Getting hit effing sucks.

[AxeYrCat]

My poor Buddy is a bit scratched up, but it still rides fine.

I have a bit of rash on my right hip, and my left knee is a bit scraped and hurts like hell.


But I suppose that we're both pretty good considering...



Anyway, a parked Mercedes pulled out into my lane, hit me, and then I ended up down on the same side he hit me on, laying on my belly.


My gloves saved my hands from the street, my jacket ended up lifted up a bit too far to really save my hip bone, and my jeans did a relatively good job keeping my legs from getting too scraped up.


Dude said (to the police) that he didn't hit me, but there were some scratches on his front left fender that lined up perfectly with the ones on the side of the Buddy, and he got cited.

I got a ticket for 'riding in a congested area' when I only have a permit... One of the cops thought that was BS, but it only takes one to write a ticket.



Be careful out there, folks.

[mybuddy]

Damn that sucks. Sorry to hear about it. Hope you heal soon.

What part of town was it in? Was it really that congested?

[AxeYrCat]

It was downtown, but no one goes downtown in Cincinnati.


It was half a block from where I work, and the street (Sycamore) isn't particularly high-traffic at all.


I had interpreted 'congested' to mean that there was lots of stop and go traffic or the like. Apparently, according to the cop who ticketed me, it's any road that has cars driving on it -- that permits were only to be used for riding on rural roads.

[vitaminC]

Wow, what a bummer!

Hope you heal up quick! Be sure and see a doc if your knee (or anything else) continues to hurt, as you may not yet be feeling the full extent of the injury.

[jrsjr]

Ouch! Sorry to hear about your accident. Glad to hear that you were wearing safety gear and that you're not badly injured.

Ride Safe.

[rajron]

Oh Man that’s no good!


Hope you recover fast and clean up the scratches on the scoot.
Luckily you were wearing protective clothing – during this time of the year its easy because its so darn cold – come next summer it may be a different story – at least for me because I’m not much for wearing a lot of cloths.
Does it actually say on your permit that you cannot ride in congested areas – for that matter does the cop have the right to interpret the law like that. And and the guy hit you!!!!

[Bryce-O-Rama]

I wonder if you would have any luck appealing that ticket in court. I doubt that ticket will have any bearing on the driver of the Mercedes being responsible for hitting you.

[Keys]

Man, I hate hearing about stuff like that, Cat-man. Best you can hope for is some impressive scars, eh? Glad that neither you nor your scooter were badly damaged. Roadrash can be the pits, though. Keep lotion on it to keep the scabs supple and it won't hurt so bad when you roll over in bed. Experience talking here....

--Keys

[ericalm]

Damn sorry to hear about you joining the "Crashed a Buddy" roster. Good thing you had a good jacket on. Yeah, it seems like the hip area is pretty vulnerable with most MC-type jackets. But good that you weren't more seriously injured.

Hope you're well and back on your Buddy soon!

[RunRun]

I got a ticket for 'riding in a congested area' when I only have a permit... One of the cops thought that was BS, but it only takes one to write a ticket.


You got a ticket for riding in a congested area? (THAT'S B.S). What is that all about? Here in california you ride everywhere with a permit except on the freeway and that it. Is that really the law up there where you live you can't ride in congested areas? what if the parking lot up there is congested then what?

RunRun

[Keys]

Sorry, I can't address the permit question at all...I was in the Marines and in Southern California when I took my test in 1975. I went down, took the test...both written and practical, passed and got a license. Had it ever since. Never did the permit thing...

--Keys

[peabody99]

I wonder if you would have any luck appealing that ticket in court. I doubt that ticket will have any bearing on the driver of the Mercedes being responsible for hitting you.

sorry to hear about the accident. And yeah I would fight it....make em' actually legally define "conjested"!

[ericalm]

Here in california you ride everywhere with a permit except on the freeway and that it. Is that really the law up there where you live you can't ride in congested areas? what if the parking lot up there is congested then what?

BUT, in CA you cannot carry a passenger or ride after dark with a permit. So there are SOME restrictions...

[SteMer]

Dude - bummer! Glad that injuries were only minor. That stinks! And the officer saying that permits are only for rural roads? I know "congested" is a relative term, but you gotta be kidding me! Because any road in Cincinnati then is considered congested. Maybe they need to clearly define that better when we get the permit - and clearly define it for officers, too. I guess it's time I try to pass the BMV riding test. How much is your fine?

[RunRun]

Here in california you ride everywhere with a permit except on the freeway and that it. Is that really the law up there where you live you can't ride in congested areas? what if the parking lot up there is congested then what?

BUT, in CA you cannot carry a passenger or ride after dark with a permit. So there are SOME restrictions...

Now that's true

[lobsterman]

AxeYrCat,

Sorry to hear that man, but I'm glad you're OK.

I did think the "congested roads" part of the permit was hard to define, and I certainly rode on more congested places than that regularly with my permit. Including downtown, right smack in the center of downtown. Glad I've got the endorsement now, or I'd be a candidate for the same ticket.

I think if he told you "rural roads" you'd have a shot of fighting it in court if you were so inclined, since that would rule out all of Hamilton County.

Again, real glad you're not too banged up. Heal well, and don't ignore it if you're in real pain.

[mybuddy]

I know that when I got my temp permit, there was a state patrol officer there and I was asking him about the whole congested road thing. He told me that it will always be at the officers disgression at what is considered congested at the time. He said that at certain times of the day some roads would be ok whereas at rush hour that same road would not be ok. He also said that the officer should take into count conditions at the time. For example, if you are on a "non"- congested road, yet there is an accident ahead or some other unforseen reason that the road gets backed up, that is not your fault since it was not congested when you started out.

My head was spinning after talking to him and I know that I broke that rule everyday until I got permit going up and down Beechmont going home from work. (those of you from Cincinnati know how bad that road can get)

[BlueMark]

Deleted by user

[dru_]

Here in california you ride everywhere with a permit except on the freeway and that it. Is that really the law up there where you live you can't ride in congested areas? what if the parking lot up there is congested then what?

BUT, in CA you cannot carry a passenger or ride after dark with a permit. So there are SOME restrictions...

That's the same here in Georgia, No 'Restricted Access Roads', No Passengers, No Darkness. But here's the funny part... They had to alter the law to address the highway, because of officer interpretation. If you've ever driven in atlanta, you know that every road is either a Highway, or it's named Peachtree something-or-other .

As for driving in a congested area, maybe the cop had a head-cold and needed a Benadryl .

[ericalm]

I'm not sure about other states but the CA riding test to go from permit to license is ridiculously easy. So anyone who's delaying taking the test should relax; it's a breeze, especially on a Buddy or other CVT scoot. There's also the MSF waiver route.

[AxeYrCat]

How much is your fine?

I'm not sure yet -- it requires a court appearance.

I'm not sure about other states but the CA riding test to go from permit to license is ridiculously easy. So anyone who's delaying taking the test should relax; it's a breeze, especially on a Buddy or other CVT scoot. There's also the MSF waiver route.

I actually wanted to take the MSF course, but they were all booked up from the time I bought the Buddy. I was going to try to walk-in, but my work schedule made that all but impossible.

I was just going to schedule to take the test and then take the MSF class next year, but they aren't offering any more motorcycle endorsement tests until next March.

[MrNatural]

AYC,
You've gotten plenty of "advice" so far, not all of which I read but I'll give my 2c also.
I'd definitely fight the ticket. The judge may see it entirely different...or you might get nailed but it's worth the chance. I recently had a tix for expired tabs dismissed just because I literally went in and said "boy, I know I messed up. Bought them and forgot to put them on...nobodie's fault but my own." I got a tongue-lashing but small price to get the $112 fine (fine exceeded the cost of the tabs!!!) wiped out.

If you want to go the whole nine yards you could monitor the traffic on that section of road once or twice on that same day of the wk and time of day you got hit. The cop is going to testify to the high volume of traffic (real or imagined) to justify his citation so it'd be best to have "evidence" beyond you just saying in your opinion it wasn't congested.
There also may be traffic surveys (the rubber hose across the road) done what would show traffic frequency.
There's always the chance the cop won't show for the hearing and maybe the judge will be a cyclist or better yet a BIcyclist!!!

Good luck~!!!!!! Glad you're ok!!!

[castleton]

Ditto re: fight the ticket. If you can get to court, they will often dismiss the charge if you can put up even a minor defense. Worth the effort.

(not from my experience, of course)

[AxeYrCat]

Thanks, everyone...


I haven't been out on the Buddy since the Merc tackled us last week (with the exception of the rest of the ride home).


In one of those amazingly-small-world sort of things, apparently one of Lagerhead's co-workers was driving in a vehicle that was coming at us head-on when the lawyer hit me, and he saw the whole darned thing...


Should it go to court, I've got a witness.





As far as going to court regarding the ticket I was issued, that'll definitely be happening.

[lobsterman]

AxeYrCat,

Did you say a lawyer hit you? Then he tried to tell the police he didn't hit you and got cited?

Wow. Maybe they really do teach those guys to lie in law school. I think you should sue his lying a**.

Good luck in court for the ticket, and let us know how it turns out. Do you have a court date?

[MrNatural]

Axe,
Curious about 2 things... You have to go to court just to find out how much the tix cost???? What happens if one just says screw it, I was wrong and I'm going to pay the tix?

Also, at what point did you learn the driver was an atty? Did he blurt it out on the spot or did you learn incidentally later?

[AxeYrCat]

His law office is just across the street from where he hit me. I think I overheard him say it at some point or another, or perhaps I heard one of the police officers say it...


Yes, I have to go to court. Mandatory appearance. It's technically a 'driving without a license' sort of ticket...





Wow... I didn't realize that I'd failed to mention that he was a lawyer up to this point.

[vitaminC]

Yes, I have to go to court. Mandatory appearance. It's technically a 'driving without a license' sort of ticket...

Do you have any idea how much the fine for that ticket is? If it's a lot, you might want to consider having your own lawyer present to help you avoid paying it, particularly if you can get a statement from the other officer that thought the ticket was BS.

Good luck!

[AxeYrCat]

So, just an update on this one:


I've only taken the Buddy out once or twice since riding it home after the accident. Mostly because I don't want to potentially get another ticket for riding in a congested area, which ultimately means a citation for 'Driving without a License'.

My court date is on the 13th, and I'll definitely let you know how it turns out. I've consulted a lawyer, and he may end up coming to court with me.


Additionally, the lawyer who hit me went ahead and paid the citation, meaning that he essentially decided to admit guilt as far as hitting me goes. And that's a good thing because since the accident, I've started to have lower back pains from time to time -- going to have to go get that checked out.




Oh, and my mailbox at home has been over-run by ambulance-chasing lawyers who would probably want me to say that I was experiencing back pain even if I wasn't...

[AxeYrCat]

Oh, and I'll have to wait until March to take the license exam, so I don't imagine there'll be much winter scooting for me.

[ericalm]

Oh, and I'll have to wait until March to take the license exam, so I don't imagine there'll be much winter scooting for me.

Why until March? That sucks. It's bad enough to not be able to ride when your scoot's in the shop. But having it at home and not being able to ride? That must really suck.

[lobsterman]

March is when the fine state of Ohio starts acknowledging motorcycles again for MSF courses and license endorsement tests. They stop in November and start in March. Nobody ever rides during that time anyway.

Lucky for me I snuck into one of the last MSF courses of 2006 as a walk-in and got through, or I would be in the same boat as AxeYrCat - a permit that only allows riding on roads that aren't "congested".