I can't imagine what was so important that this guy needed to go the wrong way down a one way at 30mph through a green-lighted lunch traffic crossing (with no helmet)... What really blows my mind is that I wasn't the first car through the intersection or anything... I was in a line of cars!! The bicyclist is at the E.R., I hope he's okay. He was definitely bleeding from his head, and semi-conscious. Scary stuff. There were about 15 witnesses including a policeman, so I'm not in any trouble, I'm just shaken up and sad for my car (oh and I'm bleeding a little from the glass). I hope he had insurance... or something. I don't feel it would be fair for me to pay any deductible or anything like that.

EDIT: Just noticed that you can almost see his imprint... shoulder and head... Bascially he T-Boned my door/fender, then bounced off the glass to the other side of the car.

http://lh4.ggpht.com/mattellermets/SHztLFu38xI/AAAAAAAABII/EcIGyYzdFIw/s800/carsmashbike.jpg

PS Since it looks like I'm gonna be biking to work the rest of the week, wish me better luck than this guy. I guess it shouldn't be hard, since I already treat intersections like loaded guns.

EDIT: bunch more pix -> http://picasaweb.google.com/mattellermets/Bikecrash

Pic is down.

pic is up?

I can see it now, wasnt working at first. Damn, thats more damage than i was expecting. I take it he wasnt wearing a helmet? Yea hopefully you wont get saddled with all the repairs.

ah ha! It is up! Wow that really sucks man. I hope the guy is ok.

yeah... no helmet. I hope he is okay, too... being semi-conscious is a good sign (vs. unconscious). I feel for him as a fellow biker, but still have to say he was being pretty stupid.

PS Had to climb in/out the window since my door wont open... still blown away by how much damage a BIKE can do.

ouchy. glad ur ok too .

Good thing yall are both ok...but what was that guy thinking? What an idiot...

Wow, it really surprises you how much something so small can do such damage to something that is quite bigger than it...

Jesus! Poor guy, poor car, poor YOU.

Hope this guy doesn't suffer any brain damage - he's dumb enough as it is.

wow....you should visit the guy in the hospital and give him a helmet.... glad your ok.... glad he's alive.

good lord, that guy had to have been hauling ass. and with no helmet on, not paying attention obviously, he got what was coming to him.

sucks that you had to be on the business end of his retard though.

wow man, that sucks, amazing how much that did to your car...

Wow, seriously, thats alot of damage, he must of been going really fast. You can go 30mph in on a bike? lol mine only went up to like 10 mph haha. Anyway, thats really stupid of him not to wear a helmet, or follow traffic rules. He's lucky to be alive considering it shoulds like he turned into a rag doll after he hit you.

geese that guy must have gotten pretty messed up, he should have been wearing a helmet, stupid guy...that sucks for you though

It's amazing what damage even the smallest mph can create.

How are bicyclist regarded around your area?

just like cars, minus insurance

its going to be interesting how this goes through... I suspect you will need a civil suit to get the deductible out of him if he doesnt pay up out of court. use student legal services while you still can, its free

that looks terrible!!---i hope that you are both o.k.

That is un-real. I don't want to hate on cyclists, I partake every now and again. but some just pay no freakin' attention what so ever. I was once leaving a state park, I was pulling up to a stop sign, and about 5feet in front of it a biker to the right of me made a 90 degree turn right in to the bed of my truck...

LOOK, LISTEN, and BE ATTENTIVE PLEASE

I won't ride a bike without a helmet, I feel too naked.
I've given up road biking after a couple of incidents, decided that if I crash mountain biking it's my own damn fault, the tree didn't jump in front of me <g>.
I'm surprised by the damage, but shouldn't be... you figure 160 lbs or so, moving at 30 mph, well, that energy has to go someplace. And your head is what sticks out the top.
I guess in the end it doesn't matter whether you're in a car or on a bike, you need to STAY SAFE!

Hmmm I wonder if your insurance company would help you out. Some of them will go to bat on your behalf- well their behalf because this is sorta like being hit by a driver with no insurance.

w0w just w0w lol

sorry to say... (nothing against you at all) but Darwin had it right. only the fittest/smartest survive. this guy was a [:)][:)][:)][:)][:)][:)][:)] for even attempting to cross like that

Wow that's sad to see. I ride quite a bit of road bikes and I've noticed alot of fix gear hipster douche bag roadies have a tendency to run straight through red lights thinking they are invincible. I hope he is alright but I don't feel sorry for him...and hopefully you get your car fixed.

Wow that's sad to see. I ride quite a bit of road bikes and I've noticed alot of fix gear hipster douche bag roadies have a tendency to run straight through red lights thinking they are invincible. I hope he is alright but I don't feel sorry for him...and hopefully you get your car fixed.

lol i like that, i hate those fixed gear college kids around here, they ride damn near in the middle of the street dont follow any road laws or even common courtesy.

fixed gear hipster douche bags.... good stuff haha

yeah... thanks for all the love, guys. I was feeling pretty bad about it all day. I really hope he doesn't die or retain permanent brain damage or anything.

car update... estimate is >$4200

repair repaint bumper
replace mirror
repair repaint hood
replace windshield
replace fender
replace roof molding
repair door a-pillar
replace door component & rear molding
repair quarter & window
driver door panel replace maybe
replace rear panel $212

Totaled?

Glad you are alright. Steep repair bill.

This is off topic, but somewhat related...bike accident.

Last week (I did a search, but couldn't find an article), I was listening to the radio and "News of the Weird" came on as a segment.

Apparently, a bicyclist outside of Boulder Colorado was training for a triathalon and was going downhill on his bike at approximately 40MPH.

A BEAR stepped out of a thicket directly infront of the cyclist and they collided.

The Black bear was estimated to weigh 200-250 LBS. Amazingly, the cyclist suffered only minor injuries and was able to ride away.

The injuries he suffered were from claw marks where the bear broke his fall.

nice, haha...

not totalled! sheesh! the car books for around $8k

wow thats one hell of a repair bill from just a bike! do you know how much of that, if any, you have to foot? how is insurance handling it?

wow....you should visit the guy in the hospital and give him a helmet.... glad your ok.... glad he's alive.

don't forget to also send him the bill to the damage. i can't stand stupid bicyclist. in austin, you get a lot of idiots who think that just because they ride a bike, that they have some kind of force field around. one of the dumbest things i saw was this young hippie family swerving in and out of traffic. the scary part was the kid they strapped to their back. no helmets on any of them.

added a bunch more pix -> http://picasaweb.google.com/mattellermets/Bikecrash

lol i like that, i hate those fixed gear college kids around here, they ride damn near in the middle of the street dont follow any road laws or even common courtesy.

fixed gear hipster douche bags.... good stuff haha

Yea the whole attitude is kinda rediculous, half of them hate cars cause they pollute to much blah blah. My neighbors(brother and friend) roommate is one of those hippies, at her birthday some of the people I over heard talking were saying how they hope the country goes into a depression so people will stop driving car...haha I love ignorance.

Yea the whole attitude is kinda rediculous, half of them hate cars cause they pollute to much blah blah. My neighbors(brother and friend) roommate is one of those hippies, at her birthday some of the people I over heard talking were saying how they hope the country goes into a depression so people will stop driving car...haha I love ignorance.

x 2541341^25

Retards!!!!!!!!!! The 60's and 70's are over, stop smoking pot and get a real job!

Also, this is horrible. I am an avid biker and I HATE when I see other bikers going into traffic like idiots.

But I do hope he is alright and that he will have to pay for the repairs as well. Ignorance should never be a safe haven for getting away with doing stupid shit.

x 2541341^25

Retards!!!!!!!!!! The 60's and 70's are over, stop smoking pot and get a real job!

hey now, dont say anything to rash.

lol kidding



disclaimer: i neither support nor condone drug use.

The biker must not have a drivers license...............

I know that after I got my drivers license, I became a safer bike rider because I finally realized all the stupid $hit I did as a kid on a bike....................

hey now
^lol^ [nono]

The way I've come to see this is that he decided to take a chance and now he's paying for it, possibly with his long term health, or even his life. I bike all the time... in fact, my car sometimes sits for 3-4 days untouched because I can bike to work and school (only about 3 miles for either one). I am normally very careful, but sometimes I do weigh the possibility of a car being somewhere, then take my chances. I'm definitely more afraid of intersections now. I figure he thought "10% chance of a car popping out there" and then just went for it.

I still have to call and give a recorded statement. The SVTF is at the estimate shop, no work has started yet (might be trying to get an OEM style carbon fiber hood outa the deal, hehe). As for the money, my insurance (USAA) might be covering it, which would mean I have to pay my $1000 deductible up front (or pick $1000 of stuff for them NOT to fix... such as hood+mirror or something? I wanna figure out which stuff I can fix pretty easily myself). After the police report is done, I will have to get compensation for the inconvenience and the deductible from the bicyclist (which will make me feel like a dik). If USAA doesn't do that for me, I will hopefully be able to use my school's student legal services.

i ride a bike. its got 1 gear and 20 inch wheels. so its slow as hell. its really the "racing bicycle" retards up here who cause all the problems. they think they own the road with their stupid tight shorts and half inch wide wheels. its funny to wathch then try and stop or swerve out of the way in an emergency situation. (it happens at least once a day on my way to work, that i get to see this) usually they fall on their ass. and then i laugh.

then i laugh.

:-/ not nice, haha... I have two BMX bikes, two road "racing" bikes, a "cruisin" bike, and an old mountain bike. My '87 Lotus Pro Series road bike is the weapon of choice for going to work on nice days, or on days when my car is broken! actually I lied, if my motorcycle ('74 Honda CL360) is working and the weather is good, it is the definite first choice... i <3 it

little throwback j-hop shot for ya...
http://lh4.ggpht.com/mattellermets/RkCmo0fc0fI/AAAAAAAAAbk/qSAdaNDrIwg/s288/bmx_jeff1%20copy.jpg

PS I'm moving to a place without a garage next year. OH NO is right.

Except for being on the other side, your damage is very similar to the damage on my Explorer when a deer jumped out into my path while I was doing 60. About $4,500 - same area.

As for insurance, your probable only method of recovery is through some kind of general liability coverage on his (or his parent's) homeowners policy. Homeowners policies usually have a liability clause which covers negligent acts by members of the household (up to the stated amount). Chances are very slim he actually has liability insurance for riding his bicycle - actually, I've never even heard of such a thing.

my method of recovery is probably going to be a civil suit, unfortunately.

i'll get the insurance to cut me a check for ($Damage - $Deductible), then pay a shop to fix the critical items (windshield, fender, etc)...

next, unless the police automatically do this for me, i'll file a civil suit against the biker, and the court will make him pay me for at least legal fees (if any, i will try to use student legal services) + my $1000 insurance deductible. I might even try to go for compensation for my inconvenience (no car for a week) and for my undoubtedly raised insurance rates.

when I get that money, I'll go back to the shop and get the rest of the car's boo-boos fixxed.

You know, if automobile insurance is required by law, then cyclists should be required to have insurance as well.

They should also be reqired to have license plates and an operator's license. They are using a road that is payed for by taxes, they shouldn't be allowed to get a free ride on the roads.

may be true... but as a fellow biker I can say that at least 99% of roads are not only not designed for bicycles, they dont even have provisions for them.

the more people who bike every day as transportation, the better... i'm all for it. you get in shape (sexy biker legs ftw lol), you save money (on fuel), and you help the economy (lower demand for oil) and the earth (decreased pollutants).

we need designated lanes for bicycles that don't begin and end arbitrarily, and we need to ticket bicycle riders who break traffic laws.

i think you should be able to ride a bike like a pedestrian ( stay on sidewalks, stay slowish, always yield to cars except on designated crosswalks ) without a license, but you should have to have a normal drivers license & liability insurance to ride on the road. you should also be required to have lights to be on the road at night, and should be able to get ticketed exactly like cars for not following these procedures. Bikes don't need plates, that would cost more than the bike in some cases.

Bottom line: It should be rider-specific. Sadly, if you are using the road on any vehicle, you need a license and insurance, and you need to be accountable for the risks you are able to impose onto others... aka ticketed for running lights. Some people amazingly regard their lives much lower than they do a $75 ticket... I bet if this guy could get a ticket for going the wrong way on a one way through a red light, he would have never done it. But if the risk is "merely" his own life and the safety of others, then pfft, he decides to go for it.

Oh if that happen to me and he wasen't hurt I would of hurt him myself lol

my method of recovery is probably going to be a civil suit, unfortunately.

i'll get the insurance to cut me a check for ($Damage - $Deductible), then pay a shop to fix the critical items (windshield, fender, etc)...

next, unless the police automatically do this for me, i'll file a civil suit against the biker, and the court will make him pay me for at least legal fees (if any, i will try to use student legal services) + my $1000 insurance deductible. I might even try to go for compensation for my inconvenience (no car for a week) and for my undoubtedly raised insurance rates.

when I get that money, I'll go back to the shop and get the rest of the car's boo-boos fixxed.


Your insurance should treat this like an uninsured driver.

However, if the bike rider has full coverage insurance on his car, then you can file a claim on that, at least in my state. I have recently gone through a similar situation, and found that out. The insurance would "subrogate" (spelling?) it out to his insurance.

I would find out what car insurance (if any) the biker has, and talk it over with your claims adjuster on how you should proceed. If the biker wants to be pissy about it, then talk to legal aid or a lawyer.

well, I hope You're able to get something out of that genius. Just be glad You aren't in Austin, tx... Here people who hit a bike, regardless of fault, the driver is immediately treated like a criminal. And here bikers are everywhere all the time. Very enviro-friendly, so it almost seems like they (bikers) have a pass on obeying the laws of the road. These winners ride on twisty roads with no room for them and the car doing the speed limit(45mph), or just ride IN the lane, and then act like You are in THEIR way. I'm all for weaning Ourselves off the big oil teat, but there are times I just wanna open a door on that douchebag riding down the middle of the road at night with no lights or reflectors of any type... I just hope Your car is okay, poor lil focus...

Well, the insurance estimate was for $4309. From a bicycle. After $1000 deductible, I was able to get it mostly fixed up at a body shop for $2200... that left me enough to pick up the rest of the pieces on my own, including a Seibon OEM style carbon fiber hood... :)

Supposed to get the car back Wednesday evening, and the hood comes Monday or Tuesday. This all just in time for my wedding on August 9th!

You know youre gonna want to drive your car... so why not drive to decatur this weekend? [;)]

lol good to hear youre getting it back soon

Well, finally got her back from the shop today... I spent $2317.03, and got $3309 from the insurance (that's after the $1000 deductible was taken out, which I may or may not still receive). There are still a couple dings left on the A-pillar and one on the back fender right below the window (all of which you can barely make out in the picture). The new Siebon OEM style CF hood is on the way, should be here monday.

Can't believe I missed this thread. I hate bicyclists, and I doubt he would be breathing if he hit my car.