Friend got hit by a vehicle . Advice ?

blackstick

Hi , just 2 days ago a friend of mine was cycling to work .

I'am not sure how , but a van or lorry made a turn in front of him , causing him to fall over and his front rim is damaged beyond repair by the guys tires .
Had asked him whose fault and he told me that it was the driver that did not look before turning .
It was a charity van or lorry . He is lucky to be wearing a helmet that time .
Having some bruises only on the legs . He walks to uni. now and told me he is a bit shocked by it and do not want to cycle for the moment .

What troubles me more is that he does not want to do anything , not even a report .
He thinks that it will cause him more trouble .
Bystanders who saw this accident supported him as they seen what happened , the driver just came down and apologize , people urged that driver to take him to the hospital but he did not . I'am not sure what happened next but feel that he should at least be compensated for his shock ?

This incident happened in Bristol center .
Anyone have any idea how I can help him ? He does not have insurance for the bike and also an international student.

Thanks .

lotus49

If he has the registration number of the van he can go to the police or the company that owned it but that is all he can do. If he won't do that, he will just have to put it down to experience. He really should have done this at the time though. The longer he waits, the less likely it is that any action will be taken.

unixnerd

In the first instance I'd contact the owner of the vehicle and ask them to pay for bike repairs. But I suspect the driver of the other vehicle (and maybe your mate) may have committed an offence if he didn't notify the police of an accident involving an injury.

steve6690

I'd contact the company and ask them to pay for the repairs. Mention that you'll report it to the police if they don't, or just report it anyway (is what I'd do). The driver might be looking at a Due care, but you'll struggle to get that home without some form of corroborating evidence such as an eye witness.
The driver has complied with the law and stopped so you could get his details. He doesn't need to report it to the police as well. There is no requirement for a cyclist to report an accident.

simon_masterson

It's not what you know but what you can prove. If he didn't do anything at the scene he doesn't really have a leg to stand on, unfortunately...

nicklouse

read this
viewtopic.php?f=40052&t=12722930

tiredofwhiners

Remind him that if he doesn't report it, and the driver does the same next week and kills someone, then its down to him. Reporting it will at least make the driver think before turning for some time.

Sometimes you have to be harsh to do the right thing.