So on my way home from work today I was riding through a construction zone on Hosier Pass(CO) and entering one of the switch backs, boom, I'm down sliding towards the under side of a semi dumping asphault. I had no idea why i was in this predicament. I was thinking "is there more going on than i am aware of? Did I get hit?" My bike(month and a half old F650GS) stoped 15 feet short of semi, me a few more feet behind the bike. Got up checked myself, still not understanding what had happened. My gear did its job, bruise on my right quad and a minor scrape the size of a dime on my right elbow. Then as I am collecting my self I almost slip and fall on the white stripe. WTF!!! The construction crew said it was painted the day before. It was the little reflective glass beads that they blow on right after the paint goes down. A foot and a half each side of the stripe was slick as shit. And the smooth fresh asphault did not have and low spots for the beads to go to. So watch out for fresh stripes on fresh asphault. Even the trooper was amazed how slick it was, calling it slick as ice. Just thought I would share.
You have a lawsuit in your hands ... state trooper as witness that there was slippery material that was left unchecked by the construction crew. They left it like that, they are liable. Now you owe me a cookie.
Glad you're okay. How much did it cost to repair your bike? Your post makes it sound like it wasn't much. If so, don't waste your time with a lawsuit. Send whatever agency was responsible for the road a claim letter. Hopefully you got the name of the trooper who said it was slick. I don't know how your state (what is "BV"?) defines its immunities, but suing any governmental unit is more difficult, more time consuming, and more expensive than suing a private party.
Do you guys REALLY think he can sue over this? It was a white line. They are slippery. It was a construction zone. Use caution. I'm just playing Devil's Advocate. I have no idea if he has a case. This sure is a sue-happy world we live in, isn't it? Glad you're ok dude...watch those lines in the rain, too, because they will put you on your ass.
No opinion on whether a suit is justified, but painted lines in the rain is a well-known danger. A three-foot wide swath of ice-like slippery surface on a freshly paved road is not AFAIK. But this kind of thread is exactly why I visit Face Plant: To learn from the experiences of others.
The glass beads are dropped into the wet paint at the time of application. This is what gives the paint its reflectivity. Not all of the beads will stick to the paint. If they did a sloppy job, or used too much beads, or the temp/humidity was wrong, less bead will stick. They are slippery as hell on fresh pavement.. I have never seen anyone sweep or blow off the excess, but I guess you could have a case for careless work. BTW: The only reason I opened this thread was because I thought it was about a BJ at work!
I know when they re-striped the parking spots at my job i almost fell on my ass everytime I got out of the car. It was crazy just how slippery it was.
Sue the state/county/city? You have no idea what a pain that would be. File a claim with your insurance and let them handle it.
and ice the pain! We have been involved with some claims like that at work. 1st they come after the contractor, the paint supplier, the traffic control company, etc., and then the agencies. Surprisingly (or not) on these "shotgun claims" someone usually settles for about $20K to end it.
Thanks for the replies. There is a bit more to the story, but may have no relevence at the end of the day. I was able to ride the bike home. It was just cosmetic dammage. $300 - $500 tops, I would guess. The forks might need to be adjusted.??? ( I am after all a NOOB ) Insurance???... Will they go after someone for that small of a claim? I'm sure my deductable is more than that. Do I even want to tell them? My experience is the Insurance industry screws you esp. on the smal stuff, I only get them involved when its a major deal. The Trooper was cool, by state statute he was suposed to cite me but said there was no way he would on something like this. So the woman doing trafic control at the road where I entered the highway, In the middle of the construction zone, told us to go "but haul ass". I was Not, so thats why I did not get cited. Near the end of the ordeal on of the guys representing the construction company came up to us. I asked him for a card, he gave me one, then I said, "You subcontracted the traffic control, right? ...Just so you know the woman down there told us to haul ass" Him (yelling)- That doesent make it okay to go 90 through a construction zone. Me- FUCK YOU Lots of additional yelling insues from both sides. Cop jumps in and tells me to be the bigger man. Cop measured it out, I only slid 20 feet with never hitting the brakes. For the benefit of my soul do I just let it go or hold on to my anger and go after them? I don't think I can let it go and go after them. Thanks again for the support. Ed in Buena Vista, Colorado
Ed, I think you sit down, have a cold one and be thankfull that really nobody was hurt and you will probley never do that one again. Take care.
In most other countries many people would run to help you, lift the bike, etc...and then you'd ride on. Life happens...
Find out the name of the Project Manager or Project Engineer for the contractor. Call and talk to him first and follow it up with a letter. Don't get in a pissing contest with anybody, it's a quick road to nowhere. If you don't like their response/attitude, politely end the conversation by getting their supervisors name (Area/District manager) and let them know you intend to pursue it. If that doesn't help, try their head office. Chances are the on site guys won't tell their higher-ups unless they think you might, in which case they may try a preemptive strike to cover their arse. Ask if there's anyway you could get a copy of their project diaries for the preceding few days that indicate new striping was recently placed. They'll probably tell you to go fuck yerself, but it'll let them know you're serious and have at least a little understanding of what's going on. Not sure on the size of the contractor, but usually the bigger they are, the more likely they are to help, especially if there is any chance they were at any kind of fault. The prime contractor is responsible for the actions of his subs. If it is the subcontractors fault, the prime will likely settle with you and withold it from their subs pay estimate at month end. Don't get greedy. Get a couple of estimates for bike/gear and present them copies. If the trooper made a police report, get a copy of that from the DPS. Contact the contractor asap, the longer you wait, the less seriously they will treat it. For such a small amount, i'd be willing to bet they'd rather pay you off 'cos it'll cost 'em way more than that to defend it in court. You've nothing to lose by asking, but also bear in mind, they deal with dozens of phony bullshit claims like paint chips/cracked windshields etc all the time. Good luck
Holy crap, this is nonsense. Sue this person/that guy/the other chick. Fer crying out loud, it was a tiny accident, minimal damage, nobody hurt ....... and you were speeding in a construction zone? Put on your big girl panties and suck it up. You had an accident, get over it. Geez am I glad you can't get away doing nonsense like this in Canada. Rant over.
SIk read my post. I was not speeding. 1st post was just to help people learn from my accident. 2nd post clearly states that I may only have a passing intrest in taking it a little further if at all. Are you complaining about being cranky, maybe you should put your panties on.
I'm a claims adjuster for an insurance company. There's no sense in reporting/filing a claim if the damages are lower or about equal to your deductible. If you did report a claim,would your rates go up? I'm not sure as I don't work in the underwriting department but I do know that lots of factors are involved and it even varies from company to company.