Was hit by car last weekend, driver did NOT receive summons, is this a problem??????

K

kevindef

New Member
Last weekend, I was hit by a car while cycling through Chester Borough, NJ by a 17 yearold traveling south on rt 24, I was traveling north on 24. He made a left turn into the Chester Mall just north of Alstedes Farm and did not see me. Luckily, I was NOT seriously injured, but my bike was damaged and the estimate is almost $2,300. I had posted this earlier last week just after my accident

Anyway, my question is, the Officer on the scene DID NOT issue a summons to the kid. He just gave him a verbal warning. His father is pointing out that since his son did not receive a summons, his insurance will not cover damages to my bike. I picked up the Police Report yesterday, and there wasn't a summons issued, but the report clearly states that the driver of the car "failed to realize that a cyclist was crossing the entrance to the mall at the same time he was turning and subsequently struck the cyclist". Chester is a small town, and I figured the cop knew the family, but that is just a guess

Does anyone know if this failure to give a summons will cause me any problem????? If so, do I have recourse with the Officer??? I did file a claim with the Insurance Company this morning. I did point out the kid did not receive a summons, and that I TOTALLY disagreed with that decision. I also pointed out that I could have lost my life in this accident and that I was slightly injured. The report does say I was injured, but I did not go to a Doctor. My left arm was sore and nothing was broken. So, am I screwed?????
 
Hogwash. Pay no attention to what the kid's dad said and pursue the claim. His insurance would cover property damage even if he swerved for a cat and took out a fence, even without a summons. Your bike is property isn't it?

The dad doesn't want you to claim because he doesn't want to see his rates go through the roof. Maybe if you impress this on him he may see the light and compensate you for the bike.
 
I don't know if it matters but I'd have no sympathy for the dad. Fuck'em.

If he was a good father he'd

1) Have taught the kid how to drive
2) Man up to the fact that the kid did something wrong, not try to get out of paying for it due to a legal loophole.

-Steve
 
I was stuck in bumper to bumper traffic and the girl driving the car behind me wasn't pay attention and hit me. The cop did not issue her a summons but told me I could issue one if I wanted. I never did and her insurance company paid for all the repairs on my car.
 
Goto the municipal court in the town that this occured with a copy of the accident report. Tell the clerk that you want to issue a Careless Driving (39:4-97) summons to the other driver. Explain what happened and they will fill out the summons and have you sign it. It will be mailed to the other driver. You have 30 days to do this.

Then the father will have his summons wish fulfilled. Seventeen year-olds are not allowed to plea-bargain traffic summonses, so he is either going to have to pay it or you will goto trial.

If you have any questions PM me.
 
kevindef said:
Last weekend, I was hit by a car while cycling through Chester Borough, NJ by a 17 yearold traveling south on rt 24, I was traveling north on 24. He made a left turn into the Chester Mall just north of Alstedes Farm and did not see me. Luckily, I was NOT seriously injured, but my bike was damaged and the estimate is almost $2,300. I had posted this earlier last week just after my accident

Anyway, my question is, the Officer on the scene DID NOT issue a summons to the kid. He just gave him a verbal warning. His father is pointing out that since his son did not receive a summons, his insurance will not cover damages to my bike. I picked up the Police Report yesterday, and there wasn't a summons issued, but the report clearly states that the driver of the car "failed to realize that a cyclist was crossing the entrance to the mall at the same time he was turning and subsequently struck the cyclist". Chester is a small town, and I figured the cop knew the family, but that is just a guess

Does anyone know if this failure to give a summons will cause me any problem????? If so, do I have recourse with the Officer??? I did file a claim with the Insurance Company this morning. I did point out the kid did not receive a summons, and that I TOTALLY disagreed with that decision. I also pointed out that I could have lost my life in this accident and that I was slightly injured. The report does say I was injured, but I did not go to a Doctor. My left arm was sore and nothing was broken. So, am I screwed?????
Click to expand...

1) The police report has coded boxes around the outside of the narrative section. The top right four boxes, to the right of the street location, are the codes for driver #1 and driver #2 as to their involvement. As long as the car has something other than code 25 and you have code 25 or two dashes (--), then you are good to go. Code 25 means basically that that party did not contribute to causing the accident. Those codes, even more so than the officer's narrative, are what the insurance companies use to determine fault.

2) The officer has 30 days to issue a summons. It is possible, but highly unlikely, that the officer will mail a summons out to the driver. However if you have a completed copy of the accident report, than the officer chose not to issue one. It's really his discretion, albeit when there are injuries the at-fault driver is much more likely to get a summons. Had you gone to the hospital from the scene, the officer may have chosen to issue the other driver a summons.

3) You also have the right to issue a summons to the other driver. You also must do so within 30 days. But, the municipal prosecutor will not prosecute the case for you. You would have to do so and subpoena the officer to testify in the matter. So figure at least two nights out of your life to sit in court for the other driver to get hit with a couple points and a $100 fine. Not really worth your time.

4) Even if the driver's insurance company doesn't pay for your bike, you have the right to file a small claims suit against the driver for the damages. The accident report filed by the officer would be proof enough that he was responsible for the damages.

5) If the insurance company cuts you a check to replace your bike, make sure you request to have salvage rights on the old bike. The insurance company won't want it anyway, and they will usually sell it back to you for a few hundred dollars. Then sell the undamaged stuff on here really really cheap since we helped. :)

One caveat: typically a driver states that a bicyclist "was going too fast" and misjudged the closing rate between the vehicles, rather than admitting that they never saw you at all. Be aware of this likely defense. You have every right to be going the speed limit of the roadway on a bike (usually at least 25 MPH). Secondly, even if you were exceeding the speed limit, a driver still must yield the right of way to oncoming traffic when trying to turn across traffic lanes. Your speed, unless it's was recklessly fast, which is impossible on a bike, is pretty irrelevant.
 
DaveyNJ said:
Goto the municipal court in the town that this occured with a copy of the accident report. Tell the clerk that you want to issue a Careless Driving (39:4-97) summons to the other driver. Explain what happened and they will fill out the summons and have you sign it. It will be mailed to the other driver. You have 30 days to do this.

Then the father will have his summons wish fulfilled. Seventeen year-olds are not allowed to plea-bargain traffic summonses, so he is either going to have to pay it or you will goto trial.

If you have any questions PM me.
Click to expand...

I disagree whole-heartedly with this advice. It will only increase the tension between the parties, and, the insurance companies will not consider summonses issued between parties, only those issued by the investigating officer.

Secondly, if you file a small claims suit, that judge may think you are trying to overly-punish the driver and may not be as willing to give you as large a settlement for the bike. The cash for the bike is more important than the summons.

And if you do, dont issue 4-97 for careless, issue 4-124 for failure to yield to oncoming traffic (you).
 
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Sounds like good advice to me.
davidcarson48 said:
1) The police report has coded boxes around the outside of the narrative section. The top right four boxes, to the right of the street location, are the codes for driver #1 and driver #2 as to their involvement. As long as the car has something other than code 25 and you have code 25 or two dashes (--), then you are good to go. Code 25 means basically that that party did not contribute to causing the accident. Those codes, even more so than the officer's narrative, are what the insurance companies use to determine fault.

2) The officer has 30 days to issue a summons. It is possible, but highly unlikely, that the officer will mail a summons out to the driver. However if you have a completed copy of the accident report, than the officer chose not to issue one. It's really his discretion, albeit when there are injuries the at-fault driver is much more likely to get a summons. Had you gone to the hospital from the scene, the officer may have chosen to issue the other driver a summons.

3) You also have the right to issue a summons to the other driver. You also must do so within 30 days. But, the municipal prosecutor will not prosecute the case for you. You would have to do so and subpoena the officer to testify in the matter. So figure at least two nights out of your life to sit in court for the other driver to get hit with a couple points and a $100 fine. Not really worth your time.

4) Even if the driver's insurance company doesn't pay for your bike, you have the right to file a small claims suit against the driver for the damages. The accident report filed by the officer would be proof enough that he was responsible for the damages.

5) If the insurance company cuts you a check to replace your bike, make sure you request to have salvage rights on the old bike. The insurance company won't want it anyway, and they will usually sell it back to you for a few hundred dollars. Then sell the undamaged stuff on here really really cheap since we helped. :)

One caveat: typically a driver states that a bicyclist "was going too fast" and misjudged the closing rate between the vehicles, rather than admitting that they never saw you at all. Be aware of this likely defense. You have every right to be going the speed limit of the roadway on a bike (usually at least 25 MPH). Secondly, even if you were exceeding the speed limit, a driver still must yield the right of way to oncoming traffic when trying to turn across traffic lanes. Your speed, unless it's was recklessly fast, which is impossible on a bike, is pretty irrelevant.
Click to expand...
 
Rememnber this?

"You probably not feeling good today. After the adrinalin wears off thats when your really gonna feel the discomfort. If you haven't seen a doctor yet, go as soon as you can. It's about documentation now, get it all down."

How is the replacement of bike $7000?
 
Who said $7000???? My bike is worth around $4,000, so the repairs are just under $2,300. I purchased the bike for 2000, but my wheels are custom built and are over 700, upgraded to all Ultegra 6700 for another 1500, so the value is about 4000. But then again if you remove the value of the original wheels and components it would be less than 4000 I guess. Those original parts were not that good.
 
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