[SUX VR40 Rider]

Originally Posted by retromike3

Actually the interesting thing was that the ambulance showed up first and they waited for the police to show up about twenty minutes after the accident happened,

By then it was starting to get dark. I had a bike with a very good light set up but I was just going to the store about six blocks away so I took my fixed gear. I thought that I would be home by the time it got dark and if I would have made it to the store I would have gotten home in plenty of time. Just my luck(sigh)

mike

If you had someone to verify, the EMT's who responded, that the collision occured before sunset, why didn't you fight the ticket? Sorry, but I find it irritating when a cyclist lays down and accepts the consequences when he or she should stand up and defend their rights and fight against a citation. It makes things more difficult for the rest of us the next time a citation is issued unfairly. It sets a precendent for law enforcement to abuse their power and authority.

[retromike3]

I did not lay down (except when I was flat on the road with my arm broken in seven places) I went to the police office to get my drivers license and the court date was the next day. I still had my arm in a traction cast. I might have hired a lawyer but I was a bit under the weather and did not have the cash or the resources to come up with a defense overnight.

I pleaded my case to the judge and was promptly fined fifty dollars. I felt like I had been railroaded. I did however go to court and plead my case, I did not just send them a check. looking back on this I could have changed the way I did things but if I would have left ten seconds earlier the hosehead would not have hit me.

mike

[photosbymark]

well the main thing is you are here to complain about a bike being torn up. You learned a couple of valuable lessons, the main one is assume nothing. It will make an *#@ out of U and ME every time. Somehow I bet you will remember and if so that will be worth the price of the bike, even a very expensive one. Hard to complain from 6 feet under.

[retromike3]

good point!