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snoogly

Maximum Pace
Oct 14, 2007
695
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Thus far I have never got round to taking out cycling insurance, but an insane (and amusing) crash yesterday has pushed me into taking some out.

I was riding towards Minami-osawa station, en-route to the Tank Road, when suddenly I was adrift in a world of white. I had no idea what was going, on, and suddenly crunched to the ground, unable to see anything but the white fabric wrapped around me and the bike. It must have been a funny site, as I didn't know what the heck had happened, or what my precise circumstances were ...

I called out the name of the young lady I was riding with (this was a 'date' ride ...) and asked for help. She said she heard my voice, but couldn't see me ... At last she realised that the white blob was one of those large flags/banners on a pole, that had swung round in the strong wind, and grasped me with a firm grip. She broke down with laughter, which I totally forgive her for, but was able to heave the flag off me - revealing a confused and twisted bike/me heap. The flag got caught in the wind again, and nearly lifted her off the ground as she tried to stick the pole back in the dirt.

My bike (Carl Strong MTB ..) was without a scratch, and I had a numb knee. Later my big toe went black - but I think it is just badly bruised. As we rode home we both had to stop riding on occasions, as we were laughing so much.

It was funny, and absurd, but the damage to me and the bike could have been much worse - with obvious liability being with the idiot shop that put out the banners. But without insurance (back to the reason for writing this post) it would have been difficult to squeeze compensation out of them.

I think I will go for the Mont Bell insurance, and try to stop the young lady in question from laughing too much while she helps me navigate the Mont Bell web site.

Has anyone else ever been a victim of a flag/banner? I was paranoid after that, and visibly twitched every time I saw one.
 
Snoogly,

I should update my comments on the insurance sticky. Having insurance buys you representation when there is a potential claim against you. In most road accidents this will be the case where both parties are assumed to have culpability - the argument is about percentage of liability. 50/50. 90/10. 10/90 etc.

However, I was talking to someone who was struck by a truck. There was no damage to the truck (sic) and the police made it clear the truck was 100% at fault. His insurance company refused to get involved because he (they) had no liability.

In the case of the flag you would face a similar situation. I still recommend insurance but wanted to highlight the limitation.

Philip
 
Snoogly,

I should update my comments on the insurance sticky. Having insurance buys you representation when there is a potential claim against you. In most road accidents this will be the case where both parties are assumed to have culpability - the argument is about percentage of liability. 50/50. 90/10. 10/90 etc.

However, I was talking to someone who was struck by a truck. There was no damage to the truck (sic) and the police made it clear the truck was 100% at fault. His insurance company refused to get involved because he (they) had no liability.

In the case of the flag you would face a similar situation. I still recommend insurance but wanted to highlight the limitation.

Philip

Thanks for that info Phil.
 
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