Nearly a statistic

duckson

That was a short commute, got taken out by a car.

http://www.strava.com/activities/210960336

The attitude of the driver was unbelievable though.
Led on the floor he opens his door and starts blaming me for it, where did i come from and you cyclists are a law unto yourselves etc etc. Usual bile.

Infact he carried on going, stating such gems as;

I was going to fast (17-18mph according to my GPS trace) - like it has anything to do with it.

Where did i come from? - i had a bright yellow top on, 1 steady (quite high powered) and 1 flashing front light.

It was my fault as i should of gave way - its a roundabout and I am coming from his right so my right of way. He disputed this.....really?! Clueless. :shock:

Am i insured for the damage to his car? - No, but see above, his fault.

Flashing front lights are illegal. - Really? More clueless spouting. (its a Cateye EL135)


I was actually past the roundabout (opposite the hairdresser Sarah Heaney, if you look at the streetview) when he collected me! So not even ON the roundabout.
I was also in the right hand lane on the approach to the rounabout as thats the straight on (left lane is left turn only) and hence easier to see from his direction (coming from my left). Once through the roundabout i think he was cutting into the right hand lane to turn right at the next roundabout.
No witnesses though, it was 6.10am so not alot of people about.

To be fair maybe he was shookup and on the defensive? Some people get like that i suppose. I can hold my hand up when i do something wrong or make a mistake though. :?
He eventually offered me a lift if i needed it but didnt hang about otherwise.

So damaged clothing that is now useless - Castelli Free Aero bib shorts (~£110) and Castelli water proof top (~£40 worth).
Can maybe reuse the Castelli arm and leg warmers as the holes are smaller and could be sewn up.
Bike wise not sure but it seems ok, bit of a click from the rear wheel so worse case is that it is slightly buckled (Planet X A57).

Sore now. Just glad he wasnt driving a bigger vehicle.

duckson

Thanks, yep i'm in one piece which is the main thing. Anything else is just lost in the noise in the grand scheme of things.
I dont have his details but have his reg number.
I'm not a BC member.

andy_s_t

I recently got taken out on a roundabout by a driver pulling out from the left, the driver tried to blame me but I got his details reported it etc, and so did he. I have dealt with his insurance company directly and they have been very helpful, accepting blame on his behalf etc. Having your Garmin data will really help as he can't dispute it. I was lucky enough to have a witness that agreed with my account, so the drivers rather sketchy account has been discounted.

Bear in mind that he left the site of an RTC without leaving his details, contact the local police on 112 and report it.

duckson

Thanks,
I mentioned early on that i should take his details but he avoided the question and wasnt otherwise forthcoming with giving me his details (he never said here, take my details), infact he was more interested in getting out of there. He did ask if i was alright at one point to which i replied i think so.
I almost forgot, his last words were along the lines of (as he is getting into his car) - 'i'm going, you are being very aggressive'.
Infact i think it was the other way round. The only time i was 'aggressive' was when he kept going on about it being my fault and i told him he better shut up. I was having to explain his claims as i reported in my first post the whole time....he was on the attack and i was on the defence!

duckson

Seems like its 101 for non-emergency calls.

duckson

Reported, thanks all, Police are paying me a visit tomorrow evening.

craigus89

That would make me so angry if he was blaming you for it whilst you were still on the floor. Well done for controlling yourself with him, I would struggle.

Glad you're okay.

lakesluddite

Craigus89 wrote:

That would make me so angry if he was blaming you for it whilst you were still on the floor. Well done for controlling yourself with him, I would struggle.

Glad you're okay.

Yeah, you did well to keep a lid on it by the sounds. It sounds like he knew damn well it was his fault - but there is just something about road users inability to accept blame, and I mean both motorists AND cyclists.

Hope you get it sorted, and I hope he's insured. As has been said before, British Cycling will sort it for you if you are a member - if not I would recommend becoming one for future issues.

kingstonian

I had something similar. Fortunately for me, a mate of mine just happens to be a Police Sergeant in the area where it happened, so I gave him a buzz and 5 mins later a van full of his coppers turned up (he stayed away, best to not have him there as a friend etc). Within 2 mins the driver had changed his attitude (he was pretty aggressive before they arrived on the scene), admitted he was in the wrong, and his insurance company picked up the tab.

stringybob

Out of interest, are there any laws or guidelines regarding lights (front & rear type / intensity / flashing etc). We regularly have a mid-week evening ride throughout the winter. A flashing rear light and a couple of cheap (but bright) Chinese ebay jobs does the trick for me

Initialised

You have a GPS trace that puts you at the scene of the collision and gives an exact time.
You have his VRM.
He refused to exchange details and left the scene.

I'd be calling for an ambulance (ideally on the driver's phone to place them at the scene of the collision) as soon as the driver's attitude surfaced and request police at the same time as you suspect the driver may be over the limit and is being aggressive (maybe the reason for his defensiveness and eagerness to get on his way?).

It may be to late to get the police involved beyond getting his insurance details.

chris_bass

Stringybob wrote:

Out of interest, are there any laws or guidelines regarding lights (front & rear type / intensity / flashing etc). We regularly have a mid-week evening ride throughout the winter. A flashing rear light and a couple of cheap (but bright) Chinese ebay jobs does the trick for me

think that should cover it:

http://www.ctc.org.uk/cyclists-library/ ... egulations

stringybob

Chris Bass wrote:

think that should cover it:

http://www.ctc.org.uk/cyclists-library/ ... egulations

Perfect thanks (I wonder how many of us are breaking the regulations not having a rear reflector or pedal reflectors)

Bucksspeedyboy

As suggested by previous reply, looking at the lighting regulations got me thinking what happens if I am hit by a motorist at night when I have front and rear lights, but no rear reflector or pedal reflectors? Could they claim no liability because I didn't have these even though i had perfectly good lights otherwise?

redbikejohn

Glad you are OK. In four weeks commuting I had a fee close one's. Poor weather has got me back on the motorbike and feel safer - but nearly got flattened by a truck on Friday! I was in a roundabout as well and looked at a truck coming into it and immediately knew his speed was such that he hadn't seen me, hit the brakes and he sailed straight out in front of me - one second from death. Sorry for hijack but reading this thread brought it all back

duckson

No thread hijack, i can sympathise!

thegibdog

Drivers are very rarely apologetic when they take you out, maybe it's a shock/adrenaline thing. It's either 'I didn't do anything', 'I didn't see you' or they just drive off.

Re the light issue, one of our club members was involved in an incident recently where the driver said they should have had a flashing light rather than a solid light - you can't win!