Had on Off :-( should i claim

[Funkatronic]

Coming home from waterloo last night after selling my old bike to Anne Singletrack

a guy an the wrong lane tried to go around the outside of me on the roundabout south side of westminster bridge

he was in the outside lane of the 3 lane roundabout (1st exit) at the traffic lights, i was in the middle going straight on
guy decide he too was going straight on, i continued on in my lane and glanced over my shoulder before exiting the junctiion to see him right alongside me in my blind spot accelerating, i leaned the right to try and avoid a collision
not sure if he nudged by back wheel , or if i just hit a slippy patch(theres lots of paint on this junction) and the bike just slid out when i tried to avoid him but the next thing i know the bike and i are sliding along the ground.

fortunately i just got a small cut on my leg
It looks like my beloved Bike came out very well thanks to the R&G crash bungs, fork sliders and bar ends which took the majority of the hit, just a scraped up pillion peg an brake lever, when i push the bike its seems to be making a bit of a squeak from the front brake but no damage to the paintwork or anything else as far as i can see.
I am going to take it up to Rosso Corse tomorrow to get it looked it properly.

spoke to the ppl and R&G today and they offered to replace my bungs for fee if i let them use pictures of my bike on their website
so nice one R&G

question is
I am a new driver and i sure any claim (even if i'm found not to be at fault) will up my premiums
As the costs of repair probably wont be that high (new lid, pillion peg, lever and a bit of labour) might i be more sensible to just swallow the costs and not to put in a claim?

Or should i try and persue the drivers insurance company on this?

cheers

ali

[slob]

Did you exchange details? Is there anyone to persue? Are you sure there's no other damage?
Personally I'd probably put it down to experience if it was me. Definitely not if I had no-one to persue.
You'll likely lose quite a bit of cash over the next five years in NCBs.
No favourable witnesses? Roundabouts are always going to cause more liability arguaments than any other places.
That said, if you're absolutely sure you're not at fault and 'want blood' go after the his/her insurance co.
Ask advice here http://www.ridersupport.com

[Funkatronic]

Thanks slob

i will take look at that

The guy did stop and i have his details
he was genuinely shaken and concerned for my well being, indeed he called the ambulance, but we had all left before the police turned up (they came to find my in A&E over the road).
I sopke to him today and typically hes does not think he was in the wrong as even though he admits he was in the outside lane, though he does not feel he was responsible as he was not indicating left and going straight on.

i just think he didn't see me at the lights then just floored it to get ahead and into the junctions for Lambeth palace rd

my girlfreoned was a little way behind me in the car when it happened as we were both just leaving a friends place together so there are witneses,
would having my g/f as a witness count against me with the Insurance company? would they assume bias?

sorry if tis is wrong pace for this, but just trying to understand what happened and if i was defo in the right.

the junction is here


The driver was on the lane in the right of this image, i was in the middle lane,

i came off right at the start of the box junction cos he basically accelerated off the lights and changed into my lane rather than going to westminster bridge road (right in the pic)

if i fight this, do you think i stand a decent chance?

thanks in advance for any advice

ali

[slob]

No photo link but I know that roundabout and it's horrible. If he ran in to the back of you it should be clear cut, however he'll likely claim you swerved in front of him, giving him nowhere to go. As I said, a roundabout is a liability nightmare.
Your GF's statement will be as good as inadmissable, in the light of your relationship, do you share an address?
He will naturally deny any wrongdoing, especially after his insurance remind him not to admit liability.
I imgaine you're a bit sorer today now that the adrenaline has worn off.
I can't tell you what to do, I'm not a lawyer or doctor but you should consider whether you will suffer any long term damage as a result of this. Also, was there any damage to his vehicle? will he claim against you? Also bear in mind RSS etc. make money out of any claim, so whilst they can be helpful in a clear cut case, use your own judgement.
Best outcome will probably be some sort of %age split of liability, so you'd lose NCB either way. Personally I'd still let it go if I was fairly sure he wasn't going to claim and I was OK.

[rollo22]

From personnel experience after being knocked off years ago.
If he called you to check on your well being he has admitted liability (check with solicitor).
Sounds cruel.
Then get copies of phone records

[Funkatronic]

Thanks slob

fyi link is here

http://maps.google.co.uk/?ie=UTF8&ll...01157&t=h&z=20

thats what i thought, maybe your right and i should count my blessings and put it down to experience.

he did stop at the time and ask about my well being, but has not called to apologise since so thats a no go

cheers

ali

[Funkatronic]

Just a quickie probably dumb question

Currently i have no NCB as im a new rider

If i make a non fault claim, how long does this stop me from earning NCB for?

cheers

ali

[slob]

If 100% non-fault your NCB should be unaffected. Any liability on your part and the clock starts again at your next renewal.

[singletrack]

Ali,
I am really sorry to hear about your off.
I nearly got wiped out by an old boy on a Vespa on the way home on Sunday - he too was in the wrong lane on the roundabout!

I haven't got any experience of insurance claims so I can't give you any advice, but I hope you get it sorted and are not too sore.

If you haven't got any independent witnesses I imagine you will struggle to prove it was his fault, but good luck.
Let us see some pictures of how well the R & Gs worked.


Anne
BTW - that CBR is a fantastic little bike - it inspires confidence and will be a great learner bike for my daughter ( if I ever hand over the keys for it )

I had the same thing happen to me, with chav boys in a corsa, I was luckier in that I managed to stay upright, Clive went after them and gave them a good scare so I should think they'll be a bit more careful in future. I would have thought that if the driver is in a dedicated lane clearly marked for only turning left and he decided to go straight he is in the wrong. Bearing in mind there are usually cameras these days if you think of claiming I'd see if you can get footage. Or take piccies if possible of the junction as ammo in case he decides to go for you. Hope you aren't too sore.
As for insurance, the other half is claiming for his bike being knocked over, as it's 100% not his fault it isn't affecting his no claims which he'd protected, but the company did try to up the premium by £90 instead so he went with a different company and got it for less than his companies first quote. I don't know how long you've been riding but it is worth getting no claims protection, I've protected my three years but some companies only protect 4 years upwards so it's worth checking out.

[craigie]

Although claiming may not affect your NCB you will always, for about 5 years I think, have to mention it when getting insurance. I had a non fault when someone knocked my parked bike over and I always have to put it as a claim when getting insurance quotes, they say it does not affect premium but I don't really trust insurance companies....

[S4R Dude]

If you're not really out of pocket and not injured i would not bother with a claim.

Your girlfriend as a witness stands for very little. Insurers will really only care about independant witnesses, family girlfriends etc do not fit that bill.

The result of you puting a claim in will likely not be worth it. I would only consider a claim if there were independant witnesses or the road layout at that point made it painfully obvious he was in the wrong, almost impossible as you were on a bike, hard in a car but possible.

Chalk it up to one of lifes wonderful experiences.

Cheers.

[Funkatronic]

]ok looks like damage is a little worse than i thought, both front discs are warped, the handlebars are bent and theres a ding on one of my forksliders and some scratches on my tank but still it could have been way worse.

see pics below

To get the bike rideable again will cost about £1k (+ new lid, tousers and boots!) to get it back to pristine state will cost £2k+ so im going to make claim and see what happens.

thanks for all your advice, i hope im not shooting myself in the foot by claiming but i dont have a spare £1k right now let alone £2K+.
If the insurance wont pay up i might be looking for the parts privately, i will put a post in 'I want' so if any of you have any S2R spares you want to sell on let me know

Thanks again

Ali

[singletrack]

Ali - You are right trying to claim under your insurance, if there is so much damage.

By the way, I have a spare set of front discs for the S2R - if you need them let me know.
Anne

Have Rosso Corse, given you a quote. You might be suprised. Had an off and driver did not stop last summer, New Mirrors, Levers, Bars, tank re-spray, set of Sils and few other bits less than £1100 inc Labour.

Worth A shot if you haven't