Parking Woes

Meteor · Parking Woes

I"ve often wondered why so many bikes avoid parking on the roadside, preferring to navigate onto the footpath - a process which can often be a lot more awkward. Well, today I found out why.

I left my bike between two vehicles which were parallel parked. I was admittedly within one of the bays, but I had left plenty of space between both vehicles (a good two metres each side). I was having a snack at a table a few yards down the road, when this woman walked up to me and said "I think I just knocked your bike over".

She'd backed her car up and run into my bike. There it was, lying on its side, half a brake lever and a shattered footpeg nearby. I didn't quite know what to say. She'd said it quite clinically, and seemed almost indignant, rather than apologetic.

As we looked at the bike, lying pitifully on its side, she started saying something about how I shouldn't have parked in her carpark. I thought, shit, maybe she's right. Even though I had left plenty of room, maybe there's some law about keeping within the white lines?

Anyway, she gave me a hand to pick the bike up. It seemed as though the main brunt of the fall had been taken by the handlebars, which were not only twisted forward in the clamps, but also pushed sideways (to the left). The right footpeg was broken off at the hinge, and the CRG brake lever had snapped off at its (perfectly designed) notch. That was the only damage!

I couldn't get angry. I could see her point of view, even though she admitted that she hadn't looked or seen my bike (she said she was not all there, as her father had died last week). We exchanged details and she offered to wait around to see if I could ride the bike, in case I needed a lift home. She also asked me what I thought was damaged, in case I added in a bunch of extra expenses later! It looked as if the only things were the lever and the footpeg, although I was thinking that maybe something else might reveal itself later (at full speed, going round a corner...).

A few bemused spectators came up later and stood gawking while I attempted to start the bike. Thank God and Erik, it started first time, and rode perfectly. Back at HQ I managed to swap one of the rear footpegs for the broken one (thanks Pete Bueller!) and requisitioned an allen key to reset the handlebars.

The only things that bother me now are:

a) Am I in the wrong? Should I have parked elsewhere? I have had several previous experiences where the guilty party has admitted liability at the scene of the accident, only to renege later and refer me to their solicitors, who always manage to find a legal loophole which makes it too difficult to bother pursuing damages. I fully expect this to happen in this case, even though the bill probably won't exceed a couple of hundred bucks.

b) Could the handlebars suffer from metal fatigue after two (yes, this is the second time, the first was when I forgot to remove the disk lock) falls and should they be replaced, lest they suddenly disintegrate at 110kph, leaving you to steer with the fork rebound adjustment screws?

Any comments?

Bombardier

Were you in a bay by yourself or did you put your bike into one of the occupied bays as well as the car?

Bueller

A parking offence does not put you in the wrong when someone hits your vehicle. You can get a ticket for that but not damage. If it had been someone standing (not walking) behind it is the same thing.

I feel sorry for her. Everyone has bad days, but it is bad luck and not your fault.

Get advice on the bars. If they aren't creased and haven't bent they are probably OK. The ones on your City-X have the extra reinforcing bar, so any crease would normally show from where that attaches to the end of the bar.

Fuzz

What a bummer, but at least the damage was minimal...
I think I would find a safer place to park, tho with cagers even the sidewalk
isn't always the answer.
As to the bars, if your'e concerned, replace them, it's cheap insurance, IMO.

Aussie XB12SS

I'm a bit confused - was your bike parked in the same bay as the car that hit your bike?

As far as I know 2 vehicles can't be parked in the same bay. Local parking wanna be cop pointed that out to me & a mate who parked our bikes in the same bay even though we put money in the meter.
1st person in the bay is in the owner of the bay for the designated time.

But it is also an offense to reverse into something / someone as well as Bueller said.

Meteor

I was parked in the same bay as her car.

Yeah, I feel sorry for her too. Plus she at least had the decency to walk down the street and find me. Some people would have just driven off. I can understand why she looked pissed off, too.

Murdoch

I give the woman full marks for going to the trouble to find you & the honesty to confess
Still never a nice thing to hear but a worse thing to find it without notice
I also give you full marks for not losing it & going off
Its stuff made of high emotion so sometimes things are said & happen in the heat of the moment

I wont share a park with a car,
Don't mind sharing with other bikes but not cars.....................(well they are driven by car drivers)
I`ll even park on footpaths & other pedestrian areas risking a fine just to separate my bike from cars

Sounds although you had a bad experience you came out of it pretty good Meteor

Meteor

Yeah, you're right Murdoch. I was pleased with myself for keeping emotion out of it, and also very impressed with her behaviour.

If she pays for the damage, it'll be just another bike story with a happy ending, to be told over a beer.