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I've actually been involved in a collision with a vehicle while cycling where this happened. The vehicle turned right (without a turn signal), cutting me off, a

I've actually been involved in a collision with a vehicle while cycling where this happened. The vehicle turned right (without a turn signal), cutting me off, and I slammed into the side of it because I couldn't brake fast enough. I biked away with nothing but a large, painful bruise (and the car was dented), but this is definitely one of the more likely causes of collisions between bikes and vehicles.

djsumdog 10y ago
Same here. I had a green light, the driver even passed me, the crosswalk had a green man on it and she still cut me off. She even admitted fault to me and the police officer. The worst part was dealing with the insurance company. If this happens to you, get a lawyer and never talk to the insurance directly on the phone. Also get all the witnesses names and numbers if you can. The insurance adjuster claimed she couldn't get in touch with the cop (I couldn't either). If you're not in a car that has your own insurance backing it, they'll fuck you over. I barely got enough money to cover my medical bills. I didn't get enough to cover all the bike damage, and had to buy used/mismatched parts to get it ridable again.
- mynewtb 10y ago
  You can drive a car without insurance in the US? That sounds crazy irresponsible...
  - quanticle 10y ago
    It's illegal, but people do it.
  - eximius 10y ago
    You cannot. All cars must have liability insurance covering anyone you hit. You are not required to have coverage of your own vehicle (unless you lease or something). It sounds like he is talking about the latter.
    - jpitz 10y ago
      There are states where you are not required to carry insurance.
      - norgie 10y ago
        Please name one.
        areyousure 10y ago
        Based on my research (conducted now, without fact-checking), there might be one (NH) or three depending on your definition: New Hampshire: requires a driver to provide proof that they can cover 25/50/25 in standard insurance speak (after being found at fault in an accident, I think). Virginia: allows a driver to pay the state a $500/year fee instead. Mississippi: allows a driver to post cash or bond.
  - deleted 10y ago
    [deleted]
  - pre4646744 10y ago
    No. I've known people arrested for that. I'll drive with an expired license, an expired registration but never without insurance. It is just such a stupid thing to do.
    - DanBC 10y ago
      Are you insured if you don't have valid registration or licence?
      - selectodude 10y ago
        The VIN plate is what is insured. The rest of it builds off the insurance. You need insurance on a car to register it. You need a registered, insured car to get a drivers license. The insurance company will pay out, however you will be dropped immediately after and possibly sued.
        areyousure 10y ago
        My understanding is that only one state (North Carolina) requires auto insurance to get a drivers license. I can offer the anecdote that you can get a drivers license in California by taking the exam in a rented car. Presumably you can borrow a registered, insured car (from a friend, say) in nearly every state?
        selectodude 10y ago
        Of course you can. And to the point, the rental car is insured by a company with no driver license.
  - prawn 10y ago
    I think they're saying that they and their bike were not insured. The driver was insured and should have paid out given the driver as at, and admitted, fault, but that the insurer gave them a difficult time as they didn't have professional representation (lawyer or own insurer).
  - cmurf 10y ago
    He's saying as a bicyclist without insurance, he has no advocate with the insurance company. If he were in a car (and thus insured as required by law) then his insurance company would duke out a settlement with the other driver's insurance company. If you're just a Joe talking to someone's insurance company you're gonna get the short end.
  - duskwuff 10y ago
    djsumdog was riding a bicycle, which does not typically have insurance associated with it.
  - vertex-four 10y ago
    No, but you can ride a bike without insurance, and then you have to either get a lawyer or navigate contacting the driver's insurance company yourself if you get into an accident. Since insurance companies are used to defending themselves aggressively against other insurance companies, as an individual going against them, you're in trouble.
  - robterrell 10y ago
    Not the poster but how I read it: the car driver had insurance; he was on a bike. In the US, in the event of two-car collisions the drivers will contact their insurance carries, and the insurance companies talk to each other to negotiate the settlement. Since he had to negotiate with the insurance company himself, and he had zero leverage.
stanleydrew 10y ago
I ride my bike both ways to work and have seen this happen a couple of times in front of me, though I haven't experienced it personally. This may be controversial, but I think bikers should be more cautious when approaching intersections where a right turn is possible from an automobile traveling at about the same speed immediately off their left shoulder. Yes, I understand that cars are supposed to signal, and when they don't they are creating a dangerous situation. And they are supposed to merge into the bike lane before turning in order to block off cyclists from getting themselves into this exact situation. But they don't. So cyclists should learn to look out for the signs of a possible right turn (drifting rightwards upon intersection approach is a pretty clear indicator) and be safe. Don't approach an intersection at speed in the blind spot of an automobile that might turn right. Just slow down a little.
- tyrust 10y ago
  Agreed. This falls under the general rule of always assuming a car could perform any action (even if it's wrong or illegal) and making sure that you aren't in the way of it doing so. Err on the side of your own safety, even if you have to slow down to do it.
- user5994461 10y ago
  > This may be controversial, but I think bikers should be more cautious when approaching intersections where a right turn is possible from an automobile traveling at about the same speed immediately off their left shoulder. Depending on the exact position, that's a dead angle. The driver will NEVER see the bicycle. The bicycle MUST stop if he knows the car is turning or he's going to guaranteed collision. Just sayin'
- MereInterest 10y ago
  I think that bikers should be more cautious, but I would be really careful about applying the blame on bikers. The difference between "taking actions leading to an accident" and "being responsible for an accident". Both the driver and the biker in this case have led to the accident, but only the driver is morally responsible.
- jakobegger 10y ago

djsumdog 10y ago

Same here. I had a green light, the driver even passed me, the crosswalk had a green man on it and she still cut me off. She even admitted fault to me and the police officer. The worst part was dealing with the insurance company. If this happens to you, get a lawyer and never talk to the insurance directly on the phone. Also get all the witnesses names and numbers if you can. The insurance adjuster claimed she couldn't get in touch with the cop (I couldn't either). If you're not in a car that has your own insurance backing it, they'll fuck you over. I barely got enough money to cover my medical bills. I didn't get enough to cover all the bike damage, and had to buy used/mismatched parts to get it ridable again.

mynewtb 10y ago
You can drive a car without insurance in the US? That sounds crazy irresponsible...
- quanticle 10y ago
  It's illegal, but people do it.
- eximius 10y ago
  You cannot. All cars must have liability insurance covering anyone you hit. You are not required to have coverage of your own vehicle (unless you lease or something). It sounds like he is talking about the latter.
  - jpitz 10y ago
    There are states where you are not required to carry insurance.
    - norgie 10y ago
      Please name one.
      - areyousure 10y ago
        Based on my research (conducted now, without fact-checking), there might be one (NH) or three depending on your definition: New Hampshire: requires a driver to provide proof that they can cover 25/50/25 in standard insurance speak (after being found at fault in an accident, I think). Virginia: allows a driver to pay the state a $500/year fee instead. Mississippi: allows a driver to post cash or bond.
- deleted 10y ago
  [deleted]
- pre4646744 10y ago
  No. I've known people arrested for that. I'll drive with an expired license, an expired registration but never without insurance. It is just such a stupid thing to do.
  - DanBC 10y ago
    Are you insured if you don't have valid registration or licence?
    - selectodude 10y ago
      The VIN plate is what is insured. The rest of it builds off the insurance. You need insurance on a car to register it. You need a registered, insured car to get a drivers license. The insurance company will pay out, however you will be dropped immediately after and possibly sued.
      - areyousure 10y ago
        My understanding is that only one state (North Carolina) requires auto insurance to get a drivers license. I can offer the anecdote that you can get a drivers license in California by taking the exam in a rented car. Presumably you can borrow a registered, insured car (from a friend, say) in nearly every state?
        selectodude 10y ago
        Of course you can. And to the point, the rental car is insured by a company with no driver license.
- prawn 10y ago
  I think they're saying that they and their bike were not insured. The driver was insured and should have paid out given the driver as at, and admitted, fault, but that the insurer gave them a difficult time as they didn't have professional representation (lawyer or own insurer).
- cmurf 10y ago
  He's saying as a bicyclist without insurance, he has no advocate with the insurance company. If he were in a car (and thus insured as required by law) then his insurance company would duke out a settlement with the other driver's insurance company. If you're just a Joe talking to someone's insurance company you're gonna get the short end.
- duskwuff 10y ago
  djsumdog was riding a bicycle, which does not typically have insurance associated with it.
- vertex-four 10y ago
  No, but you can ride a bike without insurance, and then you have to either get a lawyer or navigate contacting the driver's insurance company yourself if you get into an accident. Since insurance companies are used to defending themselves aggressively against other insurance companies, as an individual going against them, you're in trouble.
- robterrell 10y ago
  Not the poster but how I read it: the car driver had insurance; he was on a bike. In the US, in the event of two-car collisions the drivers will contact their insurance carries, and the insurance companies talk to each other to negotiate the settlement. Since he had to negotiate with the insurance company himself, and he had zero leverage.

stanleydrew 10y ago

I ride my bike both ways to work and have seen this happen a couple of times in front of me, though I haven't experienced it personally. This may be controversial, but I think bikers should be more cautious when approaching intersections where a right turn is possible from an automobile traveling at about the same speed immediately off their left shoulder. Yes, I understand that cars are supposed to signal, and when they don't they are creating a dangerous situation. And they are supposed to merge into the bike lane before turning in order to block off cyclists from getting themselves into this exact situation. But they don't. So cyclists should learn to look out for the signs of a possible right turn (drifting rightwards upon intersection approach is a pretty clear indicator) and be safe. Don't approach an intersection at speed in the blind spot of an automobile that might turn right. Just slow down a little.

tyrust 10y ago
Agreed. This falls under the general rule of always assuming a car could perform any action (even if it's wrong or illegal) and making sure that you aren't in the way of it doing so. Err on the side of your own safety, even if you have to slow down to do it.
user5994461 10y ago
> This may be controversial, but I think bikers should be more cautious when approaching intersections where a right turn is possible from an automobile traveling at about the same speed immediately off their left shoulder. Depending on the exact position, that's a dead angle. The driver will NEVER see the bicycle. The bicycle MUST stop if he knows the car is turning or he's going to guaranteed collision. Just sayin'
MereInterest 10y ago
I think that bikers should be more cautious, but I would be really careful about applying the blame on bikers. The difference between "taking actions leading to an accident" and "being responsible for an accident". Both the driver and the biker in this case have led to the accident, but only the driver is morally responsible.
jakobegger 10y ago