Wear a Helmet

[Gary78]

On Saturday, I was riding on a straight, wide, empty, dedicated scooter/bicycle lane. I was doing about 20km/h. Suddenly and by total surprise, I was struck directly from behind by a scooter.
I went down HARD. The back of my head hit the tarmac with extreme force. I have no doubt that this helmet quite literally saved my life.
Wear your helmets, folks. If you don’t have one, buy one today. Wear it if you’re ‘just’ going to the shop, trundling along a cycle path. Whatever, wear it.

I’m injured, and I’ll be off the bike for a while. The impact might have killed a few brain cells, but I’m still able to send this message, and I’m grateful for that.

[Membrillo]

Get well soon. And make the scooter pay for it.

[ericinformosa]

I had about the same situation, also hit from behind by a scooter, and pushing me into a 400kg concrete barrier, which made me going head over heels, bike and me.

I don’t really believe that bike helmets save the brain, but they surely help to prevent some nasty road rash, mine did too.

I just settled the case, 4 months later, after all initial crap, including a no-show on the first settlement hearing by the other party, all the usual excuses of no-money, family issues, bla bla bla.

Last Friday was the second and last settlement meeting, and the turn over point to go to court.
I prepared my case very well, and the government mediator did a tremendous job, cutting all the crap from the other party.

I accepted a NTD. 2800 deduction to let them save face, but they basically paid the full new-price for the bike, the aftermarket wheels, all damaged accessories (GPS, GPS mount, lost bottles, SPDSL pedals, etc), helmet, trouser, shoes, plus the medical fees, transportation costs, and some more.

If you need a heads-up on how I got there, let me know.
Good luck recovering!

[ranlee]

@ericinformosa

I accepted a NTD. 2800 deduction to let them save face, but they basically paid the full new-price for the bike, the aftermarket wheels, all damaged accessories (GPS, GPS mount, lost bottles, SPDSL pedals, etc), helmet, trouser, shoes, plus the medical fees, transportation costs, and some more.

This reminds us to wear a helmet and consider a dash cam too. Congrats on winning the case.

Wearing a helmet is completely one’s own choice. I won’t be ridiculing anyone who doesn’t. Just think about your own safety and if you have loved ones that care about you at home, it’s an easy way to get them off your back if they’re already bothering you about disappearing for every Saturday morning.

[Explant]

Its also the law no? Bikes are vehicles.

op, Glad you are “ok”, hope nothing creeps in lter on!

[mad_masala]

@ericinformosa

I don’t really believe that bike helmets save the brain,

Back in the day I broke a helmet into three pieces. I’m sure as Hell it protected my brain. A few weeks ago I was ice skating and I went into the ground. I didn’t hit my unprotected head but I started to feel dizzy, had nausea and I almost fainted. If I hit my head that day onto the ground I’m sure my brain would have had more serious complaints…

[Membrillo]

I had a big crash 22 years ago. I went over the bars, smashed my right clavicle into pieces (I still have the plate inside) and hit the ground with the back of the helmet. The helmet had a crack after the crash but it preserved its shape, and my head.

[Gary78]

My injuries are far more serious than I let on in my first post. I didn’t want to make the post about my injuries, my intent was to post in the hope that if even one person sees it who doesn’t wear a helmet, and that person goes and buys one, maybe that person will survive an accident like I did.

I was blue-lighted to hospital on a spinal board with my head strapped down. As I laid in the gutter waiting for the ambulance to arrive, I honest to god thought I was paralysed.

After X-rays and a whole body CT scan turns out that I have concussion, whiplash and a fractured pelvis.

I saw the neurosurgeon today. He categorically told me that the helmet saved my life. Don’t let there be any doubt that a helmet could do the same for you.

Unfortunately, the other party has already gone from apologising for running into the back of me, to trying to pin the whole thing on me. But that is another story, I’ll be looking for some advise on the legal forum when I’m up to posting about it.

[squall1]

@Gary78

My injuries are far more serious than I let on in my first post.

Get well soon…

[lostinasia]

@Gary78

My injuries are far more serious than I let on in my first post.

God, what a nightmare for you. Best wishes on all fronts, physical, financial, and legal. Probably psychological too. This must be absolutely awful.

[DrewC]

I’m not good at wearing my helmet. After reading your post, I think I’ll try to be better. Glad you’re okay.

[ericinformosa]

@lostinasia

God, what a nightmare for you. Best wishes on all fronts, physical, financial, and legal. Probably psychological too. This must be absolutely awful.

What @lostinasia said, all the best wishes for your recovery from this awful experience.

As it seems you can do some from your bed, be asap sure that:

• the video from the scooter (if any) was secured by police,
• any video from street camera was secured,
• that you leave the hospital with a full medical injury certificate (which you will need later on),
• that your bike is secured and untouched (evidence),
• that you keep a record / time line since the accident, including the other parties behavior (do they ask how you are, do they inquire if you are willing to settle, etc).

As due to your injuries and hospital admission, this is automatically elevated to a criminal case, and therefore a step more serious.
There are some other steps to take, but that is probably after you leave the hospital.

Which part of Taiwan did this happen / are you located?

[mad_masala]

@Gary78

Unfortunately, the other party has already gone from apologising for running into the back of me, to trying to pin the whole thing on me.

How typical.

I’m sorry to hear you have to undergo all this pain and hassle. Hope you get better soon.

[Gary78]

Thanks for all the well wishes.

To answer the post from @ericinformosa:

• There is no video footage, and there are no witnesses. The other party was a 74 year old woman, no cameras on her scooter and, unfortunately, no street cameras in the vicinity of the collision. The woman’s son called my wife yesterday and started to say I caused this. My wife shut him down, but looks like this is just the start. The lady also has a broken leg, which I understand is going to make this more difficult.

• I’m out of hospital now, my fracture didn’t need pinning, and there’s nothing else they can do for me. Just sent me home with some good painkillers (tramadol) and told me not to walk for 6 weeks. I have the paperwork detailing the concussion, whiplash and broken bone.

• The bike is already at home. On a glancing inspection when I passed it when I got back from the hospital, I saw that the back wheel is totaled and there is paint from the scooter fairing on the outside of the tyre (the area that would contact the road). This should be a clear indication that she struck me hard directly from behind. I hope I’m wrong, but I don’t have much faith that the system here will come to the same conclusion, time will tell.

• This happened in Tainan, on the HSR service road which has a very wide dedicated scooter & bike lane. The road is dead straight, it was daylight, I was wearing bright colors, riding well over to the right. There was no other traffic. I must have been visible from at last 300m away. I have no idea how she managed to run into me.

@ranlee mentioned cameras. I tried to buy front and rear cycliq cameras a few months ago, but they were out of stock everywhere, so it fell by the wayside. A rear facing camera would have been ideal, even a front facing camera could have show that my speed and heading were not altered before the impact. Anyway, I didn’t have camera’s, but as soon as I get back on the road I will.

If anyone has experience or can offer advice on this subject, I’ll be grateful to receive it.

On the plus side, to keep me off the streets, my wife is now pushing me to get an indoor trainer and zwift. Something I’ve wanted for a while, but couldn’t justify because of the year round good weather in the south.

Here’s a couple more photos of the damage to the helmet. It’s being only held together by the Aramid fibers in the molding. It’s hard from the pictures to see how hard an impact this was.

[flatlandr]

@Gary78

On the plus side, to keep me off the streets, my wife is now pushing me to get an indoor trainer and zwift. Something I’ve wanted for a while, but couldn’t justify because of the year round good weather in the south.

What a f’ing shame. It’s terrible that one muppet not looking through their eyes chases you off the road. Do you live close enough to the countryside? It’s the only thing that makes me get out there. The less chance of some fuckwit with the lights on and no-one home hitting you is on those little farm roads out of the way.

ADDED: And wear a bloody helmet out there. I’ve had to look at the MRI scan of front and back brain hemorrhage inside my noggin. It aint pretty.

[Belgian_Pie]

@Gary78

On Saturday, I was riding on a straight, wide, empty, dedicated scooter/bicycle lane. I was doing about 20km/h. Suddenly and by total surprise, I was struck directly from behind by a scooter.

That’s the problem, sharing scooter and bicycles on the same lane. In Europe scooters can only go 40 km/h on shared lanes and should not be over 49cc. White plate scooters in Taiwan should never share with bicycles.

[Membrillo]

@Belgian_Pie

White plate scooters in Taiwan should never share with bicycles.

And nevertheless, they share space with pedestrians.

[Belgian_Pie]

They drive anywhere because police doesn’t care enough.

[ericinformosa]

Gary,
The description of your accident very much is a copy of mine, although I had some kind of video to support it (the actual impact was missing though).
I kept my bike (same; with paint of the scooter on my crumbled rear wheel) untouched for 4 months, and it helped to prove they were in the wrong.

I am not willing to go through the whole process to get my money back here on a public forum, but I will be more than willing to share it with you privately. Surely every case is different, but there might some pointers in it which may help you.

You will also need to relax on the matter, as it will probably drag out for a very long time, and they might throw all kind of garbage on you.
But the TW traffic law is pretty clear, and at least in my case, the law simply prevailed at the end.

[Gary78]

Eric, I have sent you a PM.

It’s very sad to say, the mental stress of the legal side is far higher than that of my physical injuries.

I can’t say enough good things about the ambulance crew and hospital staff, first class.
But the police that attended the scene really didn’t care.
I was lucky that my wife got to the scene before the police left and the ambulance took me away. She told me that she had to actively tell the police to take pictures of the bike wheel and a few other details which they missed.