Modern Vespa

Leaving home this morning around 6:30 to go to work. I am going about 10mph and next thing I know, I get hit by an ambulance that did not yield to his yield sign. Fortunately it was slow. No scratches or road rash to me. My right wrist is starting to stiffen but it is not swollen. I did not hit my head. I don't even think the Corazzo jacket came in contact with the pavement as I don't see any scratches on it.

The bike slid about 20 or 30 feet. Here are some pics:








I just got the scooter on 9/1 too. I haven't even put on the license plate yet. Coolant is leaking. Glove box won't open. It was still running after I fell but I haven't tried to start it since I turned it off.

I have a couple questions though:

How much damage would rear crash bars have prevented?
What would the insurance company deem as a total loss?

My guess would be almost none. They do protect against dropsies and nudges apparently but you got hit by an ambulance, dude

Good that you're ok!!

Ouch! Geeze, I'm sorry Kuj! Glad you are OK ... but your scooter looks a mess. It looks as though he hit you on the right side and the scooter crashed on the left. Is that what happened?

The crash bars probably would have saved your rear left cowel but wouldn't have done anything for the right rear cowel as the ambulance hit you too high up to have made any difference.

The front crash bars probably would have spared the damage to the front of the scooter. Unless your fork is bent, I doubt the insurance company will write it off ... unless the amount to fix it exceeds the amount to replace it.

What a shame.

That really sucks... I feel your pain.

Wow! Sorry to hear about this kuj! But better an accident at 10 mph than at 60 mph.

Ice for that wrist! It's not swollen now but you'll probably want to take some ibuprofen on GPs. You'll also probably find a few small scuffs to the jacket later....when I went down on my scooter that's what I found...subtle scrapes to the reflective trim.

I imagine they'll opt to fix the scooter. It sounds like you just got cleanly knocked over on your side and the scooter slid, so probably no real damage to the frame.

Do tell us that this was written up properly with the ambulance driver at fault!

oh man that scooter looks hurt, glad your ok, crash bars are more less ornamental they might save you on a minor scrape but not when your hit

I'm glad I'm ok too, thankyou sweetheart ...Wrong guy!

*goes outside to check scooter anyway - sarcasm is occasionally frowned upon by the gods*

You are a sweetie though, I meant that

I had a similar experience. Bought my 300 mid-july, and within two weeks had a stuck throttle and took it straight into my garage wall. Insurance is covering the repairs (!), but it's been gone for a while. Hope to get it back this month...

Ooof! Were you still on it?

Ouch, there is a lot of damage there, perhaps more than a grands worth in UK £. I am sorry for you but glad the scooter took it and you didn't.

Visually you nee new mirrors, new glovebox, new front fender with respray, beat out the damage on both cowls (if you can - the grill looks shagged), respray for front panel, new beading. New brake lever too. New plastics unless you can save the old rear ones and have them repainted.

Is your Corazzo is also concealing some additional damage to the front of the scooter? From what you have said of the accident it looks like it was hit on one side and laid down on the other to slide. Both sides damaged? Mucho $ to fix.

I have crash bars on my scoot but they don't save you in an accident. But being hit on a metal(ish) scooter is much better than something armoured with plastic.

Hope you continue to feel okay. I'd check the wrist with a doctor though.

Ambulance driver was at fault. Yeah, he hit me on the right and slid to the left. I took some Ibuprofin already. There were like 3 police vehicles and 3 firetrucks and 2 ambulances (the one that hit me plus one other). hehe. Fortunately the ambulance wasn't rushing to someone else's aid when he hit me.

I was kinda surprised that it didn't hurt actually. I've had worse on a regular bicycle. This was my first vehicle accident ever (car or scooter).

Sorry to hear about your accident; that really sucks. Did the offending ambulance driver check you over and give you first aid?

Yep. They did their checks. BP, heart rate, spine, limb movement, etc. Everything was fine. I was concerned about my regular denim jeans though as to whether they tore through and got to my skin but they didn't thankfully.

Good to know you checked out ok.

Really glad you are OK. You shouldn't try to do too much today because it usually takes a day or two before you start feeling rough. I mean, even at low speed, that had to have been a pretty good jolt to put that big a dent in a steel scooter!

Thank God you were on a scooter. If you had been on a motorcycle, the ambulance may have crushed your leg! Take it easy for the rest of the day and don't push yourself. Let us know how you are in the morning.

Thanks for all the concern. Yeah, I was thinking of taking tomorrow off also.
It's my first accident ever so I have no idea how I'll be in the morning.

On an insurance note, anyone make a claim with GEICO?

Wow, lots of damage kuj Glad you're alright and not worse off. I'm sorry about the damage to your Super, I'm sure you'll get it fixed right up and looking great again. It sucks to be hit like that for no fault of your own.

Wow radon8, that is a nasty accident with a lot of damage to your Super. That's a long time to be without your scooter especially when the weather is good. Did insurance give you a loaner scooter in the meantime?

Kuj! Sorry to hear about your accident but I'm glad to hear that you're "ok"!

Take care of yourself.

That's some scary looking damage even though you were going so slowly. I'm glad it wasn't worse!

No Loaner scooter, and the price of repair is almost a new scooter, so I'm happy they're going to pay for the repair. Like kuj, it's a drag to to be without it, though winter in the south of france should still be nice to ride...

KUJ and RADON man i'm glad you both made it out unscathed. Scooters well they took the hit like any good loyal scooter would do. Hope you get things sorted out and are back out riding soon. Motrin is your friend.

Wow, it's great that you're ok. Poor Super, though.

I imagine crash bars might have saved a little damage in this case, but probably not quite enough to make much of a difference. And I agree that in this instance, a front fender guard might have prevented the scrape you got there. In my eyes, I would be really suprized if insurance didn't just write it off as a loss. But I've seen suprizes here on MV before, so who knows. I do hope you'll get back a pristine scooter in time to ride some before the winter, regardless.

Seriously, that's very weird to be hit by an ambulance. I mean, I guess if you have to be hit by someone, they would probably be the most helpful, but still weird.

Yes for my PU Truck. Driver ran red light in 03 resulting in pic below. GEICO was awesome....

I did and I didn't have any problems. The adjuster was clueless about scooters, especially Vespas but that didn't hurt my claim. I took my scooter into my Vespa dealer and they gave me a quote that I then gave to GEICO. They agreed to it and paid it minus the deductible.

Glad you're ok. Scooter is just (gasp!) stuff.

bummer. i'm so sorry. i know the feeling - ten days after getting my GT i was taken out by a last-minute lane changer. i've just had it properly repaired £££

kuj and radon8 - glad to hear you're both okay and hope you are back on two wheels soon.

Yowza! Yeah man...your bike is keranngggg! but...but..you are alright! I mean how cool is it now to go around and say, "Oh yeah? You know what happened to me? I got hit by a fu**kin' ambulance!!! Beat that."

I'm glad you're alright and what Scooterbug said is true...you'll probably make out okay. I'm friends with underwriters and a few claims adjusters, yeah...they don't really know.








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Glad you're OK. You gotta admit though, getting hit by an ambulance is really efficient! Good luck getting that beautiful scoot fixed.

I had a similar claim through Geico for my GT200. I was involved in an accident where a pedestrian walked out in front of me (against the hand, mind you) while I was turning through an intersection. I had to lay the scooter down to keep from striking her, sending my scoot sliding across the concrete and into a curb, front fascia first. Geico didn't even bother sending out an adjuster after I emailed over 20 hi-res photos of the damage from every angle imaginable. They ended up paying me more than I had paid for the GT200 over two years before. Moral of the story, it's reasons like this that you may pay slightly more for Geico insurance. Because they get it done and get it done quick. I've had very positive experiences with cars in this regard as well. Don't hesitate to call them. You've been paying them, now they owe you.
PS I have no affiliation with Geico or any insurance company, blahblahblah...

Sorry to hear about both of the scooters. Just days after I got my gear and started riding outside my neighborhood. I didn't even have 100 miles on it yet. I dropped my scoot badly in the garage. Here's a link describing what was broken/damaged.

https://modernvespa.com/forum/topic48608

The total was about $2000. My insurance, Progressive, did not total it. You could have more damage than I did, because my cowls were just scratched badly. However, the handlebar/instrument cluster housing was cracked, and they had to put on a brand new one. I suspect your 300 won't be totalled, because it's value if fairly high. If you had a 150, that might be a different story.

Good luck to both of you. I am glad to hear that you are both relatively okay. Keep ice on that wrist and take some meds.

Sorry to hear about your accident Kuj. Glad to read that you aren't hospitalized,etc.

Back to your claim questions. Generally speaking the term total loss means that the value of the vehicle is exceeded by the cost to repair that vehicle.

Usually the better insurers will consider the vehicle a total loss if the cost to repair exceeds 70% of the vehicle's actual value.

The law is that a defendant party has three options in terms of compensating for damaged property. Repair, replace or diminution in value. Obviously there are practical considerations as to which remedy is selected. If the cost to repair exceeds the actual value the appropriate remedy would be to replace the vehicle or "total it". If the cost to repair does not exceed the total value, the remedy is the cost of repair. If the property is unique and cannot either be repaired or replaced the remedy would be the diminution of the property's value. Diminution of value is rarely an appropriate remedy for a car crash type of case.

I hope everything turns out ok with the scooter. The most important thing is that you are safe.

Why were you riding around for a month with no license plate? Did it effect the police accident report? I'm from NY, perhaps laws are different in CA???

It takes a few weeks to get the plates mailed to you here in CA, but you can ride it with the temporary DMV paperwork.

Hey Kuj, I also bought my 300 at calmoto. Notice you are in sunnyvale. Sorry about your accident. We should go riding sometime when you get your scooter back!

The the person from France with the Red Super...

Repairs? Are they NUTS !!!

That bike is a total on every continent on this planet. I am shaking my head.

To the OP sorry of your accident, glad you are not too roughed up. Take advil, lots of it. They really should total yours also and get you a brand new one, ambulance companies certainly don't need any pending lawsuits.

Best,
SDG

Glad you're okay.
At least you got hit by an ambulance

The engine had no damage, I guess that counts for something. I would have preferred a new one, but then again I am the idiot that trashed it. Even with a stuck throttle I should have been faster to the kill switch. It will be a good reminder.

I got my plates a few days ago and was waiting for my personalized plate to come in. The registration you get from the dealer is good for 90 days I think so there was no hurry to put on the regular license plate.

I have not heard from GEICO yet. I did upload all the pics I posted here to GEICO's site though.

My wrist is much better now. Still a tiny bit stiff but not as bad as yesterday. I developed a bruise on the lower part of my right shin. Nothing too bad. Should be gone in a few days I think. I really am lucky that that is all the injuries I got for getting hit smack dab in the middle of the ambulance. I didn't look at the damage on the ambulance but the police said that it was the area around the license plate that made contact.

As for riding again, hopefully I can ride before it starts raining. If not, not too big of a deal. It will at least give my wife time to get adjusted to my accident. Riding so soon after an accident would not sit well with her.

I'm taking another day off to recover even though I'm pretty sure I could go to work.

Thanks for all the support MV!