accident advice

[adam t]

My first post here so firstly, Hello all.

Just dropped in for some advice/opinion on how to approach a situation I'm faced with having been knocked off my bike this morning by a motorist.
He has accepted that the accident was his fault (he decided to turn right in front of me whilst driving in oncoming traffic!!). I went over the bonnet and am luckily unhurt however my carbon Zipp bars are now snapped clean in half. The guy agreed to pay for the damage but I just know he's not going to be able to comprehend the price of new carbon bars £100-£200?. I only paid £40 for them when planet X were having a clearout a few years back. I'd like the same or similar bars back but feel its a bit unfair for this chap being faced with a huge bill when I got them cheap. I get the impression he expects the total bill to be less than £50 or so and that he might end up getting funny about paying. I'll also need the wheels trued, bar tape, levers? and anything else that crops up so he could be looking at a considerable bill.

He seems like an honest guy and although he made a stupid driving error I feel a bit sorry for him and get the impression he's not loaded.

Am I being too compassionate here or should I expect my bike to be restored to the state it was in before I left for work this morning?

If anyone's been in a similar situation or got any views I'd appreciate some input.

Thanks, Adam

[NAF]

You should get the bike restored to how it was before the accident. It wasn't your fault and he should have insurance if he can't pay out of pocket.

I'd get the bike checked out by your local shop and take it from there.

[BeSpoke]

+1 take the bike to your LBS and get them to write a quote for repairing the bike. Give the driver a copy. If he quibbles, then take it up with his insurance company... (probably would be best to inform the police and your insurance company of the incident, assuming that you have a policy that covers for accidental damage). He is likely to have £200 or £300 excess on his insurance anyway and even if you don't have an insurance company to handle the claim for you, there are plenty of no win no fee legal outfits who would jump at the chance of taking on the case for you if it goes that far....

[Mostyn]

Yes, I agree with the above posts! You should have your bike checked over for any unseen damage and have it restored to how it was before the accident.

[buzz]

Beware of BC legal beagles if you are a member.
I had a bad 'off' almost 7 years ago, and just before it was up to court, BC's appointed legal 'experts' tried to settle out of court for £1500 on my behalf without even telling me - Reasons given were they were scared we would lose the case as I wasn't wearing a helmet, and because I didn't call the police at the time of the accident.

Now I would have thought the fact I was unconscious and being carted off to hospital in an ambulance with a gaping head wound would have been good reason for me not thinking of picking up the phone.... And as BC solicitors, why the hell were they being submissive to me not wearing a helmet and virtually accepting defeat? I found the whole thing distasteful and insulting, and it took them 3 years to get that far. Not wearing a helmet/not calling the rozzers could be interpreted as contributory negligence, apparently.

I binned them, went with a no-fee shark and got what I was entitled to within 18 months, we settled out of court for £7000+. That covered the damage to the bike, my clothing, loss of earnings and a wee bit for the permanent scar on my napper caused by the negligence of others.

If the guy doesn't want to go via insurance there might be a good reason for that - Either he doesn't have any, or he has a large excess on any claim. I would get the bike checked over as BeSpoke and NAF advise, and take it from there.

Were there witnesses? If so you should tell the guy you're reporting the whole thing to the police.

Oh, and if you need nice carbon bars, I have a spare set of bontrager race xxx lite 44's in the shed going spare.....!!!

Good luck!!!

[tepott]

I would say you should listen to all of the above replys.
It may also be worth getting yourself checked out by the doc as well. About 5 yrs ago i was involved in a 7 car pile up whilst my car was completly obliterated i managed to kick my way out of the car with the help of a few others and felt fine untill the the next morning at which point i found i was almost completly paralised with whiplash 12 weeks later i returned to work. I was later told my compensation had been reduced between 2 and 5 k because i haddent visited a+e or the doctors on the day of the accident

[ShropshireLad]

Only thing to add to the above is that you should record copious notes of everything, as quickly after each event as you are able. Dates & times on everything. Should it get to court, your case will be better supported if you can show the hard evidence that you have done so, and are also able to state that each note was recorded as contemporaneously as was possible.

[adam t]

Thanks for all the above advice,

As suggested I visited A&E straight after the accident, I'm a nurse and was on my way to work so that was no problem. I reported to the police within 24hrs and have a CAD ref. I also saw my GP just to cover every angle. Unfortunately I only have life and injury insurance so if the motorist gets funny I'll be looking at some kind of small claims affair over the bike, I don't think a few bruises will amount to an injury claim as well.

This guy has agreed to pay but where I can see the problem being is the cost of the repair if he doesn't want to go through his insurance company, fingers crossed he accepts the price of quality bike parts for what they are.

I asked a friend who owns a bike shop about my bars and he told me they aren't produced any more and now Zipp only make carbon bars with a 31.8mm clamp area. My bike is an early TCR with 1" threaded steerer and 25.4 clamp stem, so could be more cost involved there, the new version of my bar costs £229 in 31.8mm only.

Buzz, I may take you up on the Bontys if this guy wants to sort me out with cash to get it fixed. What clamp size are they and how much are you after for them? 44cm is my size.

Thanks again for all the advice from everyone, I've not been in this situation before but feel reassured and justified in demanding my bike gets sorted properly now.

Cheers guys, I'll let you know how it works out.

[buzz]

31.8mm, have a 110 stem to match if it's any use. just pm me if you want more info.

Yes, let us know how it goes - maybe a good idea to get the guy to deal with the bike shop direct, otherwise he could think you are trying to extrapilate some extra cash from him!

[adam t]

All sorted!
Went to a local bike shop this morning, let him choose which one (good advice Buzz). It just happens they specialize in high end racing kit. This guy got a shock when he saw their cheapest bike was £1700. Anyway I think they wanted to either cover every angle or they just saw pound signs because they quoted £400 upwards to replace the forks, stem, headset, bars, bartape and true the wheels. Well, I know it just needs new bars and the wheels trued, it's just that things are complicated by the old 25.4 and new 31.8mm bar situation.

So... we went outside the shop and I suggested he just buys me some new bars and gives me cash for the wheel truing and I'd get it sorted. 20 minutes later he'd ordered me a pair of 2012 S-Works carbon bars (£160) from the nearest Evans I got £20 cash to true the wheels, we shook hands and parted. I could have pushed to go with the £400+ quote but it would have meant going through insurance and I would be without the bike for a week or two. Also as I built the bike myself I'd rather do the repairs myself. I had a look through my spares boxes last night and found a quill to threadless adaptor and a few 31.8mm stems and about 8 different types of unused bartape so no problem (yes I'm a self confessed bike part hoarder).

I kind of feel I let him off a bit lightly but he was a nice guy and really the main thing is I wasn't hurt and also this way I'll save a lot of time dealing with insurance and can repair the bike straight away. Lucky it was my daily hack I was riding, if it was my weekend ride we would certainly be looking at insurance.

Anyway, it was unfortunate circumstances that brought me to this site but I'm glad I found it, I've been a CW reader since the late 80's and I'm sure I'll be back here soon.

Thanks again for all the advice guys, it paid off
Adam