Semi-retired Posted April 9, 2015 #26 Posted April 9, 2015 Hey, Michael! A little update on the info from one of my other copper buds: He says that in some jurisdictions in the US (namely Florida for sure is the one he referred to specifically) it IS the responsibility of an "overtaking" driver to not hit someone driving/turning in front of them.......even if/when it appears (to all sensible folks) that the "turning vehicle" should be "making sure" things are safe before he changes direction. This is, of course, contrary to what I told you about Ontario Canada (and many US States) laws where the driver CHANGING DIRECTION is ALWAYS at fault. So, you'll wanna check that fine detail in the Nebraska Highway Traffic Act/Code and see WHO HAS responsibility in a case like that. The other, even FINER point on this "might" hinge entirely on whether or not the kid WAS moving down the road......that is....."under way" before you two collided......vs him just PULLING OUT. That might be "where the rubber meets the road" as far as attributing blame goes. (Your story may have to be "adjusted accordingly".......as it appears the kid is doing every half hour or so!!) Anybody on this forum familiar with that aspect of the traffic code in this state.....or any other state? (SOMEbody must have gotten clocked in a situation like this before?? Who was blamed? Prairiehammer.......how about you? I can't remember the EXACT details of your mishap, but it was a car making an illegal move, wasn't it?)
Prairiehammer Posted April 9, 2015 #27 Posted April 9, 2015 Prairiehammer.......how about you? I can't remember the EXACT details of your mishap, but it was a car making an illegal move, wasn't it?) The Ohio cage driver in our case was charged with "improper lane change"; he abruptly moved from the right lane of a four lane limited access highway to the left lane, where we were.
utadventure Posted April 9, 2015 #28 Posted April 9, 2015 Michael- Sorry about your accident. I hope you heal quickly!! Though I might chime in about getting the old gal back on the road..... Your forks might not be bent. You may have twisted the triple trees out of alignment causing the pull to one side. The lack of balanced fluid in the front forks may do the same thing. If you don't want to rebuild the anti-dive, now could be a good time to put on the block off plates and add Progressive Springs (I love mine) I have some parts off of an '86 (including the frame/rebuilt title though), turn signals, front fender and I'm pretty sure I have the radiator. You're welcome to help me clean out the shed a little. The colors won't match but can be painted! Hope to see that you and the bike are back in riding form soon. Dave
cowpuc Posted April 9, 2015 #29 Posted April 9, 2015 We got a law (at least according to the Judge in Muskegon but never really know about him - he is known for writing his own laws in "his" courtroom) in Michigan that is pretty simple - if you hit someone in the rear end its automatically your fault.. It kind of sounds similar to what Michael is talking about. In our area, if you are involved in a 30 car pile up, the State fairs pretty good cause anyone who nails the car in front of them has to pay a fine.. This kind of stuff is the very reason that I mentioned hoping you could keep this out of the court system Sys - experience has shown me over and over again that the only ones who really come out ok thru the courts are the Judges/Lawyers and other Public servants who make a good living off those fee's and fine's.. Sorry to hear this accident had to turn this direction and I truly hope it all works out for you!!
KIC Posted April 10, 2015 #30 Posted April 10, 2015 In the daylight drive to the same spot and look at the houses around there and see if anybody has a video camera system in front of their house. It is becoming more common to have external video tied into their security system. Just a thought.
Venture n Dixie Posted April 10, 2015 #31 Posted April 10, 2015 I hate liars, especially when their lies cause me trouble. My agent says that they have to back me up if it goes to court but this is looking difficult now. Let's play poker here. I bet the kid & dad haven't told their insurance company he was delivering pizza. They seem to be flexible with the facts. If I win you owe me a ride on your BRAND SPANKIN NEW BIKE because the way I was told by my agent, "I risk losing everything if my kid wrecks an "uninsured delivery vehicle." If I loose I guess I'll send my kid up there to deliver pizza! Please post lots of pictures of your boo boo, the bike & the scene of the crime.
Venture n Dixie Posted April 10, 2015 #32 Posted April 10, 2015 I forgot to mention. At this point you probably should not speak to the kid or dad ever again. Nothing you say to them will benefit you in ANY way! I'm not a lawyer so if I'm wrong somebody please tell the other side.
Motiv Posted April 10, 2015 #33 Posted April 10, 2015 (edited) Hey Syscrusher, sorry to hear about your incident. Glad your not seriously injured. I don't usually don't voice my opinions on such matters and I am by no means a lawyer but this is how most likely it will go down. The boy that turned in front of you will claim that you passed him on his left and he didn't even see you coming (coached by parents most likely to save his insurance record). Unless you have a witness or video backing up your version of events it will be your word against his, actually you are lucky that you didn't get cited. As far as the insurance company is concerned, they know the likelihood of how this would all play out in court and they can and will make a determination who is at fault since no one got cited and that determination will be based on how they lose less money, your insurance may end up paying for his damages and you may end up paying higher rates. (operative word is MAY). If it were me I would first make 100% sure my injures are superficial then I would make nice with the father to cover as much for the bike as possible and cover your health care deductible because you may end up with a junk bike and higher rates. So sorry this is not what you wanted to hear but unfortunately this is the world we now live in. I have been through a similar scenario and lost. Just my Hope it works out for you. Edited April 10, 2015 by Motiv
syscrusher Posted April 10, 2015 Author #34 Posted April 10, 2015 We got a law (at least according to the Judge in Muskegon but never really know about him - he is known for writing his own laws in "his" courtroom) in Michigan that is pretty simple - if you hit someone in the rear end its automatically your fault.. It kind of sounds similar to what Michael is talking about. I didn't rear-end him, my anti-dive unit tore a hole in his driver side door after a virtually broadside impact. I realize that he was actually trying to do a U-turn in front of me and he did it really fast. He had to have punched the gas to move to where he was in the time I approached him. Before that he may have been slowly crawling along at the curb, I'm not sure of whether there was "some" movement out of him but he started from the curb and I was in the lane itself.
syscrusher Posted April 10, 2015 Author #35 Posted April 10, 2015 Hey Syscrusher, sorry to hear about your incident. Glad your not seriously injured. I don't usually don't voice my opinions on such matters and I am by no means a lawyer but this is how most likely it will go down. The boy that turned in front of you will claim that you passed him on his left and he didn't even see you coming (coached by parents most likely to save his insurance record). Unless you have a witness or video backing up your version of events it will be your word against his, actually you are lucky that you didn't get cited. As far as the insurance company is concerned, they know the likelihood of how this would all play out in court and they can and will make a determination who is at fault since no one got cited and that determination will be based on how they lose less money, your insurance may end up paying for his damages and you may end up paying higher rates. (operative word is MAY). If it were me I would first make 100% sure my injures are superficial then I would make nice with the father to cover as much for the bike as possible and cover your health care deductible because you may end up with a junk bike and higher rates. So sorry this is not what you wanted to hear but unfortunately this is the world we now live in. I have been through a similar scenario and lost. Just my Hope it works out for you. If you are right then everyone needs to slam on their brakes as soon as they detect that someone may try to merge into their lane. That can't be how the law works. If it is I need to work on changing that. If he's telling the truth he should be able to pass a polygraph. If he can't pass there's more reason to believe my side of it. If he refuses that should be good reason to suspect he's lying. If the insurance companies won't pay for polygraphs then they're just playing games with my premiums.
syscrusher Posted April 10, 2015 Author #36 Posted April 10, 2015 Michael- Sorry about your accident. I hope you heal quickly!! Though I might chime in about getting the old gal back on the road..... Your forks might not be bent. You may have twisted the triple trees out of alignment causing the pull to one side. The lack of balanced fluid in the front forks may do the same thing. If you don't want to rebuild the anti-dive, now could be a good time to put on the block off plates and add Progressive Springs (I love mine) I have some parts off of an '86 (including the frame/rebuilt title though), turn signals, front fender and I'm pretty sure I have the radiator. You're welcome to help me clean out the shed a little. The colors won't match but can be painted! Hope to see that you and the bike are back in riding form soon. Dave I appreciate the good thoughts and a very nice offer. I'm not ready to make a move yet and I'm afraid that if the frame is badly bent I probably won't go as far as trying to swap motors, but I may ask you about that radiator later on if you've seen it.
syscrusher Posted April 10, 2015 Author #37 Posted April 10, 2015 Please post lots of pictures of your boo boo, the bike & the scene of the crime. You got it! My big swelled up leg. The way vehicles ended up after impact. A couple tries for photo of the hole in the door. Last two are some of the front of the bike. The real functional damage is worse than this looks. My leg looks more pitiful every day. [ATTACH=CONFIG]98656[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]98657[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=CONFIG]98658[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]98659[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=CONFIG]98660[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]98661[/ATTACH]
Venturous Randy Posted April 10, 2015 #38 Posted April 10, 2015 I could not open any attachments. Randy
Motiv Posted April 10, 2015 #39 Posted April 10, 2015 If you are right then everyone needs to slam on their brakes as soon as they detect that someone may try to merge into their lane. That can't be how the law works. If it is I need to work on changing that. If he's telling the truth he should be able to pass a polygraph. If he can't pass there's more reason to believe my side of it. If he refuses that should be good reason to suspect he's lying. If the insurance companies won't pay for polygraphs then they're just playing games with my premiums. The police will look at this as no one got seriously injured and that is a good day, they won't give him a polygraph or even revisit the scene, if they cared that much there would have been a ticket involves to lay blame. Unfortunately we all have t be on guard and have a possible escape route need be. I know, who would think it a such a low speed. It is sad to hear accident stories but at the same time we all can learn form others mishaps, I am just sharing my experiences and ASSUMING the outcome. Best of luck, Motiv
Semi-retired Posted April 10, 2015 #40 Posted April 10, 2015 I knocked on one of the neighbors door who could have seen it all but was told no one did. Maybe what you wanna do (instead of or in addition to polling the neighbours) is go to the kid's employer.....tell them you're working along with the police (not untrue) to help clarify some details about an accident that one of their delivery boys was involved in the other night. Ask them WHO had a food order delivered to them at that approximate location that night. (They should have a record of the order with an address). The customer who ordered the food may not know anything about or have seen anything relating to the crash......but at least your knowing the EXACT HOUSE the kid delivered to might add some clarity to what his probable actions behind the wheel were that night! Get the address.....map it out with your mental picture of who was where/when and doing what........and make it into a little narrative/story that works to YOUR best advantage. Keep pluggin away, kiddo. Don't let the b**tards grind you down!
Flyinfool Posted April 10, 2015 #41 Posted April 10, 2015 Not only that but I would bet the kid forgot to tell his boss about the incident..... Domino Pizza caught a LOT of flack a few years back about their drivers getting in accidents because they advertised how fast they delivered. I'll bet Jimmy Johns does not want the negative publicity about how their drivers have to drive to deliver "freaky fast".
Phoneman1981 Posted April 10, 2015 #42 Posted April 10, 2015 Sorry to hear about your accident. But so glad you were not injured seriously. Keep us posted on the saga.
cowpuc Posted April 10, 2015 #43 Posted April 10, 2015 Anybody on this forum familiar with that aspect of the traffic code in this state.....or any other state? (SOMEbody must have gotten clocked in a situation like this before?? Who was blamed? ) We got a law (at least according to the Judge in Muskegon but never really know about him - he is known for writing his own laws in "his" courtroom) in Michigan that is pretty simple - if you hit someone in the rear end its automatically your fault.. It kind of sounds similar to what Michael is talking about. In our area, if you are involved in a 30 car pile up, the State fairs pretty good cause anyone who nails the car in front of them has to pay a fine.. This kind of stuff is the very reason that I mentioned hoping you could keep this out of the court system Sys - experience has shown me over and over again that the only ones who really come out ok thru the courts are the Judges/Lawyers and other Public servants who make a good living off those fee's and fine's.. Sorry to hear this accident had to turn this direction and I truly hope it all works out for you!! I didn't rear-end him, my anti-dive unit tore a hole in his driver side door after a virtually broadside impact. I realize that he was actually trying to do a U-turn in front of me and he did it really fast. He had to have punched the gas to move to where he was in the time I approached him. Before that he may have been slowly crawling along at the curb, I'm not sure of whether there was "some" movement out of him but he started from the curb and I was in the lane itself. Hey Sys, I was in NO WAY trying to insinuate that you had done anything wrong and just trying to respond to a question from Semi when asked if anyone had ever heard of such laws in any other state.. I share your frustration and truly was hoping that the kids dad was gonna do the right thing and just take care of getting you back on the road on either your scoot or another one! Accidents like this always have a way of causing plenty of their own grief and I certainly had no intent to add to yours Sys!! Thoughts and prayers over the whole matter my friend!!
syscrusher Posted April 11, 2015 Author #44 Posted April 11, 2015 Hey Sys, I was in NO WAY trying to insinuate that you had done anything wrong Thoughts and prayers over the whole matter my friend!! Thanks, I appreciate it. I just didn't want to anyone to think I had rear-ended the car. Maybe some pictures will help? I'll try again to put them up here. My leg is looking pretty purple now.
Motiv Posted April 11, 2015 #45 Posted April 11, 2015 Wow that looks nasty what did the doctor say? Is it fractured? Heal up soon. We are all in your corner here, my (negative) comments just reflect a reality that I have exerienced. That is a pretty decent hole in the door of the car took some force!
utadventure Posted April 11, 2015 #46 Posted April 11, 2015 I appreciate the good thoughts and a very nice offer. I'm not ready to make a move yet and I'm afraid that if the frame is badly bent I probably won't go as far as trying to swap motors, but I may ask you about that radiator later on if you've seen it. I double checked and the radiator is sitting in the shed. Dave
syscrusher Posted April 11, 2015 Author #47 Posted April 11, 2015 Wow that looks nasty what did the doctor say? Is it fractured? Heal up soon. We are all in your corner here, my (negative) comments just reflect a reality that I have exerienced. That is a pretty decent hole in the door of the car took some force! Well, I'm having trouble believing it but things seem to be going the way you indicated. I finally got to speak with a claims rep from my insurance company and all they care about is whether they might have to pay. She told me it is the law that with liability only that is all that they can do. You know it really is a matter of what kind of world do you want to live in, one where cagers have a license to kill or one where they have a responsibility to ensure they don't kill you or cause you to wreck. I'm still talking to people here about it. I wonder if I shouldn't have invested in one of the biker legal fund memberships?
syscrusher Posted April 11, 2015 Author #48 Posted April 11, 2015 I double checked and the radiator is sitting in the shed. Dave Dave, Thanks, I may not need the whole radiator. I added some anti-freeze to it and it didn't take very much to bring the level up. The plastic faceplate was cracked up and the fluid level was down so I thought it might be leaking. It still could be or that little tube on the right front of the motor could be more damaged than it had been. If I wanted to restore appearances I'd be looking for that plastic faceplate though....... I'm a little more optimistic that it might go back together alright with just a few parts. I want to buy some of the plates Skydoc had to seal the anti-dive but he doesn't have an ad up for them. I could just replace the anti-dive unit if I can find one but I can't do much with the front end yet with it leaking fork oil all over. I can't ride it to see what else might be wrong with it this way either.
leo3wheel Posted April 11, 2015 #49 Posted April 11, 2015 If a huge blood clot develops at the site of the injury, there could be danger of a stroke or heart attack. Get to the hospital to see if you should be resting still on blood thinners.
Flyinfool Posted April 11, 2015 #50 Posted April 11, 2015 When the anti dive was ripped off, did it pull the mounting bolts out of the fork tube or break the anti dive unit. If the fork tube was damaged at the AD mounting then even block off plates will not mount.
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