OT: Buddy went down

[empeg9000]

Well a good friend of mine who just started riding last year, and did all the right things like take the MSF course BEFORE buyng a bike, had a car pull out in front of him yesterday. He is a young guy, not even 25 yet. He is basically okay. Pretty bruised up. He really can't remember much. I am so happy I talked him into buying all the proper gear as his helmet too a good whack, his Sidi boots got all scraped up too. He just got the bike out of the shop getting a tune up yesterday to the tune of $486 (who says Japanese maintenance is cheap) and he was on his way home. The ambulance crew cut of his Rev'it riding pants. Its only the second time he has worn them. They took his riding jacket off, but cut the fleece jacket he had on underneath for some reason.
After a barrage of x-rays he is basically unharmed.
His biggest concern right now is if the other guys insurance will cover his motorcycle and his gear which some of got ruined. Anyone have any experience with that?

[Voni]

I'm just glad he's got a great friend like you!

Sharing by example, and sharing advice when asked ,is a great way to mentor a new rider.

Voni
sMiling

[rgvilla]

about 4 years ago I was run off the road by a young women who was driving on the wrong side of the road. Her insurance contacted me, paid for the repairs on the bike, bought me a new helmet, jacket and boots and paid the ambulance and hospital bills. They offered me $1500 for pain and suffering and I countered with $2500. They didn't blink an eyelid and settled. I didn't involve a lawyer and maybe could have gotten more plus the attorney fees but I wasn't out to make money on the deal. The accident was clearly her fault, (although if I had been riding a little smarter maybe I could have avoided it) and she was cited by the state police.

Your friend should be sure to notify his insurance, get a copy of the police report and perhaps talk to an attorney. Best of luck! Glad he is okay.

[ironMan]

Many years ago a knuckle had ran a red light and totaled my truck. The insurance company offered a nothing near what the replacement cost was and wouldn’t budge. It took me two weeks to find a replacement after which I handed the agent an itemized bill that included long distance phone calls, cost of the used car ads and news papers, mileage and my time which was billed at the overtime rate. They paid every dime without blinking an eye. I would caution against accepting the pain and suffering check because you usually have to sign away the right to future claims.

[empeg9000]

I'm just glad he's got a great friend like you!

Sharing by example, and sharing advice when asked ,is a great way to mentor a new rider.

Voni
sMiling
Well I didn't have much to do. I just encouraged him to take MSF and buy proper gear.

Your friend should be sure to notify his insurance, get a copy of the police report and perhaps talk to an attorney. Best of luck! Glad he is okay.
He has already contacted his insurance company and the police report won't be ready until Tuesday.

[mrich12000]

Good Friend

[riderR1150GSAdv]

I'm glad your friend is doing fine. Make sure he doesn't accept the first thing offered to him:deal . He needs to wait at least untill he really has no after-effects from the accident. He shoulnd't get greedy, but new riding gear and bike is the least he should ride away with....Just my 0.02 cts

[flash412]

His biggest concern right now is if the other guys insurance will cover his motorcycle and his gear which some of got ruined. Anyone have any experience with that? Yes and yes. The person at fault damaged your pal's STUFF and that includes more than just the vehicle. Your pal has the reasonable expectation of "being made whole" by the other party.

When the other party is not insured or is under insured, how YOUR insurance company handles reimbursement for riding gear is spelled out in your policy.

[kbasa]

The other party's insurance bought me a new helmet last winter. The rest of my gear was OK, but they inquired about it and whether it needed to be replaced.

[empeg9000]

My friend got his accident report on Tuesday. The report doesn't specifically state the the other riders is at fault but it does say that the driver pulled out to make a left hand turn in front of my friend. The Driver stated the motorcycle came from out of nowhere. It also states my friend flew 12-15 feet in the air after being hit by the car. My friend does not recall that at all or how he was even it. He has been in contact with the other insurance company but an adjuster has not been out there yet.
Here are some pictures (http://www.spmicro.com/gallery/album79) of my friends bruises and the bike if you are interested.

[jgr451]

Your friend needs a lawyer and an eye witness,pronto."The bike came from nowhere" is double talk for "It was going too fast".
They will try to make this his fault.
He had better get armed.

[empeg9000]

Well my friend ended up getting taken care of pretty well by the offending person's insurance. He basically got the current value of his bike plus the cost of the recent service he had done on it the same day he was hit, plus a smidge more. They also cut him a check for the full retail value of all of his gear, which most of it was less than a year old. The medical end is still up in the air as he isn't up to 100% yet but its getting there. So now he gets to start shopping for a new to him bike and new gear! :dance

[kbasa]

Well a good friend of mine who just started riding last year, and did all the right things like take the MSF course BEFORE buyng a bike, had a car pull out in front of him yesterday. He is a young guy, not even 25 yet. He is basically okay. Pretty bruised up. He really can't remember much. I am so happy I talked him into buying all the proper gear as his helmet too a good whack, his Sidi boots got all scraped up too. He just got the bike out of the shop getting a tune up yesterday to the tune of $486 (who says Japanese maintenance is cheap) and he was on his way home. The ambulance crew cut of his Rev'it riding pants. Its only the second time he has worn them. They took his riding jacket off, but cut the fleece jacket he had on underneath for some reason.
After a barrage of x-rays he is basically unharmed.
His biggest concern right now is if the other guys insurance will cover his motorcycle and his gear which some of got ruined. Anyone have any experience with that?

When I got knocked off in January, the other party's company was more than willing to buy me a new helmet. I think they'll cover his gear, too. I was asked if my gear was OK.

[Andy VH]

Glad your friend is on the mend, and good for you to influence him in a positive way.

Now the tough part is getting his satisfaction. I agree to watch out for the "he came out of nowhere claim". Make sure he has fully read the accident report by the police for any errors or indications of incomplete info. Facts like "he flew 12 to 15 feet" do indicate initial speed at impact, because based on his riding weight there are calculations to determine what speed at impact results in that flight distance for his weight. It may be arguement info in case the car driver claims he was speeding.

The other tough part is on your friend. Because he must go back to the moments before the crash to determine what HE did to get him in that situation. I don't believe in "no-fault" rationale of some insurance companies, meaning no ONE person is at fault. But, I do believe we as motorcyclists have to share the fault because we are the only ones that can control what happens to us. I say this because we ALL impact what happens to us, no matter who is "at fault". This is one of the most powerful methods to improve your street skills and avoid further problems and crashes.

No matter the traffic situation, if something happens to me on my bike, the very FIRST person I look at to correct is ME! The more I do this, the less likely I am to put myself in a bad situation.

I wish all the best for your friend, and I hope he returns to riding. Not because he is "one of the ones that has gone down", but because he has survivied a crash and now is able to learn from it. Learning from every ride is a sure way to improve and enjoy a long riding career.

[empeg9000]

Well just to close the story for the most part my buddy had decided he wanted a Ducati and set his sites on finding a 900SS/SP. He found on in Virginia.
Well the Duc is now in my friends hands. We went down to Virginia last Saturday and retrieved it. It was everything the owner said it was. It was a great looking bike. The trip itself was uneventful but there was all kind of confusion fetching it.
I am not going to go into all the details here but if you want you can read all the the crazy details in my blog if you want. (http://empeg9000.blogspot.com/) .

Our chase vehicle
http://www.spmicro.com/albums/album98/P1000112.sized.jpg

The owner going over some small details of the bike with his track bike in the back ground
http://www.spmicro.com/albums/album98/P1000103.sized.jpg

Its a nice looking ride
http://www.spmicro.com/albums/album98/P1000109.sized.jpg

My very happy friend.
http://www.spmicro.com/albums/album98/P1000117.sized.jpg

[riderR1150GSAdv]

Glad this story had a good ending!! :thumb :D