a 4 lane road with two lanes in both directions. I was going about 35 miles per hour (luckily) and within the speed limit. I was approaching an intersection and had moved into the left lane, closer to the double-yellow lines, so as to be away from anyone making a right hand turn from the cross street in front of me. Sure enough, a white pickup truck darts out to make a quick right-hand turn. Eyewitnesses confirmed that he was stopped, then shot out. The turn was exceptionally wide- the truck was actually perpendicular to me, in both lane (I think his tires were actually on the double-yellow lines. )

In order to keep from T-boning the truck, I immediately deployed both brakes, the bike started to skid and went onto its left side. I was only concerned with rolling and staying in one pieces, so I was not overly cognizant of what I or the bike was doing, but people on the patio of the restaurant right next to it saw the whole thing and said as the bike went down I pushed off of it (which was good because the bike apparently hit the car.) I rolled twice, came to a stop and then got up. I immediately triaged myself and found that I was ok. Some road rash on both elbows, left knee, and some swelling in the same knee, but ok. The driver of the pickup truck had gone just a few yard up the road, back into the right lane and parked next to the curb. It was a young guy, maybe early twenties, and he got out extremely shaken up and saying, "I'm so sorry, I didnt see you! I pulled right out in front of you." I ended up assuring him I was ok and comforting him- he was much more shaken than I was.

The cops (one of the first things out of the cops mouth was, "Don't worry, I ride too") came and were able to determine exactly what happened. They could see from my skid mark (which also validating that I wasn't speeding) and the scrapes on the road from the bike what lane I was in. They could see from where the bike hit the car that he was obviously in the far lane and had made an extremely wide turn. The only contention is when the police officer asked the kid about it, the kid (of course) said that he had thought he had the green light (he did not, and an off duty police officer confirmed this.) It seemed more that he was just saying it to avoid admitting that he made a really bad mistake. However, since the officer at the scene did not see it he said he had to write us both citations for failure to yield and said that it would be worked out in court. I don't think the guy is going to make an issue of it, but all the same I got names and number of people who had seen the accident and were willing to confirm that I had the green light.

My bike was somewhat torn up- shifter broken off, a footpeg off, blinkers gone, clutch broken- so I had it towed. As I told the kid later, my ONLY concern, being as I am a little banged up but physically ok, is that I don't end up paying a ticket, and that my bike is fixed at no cost to me and without my insurance premiums going up (which I believe is possible since I was not at fault.) I called my insurance last night and filed a claim- an insurance adjuster is supposed to be contacting me in the next couple of hours. Anyone have and advice or anything I should know?

Thank everybody,

Tyler

 

Well, how do you get a ticket when someone turns in front of you? I don't see that as a failure to yield.
Just hope he has insurance, they should not give you too much grief over fixing or replacing your bike.
You also just experienced the main motorcycle wreck. Someone taking your right of way.

 

Make sure you fight the ticket and see if you can get any of those witness to show up in court. I don't know the laws in your state and don't pretend to be a lawyer, but it is my understanding that in some states where you are both cited your insurance takes care of you and his insurance takes care of him. Your insurance agent should be able to fill you in on how it works in your state.

 

First off I am glad you are ok and not badly hurt. Like the previous poster I am not sure why you got a ticket too if there were witnesses to back up your story. As long as they are willing to come forward and help you at court time you will be ok. You said one of the witnesses was an off duty cop? They should carry some weight in testimony.

 

What state are you in Tyler?

 

I would contact these people ASAP and get a statement in writing from them as to what they saw. Especially the off duty cop. If they can't show up, at least you have their statements to back you up.

 

I'm in Atlanta, Georgia.

The way the cop explained it to me was this: Because he was not there to witness it, and for some reason the camera on the street was not working, he had to write us both tickets. We would have to go to court and it should get settled there easily. He has the name and number of the off-duty officer, and I have the names and numbers of two, maybe three witnesses that will say he came to a stop, then turned right.

 

glad you're alright. i'm sure it will all work out fine.

 

No offense, but cops are stupid in these situations.

Most insurance adjusters don't give a crap what the cop says, or the ticket. And being ticketed and at fault are not the same thing. So I would not worry too much on that angle.

Got a few questions for you dude:

1 - You said your bike hit a car. His truck, or someone elses on the road?

2 - If not his truck, did you make any contact with his vehicle at all?

3 - Do you have fulle coverage (Comp and Collision), and who is your carrier?

4 - Do you know who his insurance is?

So here's the skinny, and a lot will depend on WHO is insurance is for him and you.

If you did not hit him, his insurance will likely take the stance that he is not at fault and that you lost control of your bike. If pressed with witnesses (or if it is a "good" insurance company) they may accept 50/50 liability. They would say he cut you off, but you also lost control. If he is with a major carrier, they will likely deny liability.

But none of that really matters. You are not really injured (thank God, congrats on that) , so you really don't NEED anything from him or his insurance. If you have collision insurance, your company will pay for the repairs regardless of who is at fault. The only thing to worry about is the deductible if your company lists you at fault. If they list you at fault, it will jack your rates.

So, I would press his insurance to accept 50/50 liability (if you did not hit him) and your insurance to at least do the same, or list it as a not at fault. If his insurance accepts, you will be reimbursed your deductible.


Now, if your bike did hit his truck, that is a whole other story. 100% at fault for him. The accident, statements and witnesses will leave his insurance no choice but to accept 100% liabilty.

PS - If your bike did hit another bystanders car, they will be ging after your insurance, not the trucks most likely. And they will win in this case (if you did not his the truck). All the more reason to verify with your insurance how they are coding the "at fault" in their system. If they code you at fault, push for a manager and second adjuster's opinion if needed.

I happen to work in insurance, if you couldn't tell. Though I don't do auto anymore for this very reason. I hate telling people the bad news of policy and litigation on something that is not really their fault.

 

The only car hit was his.

As I said earlier, when I went down I was mainly concerned with rolling and staying safe, so I didn't even know it, but when the cops came they told me I had hit his car (I'm hypothesizing that I was actually off the bike when it hit the car and that's why I didn't even notice.) The fact that I had hit his car (I assume on the front left side) combined with the marks from my bike were HOW they were able to tell exactly what happened and that he had pulling out across both lanes.

I do not know who his insurance is, but mine is with Progressive. I do have comprehensive and collision, but with a $1000 deductible I really don't want to pay ;p