Rear-ended

[craig007]

4:30 pm, 80 degrees and sunny. On my way home from work. I was the first person stopped at a traffic light. There was another car stopped in the lane to my right. I had the bike in neutral and my hands off of the handle bars when BAM...I'm doing the rag doll thing. The bike goes forward a few feet, veers to the right and falls down, as do I.

As I am getting up, the guy is getting out of his car shaking his head. I ask him why he hit me....he just shook his head and said sorry. I started to pick up my bike, then asked him to help me and he did. As I rolled it off to the side of the road, I glanced at his licence plate, thinking I better memorize it. However, I had my phone and a pen in my top case so I went for that. When I turned around, that little @$^* took off. I just stood there thinking...I can't believe that he took off. By this time I had my helmet off and I didn't think that my bike would start, so chasing him was not an option.

I called the police (someone had already called them). The LEO came in a few minutes. He was pretty cool. He said that he was happy to see me upright because when he got the call he was thinking that I was hurt. He said that many people take off after accidents. I'm having him complete a report on the off chance that someone reports this bum.

I thought that I wasn't hurt (at the time). My left knee landed right on the knee pad in my riding pants. There was no immediate damage to me or my full gear. 2 days later, I am feeling some neck pain (so this is what whiplash feels like). I feels like I was in a rough foot ball game. Hopefully the stiffness will go away soon.

My bike inflicted some damage on the mini-van that hit me. It damaged his front grill. My license plate was bent. When I got home, I noticed a small crack in my Cal Sci wind screen, a cracked front headlight (it still works) and some scrapes on the front grill.

So...the lesson of the day...get the license of the person before has a chance to run.....it is sad, but you can't trust people in this situation.

I guess that any accident that you can walk away from is a good accident

 

[chomorro]

Thats ridiculous, but i can see it happening often. They know you cant get up and chase them and they aren't hurt at all. I think its BS that no one around got his plate though. Hopefully they catch the bastard!!!

Oh yea if i were you i would go back to that spot and look for cameras on buildings, atms, security cameras. Anything in the area asap. I bet someone somewhere has it film hopefully

 

[lytehouse]

:shakehead: I can't believe he took off like that! Wanker.....

but like you said, any accident you can walk away from.......

 

[Erci]

That's awful, man
Glad you're not seriously hurt. Be careful out there and keep the bike in 1st at stops and watch your mirrors (not that it would have been easy to avoid this, but standing in N leaves you defenseless).
Very much hope they track the a-hole down.

 

[The Dude]

Glad you're relatively okay. Sucks that he fled the scene, but that doesn't have to be the end of it. Checking for cameras is a good idea. Even if they can't identify the plate, they'll give you a direction of travel. Follow that path in hopes of finding more footage.

Do you know the make of the van? You might want to reach out to the local dealer in case the guy comes in for a new grill. If it's an older vehicle, I'd talk to the local junkyards too. If you're really determined, post an ad on Craigslist selling a grill for his van, local pickup only. If you or the cops find him, consult a lawyer immediately and sue him for your pain and suffering. The fact that he fled will be huge. Get that whiplash checked out and documented.

 

[agf]

what a mongrel for running,
I guess at least he stopped in the 1st place,(probably only because he couldn't get past)
hope you pull up ok

jeez that sucks

 

[callmegandhi]

Glad you are OK! Go get your injuries checked out! You may only feel some stiffness and sourness but could be hiding a more serious injury!

 

[craig007]

thanks guy. I like the camera idea....never thought of that. I'm thinking that he took off because he didn't have insurance.

When stopped at a long light (and this one was a long one) I usually put it in neutral and relax. I may have to re-think that strategy. If I was in first and if I was looking, maybe I could have gotten out of the way. If I had my hands on the handle bars I may have been able to save it. Then again maybe not. Over the past few days, I've taken to waving my arms up and down like a bird until I see the car stop in my mirror

 

[Full Throttle]

Sorry to hear. Happy to hear that you're safe though.

 

[MoeDog]

Man that sucks man hope you get better and they catch that Ahole

 

[Motogiro]

Main thing is you're safe and healing.

 

[Abschatten]

Damn dude I'm sorry to hear about that at least it wasn't a crash where you got injured. Were you in Naperville when this happened? It's kind of no surprise around the area. I live in Bolingbrook and some dude ran a red light and hit the front of her car and then just drove off. There are a lot more of these stories. A good amount of my friends have had the same deal with people leaving.

 

[Wildcat_drvr]

I am always in first gear with my bike slightly angled towards an escape route when stopped at an intersection. I also watch my mirrors closely and if a vehicle is coming up behind me I flash my brake light on and off until I'm sure they see me and have their vehicle under control, if they don't, I want to be able to get the hell out of Dodge,! Then I watch to see if someone is about to slam the vehicle behind me! It's amazing how stupid people are. Your more than likely right about the insurance. Glad to hear it wasn't worse! Good Luck with it! Rich

 

[Kazza]

thanks guy. I like the camera idea....never thought of that. I'm thinking that he took off because he didn't have insurance.

When stopped at a long light (and this one was a long one) I usually put it in neutral and relax. I may have to re-think that strategy. If I was in first and if I was looking, maybe I could have gotten out of the way. If I had my hands on the handle bars I may have been able to save it. Then again maybe not. Over the past few days, I've taken to waving my arms up and down like a bird until I see the car stop in my mirror

I always leave it in gear - just in case. Easier to take off. I don't relax - always looking in my mirrors for idiot cagers :rant:

Glad you're ok and I hope they catch the idiot

 

[novaks47]

That blows! At least you walked away though!

Keep an eye out, the moron probably drives that route regularly, and probably at around the same time. He'll avoid it for a while, but he'll be back if he's a commuter.

I always have my moto in first gear, and I watch my mirrors like a hawk, even if there's already a car behind me. Why? Because someone could slam into that car, and thus get pushed into me. I always leave a buffer in front of me, so when someone stops an inch away, I can pull forward a bit, and have a nice buffer and escape route should the **** hit the fan. Although I do occasionally get the a-hole that has to creep forward each time I do, as if it would be just awful to not be an inch away from someone at a light. Then I just point the moto at an angle so that I can just launch should something go wrong. You can't be too careful out there!

 

[dxh24]

Lesson of the day: Carry a handgun at all times!

J/k, glad your ok, hopefully the guy just panicked b/c he didn't have insurance and took off, and will turn himself in. If not, i hope the LEO's get him...leaving the scene of an accident is a very large fine, not to mention not carrying insurance is a biggie too....he'll get his, in one way or another.

Glad your okay and healing!

 

[FIZZER6]

Wow man sorry to hear this but glad you are relatively ok...could have been a lot different.

The first thing any of us should do after an accident is take a picture of the license plate!

The only time I was ever rear ended was 5 years ago in my beater car...I had my camera in my hand as I exited my car, took a picture of the driver and then his license plate...driver wasn't happy with that but he damned sure wasn't going to flee the scene!

 

[FIZZER6]

Lesson of the day: Carry a handgun at all times!

J/k, glad your ok, hopefully the guy just panicked b/c he didn't have insurance and took off, and will turn himself in. If not, i hope the LEO's get him...leaving the scene of an accident is a very large fine, not to mention not carrying insurance is a biggie too....he'll get his, in one way or another.

Glad your okay and healing!

Leaving the scene of an accident you caused is a felony charge in most states.

 

[Nelly]

Glad your Ok,
He will get his in spade loads, don't worry.
Nelly:thumbup:

 

[chomorro]

Wow man sorry to hear this but glad you are relatively ok...could have been a lot different.

The first thing any of us should do after an accident is take a picture of the license plate!

The only time I was ever rear ended was 5 years ago in my beater car...I had my camera in my hand as I exited my car, took a picture of the driver and then his license plate...driver wasn't happy with that but he damned sure wasn't going to flee the scene!

This can be tough on a bike, phone is usually in my back pack