motorcycle accident

[mcboi]

Hey fellas so this morning i was involved in a motorcycle accident thank god i wasnt seriously injured just some roadrash and some bruising and sprained back. But the crazy thing is i was rear-ended while starting to make a turn. I did everything correctly as i was trained to do when i took the MSF safety course i.e. used turn signal applied brake.... ect. I checked my mirror right before i initiated the turn and saw that i had plenty of room (the car behind me was about 150-200 feet behind) next thing i know im 10 feet in the air looking down @ the hood of this guys car. Cops show up and the other driver lied and said i was in the right lane and just suddenly veered over and he had no choice but to hit me. Total BS but the cop believed him because EMTs were busy loading my in to the ambulance as a precaution. To add insult to my injuries the cop isnt citing either of us @ fault but is saying the " I WAS DISTRACTED". im so furious right now its totally unbelievable. Apparently in okaloosa county if you ride a sport bike and get in an accident by default you are either @ fault, riding reckless, or distracted. So now i have to go to court and defend my innoncence merely because i was on a sportbike. Gotta love our justice system. In this case im guilty for nothing other than the fact i was on my way to work riding a sportbike. So much for innocent until proven guilty theory.

[guncrasher]

glad you are ok.  I believe what you are saying is right, but if you think about it from the cop's point of view.  no evidence whatsoever, so who is he supposed to believe?  I nearly killed a guy a few years ago in a bike who jumped into my lane to make a left turn.  had I hit him, i probably wouldda been in jail as he wouldda been dead.  I had no witnesses and I had had a couple of beers.  ever since then, i will not drive even with a "only one beer" excuse.

semp

[mcboi]

yea i understand he only has the driver of the car and past behaviors of sportbike riders to go on but being the victim and then having to defend yourself for doing absolutely nothing wrong is just mind boggling to me i havent had a speeding ticket or anything on my bike and ive had it for 4 years now it just burns the hell outta me that someone so in the wrong would bold-faced lie to the authorities to try and save his own tail. Im not one to sue people for mistakes only thing i care about is getting my bike back to running condition. It is unrideable right now, plus i have to pay $178 to get it out of the impound. 

[Dichotomy]

just out of curiosity were there any witnesses?

[mcboi]

and btw gun, the evidence is on the front of the guys car that is completely smashed in. if i had merely swerved into his lane like he is claiming there is no way the amount of damage would have incurred on his car.

[mcboi]

there was one guy in a bmw that had stopped but when they loaded me into the ambulance i guess he left. other than that no one else stopped. It was about 6:45am and everyone was on their way to work.

[Dichotomy]

it's possible to put something in the paper looking for witnesses.  It's a shot in the dark but might be worth it.

[ToeTag]

Yup,  Glad your ok too.....but, there is a reason bikers are refered to as organ donors.  It's not a matter of if you get hurt is a matter of when and how bad.  Everyone that I know that has had a sport bike (except one) has been seriously injured.  Every time I see a future gimp fly by at a 140 mph or popping a wheely on the highway I pray that he doesn't kill anyone else and then I call the cops.  Cops see it every day, people on bikes that think they can do anything with a little more throttle.  So yea they might be a little bias, but they are basing their judgment call on past experiences.

 

[Maverick]

. the cop isnt citing either of us .

Gotta love our justice system. In this case im guilty for nothing other than the fact i was on my way to work riding a sportbike. So much for innocent until proven guilty theory.

Sorry you got rear ended and I'm glad you did not get injured badly.

Exactly how are you "guilty" and have to go to court to prove your "innocence" if there were no citations to you? Typically you have to be cited first, which is the accusation, before you go to court to defend yourself. So far, in your statement, I have not seen anything to indicate you are going to court at all, guilty or otherwise.

[mcboi]

yea that is what the cop told me to try and put an ad in the paper to see if there are any witnesses. i understand that there are many bike riders that do ride retardedly but im not one of em nor should i be treated as one. i hate to say it but had i been on a cruiser of some sort i bet the accident report would be totally different.

[mcboi]

Sorry you got rear ended and I'm glad you did not get injured badly.

Exactly how are you "guilty" and have to go to court to prove your "innocence" if there were no citations to you? Typically you have to be cited first, which is the accusation, before you go to court to defend yourself. So far, in your statement, I have not seen anything to indicate you are going to court at all, guilty or otherwise.

i will now have to go to court because im sure the guy driving the car will try to get me to pay for the damages on his car

[SmokinLoon]

You can do nothing about the car driver getting charged.  You can however, get the process going to get your medical bills taken care of and your bike fixed.  Let the insurance companies fight it out.  

Good to hear you are OK.  

This process will take longer than you realize.

Best of luck.  

[Belial]

I had a similar accident in 06' I was rear ended when slowing to turn left into work.  I ended up sliding under his truck a 100' or so...had alot of injuries.

The reason nobody got a ticket yet is probably because he didn't get your story yet...if they don't call, call them.  The bike should get fixed if you had the proper insurance on it " your insurance will pay for it not his"

You shouldn't have to go to court if you weren't cited, he will most likely get careless driving.

If your back turns out to be more than sprained like mine was get a lawyer. "i had a herniated disc from it"

I'm just now getting money from his insurance company for my injuries and it's now 2011, long process.

Hope you fair better than I did as I have permanent back pain now.  

[Delirium]

Get an attorney; there are plenty of attorneys out there that specialize in motorcycle accidents, particularly when it isn't the riders fault.

[mcboi]

I had a similar accident in 06' I was rear ended when slowing to turn left into work.  I ended up sliding under his truck a 100' or so...had alot of injuries.

The reason nobody got a ticket yet is probably because he didn't get your story yet...if they don't call, call them.  The bike should get fixed if you had the proper insurance on it " your insurance will pay for it not his"

You shouldn't have to go to court if you weren't cited, he will most likely get careless driving.

If your back turns out to be more than sprained like mine was get a lawyer. "i had a herniated disc from it"

I'm just now getting money from his insurance company for my injuries and it's now 2011, long process.

Hope you fair better than I did as I have permanent back pain now.  

Yea my main concern is getting my bike back in running order but the cop told me as i was in the ER that he was goin to cite me with reckless driving but obviously didnt have the evidence because it never happened ive got to go meet with my lawyer soon maybe he will be able to come up with something