Conference noted::bicycle

1305.0. "Anyone get the license plate # ?" by IAMOK::WESTER () Thu Sep 07 1989 21:13

    Last night I was involved in a scary incident, the end result being a
    van running over my friends Eddy Mercx bike.  We didn't get the name or
    license plate of the van, did any one in NOTES land happen to see the
    incident?  This was on rt. 117 westbound at the Weston, Lincoln line.
    
    We were in a paceline, the guy behind me went off the shoulder of the
    road, then veered back on, slamming into my friend.  I didn't see any
    of this, but heard the crashing bikes and the crunch of my friends
    Merckx under the van.  My friend was knocked cold for about 20 seconds,
    but other than minor road rash was ok.  When I stopped to look back, my
    friend was lying in the road and the other guy was half on the road,
    half on the shoulder.  The van must have been coming up behind them and
    couldn't avoid my friends bike (heavy traffic westbound and minor
    eastbound traffic).  Somehow, the van missed my friend, but not by
    much.  
    
    It all happened quickly, we were going  23 to 26 mph.  All I can figure
    is that the guy behind me overlapped my wheel (we just hit a rise in
    the road so my speed dropped a couple mph), panicked and swerved right, 
    onto the shoulder, then lost control in the sand and swerved back onto
    the road.  It was a scary scene.  The Merckx strewn across both lanes of 
    117, the van with a flat tire caused by the bike, and my friend lying in 
    the road with a shattered Giro helmet on his head.
    
    Cops and ambulance came, both guys refused treatment and got a ride
    home from someone who stopped to offer assistance.  The guy who ran
    over the bike was vivsibly shaken and offered help, but we forgot to
    get his name or license plate.  Now my friend wants to make an
    insurance claim ($1600 bike!) but the insurance company wants to talk
    to the guy that crushed the bike.  Did anyone happen by the scene and
    see the van?  It was brown with a company name in small white writing
    on the back doors.  Any help would be appreciated. 
    
    All in all, the scariest thing I ever witnessed.  I almost didn't want
    to turn around to see my friend because I was sure the van had hit him
    (the van driver said the same thing).  Both wheels are shattered in
    several pieces, rear triangle, fork, and cranks are bent way out of
    shape, derailleur sheared off, freewheel teeth chipped off, look pedal
    broken in half.  
    
    My friend and I caught up to two others and we formed a paceline.  I
    guess we were asking for trouble.  In a paceline there's so little room
    for error you better know the people you're riding with or back off and
    leave more room between each other.
    
    Dave  

    I can't help directly because I didn't see it.  But, you mentioned that
    the cops came.  Have you tried contacting them to see if they have the
    information?  I believe that they should have filed a report, and also
    the motorist will have to file an accident report (he's going to be
    surprised about the cost of the bike!)
    
    Rich

    Just a suggestion, but you folks may want to buy a bunch of topo maps
    of the area and pick another road to ride on.  Virtually all of 117
    from Waltham to Leominster is just too narrow and too busy (especially
    in the evening) to be doing pace lines.  Sure its smooth and fast and
    not very hilly, but losing a few miles an hour on backroads isn't
    going to kill you.  .02  _KB

    A happy ending to the story.  The insurance company will pay to replace
    the destroyed bike.  In fact, they valued the cost to replace the bike
    at $2500!!  Original cost was about $1400 to $1600 because the frame
    was bought on sale, components and wheels purchased mail order, and he
    built it up.
    
    My friend is just going to let O'neils in Worcester (where he
    originally bought the frame) build up a bike to his specs.  The
    insurance company used O'neils to estimate the value of his bike, so
    the whole process is pretty easy.
    
    One piece of advice the insurance company gave is to make sure you have
    a "rider"(?) attached to your homeowner policy to insure you get proper
    coverage on your valuables.  If you have a particularly valuable item,
    you can use this rider to clearly note up front what it's worth.  Then,
    there will be no haggling over it's real value.
    
    Dave