<p>S was in a bike accident this past week. Although the accident was caused by an automobile, he did not actually collide with it. The police refused to take a police report. Apparently in some states they do take reports even if there isn’t a collision - for statistics and safety considerations, as well as for possible insurance claims, even for minor events (which this was not). </p>
<p>Does anyone know what the situation is with New York State?</p>
<p>I don’t know about New York, but if there wasn’t a collision, it is unlikely you will get anywhere. The driver would have to have been trying to hit your son or grossly negligent in some manner.</p>
<p>I know in MA the police will not write a report themselves unless they actually witness the accident. OTOH, drivers are required by law to submit a report to the local police station within a few days. Have you tried calling your auto incurance? I know your S was not driving at the time, but they should know. Was your S hurt?</p>
<p>Even if they hit him, and only hit him by doing something illegal, and there were eye witnesses that swore what happened to the police, the driver may not be cited. Personal experience talking here. (At least I took out his windshield with my helmet…)</p>
<p>
Our agent (they carry many policies with us) filed a claim with the car insurance company. New York is a nofault state, so they don’t necessarily need the other driver. However, since there wasn’t a collision, we’re not optimistic. </p>
<p>What I have a problem with is that the other car CAUSED an accident, and left the scene, and the police won’t do a report absent a collision because S was not HIMSELF in a car or motorcycle. In other words, bicyclists and pedestrians have no protection in this sense. What is sacrosanct about being inside/on a motor vehicle?</p>
<p>And yes, S was injured :(</p>
<p>I suggest consulting a lawyer. This lawyer advertises prominently, no idea if he’s any good:</p>
<p>[Accident</a> Lawyer - Bike Accidents and Bicycle Cases with Gary Brustin](<a href=“http://bicyclelawyer.com/]Accident”>http://bicyclelawyer.com/)</p>
<p>Edited to add: What do you want to happen? Do you want to recover damages from the driver who caused the accident, or do you want the police to take legal action against the driver?</p>
<p>Police and insurance companies often seem to be uninterested in vehicles that did not actually crash, even though their actions may have significantly helped cause other vehicles to crash.</p>
<p>
Last year, H dodged to avoid a car backing out of a driveway and took out a utility pole. Huge damage to his truck, completely paid for by the other driver’s insurance, even though they never collided. Completely a function of whether you are in a car or not. This is wrong, and more and more I am feeling that this is something that needs to be fixed.</p>
<p>I hope the injuries were not serious and your S has a full recovery.</p>
<p>Thank you mamom, S will be okay, but it’s not going to be a great summer for him :(.</p>
<p>Update: So our car insurance company denied S’s claim, since he was not in a car. We don’t have any information regarding the other driver, so he just gets away with causing an accident and leaving the scene 
Yea for him. </p>
<p>Now we have to battle with the medical insurance company, because they want the car insurance company to pay for the hospital. The total billings will probably top $20K, but our part should be around $4K. Not what we needed with tuition coming up. :(</p>
<p>Be careful out there.</p>
<p>My husband was an avid cyclist and bike commuted to work daily for about 25 years. Many of our friends bike commute daily and several have been on the receiving end of careless automobile driving. (Including DH, myself and D1.)</p>
<p>Our insurance agent advised DH early on to take out an umbrella liability policy for his protection because bicyclists have very little legal protection. (As long as the car doesn’t actually <em>hit</em> you, the driver is not at fault, even if the car causes you to jump off your bike/ take the bike down in order to avoid being hit. Drivers are not required to stop unless an actual collision occurs. Most drivers never even notice the cyclist they cut off… and one friend ended up as a hood ornament for about 3 blocks before the driver decide to stop and then mostly to yell at him because he dent the hood.)</p>
<p>And as you found out, your auto insurance doesn’t cover cycling accidents.</p>
<p>(Additionally, I had to spend many minutes on the phone every couple of year convincing an insurance underwriter that we really, really did not use either of our cars to commute to work.)</p>
<p>well that stinks. Do you know a lawyer? Perhaps a quick letter to the medical insurance company is all that it would take to get the bills paid in full.</p>
<p>
This seems so wrong to me. How could the other driver be at fault in H’s accident (in his truck) but not in S’s accident on his bike? If cyclists are supposed to adhere to the same rules as auto drivers, they should be subject to the same terms. </p>
<p>It really grates me that the other driver did the right thing financially by driving away and not stopping to help S. How can that be right?</p>
<p>What caused your son to get hurt if there was no collision? Is it possible the other driver never saw what happened to your son since there was no impact? Was it daytime or night time? All these types of questions come to mind. What were the conditions? We have alot of bike paths, but lately the bikes are in the road and the lanes are tight you often don’t have the luxury of moving into the other lane in bumper to bumper traffic only slow down and hang onto the steering wheel to get around a bike and it’s downright nerve wracking and you just pray that the bike person will hold steady and not veer as you pass by. I’ve seen bikes on the side of the highways this summer for the first time and it makes me so scared they’ll hit a rock and tumble in front of my car or my air flow will make their bike shake when I’m going 70 miles an hour. To me you can’t really compare a road with vehicles and a set speed with a bike. Bike riders don’t ride down the middle of the road so aren’t in the traffic flow and they can’t generally achieve the prevailing speed limits so it’s a dicey proposition no matter how you look at it. I’m all for bike paths for bike riders and separating cars and bikes and really any transport that can’t flow at prevailing speeds. I love to ride my bike, but I stay off the roads and on the bike paths for this very reason. My H broke a collarbone a few years ago when the backwind from a vehicle shook his bike and he clipped a curb and went down so I know how these things can happen. Maybe if you collect all the facts to prove that the action of a specific driver and not a specific vehicle caused the accident you can appeal but that seems tough and I can’t see where your family auto insurance would cover family bike rider but all states are different so you never know how the insurance will play out. Best wishes for a speedy recovery for your son.</p>
<p>Wouldn’t his health insurance cover the injuries if he just said that he fell off the bike?
I know that our health insurance covers accidents such as falling down or tripping up steps,
going up for a lay-up and landing wrong on your ankle, not seeing a random piece of a cement block in the road and hitting and then flipping over the handlebars of the bike, etc. For each of these incidents, our medical insurance covered the emergency room costs and treatments(minus the deductible). It’s his word against a mystery driver (who didn’t even collide with him). </p>
<p>When he sought treatment for his injuries, why didn’t he just say that he fell off a bike? Why make things complicated?</p>
<p>
At the hospital, he explained that it was a bike accident, but our health insurance, upon finding that there might be a possibility for coverage from our vehicle insurance, demanded proof of a denial from them. I don’t think this is unusual - DD hit her head in the basement a few years ago and they demanded a statement to the effect that her injury was not the result of a car accident. </p>
<p>The doctors queried extensively about the details of the accident. Maybe they have to consider whether the injuries could have been the result of some kind of domestic abuse?</p>
<p>
S was on the sidewalk, on a VERY busy road. A car (going the same direction) turned into a fast-food place directly in front of him. He hit the brakes to avoid the car and went over the handlebars onto the concrete. The other driver was maybe in lala land - S thinks he went through the drive-thru and out the exit directly past injured S and his bike. It was broad daylight and dry.</p>
<p>Sylvan: I am going to sound like I’m blaming your son for the accident, which I’m not. BUT… First, it is very dangerous to ride on the sidewalk; cars don’t look for bicycles there and they’re going faster than pedestrians. Second, your son needs to practice a panic stop; there are ways to stop a bicycle quickly that don’t lead to going over the handlebars. [Canbike</a> Course Material](<a href=“http://www.gonecycling.com/canbike/material.html#Panic%20Stop]Canbike”>http://www.gonecycling.com/canbike/material.html#Panic%20Stop)</p>
<p>I hope your son makes a quick recovery. Did he break a collarbone?</p>
<p>Isn’t bicycling on the sidewalk illegal? Where I live it is at least. Your son should have been in the road.</p>