bayview crash - careless driving

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SlayerofSouls

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Sorry on my berry so my apologies for typos.I was on bayview just south of loblaws, lady infront wasn't paying attention and locked her breaks. I slammed my breaks and went into a skif. Virtually no damage to her car. My bike is totalled. I asked for. A witness to call the cops. Next thing I know I'm charged with careless driving.Honest to god I was under the speed limit with enough distance. Bike is gone... Insurance is only liability so I'm 4g out of pocket with a charge.Can it get any worse?
 
A typical ticket from cops when accidents happen. make sure you have your witnesses name and number and send that to court. most likely it will be dropped with good defence and witnesses. As for bike, since you hit the person from behind it is your fault and insurance wont cover. how do u know bike is totalled if you said you were going slow?
 
Hate to say it, but if you were at a safe following distance given road and weather conditions AND you were paying attention, you should have been able to stop. The fact that you made contact with the car in front is a pretty strong indication that you were either too close, or you weren't paying attention, or both.

Whether or not you were speeding is not really relevant. Also, the driver in front's reason for the quick stop is usually not relevant as long as they were not intentionally trying to force a crash.

You can fight the charge. Crown will probably agree to drop the careless in exchange for a guilty plea for follow too close. That's a minor charge that is a lot lower for fine amount, and a lot better insurance wise than a serious conviction like careless driving.
 
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Over reaccted and hit my brakes too hard. Will cost 2-3k to repair.i
 
Have to say, following too closely is appropriate. Leave a safe distance when following..you never know when someone needs to stop quickly.
 
There is no law that says you can't stop your vehicle in the middle of a road (given, as TD says above, you weren't intentionally trying to cause a crash). This may be for entirely spurious reasons - like "i saw a cat crossing the road and didn't want to hit it". And, given that you *did* hit them, you were (at a minimum) following too close, or operating without due care (which is careless).

As for insurance covering - of course they will cover. You'll just be 100% at fault, and have to pay 100% of your deductible. But it sounds like you didn't have "all perils" coverage, ie: minimum. So yeah - you're out 4k. I'd just report it to a collision reporting center, then take your bike to a shop and see what they can do. Might be less than 4k to repair. Since you're not reporting it to your ins company (you don't have to, since you've reported to collision) and not made a claim, your rates should not go up.

I'm actually kinda fuzzy on this. I had almost the same thing happen (except i was stopped for a good 10 seconds in the car when someone ran into the back of me) and was judged 0% at fault. Car was a write-off, but ins gave me money for it, even though i had minimum coverage, because it was my primary vehicle.

What i'm fuzzy on is - if you're 0% at fault, and an insurance company asks you "had any claims", what do you say? I usually respond with "1 0% at fault accident" and let them sort it out. But it bugs me that i don't know the proper answer to this.
 
Sundie said:
There is no law that says you can't stop your vehicle in the middle of a road (given, as TD says above, you weren't intentionally trying to cause a crash). This may be for entirely spurious reasons - like "i saw a cat crossing the road and didn't want to hit it". And, given that you *did* hit them, you were (at a minimum) following too close, or operating without due care (which is careless).

As for insurance covering - of course they will cover. You'll just be 100% at fault, and have to pay 100% of your deductible. But it sounds like you didn't have "all perils" coverage, ie: minimum. So yeah - you're out 4k. I'd just report it to a collision reporting center, then take your bike to a shop and see what they can do. Might be less than 4k to repair. Since you're not reporting it to your ins company (you don't have to, since you've reported to collision) and not made a claim, your rates should not go up.

I'm actually kinda fuzzy on this. I had almost the same thing happen (except i was stopped for a good 10 seconds in the car when someone ran into the back of me) and was judged 0% at fault. Car was a write-off, but ins gave me money for it, even though i had minimum coverage, because it was my primary vehicle.

What i'm fuzzy on is - if you're 0% at fault, and an insurance company asks you "had any claims", what do you say? I usually respond with "1 0% at fault accident" and let them sort it out. But it bugs me that i don't know the proper answer to this.
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If you have minimum coverage on your vehicle and your deemed not at fault, the other insurance company will cover all your expenses, not YOUR company. Well your company but they'll get their monies worth from the other company. Also, if an insurance company asks you if you've had any claims, your supposed to tell them yes but i was not at fault.

OP: A bike stops faster then a car (in most cases), so unless you were following too closely or not paying attention you wouldn't of hit the car. You can most likely get the ticket thrown out and get something of lesser charge.
 
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Sundie said:
I'm actually kinda fuzzy on this. I had almost the same thing happen (except i was stopped for a good 10 seconds in the car when someone ran into the back of me) and was judged 0% at fault. Car was a write-off, but ins gave me money for it, even though i had minimum coverage, because it was my primary vehicle.

What i'm fuzzy on is - if you're 0% at fault, and an insurance company asks you "had any claims", what do you say? I usually respond with "1 0% at fault accident" and let them sort it out. But it bugs me that i don't know the proper answer to this.
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If you're 0% at fault, your insurance company will repair your car under your DCPD coverage and with 0 deductible. Whether or not it's your primary car makes no difference. Whether or not you have collision makes no difference. If you're deemed 0% at fault, you get your repairs or your car's value if it is written off.

When they ask, have you had any claims, go ahead and say "yes, but it was a not-at-fault collision claim" and give them the approximate date. That way you have made full disclosure. They can track the details of the crash and verify that you were not at fault. Only at-fault collisions count in determining your rates.
 
Count your blessings, and be happy you didn't become another statistic this summer. Read my other thread about being careful, follow the advice in this thread, learn from your mistake and ride on.
 
turbodish said:
If you're 0% at fault, your insurance company will repair your car under your DCPD coverage and with 0 deductible. Whether or not it's your primary car makes no difference. Whether or not you have collision makes no difference. If you're deemed 0% at fault, you get your repairs or your car's value if it is written off.
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That's... Interesting. So "Collision" coverage should actually be called "Collision that you're deemed at fault for" coverage, is what you're essentially saying?

When they ask, have you had any claims, go ahead and say "yes, but it was a not-at-fault collision claim" and give them the approximate date. That way you have made full disclosure. They can track the details of the crash and verify that you were not at fault. Only at-fault collisions count in determining your rates.
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More or less what i've been doing if they ever ask. Except for online quotes, where i just say "0", since they're not binding. :D
 
Sundie said:
That's... Interesting. So "Collision" coverage should actually be called "Collision that you're deemed at fault for" coverage, is what you're essentially saying?

More or less what i've been doing if they ever ask. Except for online quotes, where i just say "0", since they're not binding. :D
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That's pretty much what collision is, and it's optional.

DCPD is mandatory as is accident benefits, liability, and uninsured automobile (the other guy) coverage.

Full descriptions of each is an easy and quick read at http://www.fsco.gov.on.ca/en/auto/brochures/Pages/brochure_autoins.aspx#six
 
Hopefully, you weren't following closer than you should have under the misguided notion that bikes can out brake cars.

Bikes have much better go go go than stop stop stop. It's the nature of the beast.


It's a serious charge so you need to do something about it. Redline does a good job.
 
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Baggsy said:
It's a serious charge so you need to do something about it. Redline does a good job.
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Unless there are aggravating circumstances that might encourage a Crown to want to make an example of the OP, getting it pled down to a minor follow too close should be dead easy. It's almost the automatic fall-back position for the Crown in such a case. The OP should be able to do that all on his own with the Crown.
 
Unless you were driving a Toyota and the gas pedal got stuck; you obviously didn't leave enough distance, because you hit another vehicle. Sound's like you were not paying attention and locked your brakes by slamming on them in a panic. For a moment stop blaming someone else and take a deep look at your riding technique and skill level. Now ask yourself is there any way I could have prevented this?

When and if you get your bike fixed, read up on emergency braking then go practice. Remember to squeeze the brake's not to slam or grab them (treat them like a stripper's tit's right after she got a boob job; they will be tender, so like Santana from the House of Lancaster would say "not so hard Papi"). This and staying alert could save your life also possibly preventing this from happening again.

It doesn't sound like the witness was on your side or said the right thing's in the statement if you were charged with careless. Like Turbo and many other's said plea down to the lesser charge with the Crown. If you are convicted of the careless driving charge you will become a facility insurance company's dream.

Yes, I could have been a lot worse. You could have been in the hospital as they are shaving skin off your butt cheek's so that they can graft it to some torn up part of your body.
 
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Hate to repeat what has been said a number of times, but you were probably following too close.

You should always give yourself enough distance between you and the vehicle in front of you.
Make sure you have the correct lane position (you may have been able to change lanes to avoid at the speed you thought you were going.)
Always try to see the traffic around you (I myself am always looking for escape routes just incase some idiot does something).
Practice your emergency breaking (alot of people tend to grab a fist full of brake and lock the tires up in emergency).
If your skill level is not that great, give yourself even more room and be more observant of the things happening around you.

You should have no problem getting that charge knocked down to a lesser charge even by yourself, but the charge is a serious enough one to seek assistance if you can afford to.

good luck and sorry to hear about your bike being a write off.
 
You were by definition careless. That said it was, in my opinion, the wrong charge. You should have been charged with following too close. The careless charge is made so that you will plead to a lesser charge and both the police and the crown "win". You should be able to just talk to the crown and get the charged lowered to following too close.

SlayerofSouls said:
Sorry on my berry so my apologies for typos.I was on bayview just south of loblaws, lady infront wasn't paying attention and locked her breaks. I slammed my breaks and went into a skif. Virtually no damage to her car. My bike is totalled. I asked for. A witness to call the cops. Next thing I know I'm charged with careless driving.Honest to god I was under the speed limit with enough distance. Bike is gone... Insurance is only liability so I'm 4g out of pocket with a charge.Can it get any worse?
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ddusseld said:
You were by definition careless. That said it was, in my opinion, the wrong charge. You should have been charged with following too close. The careless charge is made so that you will plead to a lesser charge and both the police and the crown "win". You should be able to just talk to the crown and get the charged lowered to following too close.
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That's what the electric wheelchair salesman got when he hit me from behind, at a red light, and punted me 3 metres into the air.
 
Crap man, that really sucks... sorry to hear. That's the LAST thing you need when you're facing a huge repair bill, a friggin' charge!

The fact that you were the one who wanted a witness to call the cops, and then it ends up biting you in the butt just adds insult to injury... I feel your frustration!!

You'd think if the cop had a heart and he saw you and your bike were the only ones damaged he would have cut you some slack and laid a less serious charge to begin with.

Good luck fighting the charge, hopefully these guys are right and they will drop it down to something less serious.
 
I am not going to comment on the event, however I am glad that you came out of it without any injuries.
I know you just put the bike on the road not long ago (1 month) and it sucks that you're in this situation, but sh-t happens.
If/when you decide to get back on 2 just be more cautious and aware of your surroundings and always leave yourself an exit, a friend of mine told me that when I started riding and it's always been in the back of my mind every time I hop on my bike.
Good luck getting the charge dropped/reduced, I truly hope that you can learn from all of this and not be discouraged to ride another day.

Peace.
 
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Sushii said:
If you have minimum coverage on your vehicle and your deemed not at fault, the other insurance company will cover all your expenses, not YOUR company. Well your company but they'll get their monies worth from the other company. Also, if an insurance company asks you if you've had any claims, your supposed to tell them yes but i was not at fault.

OP: A bike stops faster then a car (in most cases), so unless you were following too closely or not paying attention you wouldn't of hit the car. You can most likely get the ticket thrown out and get something of lesser charge.
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Sorry Sushii your own insurance company covers your vehicle. You cannot claim your vehicle damages under someone else's policy. Not how it works in ontario.
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