just had a near-miss

[DeathBrewer]

NOW i understand what that means...

I went to make a u-turn at one of my favorite liquor stores after voting today and i see a sportbike flying at me. i hit the brakes and he panics, hitting the brakes himself. he wasn't able to control the bike and he swerved around a bit before crashing right in front of and to the left of my car.

there was no collision with my car and no one was hurt. the bike was scraped up a bit, but i don't think there was any serious damage (might be expensive, but not serious.)

two cops just happened to be across the street and helped us get out of the road and had us exchange info.

we traded information and i'm going to call both insurance companies first thing in the morning (should i call them now?)

i felt bad for the guy...his bike was a little messed up. he was friendly, but a little upset about that. i'm wondering, tho...can i possibly be held liable for any of this?

only the nose of my car was in the intersection. he had plenty of time to maneuver right through or even switch lanes (but he was afraid i was pulling out.) he probably could have even stopped, but i imagine he was going pretty fast...he came right up on me.

what do ya think? any chance this will come back to haunt me? i'd fight it, for sure (as i'm sure my insurance company will) but what are the chances i even need to worry about it?

 

[blacklab]

is it legal to make a u turn there?

 

[bradsul]

You should have taken the opportunity to ask the officers, if they witnessed they may have been able to tell you if it was your fault or not. From my own experience (and no offense intended to any sport bike owners on HBT!) but the people riding the sport bikes are ALWAYS speeding. I've never seen one even pretending to obey the law aside from actually being ON the road.

Technically he had the right of way (I assume he was in the oncoming lane) so you were probably the cause of the accident legally. I would definitely call and find out if for no other reason than to get your account of what happened on the record with your insurance company.

 

[olllllo]

Didn't he realize he was dealing with Death?

 

[Hopleaf]

I was walking in a park with my pregnant wife and one of those guys almost hit us.. he was FLYING.. I wasn't pleased to say the least

 

[Elshauno]

My friend was in similiar situation only he go hit He made a left in front of some guy doing 80 and got tossed around his truck. But he was cited for failure to yield. Depending on the officers discretion you will be cited or he will be cited for failure to control. Speeding usually cant be proven unless they got him on radar. Hope that helps

 

[jas0420]

If you didn't get a ticket from it and police were right there, I'd think that you probably have a good argument of it being no-fault.... Your two insurance companies will most likely put up a fight with one another, but I doubt you'll ever hear anything of it. I say this from past experiences only, not professionaly!

 

[shafferpilot]

That's the advantage/disadvantage to living is an "at-fault" state. In Ohio, someone gets a ticket no matter what. That person is the one responsible. period. If your state allows for partial fault, I'd guess that you two will be splitting the bill 50/50. Regardless of his speeding, you weren't paying close enough attention to traffic. So if you ask me it's a wash. I'm just glad no one got hurt. BTW I ride, but I also run out in the street to yell at the a-holes who live at the end of the block who seem to think my 25mph street is their private drag stip.

 

[Bobby_M]

and that my friend was a near HIT. If it was a near miss, your paint would be smudged. Hehe, that's a Carlin reference if you didn't pick up on it.

 

[DeathBrewer]

Didn't he realize he was dealing with Death?

apparently he didn't have time to see this sticker on the car:

or maybe he did know and that's what frightened him so :cross:

i should have talked to the cop, but dude was right there and in my previous experience it's always best to let the insurance companies handle it and just stay in contact with them.

the cop even asked me if there was a collision. i told him he never touched my car. i thought later that i should have gotten the cops' names. to tell you the truth, i just wanted to make sure dude was ok and then i went to get my brew (lovely Altenmunster Winterbier Dopplebock right now) and have a relaxing smoke.

a friend told me that if there is no collision, then his insurance has to cover it. hope he's right.

 

[DeathBrewer]

and that my friend was a near HIT. If it was a near miss, your paint would be smudged. Hehe, that's a Carlin reference if you didn't pick up on it.

lol, no, it was a "near-miss" for the biker, cuz he still hit the concrete.

 

[DeathBrewer]

is it legal to make a u turn there?

yes it is. i am actually a very conservative driver and mindful of the law...i did NOT see this guy coming until it was too late for him to stop. he was definitely going too fast.

 

[Logan]

Assuming he did try to collect from you theres a few things to consider in terms of negligence. Some states will say his own negligence makes it impossible to recover. Others will say that you guys split the liability. Its really impossible to say though without knowing every single detail and being a lawyer in your state though.

 

[Mustangj]

Was any part of your car in his lane?

 

[DeathBrewer]

yes, i was getting ready to turn when we saw each other and i was partially in his lane. not enough to block him cuz i stopped, but he THOUGHT i was turning.

 

[Mustangj]

In MI you would be at falt. Becouse you entered his lane and he has the right away.

 

[PeteOz77]

the people riding the sport bikes are ALWAYS speeding. I've never seen one even pretending to obey the law aside from actually being ON the road..

I resent the implication.. or should I say I resemble that remark?

When I rode sport bikes in my youth I ALWAYS obeyed EVERY LAW (of physics)

Seriously tho.. you are right most of these idiots drive like they are on a race track...

 

[DeathBrewer]

In MI you would be at falt. Becouse you entered his lane and he has the right away.

i don't think it's the same here. i think i would be at fault if he hit me, but since he completely missed me and wiped out its his fault.

i'll be sure to post whatever happens...

 

[shafferpilot]

Could be tricky. Be very careful with what you tell the insurance people. And don't call his insurance company at all. Let your company handle all communication.

 

[z987k]

Hard one to call. I know what was going through his mind though... I ride and I always check every intersection, whether I have a green light or not. Every other driver on the road is out to kill you.... Not that your at fault (well I don't know really), it's just we're hard to see.

I've had a lot of cars turning right on red and had to react very quickly to avoid hitting them.

 

[joejaz]

Did you get a police report. I don't know how things are in California but in Jersey common procedure is to get a police report for your insurance and that will carry some weight as to how the police write it up. I believe in Jersey and I could be wrong, it's illegal to make a u turn, so find out what your laws are. No tickets were given, so that's good.

 

[Sir Humpsalot]

I've been biting my tongue on this thread for awhile, but now I think I'll toss out a few thoughts on this.

I had a professor in college who said that the best device to reduce the number of accidents on the road would be a huge steel spike right in the middle of every steering wheel. Think about it. If you did that, who would ever drive like an idiot? Well, metaphorically speaking, motorcyclists are the guys with the steel spikes on their steering wheels. And motorcyclists are also the idiots who think that it's fun. Yes, their a weird sort, but generally speaking, they all operate their vehicles with far more respect and knowledge for their vehicles' capabilities than the average driver.

Next, motorcycles are consistently estimated to be traveling faster than they actually are. An untrained motorist will hear the high pitched whine of an I4 with an aftermarket exhaust pulling 11,000 RPM and think they dang thing is doing 65-70 mph when its actual speed is closer to 45. Even at 6,000 RPM at 30mph, they're still making a lot of noise. Those engines really rev!. And the smaller size of the bike and higher noise output contributes to the perception that it's coming up upon you faster than it is.

Next, mirrors. 90% of drivers don't use them correctly, don't use them enough, and don't even have them adjusted properly. Hint: If your car has a "blindspot", then your mirrors are mis-adjusted. Also, if you can, at any angle, see the side of your car in your mirror, then your mirrors are misadjusted. Think about it. What the hell good does seeing the side of your car do you? Are you worried about gremlins? The side view mirrors should be focused on the other lanes, not directly alongside your car. Most peoples' side-view mirrors are WAY too rearward-facing and that results in them depending on them instead of their rear-view mirror and often the view from the improperly-adjusted side-view mirror is insufficient to get a good view behind you.

Next, what most drivers don't appreciate is the fact that a slow sport motorcycle, accelerating slowly, is still quicker than any car you can buy for 5 figures. It's not necessarily that they are fast and reckless, it's just that the performance capabilities are just in another world... imagine your mom's toyota corolla in the middle of the Indy 500. An Indy car, taking it easy on a paced lap would sure look fast and dangerous to your mother in her Corolla, don't you think? When you are around a sportbike, that's pretty much what you've got... it only seems reckless because you don't appreciate the performance disparity. An Indy car accelerating to 60mph in 5 seconds is extremely slow. Ditto for the sport bike. For the Corolla, accelerating to 60 in twice that amount of time would seem to be pretty brisk...

Next, guys on crotch rockets are always speeding. But guess what. So are soccer moms. Everybody selects a certain number of miles per hour above the speed limit and they stick to it. For a lot of folks it's "five over on residential, 10 over on the freeway". They think that kind of speeding is ok because that's what they think is safe for them. As Carlin said, there's two types of drivers on the road- idiots and ********. The idiots are the ones going faster than you and the ******** are the ones going slower. As I see it though, instead of labeling everybody as an idiot or *******, why don't we accept that each person selects what they determine to be a reasonable speed based on a variety of factors and each persons factors are different.

Another thought... the anatomical blind spot. In the center of your eye is a blind spot. IIRC, it can hide a quarter at a distant of 3 feet. We never notice the blind spot because we have two eyes working in tandem and our brain fills in the rest. However, when one eye is partially blocked, or when only looking out of one eye, we are susceptible to the blind spot. What happens is that we only look with one eye. There is something in the blind spot, but our brain fills in the details. As a result, we do not see what we were looking for. The bottom line is this. If something, such as a side-view mirror, is worth looking at at all, then it's worth looking at using both eyes. Otherwise, there's no telling what you are missing.

 

[tbulger]

Where i come from you would be at fault for the cause of a non contact collision, and/or preceding from a traffic signal w/o caution or exiting a parkinglot, driveway or alley way. I would suggest making you first contact with your insurance agent, they should help you explain what happned the best way without implicating you and they should know the details of your states policy.

 

[beergears]

+ 1 on what Sir Humpsalot said. Also the typical "I did not see him/her" from drivers. And don't rely entirely on eye contact either, BTDT.

I have to add that few unruly motorcyclists make it difficult for the rest of us.

Motorcyclists: when a car is just about to pull out from stopped position (parking exit, etc), always try to see if the car wheels move, even a tiny amount; it is proven that most drivers "inch up" a second or so before launching into traffic.

 

[Bedlam]

Motorcyclists: when a car is just about to pull out from stopped position (parking exit, etc), always try to see if the car wheels move, even a tiny amount; it is proven that most drivers "inch up" a second or so before launching into traffic.

Which is why, as a motorcyclist, I HATES those stupid #$*&! "spinner" rims.

Oh, and I also get VERY tired of people saying "I didn't see him." You know what? 80% of people who hit firetrucks say the same thing. Why don't you see me? Because you're too busy yakkin' on your cell phone, screwing around with the radio, or swatting at your kids. Distracted drivers are the bane of my existence. And the bigger the SUV, the worse they are, as a rule. It is, in general, a "I'm-more-important-than-you" attitude. You know what I'm talking about.

I have no idea about this particular accident, if the guy was speeding or not. But I'll tell you, speeding or not, I'd grab some serious brakes, too, if someone was pulling a u-ey and had his nose in my lane. (Difference being, #1 I probably wouldn't be speeding in any traffic'd or commercial area and #2 My brakes are well-maintained, anti-lock, servo-assisted. I can stop on a dime and, being that my husband's Jewish, pick it up.)

True, some motorcyclists end up being the rotten apples that ruin the barrel. Just remember that for every one you see doing stupid things, there are dozens of us who ride responsibly--that wear all the gear, obey the laws and try to be examples to teach responsible riding to the others.

 

[Bernie Brewer]

As someone that rides a motorcycle, I have seen both sides of the equation. I have been on my bike and have had auto drivers cut me off because they weren't looking of bikes, I have had auto drivers try and squeeze into my lane (cuz there's plenty of room, right? ), all kinds of stuff.

Conversely I have seen motorcyclists (almost always crotch-rocket drivers, of which I am NOT one) speeding and weaving in and out of traffic like they were bulletproof and above the law.

It's all about being aware, and being responsible, no matter how many wheels are under you.

 

[beergears]

Bedlam said: "Oh, and I also get VERY tired of people saying "I didn't see him." You know what? 80% of people who hit firetrucks say the same thing."

A few studies have been done, a few factors at work.
One of them is some sort of "selective viewing" (forget details).
Another is the "familiar road" effect, where unusual elements are not being noticed by the brain... it assumes it's the same pattern every day! Some excellent drivers were tested on that, and results were astounding: for some, major stuff never registered!

.

 

[z987k]

After reading this again, I think you would be at fault. Regardless of if he was speeding, you failed to yield, didn't see him and pulled out into his lane. The fact that you didn't get a ticket was lucky.

I'd defiantly not call his insurance, but do call your own to see what happens next.

 

[Joker]

I see a fine line here.

Didn't you say you started into the lane but where not blocking it?

 

[janzik]

NOW i understand what that means...

I went to make a u-turn at one of my favorite liquor stores after voting today and i see a sportbike flying at me. i hit the brakes and he panics, hitting the brakes himself. he wasn't able to control the bike and he swerved around a bit before crashing right in front of and to the left of my car.

there was no collision with my car and no one was hurt. the bike was scraped up a bit, but i don't think there was any serious damage (might be expensive, but not serious.)

two cops just happened to be across the street and helped us get out of the road and had us exchange info.

we traded information and i'm going to call both insurance companies first thing in the morning (should i call them now?)

i felt bad for the guy...his bike was a little messed up. he was friendly, but a little upset about that. i'm wondering, tho...can i possibly be held liable for any of this?

only the nose of my car was in the intersection. he had plenty of time to maneuver right through or even switch lanes (but he was afraid i was pulling out.) he probably could have even stopped, but i imagine he was going pretty fast...he came right up on me.

what do ya think? any chance this will come back to haunt me? i'd fight it, for sure (as i'm sure my insurance company will) but what are the chances i even need to worry about it?

I had something similar happen to me a few years back (I was driving my mid sized SUV and it was a compact SUV that hit me). The police officer said it was my fault (I was making a left turn at a T intersection and was inched out and was literally there for more than a minute or two waiting for the traffic coming from the right to clear and I was hit coming from the left by someone who just never stopped). The officer said he wouldn't give me a ticket, but the accident went against my insurance (not sure how the whole points thing worked out, but it was noted on my premium that there was an incident). What I got out of what the officer was telling me was that even though she had more than enough time to stop (I was probably hit at less than 15 miles an hour and she never even hit the brakes until after we hit) it was still my fault because I was blocking her way. I'm not sure how that plays out in CA, but that's how it went for me in NJ.