Watch out for idiots!

[Juju]

I met two of them last night!

Riding home from work, down Westerham Hill, Kent. Rural A road, 50 mph limit, unlit, a dark night. Nothing in front and what appears to be a single vehicle approaching me. I'm riding slowly (to manage my 4 day commute of 196 miles on one fillup) about 45. I ride like Miss Marple. On Tamazipan.

Then 50 yards or so from me, a second pair of headlights appears, on my side of the road from behind the car I can see. I've now got 2 lanes of oncoming car, they're both side by side. On my side seems to be a large modern 4x4 thing. The set of headlights on my side are these modern, very white and bright beams.

First thought was "I'm going to die in a couple of seconds". Not a helpful flight or fight reaction, thank you body. All I can do is slam on the brakes to minimise impact speed, swerve to the left to give myself the best chance of avoidance, with a view to going right through the rural hedgerow and any fence hidden within if I have to (and my brakes were in tip top condition from the last service, better than any time since I bought the SV 4 years ago).

Just as the headlights are up to me, the overtaking car starts to cut in, and just missed me by oh, less than a couple of feet, which on a dark night, with a contact speed of guestimated over 100, would have been fatal had it been head on with a big 4x4.

I've lost control on the gravel/verge at the side of the road - bike goes down. I under it, and there's quite a interaction of helmet/road surface.

And they didn't even stop. They can't have failed to see me. They didn't even stop.

The guy following the two oncoming "racing" cars, who kindly called the police, hung around as a witness til they arrived, said they'd been more or less road raging each other, trying to overtake each other, accelerating to prevent it, and generally giving it "the beans" (Think Gareth Hunt, Nescafe ads) to each other and almost stuffed someone else off the road half a mile earlier.

The car behind slammed on, and stopped in the road to make sure I wasn't run into/over, and they stayed to give evidence too - a real talking point of the poor young ladies 21'sbirthday meal!

But what kind of **** human, almost kills another, and doesn't even stop, to see if they did? To be more worried about their bloody ncd than a likely manslaughter.

I am genuinely shocked. It's the first accident/incident, where I really, truely feel that there's NOTHING, I could have done to avoid it! Nothing.

Bikes a wreck, kit's a wreck, no registration, so no one to claim from but my own fairly limited comp policy. And so close to being life changing/ending.

I'm sitting here tonight for the first time since I got my licence in 2001, wondering if it's all worth it. I really thought my time was up.

Apologies for boring you.

[rickylp]

Frigging scum of the earth!!

[maviczap]

But what kind of **** human, almost kills another, and doesn't even stop, to see if they did? To be more worried about their bloody ncd than a likely manslaughter.

Sad indictment of the times of the times we live in, taking someones life means nothing these days, until the doors slam shut in jail

[Matt-EUC]

Cnuts.

Total cnuts, complete disregard for human life.

[ManMango]

Glad to hear you are still here. Truly horrible to hear just think KARMA. On their part not yours, one day it will be a lorry on the other side of the road and not a bike.

[NTECUK]

Ah man what a nightmare.
Thing is you did cope with what could have been worse.
Got past the target fixation and fear thing brilliantly.

"I'm sitting here tonight for the first time since I got my licence in 2001, wondering if it's all worth it. "

Thing is YOU are worth it. Some one rulling your life is a probably not a option for you and your going to rise above it .

[Juju]

The thing is, I've long believed that good observation, and a defensive attitude go a long way to being safe. You can be criticised even when not at fault. You get hit at a T junction, and didn't make eye contact, you got sideswiped by a car pulling from a parking spot and didnt watch for the wheels/puff of exhaust... ect ect

But this one has frankly, distressed me. I can't see anything I could have done otherwise, to make myself safer, and what I did, prevented a high speed head on, mitigating the effects. (And I'm a crap rider, it wasn't a "great bit of riding" it was sheer panic but not "freezing" that meant I just evaded them).

I really feel genuinely lucky to be here today, albeit really ****ed off that they didnt even stop and turn round to see if I was ok.

[NTECUK]

Juju (http://forums.sv650.org/member.php?u=2863) don't sell your self short .
You did a top job .
You dint freeze
unfortunately $hite happens
People get stabbed struck by lightning.etc
pick yourself up and get a lottery ticket!

[Fruity-ya-ya]

Juju (http://forums.sv650.org/member.php?u=2863) don't sell your self short .
You did a top job .
You dint freeze
unfortunately $hite happens
People get stabbed struck by lightning.etc
pick yourself up and get a lottery ticket!
A big +1.
Glad to read you are okay.

[Paul the 6th]

Glad to hear you're still up and about buddy :( MIB might be worth a look.

http://www.mib.org.uk/Customer+Services/en/Accidents+in+the+UK/Untraced+Drivers+Agreement/Untraced+Driver+FAQs.htm

What are the Untraced Drivers’ Agreements?
These agreements between the Secretary of State for the Environment and Transport and MIB explain the precise circumstances under which an application from a victim of untraced motorist will be paid.

[Paul the 6th]

p.s. fingers crossed the run-away driver falls down the stairs and breaks his legs and there's no one around to help.

[dizzyblonde]

The thing is, I've long believed that good observation, and a defensive attitude go a long way to being safe. You can be criticised even when not at fault. You get hit at a T junction, and didn't make eye contact, you got sideswiped by a car pulling from a parking spot and didnt watch for the wheels/puff of exhaust... ect ect

But this one has frankly, distressed me. I can't see anything I could have done otherwise, to make myself safer, and what I did, prevented a high speed head on, mitigating the effects. (And I'm a crap rider, it wasn't a "great bit of riding" it was sheer panic but not "freezing" that meant I just evaded them).

I really feel genuinely lucky to be here today, albeit really ****ed off that they didnt even stop and turn round to see if I was ok.


I kicked myself and my pretty good ten year stretch, when I came off last month. Pretty similar sentiments. It was someone else's fault, I had to claim on my nine years no claims because of an ignorant git pouring an entire road of diesel everywhere and almost causing a three bike, and several vehicle pile up.

You can't blame your own skills. Bloody hell, what can you exactly do when two other vehicles have a death wish? Press the K.I.T.T button on auto boost to get you out of the way?
Around these parts it's a common sight to see to pillocks racing on the whole road with a total disregard for other road users and their safety.
Take the pill on your insurance, count your lucky stars that you came out alive and make a pair of voodoo cars and set light to them. Both drivers deserve to die in a firey ball of death.....

[shiftin_gear98]

Glad you are still in one piece, all be it battered.
Having had a similar experience, it ****s you up doesn't it.


As said glad you are still here. Mend quickly.


Hopefully they both have what's coming to them. :smt067

[atassiedevil]

Bottom line you are still here, and you did everything you could to prevent getting hurt. You succeeded.
You're still vertical, you're still breathing and you're unhurt.

That's a result in my book.

You have comprehensive insurance so this is the time to use it. You've witness statements to prove it wasn't your fault. I'd say time to engage your insurance company. Yes, you will have made a claim, but it will be a non fault claim. It's then up to the police to persue and try and find the 3rd party who caused it. Preferably both of them.

I got hit from behind in 2003, by an uninsured/unregistered taxi who after tossing me down the road, ran over one of my bikes wheels, plus my hand, breaking 2 fingers and almost tearing my thumb off in his haste to escape.

He was never caught, and being 3rd party insurance at the time, i had to write the bike off. I still ride today.

Take a couple of days to get your perspective, calm down and accept this is not the end of the world.

You DO have some options.

C.

[Biker Biggles]

It will be interesting to see how much effort the police put into tracing these two vehicles given the witness statements about dangerous driving before your incident.I regard what happened as a serious crime,but I doubt the powers that be will persue it as such.
Best of luck with it all and I hope you can get sorted.

[dizzyblonde]

You have comprehensive insurance so this is the time to use it. You've witness statements to prove it wasn't your fault. I'd say time to engage your insurance company. Yes, you will have made a claim, but it will be a non fault claim. It's then up to the police to persue and try and find the 3rd party who caused it. Preferably both of them.

.

C.
Unfortunately, for insurance purposes they call it a fault. Claiming on your insurance, even if it wasn't your fault, is a fault. Contradictory, I know, but that's the way it is.
He lost control and binned the bike. Regardless of the circumstances. You have to take the hit for it.
I've just settled a non fault claim. That's how they do it. Annoying as it is.
The only good thing about it is, is that because there is no third party, it's reasonably swift. Mine was settled in a fortnight, even though it was slightly more complicated because I didn't want the bike written off.

Then next renewal you get the question, have you had an accident in the last five years. Yes. If the police were involved, as in my case, and indeed here.

[Ben.tattooer]

The very reason I've started using a helmet cam. In this case I'm sure it wouldn't have done much good, but for a couple of hundred quid it could potentially save you a fortune. People tend to drive differently when they realise they are on camera too

[Juju]

I'm reasonably sorted for knowledge on the insurance front - 13 years in PI department ad Direct Line and 3.5 at Sabre insurance.

But I think the MIB will only accept an untraced application if I have a reg - it's the "Untraced motorist" not "Untraced car" agreement. So it's off to my comprehensive insurer when I can be bothered.

Going to park it up for a week or so whils't I mull over the options. Truth be sold, at 42k, and used all year round as a commuter, it was beginning to look a touch untidy anyway, and a new chain and front tyre were needed at the next service anyway. I guess a front rhs nosecone, indicator, mirror, bar end and rh side peg mount and brake lever were the main casualties, (and a scrape to the corner of the standard exhaust, but seems undamaged otherwise) but there's a part of me that guesses it either adds up to less than the excess, or totals the bike and I'd down £300 before I even start, and thats not including the lovely Shoei Qwest helmet that I got in the Hein Gericke closing down sale a couple of years ago.

But it's that realisation that If I'd frozen, (and you have no way of testing a reaction out really), I'd not be here. Given that the ever popular Reeder was my cousin's brother in law, I don't think my remaining family have been too keen on bikes for a while. Hell, I only ride them as they're cheaper than a car to run.

[JulesW]

Well done for surviving a dreadful scenario.