Bumped by a drunk in a SUV...

[highcountry]

Glad to hear that you survived unscathed and the bike should be easily repaired. Just 5 minutes ago on another forum, I read where the poster was also rear-ended at a stoplight by multiple DWI drunk and wasn't as lucky. He got beat up pretty bad and it destroyed his bike. This is a scary pattern.

Ride safe!

 

[Joe Cleland]

Well, my otherwise pristine '08AE now has a battle scar from a drunk in a SUV. I took the afternoon off to ride 70 miles over to the Tuscaloosa, AL airport to watch the friday practice for this weekends airshow featuring the Blue Angels. After leaving the airport and while crawling along in stop and go traffic on the main 4-lane I got bumped, -hard- , from behind. I had just started moving forward and managed to keep the bike upright. After stopping to collect my reflector and eyeball the damage I walked back to the male driver of the 90's model Suburban and told him to pull over in the turn lane. His response that "you ain't hurt, I gotta go to work" was so slurred I knew he was drunk. Fortunately a city traffic engineer witnessed the event and stopped to help. He called the police and helped keep the guy from leaving the scene. An officer arrived in 2 - 3 minutes and within 10 minutes had the driver in cuffs for impaired driving.
The police were very professional and courteous, even offering a moment of levity when asking if I was wearing a seatbelt. I said "no, sorry" and he sheepishly looked at the bike and said "well how about a helmet"? I was full ATGATT with a bright yellow Nolan, red mesh jacket, Hyperlite tail/brake lights and even a Knight Eyes 3rd brake light, all of which are apparently invisible to a drunk. He didn't appear to have insurance, no surprise.

Damage seems limited to the a crease in the left exhaust pipe and the rear fender which was mashed into the tire which busted the reflector and split the plastic along the bottom. Could have been worse, especially if I'd dropped it.

A pic about 20 minutes before:

You got hit by a drunk in Tuscaloosa? What are the odds! J/K WDE! :fans: Glad your safe man.

 

[leo]

Glad to hear your OK, how the heck did you get an officer there so fast in Alabama?

It must have been a speed trap.

 

[jatow]

Update:

Got the crash report yesterday and the driver who rear-ended me had a blood-alcohol of .15, no wonder his speech was slurred! No insurance, a revoked license and an outstanding warrant from another county. A real responsible fellow...

Then today I get a Subpoena in the mail for the "City v. the other driver" for his DUI charge. Why would I get a Subpoena? Now I've got to take a day off to go to court (70+ miles away) for what? To say, 'Yeah, he hit me in the rear', 'Yeah he seemed drunk' and 'No, he doesn't have any damned insurance'? Seems to me the arresting Officer's report ought to be enough.

So now I'll be out of pocket my deductible (unless the vehicle's owner, - a third party -, is insured, yet to determined and not likely), my time and effort getting appraisals, filling out forms, and a 140 mile round trip and day away from work.

This is getting irritating and I needed to vent.

 

[03HiYoSilver]

jatow,

Sorry to hear about you incident. Due check you Insurance Policy for UMPD or Uninsured Property Damage. If you have it, they may waive your deductable or at least subrogate against the other person on your behalf.

I had this happen to me and got my deductable back a year later after the my insurance company got the money from the uninsured party.

Hope this helps...

 

[wfooshee]

140 mile round trip and day away from work.

Add that to the claim against whoever comes up owing you.

 

[Checkswrecks]

Update:
Got the crash report yesterday and the driver who rear-ended me had a blood-alcohol of .15, no wonder his speech was slurred! No insurance, a revoked license and an outstanding warrant from another county. A real responsible fellow...

Then today I get a Subpoena in the mail for the "City v. the other driver" for his DUI charge. Why would I get a Subpoena? Now I've got to take a day off to go to court (70+ miles away) for what? To say, 'Yeah, he hit me in the rear', 'Yeah he seemed drunk' and 'No, he doesn't have any damned insurance'? Seems to me the arresting Officer's report ought to be enough.

So now I'll be out of pocket my deductible (unless the vehicle's owner, - a third party -, is insured, yet to determined and not likely), my time and effort getting appraisals, filling out forms, and a 140 mile round trip and day away from work.

This is getting irritating and I needed to vent.

Absolutely go to court or the s.o.b. may be able to get off.

Years ago I was living in LA and had a 2-week old Suzy 1000 when I got bumped hard from behind by a VW Beetle. Long story short is that it damaged a swingarm bearing that didn't show up for a couple of months, so I had to eat the cost. I'd strongly suggest having yours checked and give the bill to the guy's insurance company.

 

[HotRodZilla]

Update:
Got the crash report yesterday and the driver who rear-ended me had a blood-alcohol of .15, no wonder his speech was slurred! No insurance, a revoked license and an outstanding warrant from another county. A real responsible fellow...

Then today I get a Subpoena in the mail for the "City v. the other driver" for his DUI charge. Why would I get a Subpoena? Now I've got to take a day off to go to court (70+ miles away) for what? To say, 'Yeah, he hit me in the rear', 'Yeah he seemed drunk' and 'No, he doesn't have any damned insurance'? Seems to me the arresting Officer's report ought to be enough.

So now I'll be out of pocket my deductible (unless the vehicle's owner, - a third party -, is insured, yet to determined and not likely), my time and effort getting appraisals, filling out forms, and a 140 mile round trip and day away from work.

This is getting irritating and I needed to vent.

There's no way it's going to court that fast. Maybe a pretrial of some type, or a license revocation hearing, but I would be very surprised if any type of closure came of the hearing you were subpoenaed to. Do the following. Make sure you take documentation of your deductible, your mileage to and from court, and the salary you are missing out on to make it to these hearings. Anything that costs you money is now the DWI offender's responsibility to cover.

Make sure your DA knows restitution required in this case, and keep them updated with your costs everytime you have to drive to court. Also make sure they know how far away you are so they know not to subpoena you for stupid things that you are not really needed for. Make sure the DA advises the judge and defense attorney there will be restitution. When the guy either pleas guilty, or is found guilty, the judge will tack the amount of the restitution to the sentence. Have the DA ensure there is some type of punishment attached to the sentence if the restitution is not payed as directed.

Good luck, and don't skip out on court. I know it's a pain in the ass sometimes, but if a victim fails to show up, it makes everyones' job way harder and the chances of dipshit getting off are raised by about 90%. Its the whole innnocent until proven guilty and the right to face your accuser parts of the Constitution that requires your presence.

 

[RadioHowie]

[great big ol' yawn snip]

Just kidding, 'zilla. REALLY good advice! To ANY crime victim. :thumbsup:

 

[HotRodZilla]

[great big ol' yawn snip]

Nice edit there you *******. You know, one day when I meet you...and I will meet you, I'm gonna jimmy-kick you right in the balls. Then when I get up off the floor from laughing so hard, I'll buy you a beer!

 

[RadioHowie]

[great big ol' yawn snip]

Nice edit there you *******. You know, one day when I meet you...and I will meet you, I'm gonna jimmy-kick you right in the balls.

You'll hafta ask MissusHowie where she's got 'em hidden.

Then when I get up off the floor from laughing so hard, I'll buy you a beer!

Contributing to the delinquency of a delinquent? :drinks:

 

[ramrezz425]

I try not to hate, but I hate those who drink and drive, I for one would have reacted differently if I were you, but I would have an assault charge against me. People dont realize that a moving vehicle is a weapon. The laws of Inertia are against you when an SUV pushes it weight around. Props to you for keeping your cool, I will remember this post if it ever happens to me on my feej. Got any pics of the damage? just curious. Thanks dr

 

[jatow]

Thanks for all the input guys. My insurance will subrogate and is issuing a check for the repairs. This scumbag isn't getting out any time soon (he's wanted in another county as well) and can't keep a job so I'll let my insurance chase him for years to come. They've assured me they will go after him for every dime.

 

[FJR13k]

Then today I get a Subpoena in the mail for the "City v. the other driver" for his DUI charge. Why would I get a Subpoena? Now I've got to take a day off to go to court (70+ miles away) for what? To say, 'Yeah, he hit me in the rear', 'Yeah he seemed drunk' and 'No, he doesn't have any damned insurance'? Seems to me the arresting Officer's report ought to be enough.

I'm not at all sure how things work in AL but I do know in WA the prosecution must be able to put the driver behind the wheel....if the Ofc did not observe the suspect driving then a witness must testify or idiot boy walks. Hope you can make it to court.

 

[Meltdown]

Stupid drunks are just about the only thing that scares me on my bike. About 6 months ago I was sitting at a stoplight at 9pm on a Friday night. I heard some screeching noise behind me and quickly glance in my mirrors and see a car practically sideways coming right for me. I just barley managed to ride out of his way by jumping the curb (and damn near dumping it) onto the sidewalk when he slammed the car in front of me where I had been less than 1/4 of a second earlier. It was that close. The driver of course was shitfaced and was taken to the slammer.

I'm very lucky that I didn't get hit. It's one of the reasons why when I'm sitting at a stoplight I don't shift into neutral unless there are already 3 cars stopped behind me.

 

[jatow]

I'm not at all sure how things work in AL but I do know in WA the prosecution must be able to put the driver behind the wheel....if the Ofc did not observe the suspect driving then a witness must testify or idiot boy walks. Hope you can make it to court.

No worries about his DWI, he was belted in with the car in drive when the cop came to his window and made him shut it down.