Post-Accident Thanks

SlowingDown

Having been trashed by one of those pesky pedestrians this morning near Oval I want to attempt to thank those that stopped to peel me off the tarmac (seeing as the pedestrian didn't bother stopping). A woman in a car stopped and was very kind, calling an ambulance and a passing nurse checked me out (must have been the lycra ; ) - I doubt they're reading this but an off-duty policeman was cycling behind me and also stopped, helped me out and apprehended the pedestrian. When the ambulance arrived I was distracted as the policeman continued his commute and I'm ashamed to say I didn't get to say thanks. I think he said his name was Jeff Styles, so if he's reading this, thanks for your help - or if you think you might know him could you pass on my appreciation.

Came out of it with some pretty impressive cuts and bruises and I'm still seeing stars but in a way it was quite timely. Having followed the 'helmet' debate for years I was wondering about stopping wearing one after my current one wore out. Having landed directly on my lid at about 25mph and feeling as groggy as I do now I know that without my helmet I wouldn't be sat here in front of my computer now.

misterben

Ouch. Glad you're OK.

Regulator

Ouch!

If you have suffered any injuries then sue the pedestrian. That'll teach 'em to look before crossing the road.

SlowingDown

Would love to but she walks away free as a bird - policeman said there wasn't really any action that could be taken against her. So yet again I get the cost of a new helmet, replacement clothes and bike repairs.

Ho-hum.

spasypaddy

shit mate, glad to hear you are ok though

SlowingDown

cheers everyone. I'm off for another TCP bath!

Regulator

SlowingDown wrote:

Would love to but she walks away free as a bird - policeman said there wasn't really any action that could be taken against her. So yet again I get the cost of a new helmet, replacement clothes and bike repairs.

Ho-hum.

Ask the police for her details - they should have taken them. Write to her requiring her to pay for your damages or that you'll put in a claim through the Small Claims Court.

Irrespective of whether or not she's prosecuted by the police, she is liable for the damages that she caused.

formerlyknownasbonj

SlowingDown wrote:

Would love to but she walks away free as a bird - policeman said there wasn't really any action that could be taken against her. So yet again I get the cost of a new helmet, replacement clothes and bike repairs.

Ho-hum.

no criminal action. Civil action requires much lower burden of proof.

adifiddler

I was going to ask what the police detained her for as i am not aware of anything the police could have done other than charge her for leaving the seen of an accident.

I would be considering taking her to the small claims court though.

There are still some people left that care enough to stop and help.

Hope you recover soon

Ciaran500

How did she cause the accident?

MarvintheAndroid

Get well soon !!

Marv

mailmannz

What did the woman do?

If it was a straight out accident how could she be held accountable for the damage?

Mailman

teaeleye

mailmannz wrote:

What did the woman do?

If it was a straight out accident how could she be held accountable for the damage?

Mailman

Sounds like an "Incident" not an accident, "accidents" are very very rare on the roads. Police don't call collissions accidents any longer, cause there not.

Would imagine its still hard to sue a pedestrian. would have to prove negligence. Not everyone realises, but pedestrians have right of way on the roads. If a pedestrian steps out to cross the road, everybody else is supposed to stop or slow down to let them cross(unless its a motorway). Assuming the pedestrian stepped out in front of you without looking, you would also need to show that your speed was reasonable for the location and that you could have done nothing to miss her.

SlowingDown

Given the number of witnesses who stopped to offer help I suspect I would have been ok for proving I'd not breached my 'duty of care' towards the pedestrian...but I never had any intention of taking this any further, I really did just want to use this thread to try and get my thanks across to those who stopped to help me.

Not sure it was a good idea but I decided to get back on a bike today and came in to work. It was actually less uncomfortable than walking is right now!

Time to check this whizzy new website out for recommendations on a new helmet...

homercles

TeaElEye wrote:

If a pedestrian steps out to cross the road, everybody else is supposed to stop or slow down to let them cross(unless its a motorway).

I still think you'd be well advised to try and avoid them on motorways too!