Community Forums

dnystrom · 08-07-2014, 06:34 AM

Well to put this in perspective after a couple day's of thinking and commenting ...
Look how many highway construction workers get hit or killed in work zones by careless drivers? Crazy.

bevandtomH · 08-08-2014, 07:11 AM

Hello Mark- wish you a speedy recovery.
I agree, biking is a lifestyle. DW and I ride a lot, me more so. Whether we ride for recreation or for aerobic fitness, I've come to the conclusion that we will not ride on any roads with a posted speed limit over 30. Yes, that means we no longer ride in the country on county highways or tertiary roads. Does it guaranty our safety? Absolutely not.
Where we live, we are blessed with many rails to trails routes to choose from. When we are traveling, we will search out trails or plan a route that feels safe. I don't trust drivers and that can include me.
Tom

macnkat · 08-08-2014, 08:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bevandtomH

Hello Mark- wish you a speedy recovery.
I agree, biking is a lifestyle. DW and I ride a lot, me more so. Whether we ride for recreation or for aerobic fitness, I've come to the conclusion that we will not ride on any roads with a posted speed limit over 30. Yes, that means we no longer ride in the country on county highways or tertiary roads. Does it guaranty our safety? Absolutely not.
Where we live, we are blessed with many rails to trails routes to choose from. When we are traveling, we will search out trails or plan a route that feels safe. I don't trust drivers and that can include me.
Tom

Thank you for the well wishes Tom. We are in the process of finalizing retirement and one of the prerequisites is an area that is loaded with MUPs and other trail systems. We are blessed with the resources to have a couple of homes and because of the location of children, and especially grandchildren, we will probably have a home in the South Jordan UT area and a winter home in the Saint George area. They have incredible trail systems in both areas and it will keep me from having to spend so much time on heavily traveled roads. While I have well over 25,000 miles on a bike, and the vast majority of it very near home, and never had an accident this is a game changer is some ways. I will be more discerning in my selection to say the least, but honestly, the chances of me getting hit again are rather slim...at least statistically speaking.

Loraura · 08-08-2014, 09:33 AM

Fear of what happened to you, and has happened to many of my cycling friends was what led me to switch almost 100% from road riding to mountain biking. No F250s or duallies or texting teens or jackholes to deal with. If I crash (and I do) it's because of me vs. terrain and I have never been seriously injured on the MTB.

Also, there is shade, and quiet, and sometimes bunnies or deer or foxes or bobcats or cougars or bears, depending on where I am! I'll take my chances with a cougar or bear any day over a redneck in a 1ton pickup with dumbo mirrors hauling a flatbed trailer full of scrap metal.

When you get back on the bike, and I hope that is ASAP, look into a mountain bike! The community in Texas is great. In fact Tyler state park is home to some great MTB trails. Huntsville and Coldspring also have great east Texas trails. Many of the state parks in Texas have trails to ride and even more trails a short drive away.

I'm in Austin and race the state TMBRA series. If you ever want a trail suggestion in Texas, hit me up! I'm happy to provide all the information I know.

Please tell me the officer cited the F250.

bevandtomH · 08-08-2014, 09:48 AM

mark- your signature reminds me of the Life is Good T shirts.
A friend wears one that is called "balanced portfolio" with a hiker, biker, golfer.
Works for me.
If and when we are still in a position to purchase a coach and go full time in five years, I will make that my goal too.
Sounds like you have the best of all worlds.
Safe Travels, Best of Health.
Tom

jenandjon · 08-09-2014, 06:15 AM

Did you post this video on facebook? If you do you may find out who hit you. Im sorry to say a video like this will spread like wild fire on there.

macnkat · 08-09-2014, 08:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jenandjon

Did you post this video on facebook? If you do you may find out who hit you. Im sorry to say a video like this will spread like wild fire on there.

The driver that hit me stopped and was cited for "lane violation".

And yes, this video has been posted on Facebook and shared countless times. On YouTube it has well over 200,000 views. A cycling club in east Texas is using it to help promote cycling awareness and I did an interview on a local ABC affiliate in Tyler Texas...yep, you could say it spread like wild fire.

My daughter and I are even trying to spread the word of "share the road" with a line of tee shirts that try to say that cyclists are people you love...Husband, Grandpa, Cyclist, Share The Road.

bevandtomH · 10-06-2014, 10:15 AM

Mark- I was wondering how you are recovering at this point. Where you at on rehab?
Our cycling season is winding down for us, almost time to think about what to repair/mod on the bikes for next season's rides. For me, its not the cold air but the wind chill you generate. We can ride pretty comfortably in high 40's if it's sunny.
Anyways, hope you are literally and figuratively on the road to recovery.
Tom

macnkat · 10-06-2014, 11:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bevandtomH

Mark- I was wondering how you are recovering at this point. Where you at on rehab?
Our cycling season is winding down for us, almost time to think about what to repair/mod on the bikes for next season's rides. For me, its not the cold air but the wind chill you generate. We can ride pretty comfortably in high 40's if it's sunny.
Anyways, hope you are literally and figuratively on the road to recovery.
Tom

Doing pretty good Tom, thanks for asking.

I have been back to running and biking for about 8 weeks and last Saturday I ran a 10k race, finished first in my age group.

I still ache in the morning but it could be worse. I also have some numbness in my finger tips on the side I was hit but that comes and goes. For a 57 year old guy I figure I'm as good as it will get. One thing I have noticed is I tend to be a little more sensitive about cars getting too close...but I suspect that will diminish as time goes by.

I am just about to sign off on the settlement and I am learning that our insurance system and laws are a joke. My claim is over $200k, maybe closer to $250k, and all I really can recover is the policy limits...$100k. That will cover my medical but after that and the attorney there is not really much left for the pain and suffering for weeks and weeks. Not to mention lost wages and a vacation that was spent in the hospital. My lawyer believes there is not enough assets to really go after the driver civilly so I guess it is what it is. I know personally of another cyclist that was hit by a car just 6 weeks after me. She broke her pelvis, dislocated thumb, broken vertebra along with some road rash. Spent 5 weeks in the hospital with several surgeries. I know the driver (16 years old & texting) will not have near enough coverage to compensate her and it makes me wonder about our system that allows people to drive with minimum coverage (15/30 here in Calif.).

Rant over.

tedgard01 · 10-06-2014, 01:59 PM

My first thought is that you have the wrong lawyer. Frankly, it appears that your lawyer is more interested in getting paid with a quick settlement versus considering you best interest. I would strongly recommend that either you have a frank discussion with your current lawyer or get a second opinion.

I had an accident and waited for almost two years to settle, and went to the doctor for the entire time as I thought necessary. As the medical bills increase, there is a direct relation to the amount of the settlement you will receive, not just for the actual cost, but increased pain and suffering consideration.

Don't settle for at least a year, and make totally sure that you don't have any issues that may display themselves over a year or so later. Especially if you are still experiencing pain, don't settle. You should continue to seek medical attention as long as there is any type of pain or issue. This will demonstrate and document the ongoing issues and will result in a better settlement down the road. Don't let them push you into a settlement that is not going to be sure that you have something for future concerns. They make it sound like you need to settle sooner than later, but that is only because they want to get this claim off their books. With the video that you captured, I would recommend that you consider a jury settlement versus an out of court settlement, or at least make them think that that is what you are considering. You will get a far better settlement offer if they think there is a chance that you will go to court.

I know that you are a good person, and may think it should not be pushed, but please don't make a mistake that could have real consequences in the future.

In my openion, this guy intentionally rammed into you. He may not have assets to cover your claim now, but someday he may. If that driver is not made to pay the penitentiary for their actions, they will not learn the life long lesson that they should. At this point that driver is a risk to society and should be made to understand it, even if it means that a judgment will need to hang out there for some future resolution.

Ted

macnkat · 10-06-2014, 02:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tedgard01

My first thought is that you have the wrong lawyer. Frankly, it appears that your lawyer is more interested in getting paid with a quick settlement versus considering you best interest. I would strongly recommend that either you have a frank discussion with your current lawyer or get a second opinion.

I had an accident and waited for almost two years to settle, and went to the doctor for the entire time as I thought necessary. As the medical bills increase, there is a direct relation to the amount of the settlement you will receive, not just for the actual cost, but increased pain and suffering consideration.

Don't settle for at least a year, and make totally sure that you don't have any issues that may display themselves over a year or so later. Especially if you are still experiencing pain, don't settle. You should continue to seek medical attention as long as there is any type of pain or issue. This will demonstrate and document the ongoing issues and will result in a better settlement down the road. Don't let them push you into a settlement that is not going to be sure that you have something for future concerns. They make it sound like you need to settle sooner than later, but that is only because they want to get this claim off their books. With the video that you captured, I would recommend that you consider a jury settlement versus an out of court settlement, or at least make them think that that is what you are considering. You will get a far better settlement offer if they think there is a chance that you will go to court.

I know that you are a good person, and may think it should not be pushed, but please don't make a mistake that could have real consequences in the future.

In my openion, this guy intentionally rammed into you. He may not have assets to cover your claim now, but someday he may. If that driver is not made to pay the penitentiary for their actions, they will not learn the life long lesson that they should. At this point that driver is a risk to society and should be made to understand it, even if it means that a judgment will need to hang out there for some future resolution.

Ted

Thanks for the thoughts Ted, but adding to the medical bills will not get me anything...there is no more money. They wrote a check for the entire policy and the individual has no assets. There is no reason to think that my condition will worsen as they were broken ones and they healed. I cannot collect any further for future medical if I wanted to because there is no more to collect. Lawyers can't make money appear from nothing and he has looked under all the rocks.

tedgard01 · 10-06-2014, 02:48 PM

Good luck.

Ted

MonkeyClaw · 10-10-2014, 11:26 AM

Hi Mark-

As a fellow rider, I'm sorry to hear about the accident but am glad you are on the mend. I just read this, as I don't follow this part of the forum very closely.

Best of luck and if we're ever in the same area I'd love to go for a ride.

Tim

Kevin-B · 10-10-2014, 12:19 PM

Your smart to ride with a camera, I also ride with a rear facing camera (Mobius Action).

Quote:

Originally Posted by macnkat

Thank you for the well wishes Tom. We are in the process of finalizing retirement and one of the prerequisites is an area that is loaded with MUPs and other trail systems. We are blessed with the resources to have a couple of homes and because of the location of children, and especially grandchildren, we will probably have a home in the South Jordan UT area and a winter home in the Saint George area. They have incredible trail systems in both areas and it will keep me from having to spend so much time on heavily traveled roads. While I have well over 25,000 miles on a bike, and the vast majority of it very near home, and never had an accident this is a game changer is some ways. I will be more discerning in my selection to say the least, but honestly, the chances of me getting hit again are rather slim...at least statistically speaking.

I live in Henderson, NV and surprisingly we have a lot of MUPs. You should come down here sometime and ride River Mountains trail and the Wetlands Park trails. These are my everyday rides.