Collision with lorry - next steps

fermion

Hi,

I have read the sticky on this topic but have a few further questions.

Last week I was involved in an accident with a removals lorry at a roundabout. The driver accepted responsibility and gave me his details. Luckily I had no major injuries, but my bike came off pretty badly. After evaluating the damage at the LBS I gave the driver a ring and told him that it would be cheaper to replace the bike then to replace the components to get it back to how it was. He agreed to report the incident to his boss so I could make a claim against the company insurance.

Since this I have been unable to get hold of him and I think he is deliberately trying to avoid contact with me. Could anyone advise me as to what my next steps should be - should I get in touch with a solicitor or the police?

I have the driver's name and phone number as well as the number plate of the van and photos of the bike and my injuries following the incident. Unfortunately I do not know the name of the company who the lorry belonged to. I also believe the accident could have been caught on CCTV of a nearby building if it came to this.

Thanks!

thistle_

Have you not already reported it to the police?

The police should be able to get you the company's details from the registration plate, assuming the vehicle belongs to the company.

turnerjohn

report to the police. you have all the details you need.
two steps you could do; small claims court and do the paperwork yourself or get a solicator on it (if your a member of CTC this is free...which is why I'm with them !) . did you have any whitnesses ?
if he reports to his firm / boss he could get the sack hence why his gone all quiet !
glad your ok though !

bails87

He may be mucking you about, report to the police. Tell them he's not giving his insurance details. Get the CCTV asap before it's deleted.

dilemna

^^^^^Wot they said. Police. Don't get mucked around. Driver has to report within 24 hrs if you are injured. Police may not give you insurer's details hiding behind data protection legislation which they don't understand as you have a reasonable right to know as you are an injured party, so you might then need to get a solicitor to act for you if plod refuses to give you the driver's insurance details.

ETreeson

Whoa guys - give the chap a chance. I'd probably call his firm first, try and talk to someone there. If that then fails, take it further. If he really wasn't going to do anything about it, he probably wouldn't have bothered answering the phone the first time.

ToeKnee

ETreeson wrote:

Whoa guys - give the chap a chance. I'd probably call his firm first, try and talk to someone there. If that then fails, take it further. If he really wasn't going to do anything about it, he probably wouldn't have bothered answering the phone the first time.

I'd be reporting the incident to the police and collating evidence (CCTV) regardless of how cooperative the driver was - maximum protection for me - and how many times have we heard of drivers changing their stories?

slowbike

ETreeson wrote:

If he really wasn't going to do anything about it, he probably wouldn't have bothered answering the phone the first time.

He may have thought he'd be able to pay it out of pocket - £50 or so ... so get away without reporting it to anyone .. now it's a whole bike he's having second thoughts ...
Or he's just not been able to answer the phone when called ...

Eitherway - report it to the Police - ensure they know the full story (well, your take on it anyway). If you're a member of BC or CTC then worth using the free legal advice to get everything in order if you have to proceed that way too.

The police will probably hide behind data protection act so not to give you the van owners details - they did when our car was hit whilst parked - we had a partial registration and home address. Took quite a bit of effort to get the name from neighbours. Police weren't interested and our insurance wouldn't do anything without full name & registration - ended up being the same insurers !!

goonz

Woah, firstly glad you are ok!

You had an accident with a lorry and have lived to tell the tale!

Now, I'd definitely look to getting that CCTV and fast otherwise it might get wiped. Then call the firm and keep on it and also phone the police as it is an accident too.

bails87

Assume the worst.

It sounds harsh, but if you assume he's going to be nice but has just forgotten to charge his phone then you'll be up sh*t creek when he turns round and says "what cyclist? No, I was never even on that road". On the other hand if you get the CCTV footage before it's deleted and then you end up not needing it then it's not realyl a problem.

willy b

If you have the phone number (assuming it's a landline) can you not pop it into Google to get the name of the company?

And what they all said above, report it.