Cycling home last night with a colleague we rude along Cramond Prom and up towards Cramond Brig along Whitehouse Rd. As we travelled down towards the NCN1 path we passed a stationary line or traffic, as we were intending to turn right down to Cramond Brig. At the turning to Barnton Ave West a car emerged through the stationary traffic, just as my colleague was approaching. The car came out, my colleague braked but collided with the moving car, came off ofer his handlebars and his bike caught the stationary car in the line of traffic. He is fine thankfully, with only a scratch and slight pain in his right ankle. The two drivers parked up and had a chat together while we tried to sort his bike out. They then came over and asked what we planned to do about insurance as the stationary driver was an innocent party (his words) as he said he had not signalled the emerging car to pull out, and had a scratch on his bumper of his new car. My colleague has CTC membership and the three exchanged insurance details. The driver of the stationary car had called the police but apparently they said as no one was injured they would not be attending.
So, do you have insurance? I have to admit I don’t. This appears to be a difficult case to decide blame on as the cyclist was in the outside, not undercutting the traffic, the stationary driver claims he didn’t see the cyclist, and did not signal for the emerging car to pass his front, and the emerging car, did what I expect all of us driver do* move through the gap, look left to see if it is clear and then turn right.
Looks like the insurance will argue and decide amongst themselves, and I’m happy I’m only a witness, but trying to be impartial, I can’t see how its any one person’s fault, but rather shared between the two main injured parties, and perhaps not the stationary vehicle’s owner.
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