Get witnesses whenever you can

Aware

Aware

Well-known member
In the last two months I have been sideswiped twice, totaling one bike and beating up the brand new replacement. This after over 35 years of riding with no collisions :-/. Insurance has settled in both cases, with the car drivers who hit me being held 100% responsible in each case, so while I'm not here to go over the fine details of events, I feel OK discussing them in general.

The first accident, roughly 2 months ago, was southbound on 880, just north of the 101 North intersection in San Jose. I was sideswiped from the left, but took a bang to the head and was confused. All I could remember was seeing a car coming at me from the RIGHT, and falling off.

The cop who stopped to help us clean up and move to the side of the road also took insurance and license info, then I heard him ask the driver what had happened. The cop interrupted him and pointed out that he was right behind us and saw everything, at which point I did an internal happy dance. Obviously the cop is a reliable witness, and without his statement (police report) I could have ended up incorrectly sharing the blame for the accident.

The second accident was on West Taylor, going over 87 in San Jose. The other driver signaled right and crossed into my lane, then cancelled the signal and returned to the left lane. We were approaching a red stop light. As I drew alongside the car, the driver veered into the side of me. A very nice guy who stopped to help said that he saw everything and gave me his number, saying he was happy to be a witness. Another stopped and offered first aid, called cops, got ambulance (not needed) followed me home to make sure I was safe etc. (no front brake lever so I had to be very cautious ... ya boo sux to all you people who NEVER use your back brake LOL).

Whilst I was the victim in both cases, if I did not have reliable witnesses I am pretty sure we could have ended up with a he-said-she-said dispute that might have gone on for a while.
 
S

sniper1rfa

Well-known member
The corollary to this is; if you see an accident, stop and provide a statement or at least leave a card or phone number.

When I got whacked, the people behind me drove around me as I was lying on the tarmac on the highway and left. No witnesses came forward and it was a he-said/she-said, so each insurance blamed the other guy. It sucked and went to court, where the guy who hit me was informed that he didn't stand a chance and it settled out. Lawyer got 1/3 of the settlement two years after the fact.

It only takes a minute or two to leave your information.


Also, state minimum insurance is completely worthless.
 
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Aware

Aware

Well-known member
sniper1rfa said:
It only takes a minute or two to leave your information.


Also, state minimum insurance is completely worthless.
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Thanks and YES. I can't count the number of YouTube videos I have seen where the person with the damned camera just drives off, along with every other witness. YES being a witness is a chore. But it is a much worse chore on someone who has no one to corroborate their perception of events, or who has no facility to accurately describe events in his/her defense.

I pay for the best insurance I can afford. It has paid for itself in spades just with these two incidents. Geico could not have been more helpful.
 
J

Junkie

gone for now
When I got hit on the Bay Bridge 3 years ago, I was very lucky that a witness saw it happen, chased after the guy (he didn't stop), and got a good look at his face (tried to get him to stop but he didn't).

Of course, it took 2+ years and a lawyer to get paid anyway, since he later reported the car stolen and denied that he was driving.
 
newbiker

newbiker

Well-known member
Quick questions - Why aren't guys wearing go-pro (or such) cameras? If a picture is worth a thousand words, a video is worth a million. That's your witness.
 
S

sniper1rfa

Well-known member
Yep, a good idea and I have cameras on my bike now. Didn't then, and not everybody does it.

Also, cameras don't get everything. If somebody does a runner, it's helpful to have a person who saw them. Common for drunk drivers to split so they can avoid the DUI, even if they know they'll get caught later.
 
yzsofst

yzsofst

Well-known member
The thing about cameras is they can cut both ways. I've heard of police seizing GoPros at traffic stops, going over the footage and writing citations for every moving violation recorded. One person even offered up their camera as evidence because they recorded someone else's accident and the cops basically took that guy's license after viewing the footage.

Might be ok if you never break the speed limit and never split over 20mph and never ride with people who do.
 
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yzsofst

yzsofst

Well-known member
The police have the power to seize an item if there are reasonable grounds for believing that it is evidence relating to an offence. What is considered ‘reasonable’ is often easily established by a police officer if they simply believe an offence has been committed, even if later it is found that there was no offence. If the police simply stop you for no reason it would be difficult to see why they would need to seize your camera. If, however, they think you have been involved in an offence, such as speeding, they could lawfully seize the camera and a refusal could lead to further criminal charges.

If you are involved in an accident any footage would be useful to establish blame or liability. While it may be in your favour to rely on it, it may also show that you were to blame for an accident. You may not, therefore, want your opponent to see it. In any personal injury claim there is a duty to disclose any document that is pertinent to the claim, be it adverse or favourable to your claim. You would therefore have to disclose the video footage if it is material to the accident. If you are aware of the existence of the footage and you fail to notify your opponent you could be held in contempt of court. Alternatively, it could be found that you are trying to mislead or hide the facts and as such your claim could fail for reasons of “fundamental dishonesty”.
 
N

Norbs

Well-known member
I actually installed a moto cam that records front and back any time the bike is on just for this reason. I had one lady cut me off who I kind of raised my hand at in a "wtf are you doing manner". A little further down the road another lady cut me and the car left of me off as I was splitting past. The car to left of me turned off to the side but it was already out of my sight so all I could do was brake and hit the car that moved into our lane. I didn't want to end up under the car to the left of me.

Either way the lady who cut me off ended up getting a "witness", the other lady who had cut me off and I shook my head at. I didn't think about needing a witness and let the person who actually saw it go and didn't get his info. I had no idea I would even need a witness it was pretty clear who was at fault. Either way it ended up being a split liability. Since I was not hurt and my bike was inexpensive it was not worth the time to pursue it any further and it was 2 against 1 even though the other witness could not had seen the accident and was lying about what happened.
 
budgie45

budgie45

panty sniffer
Just scored a hero 3+ Black with 5 batteries
And a shit load of mounts and other shit for $125 on eBay
My GoPro session is a piece of shit
Started having
A
GoPro after being clipped lane splitting few years back

And I wear full gear well I don’t wear boots never could find a pair I liked
 
fast4d

fast4d

Well-known member
I offered to be a witness to an accident I saw.

some chick made a left turn from the center straight ahead lane and got T-boned.

she was crying crocodile tears at the scene so I give the other driver my phone.

sure enough she claimed he was at fault (my guess) because his insurance called me and later her insurance.
 
FXCLM5

FXCLM5

bombaclaud
Yep, still waiting to pay it forward, and i rock a helmet cam as well, and sometimes a tailcam.

Few years ago a lady Tboned me on hwy 1, had a motorist stop give me his business card and said I was .3 mile out and saw the entire accident.

She told her insurance I was tailgating her and I rear ended her.... I fukn rolled off her hood and she totaled my 09 r1. Anyways when I got the phone call from insurance company stating it was 100% my fault, I just laughed and said her story is false, this guy is my witness and he will validate my story that I was hit not her. 30mins later they call me back and said it was 100% other parties fault. Had I known she was going to play dumb insurance games I should hve gone to dr and got a real police report, which is more evidence for yourself as well.
 
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Climber

Climber

Well-known member
Always call and wait for cops if the damage is more than minor.

Too many people out there who will try to lay blame on the other person and rush to get their story in first then it's an uphill battle for the other person to establish that they were not at fault.

I've known too many people who got fucked over when it wasn't their fault because the other party was an Ass.

Drive like an Ass, Act like an Ass, don't expect anything else.
 
295566

295566

Numbers McGee
Climber said:
Always call and wait for cops if the damage is more than minor.

Too many people out there who will try to lay blame on the other person and rush to get their story in first then it's an uphill battle for the other person to establish that they were not at fault.

I've known too many people who got fucked over when it wasn't their fault because the other party was an Ass.

Drive like an Ass, Act like an Ass, don't expect anything else.
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This. Not to mention there are no repercussions for outright lying to insurance... trying to file a false police report is a crime though. :thumbup
 
E

ejv

Untitled work in progress
295566 said:
This. Not to mention there are no repercussions for outright lying to insurance... trying to file a false police report is a crime though. :thumbup
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There is a PC section in CA covering just this. Are you suggesting there is no will to prosecute such crimes or that the code doesn't exist? Code is PC 550(b) (1)-(4).
 
budman

budman

General Menace
Staff member
yzsofst said:
The thing about cameras is they can cut both ways. I've heard of police seizing GoPros at traffic stops, going over the footage and writing citations for every moving violation recorded. One person even offered up their camera as evidence because they recorded someone else's accident and the cops basically took that guy's license after viewing the footage.

Might be ok if you never break the speed limit and never split over 20mph and never ride with people who do.
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I asked the LEO's about this and their response was this is basically not true

Here is the link. http://www.bayarearidersforum.com/forums/showpost.php?p=10186658&postcount=12
 
MapleRoad

MapleRoad

Well-known member
I'm less worried about an officer negatively critiquing my ride and issuing performance awards than I am about a liar trying to avoid responsibility. Officers usually have better things to do with their time, and many people have Avoiding Responsibility as their top priority.
 
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