CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Commuting

witnessed a terrifying crash

(28 posts)

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  1. 531
    Member

    Coming down mayfield road from KB with another cycle a few bike lengths ahead of me. A car pulled out from the curb then came to a complete stop, as if waiting for us to pass. Only thats not what he was doing - he was beginning a u-turn which he decided to complete when were right upon him. Very unfortunately the cycle ahead of me hit the car - very fortunately the cyclist was able to slow down sufficiently so that he was not injured as he slid over the car bonnet. However his bike was totalled. Obviously the car's fault for entering our right of way and I explained this carefully to the young driver and his mom who was the passenger. Another car stopped to be a witness so with me and he it should be smooth sailing, but it was very very close to being much more serious.

    I had the mom tell me that "in these things its always the car that gets blamed, not the cyclist." I patiently explained that this was far from the truth but even if it was, the cyclist was the one that was a few seconds and a flimsy plastic helmet from death, so wasn't it right that the driver should be cautious? Not sure that sunk in...

    Posted 9 years ago #

  2. Tulyar
    Member

    From this I presume that the requirements of Section 170 RTA 1988 were fully complied with - exchanging details etc.

    Posted 9 years ago #

  3. cb.pola
    Member

    My husband was the one who went splat. Driver refused to give insurance details until we said we would report to police for refusal to provide same.
    He maintains it was cyclist's fault as he failed to stop in time.
    Reported to police.
    Bike a complete write off :(.

    Posted 9 years ago #

  4. chdot
    Admin

    Mmm, hope the witness statements make the insurance cough up quickly.

    Posted 9 years ago #

  5. cb.pola
    Member

    Oh, and he was injured - broken finger and very, very severe bruising to his legs and shoulder - spent Fri evening at Wester General Minor Injuries getting x-rays, wound dressings, fingers strapped together. Has to go back this Friday for follow-up appointment.
    Would probably have been even worse had his £1000 worth of aluminium bike frame not absorbed a huge part of the impact by snapping in three places.

    Posted 9 years ago #

  6. SRD
    Moderator

    oooof. so sorry to hear that.

    I've actually always wondered about this sort of thing. Drivers always seem to think that we should be able to know they're turning (I won't call it a U or 3 point, since its usually actually 5 point...) and that we should stop. never understood why.

    Posted 9 years ago #

  7. Beano
    Member

    it beggers belief that this driver is trying to blame the cyclist. if he'd turned in front of a car i'm sure he wouldn't be taking that line. Glad husband is 'ok' (given how bad it could have been) and wish him a speedy recovery back on the bike.

    Posted 9 years ago #

  8. CycleCommute.CC
    Member

    Shocking! I hope you get sufficiently compensated, not only a new bike but also recompense for the injuries and time wasted.

    Did the police turn up on the scene or were they just notified later? It is very good that 531 was so close to be a witness and the other driver will also hopefully back up the statement.

    Posted 9 years ago #

  9. cb.pola
    Member

    Hubby was so shaken at the time that he didn't think to call police. Driver gave name and mobile number at scene and at that point agreed to provide insurance details on return home. Only later that evening when hubby called texted him asking for the insurance details again did he start being evasive.
    Reported to police on Sat morning - they seemed to be taking it pretty seriously. We shall see what transpires.

    Posted 9 years ago #

  10. chdot
    Admin

    Let's say - for sake of argument - that it was reasonable for the driver to expect the cyclist(s) to stop.

    It was NOT reasonable for him not to check!!!

    Posted 9 years ago #

  11. SRD
    Moderator

    @chdot agree

    and if it had been a car travelling along that line, doubtless he wouldn't have started the turn.

    Posted 9 years ago #

  12. wingpig
    Member

    Do what I didn't do straight away: invest £4 to get their insurer and policy number from AskMID, before they change policies or swap cars. The sooner you contact their insurer, the sooner their insurer will call their client to confirm that the event happened. As there's an hospital-worthy injury the bicycle lawyer people would also be interested. Have you been back to the area to see if there's any CCTV overlooking it?

    Posted 9 years ago #

  13. cb.pola
    Member

    No evidence of any CCTV coverage. Who are the 'bicycle lawyer' people - would be interested in chatting to them.
    I've notified our home contents insurers via their 24H notification desk - was promised a contact back sometime today from the actual underwriters - I imagine they will be able to check on the driver's insurance info via their internal network pretty sharpish. The insurance details that were eventually given (company name and policy number) were also passed to the Police who I would imagine can check too.

    Posted 9 years ago #

  14. CycleCommute.CC
    Member

    There are many lawyer people who will take up the case. I've not used any so maybe someone else could recommend one. However, wiggle legal looks like a decent one to have a look at. They all seem to offer a no win no fee procedure with them taking a cut of any compensation.

    Posted 9 years ago #

  15. wingpig
    Member

    http://www.cycling-accident-compensation.co.uk/

    Posted 9 years ago #

  16. cb.pola
    Member

    AskMID check done. Thanks for the heads-up as I didn't know about that facility. Car is at least insured though it doesn't tell you whether the driver was actually a named/authorised driver.

    Posted 9 years ago #

  17. Wilmington's Cow
    Member

    Was going to suggest the same one as wingpig - also has the benefit of being local (I'd suspect Wiggle would have to pass cases onto local lawyers anyway, they're more than likely geared to the English legal system).

    Posted 9 years ago #

  18. deckard112
    Member

    Brenda Mitchell at Cycle Law Scotland is excellent. I had a similair accident (also breaking my hand and similair injuries to your husband) and she dealt with it all. Very efficient and a specialist in this area.

    Posted 9 years ago #

  19. cb.pola
    Member

    Thanks for the lawyer link - have forwarded to hubby.

    Posted 9 years ago #

  20. cb.pola
    Member

    Just phoned his insurance. Good news: he is insured.
    But he had not notified them, so glad we have done so.
    Thanks again to all here for the very useful advice.

    Posted 9 years ago #

  21. Coxy
    Member

    For future info and for others, membership of British Cycling includes Legal cover and 3rd party insurance:

    https://www.britishcycling.org.uk/legalandinsurance

    Posted 9 years ago #

  22. le_soigneur
    Member

    Not that it is any magic solution, but is there any equivalent to RoadsSafe outside London?

    Posted 9 years ago #

  23. MeepMeep
    Member

    Wishing your husband a speedy recovery cb.pola, and that the financial/legal bits are sorted as quickly as possible with minimal further hassle.

    Posted 9 years ago #

  24. 531
    Member

    PM sent to cb.pola Happy to serve as a witness - I was right on top of the incident. I cannot believe the motorist is trying to pitch as anything but their own fault.

    Posted 9 years ago #

  25. cb.pola
    Member

    Thought folk might like to hear an update: Thanks to the persistence of Cycle Law Scotland, the driver's insurance eventually paid up and hubby has now got a replacement bike, which is good.
    Police did eventually take a proper statement from hubby and at least one of the witnesses but so far as we know, didn't take it any further.
    Bruises eventually went away, but broken finger still very painful and follow-up x-rays taken last week revealed a previously un-spotted bone fragment which had been out of place and is now healed there. He's having physiotherapy in the hope that he will be able to get some greater range of movement back - if that doesn't work, he may have to have surgery....
    Many thanks again to everyone here who offered much useful and timely advice and moral support.

    Posted 9 years ago #

  26. wishicouldgofaster
    Member

    Is he getting compensation for his injuries? If not he should discuss with a lawyer.

    Posted 9 years ago #

  27. Min
    Member

    I am glad that at least the insurance has paid up! Sorry about his finger though.

    Posted 9 years ago #

  28. cb.pola
    Member

    Injury compensation is being discussed with CycleLawScotland who have been granted access to all his medical records for it. But it will depend on how the next few weeks or so go before we will really know what the long term impact is.

    Posted 9 years ago #

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