What to do in the case of an accident (discussion)

After having been involved in an emergency in rural Germany today...I was wondering if any Germans on here might want to contribute to this: http://www.bikesberlin.com/discussion/87/what-to-do-in-an-emergency.

Would be good to have some of the key info from this thread but Germanised.....it's not the most active forum, but does get 100s of google search hits daily..so this would be a good resource.

Got knocked off by a double Decker bus last night - I was stationary at a junction, and the bus driver was 'flashed on' by another bus driver from the lane that was taking priority, as he was looking left, he didn't see me, and crushed me and my beloved 29er across the road. Rear wheel is out of true, but haven't been able to check the whole bike over yet. The driver CLAIMS that i undertook him, without any lights on, despite the fact that I was in front of him for at least 400 yards, and had an exposure MaxxD light on the front, and a large Knog Skink rear light (Both ON!). He was very rude and offensive towards me, and refused to give me his details, until he heard the sirens approaching.

Who shall I speak to first? I'm ok, but my knee does ache, and I know my bike will want a bit of work to it....

Contact Big Daddy Wayne.. Fella knows everything about run ins with Buses.. Then I guess ojeffcott..

Any witnesses? You'll want to get the CCTV from the bus in a hurry as well- although if Sparky's experience is anything to go by as soon as you ask for it the equipment will "develop an unidentified fault"...

In fact, I'd PM Sparky as well as BDW.

Contact Big Daddy Wayne.. Fella knows everything about run ins with Buses.. Then I guess ojeffcott..

Wayne's thread:

http://www.lfgss.com/thread53843.html

edit: just noted this isnt a rider down thread, sorry!

If you wish to make a claim and have a valid reason, from my experience it will take a while to be compensated. It was 3 years in my case after a lot of to-ing and fro-ing.

Good information. I'm taking my first trip to the UK soon with my bike. Thanks for the info.

This blog post http://blog.scrapperduncan.com/2011/12/21/advice-on-how-to-be-a-good-witness-in-court-in-england-wales/ would be a great addition to the first post, as it gives info on what to expect if your case gets to court.

It about how to behave to ensure that you give a good performance that means that your information comes across correctly, ensuring that you have the best chance of the truth coming out.

http://www.bikerumor.com/2012/01/30/project-24-2-review-road-ids-wrist-id-elite/

Looks like a good idea?

Any info about how to pursue an accident claim if you are injured and your bike is damaged as a result of a large pothole in the road ( suffered broken finger , sprained ankle and deeply cut face)

Put in a claim to the council straight away, with photos..

I bitterly regret not doing this when I rode into a trench in the dark in Camberwell and wrote off an incredibly expensive Campag rear mech which I had borrowed off a friend. Good luck..

My father way involved in a accident today with a car.
The car was going too close and quite a fast ,so my dad had to swerve into a fence. The bike was not damaged badly . The driver of the car took my dad to the hospital , but avoided giving his details.

As there must be cctv in the hospital would this be a possible way of identifying the driver.

As my dad left the bike as was, it was stolen when he came back to it.

I do not think there are anyone who witnessed the accident.

Unless it's totally outrageous like the guy getting knocked off by a bus as we've all seen on video - forget it. Claim compensation but don't expect the driver to be found at fault. 'I didn't see him/her' covers a lot of bases :0<

Go to hospital. make sure they are fully aware of any physical injuries. Go to your GP and record any mental injuries. Fear of getting back on the bike, cycling in traffic, maybe you're fearful of traffic acting erratically even when you're walking on the pavement? Reving engines make you nervous. etc. One thing's for sure - the driver won't get charged with anthing - dangerous driving, driving without due care and attention etc, it just doesn't happen if there's a bike involved. Good luck, hope you have a speedy recovery and get back in the saddle soon!!

Oh, and never, ever settle for the first offer. They'll go in at most with 1/3rd of what they think is reasonable settlement.

I'm planning to post a condensed version of this thread to my blog... does the stuff in the first comment still represent the best advice?

First post under bad circumstances,
cant remember his name on the forum and not sure if this is the right place for this but thanks very much to Mike on his way out west who stopped to check on me after i got doored by an AddLee cab outside the Ritz. Thanks for all the good advice and general kindess. any advice on what to do next complaints wise from anyone would be nice as i have no idea where to start!
LTTP

Sounds like Aroogah (Chris, turquoise Swinnerton LoPro), judging by what he told me when he got home. Hope you're ok, and not too bruised. Have a read of the first post of this thread for starters, ask for advice on this thread. Plenty peeps to help.

That sounds a lot more accurate than the name my slightly shaken brain came up with... Cheers for the advice and the correction and thanks again to Aroogah, really appreciate the help and I'll remember next time to write everything down, even names of the good samaritans!

No worries - I remembered Tom but not the forum name. Mike is my dad's name so not a bad guess really.

Glad that you made it home OK and that the you're alright. Ride safe and here's to meeting again under somewhat less stressful circumstances.

Alright: I'm a bit confused about police involvement in these things.

This afternoon I had a collision with a car, riding in a bus lane with stationary traffic to the side, car comes across to enter drive. I didn't have time or space to brake or swerve and next thing I know I'm sliding down the bonnet. Oddly, thinking about this thread kept me a lot calmer than I would have been. Anyway, driver pulls in, he rings the police who don't come because I'd not been injured (a few small scrapes). Anyway, despite the fact my forks are very bent, the driver is calmly irate about the scratches to his paint work "I'm going to have to replace the bonnet". In an adrenaline fuelled moment early on, I said sorry and said had insurance for this kind of thing and that we needed to get off the road. They rang 999, after talking to them for a bit he passed me the phone, the police wanted to know whether I needed an ambulance, I said I didnt and so they weren't going to get involved (my bad). We exchange details and they drive off to a local police station to do something because I said I wasn't going to accept liability. I then wanted to go report this, so tried to find the local police station so rang 101, explained the situation and they said "its for insurance companies to deal with because no one was injured". So... my question is, what am I meant to do with police, to report a crime do you have to go to a police station? Has their supposed reporting done it for enough or do I have to do it also?

an accident must be reported within 24 hours. find your local police station, pop in, wait ages to be seen, ask for a form, fill it in (takes ages) and hand it over.

I wonder if the forms are online anywhere, I'll see what I can find, its Met police form 966 you want I think

Edit

Forms and more details are here: http://content.met.police.uk/Article/Collision-forms-and-reports/1400005513174/1400005513174

it tells you what you need to do, I think form 206 from what they say on there. Form 966 is the one for when there are injuries

Dont worry, your £80 quid forks are bent , your not. It happens. Dont be arsed with the legal stuff it will only cost you. Live another day and move West

Incident:

Cyclist, with third party insurance through LCC, collides with stationary car at lights. Cyclist is 100% at fault, no question.

Car is damaged to the tune of approximately £500.

Driver gets quote for repairs.

Now what?

• Does the driver pay (out of his own pocket) for his repairs first, and then claim back off the cyclists' insurance company?
  
  

or

• Does the driver contact his insurance company, they pay for the repairs, and then they claim back off the cyclists insurance company?
  
  

or

• Does the cyclist pay for the damages (out of his own pocket), and then claim it back from his insurance company?
  
  

There was a small bit of info about this at #217 from Oliver but not enough info about the process about what happens next.