Bicycle hit by a motorbike

Life Cars & Motorcycles
1

I am an avid cyclist but live in fear of Taipei motorists. Today on my way home, whilst stopped at a traffic light I was hit from behind by a motorcycle. Not very hard, but thankfully I was still holding onto the brakes, or I would have been flung over the handlebars. As it turned out, I was standing over my bike frame with my feet on the ground as I waited, so the front of the seat hit the base of my back upon impact.

I don’t seem to be hurt other than for a bruise, and my lower back seems to have seized up, but was appalled at the behaviour of the motorcyclist who uttered a very quick sorry (with a look with clearly showed he wasn’t, even though I was doubled up over my bike in pain), and he moved to drive off. In a fury, I then shouted at him for his attitude and reckless driving, which made him go mad and he started shouting “eff you, eff you” amongst other things in English at me. My friend told him to calm down and tried to reason with him about his attitude, but he continued shouting foul language at me.

At that point my friend asked him to stop so we could exchange documents and make a police report. He said in broken English something to the effect of “I have no intention of waiting for the police”, and drove off.

After that we went through the process of making a police report. My Mandarin isn’t good, so I hope I understood what they said…namely that I have 6 months to make a claim against him for injury, but there was no mention about the timeframe and process to make a claim against him for damages to my bike. This may sound silly, and hopefully my bike is fine (it is being checked), but it is a very high-end carbon fibre bike and costs over TWD100,000 brand new, and needless to say if they find even a tiny crack in it, I will have to buy a new one…which I cannot afford now (I am out of work).

Can someone explain to me the process of what happens now, and also what if I need to make a claim against him for that amount? I can prove the bike costs that much; the price of that model is readily available online. But what if he claims he never hit me? Do I have to go to court? My friend was witness, and we were at a large junction so the cops will pull out the video camera which hopefully captured everything.

The police told me they are treating it as a hit and run, which means that even if I am not injured, he should be suspended from driving between 3-6 months and have to pay a $1000 fine. They also said it shouldn’t take more than a month for them to call me up, depsite all the horror stories I read in this forum about accident claims and issues with the entire police process.

They also advised me to get a medical checkup even though I think I am not really hurt, just in case. I don’t have 健保 so again, I would have to go through the process of claiming, which I don’t really feel like facing if it’s going to be a big long fight.

As I was riding a bicycle I don’t have motor insurance, and anyway I want the a**hole to pay even for the small bills at the bike shop which is totally overhauling my bike to see if the components or frame are damaged. If he had shown any genuine remorse I would have let it go, but now I am determined to bring him to justice. If he loses his license, even for a short time, it will be something! Another friend was involved in a hit and run and left unconscious in a pool of blood last month, so I want people to realise they can’t get away with it.

Thanks for your advice.

2

Insurance is not for damage to the vehicle, it’s for bodily damage only I believe … or the other driver has to have an additional insurance to cover vehicle damages of a third party.

3

i’m not sure how it works, but i’m pretty sure that once the police track this guy down, you can sue him in civil court for the damages to the bike and to your back. get the check-up. even without health insurance, a visit to the hospital isn’t that much money.

4

Hit and run has only a $1000 fine? That’s $30 American!

Geezus, what a mess.

I hope you got his number and a photograph of the accident scene and the perp. And I hope that the cops will actually allow you to use any video evidence (they’re quite likely to say there isn’t any just to make you go away). Best of luck.

5

[quote=“urodacus”]Hit and run has only a $1000 fine? That’s $30 American!

Geezus, what a mess.

I hope you got his number and a photograph of the accident scene and the perp. And I hope that the cops will actually allow you to use any video evidence (they’re quite likely to say there isn’t any just to make you go away). Best of luck.[/quote]

“What happens now” is that the police will mysteriously lose whatever paperwork they meticulously filled in to make it look as if they give a shit. The scooter driver did nothing wrong because … well, just because. Do not be surprised if you receive notice of civil action being taken against you for damaging his scooter. I know exactly how you feel, but unfortunately people can get away with it. That’s why they waltz away and give you the finger.

I really hope this works out well for you - certainly, get a medical report, muster whatever evidence you can - but having seen what normally happens, it would be best to brace for the worst. And if I might make a suggestion: invest in one of those little movie-camera thingies. In the absence of a functioning legal system, these are Taiwanese substitute.

6

Always ask for FAP to be present … it’s your right as a foreigner and maybe improves your chances to get the perpetrator …

7

Yep, I would send a copy of the report to the Police Dep dealing with foreigners and trying to get a response they will help settling the case.
Yep, a hospital visit for your back check-up is a Recco. No pain today doesn’t mean you could get side effects in a later stage and if you go to court, you can claim your expenses anyway.
Yep, wishing you good luck getting this solved. Keep us updated as many don’t believe so much ( anymore) in the justice model here in terms of traffic violations and accidents.

8

Like others have said: go to the hospital. Taiwan is a backwards place most the time but sometimes things are done fairly – Good luck.

9

If you don’t have a hard copy of the police report, then as finley said the paperwork will be “lost”. I have seen people on these forums say as much. No hard copy = no real police report ever made.

10

Don’t forget to go after him for the public insult if he did indeed repeatedly tell you to “f-off” in front of witnesses.

11

Can’t believe that a hit and run is a $1000. Is that NT?

12

This is not such a daft idea. I’m reliably informed (by the police) that the best way to prove your innocence is to sue the other guy. The logic is, if you’re really the aggrieved party, then you’ll want some “justice”; if you just keep quiet, you probably have something to hide. Welcome to the wonderful world of Taiwan law. OTOH I wouldn’t bother doing that unless the f-off guy appears to be spoiling for a fight. He might just pay his $1000NT ( :noway: ) and move on to the next collision.

13

Thanks everyone for your help and advice. I got a call from the traffic police to inform me that they pulled out the video from the junction and they confirmed the entire incident was captured on film. They have forwarded it to the investigating unit who will contact me in the next few weeks.

Meanwhile, I had not bothered to go to the doctor as I felt OK, but over the past few days my back has seized up more and more, and I am convinced it has something to do with the accident.

Also, regarding the verbal abuse, I don’t think I will be pursuing it as it was already a long drawn out process to make the original police report, and I can’t face having to make another report to the police (I am advised that I need to make it to the main police department, rather than the traffic police who I originally went to).

Question, does anyone have a recommendation for a decent English-speaking doctor who can examine me? Preferably US educated so I can communicate with him/her better.

Thank you!

14

[quote=“dizzyhytes”]Thanks everyone for your help and advice. I got a call from the traffic police to inform me that they pulled out the video from the junction and they confirmed the entire incident was captured on film. They have forwarded it to the investigating unit who will contact me in the next few weeks.

Meanwhile, I had not bothered to go to the doctor as I felt OK, but over the past few days my back has seized up more and more, and I am convinced it has something to do with the accident.

Also, regarding the verbal abuse, I don’t think I will be pursuing it as it was already a long drawn out process to make the original police report, and I can’t face having to make another report to the police (I am advised that I need to make it to the main police department, rather than the traffic police who I originally went to).

Question, does anyone have a recommendation for a decent English-speaking doctor who can examine me? Preferably US educated so I can communicate with him/her better.

Thank you![/quote]

I’d just go to the most modern hospital in your city. The doctors there probably speak enough English. I don’t know if there are US trained doctors here – US medical school is expensive and doctors don’t make that much money. There might be some but I bet they are specialized in brain surgery and what not and are not examining backs in the trenches.

15

Yes, the majority of doctors under 40 speak english, often extremely well (studying abroad is very popular). And incidentally, I’d avoid the ones over 60 simply because a lot of them are useless. Someone (Taiwanese) told me that, apparently, back in the bad old days, it was possible to pretty much buy your medical degree if you had the right connections and enough cash; and standards were so low back then, even the genuine graduates weren’t up to much.

16

Thanks a lot, good to know at least that the medical profession here are up to date. To be honest the clinics and dental clinics I’ve seen so far (albeit from the outside), look scarily grubby and very dated. Have been to NTU hospital and the facilities are really old too. It just doesn’t give me a good feeling unfortunately…