Collision car-bike - I need some advice!

[robb_man]

Hi all,

It is my first post here. I thought I'd join the community because I was involved in an accident and now I don't know what to do.

Two weeks ago I was cycling home at 9pm. At a crossroads with traffic lights, I was in front of traffic and in the right lane (only used to turn right), waiting for the light to turn green. As soon as that happened, I started moving forward, put my right hand out and then stopped to wait for traffic coming from the other side to stop. It was then that the car behind me hit me. Luckily it was a very mild push, but it was enough to make me fall off my bike and to bend the back wheel. The driver was nice - he drove me home and told me he would pay for the cost of my repair so that we wouldn't have to go through insurance. I got his phone number (and barely his first name) and then he drove off. A few days later, I took my bike to a bike shop, where I was told that the bike frame was broken. So at this point, I contacted the driver to explain him the situation and (because he had seemed like a nice guy) I said I only wanted back £135 (= price that I paid for the bike + price of some repairs that I had done recently) instead of the £250+ that a new bike would cost me. To cut the story short, he is now saying that the accident was my fault because I was staying on the lefthand side of the right lane and he thought I was going straight (bear in mind that that was a turn-right-only lane), and if I wanted to turn right, I should have stayed on the righthand side of the lane. He is willing to pay me back the money if I can prove that he was wrong instead.

As the accident happened in Canary Wharf, London, I contacted security and they may release CCTV footage if police or insurance ask for it. So I have opened an online claim with the police, but I got a reply that because of financial constraints they cannot deal with this type of matters as this is a minor damage only case.

Have you got any suggestions of what I should do next? This is not about the money, I just don't want the driver to get away with it!

Thank you all for your help!

Roberta

[gaz]

Welcome to the forum. Sorry to hear of your incident.

The driver has legal obligations to inform both the police and his insurer, clearly he is trying to avoid doing either.

If you have membership of any national cycling body, union or even home insurance check to see if you have any form of "legal advice" available as part of your membership/policy.

General advice following a collision.

[eileithyia]

Welcome to the forum. Sorry to hear of your incident.

The driver has legal obligations to inform both the police and his insurer, clearly he is trying to avoid doing either.

If you have membership of any national cycling body, union or even home insurance check to see if you have any form of "legal advice" available as part of your membership/policy.

General advice following a collision.

Agreed, and welcome to the forum.. glad you are ok.

Remember there are a variety of reasons drivers offer direct cash;
1. They have no idea of the direct cost of a bike
2. They think they can get away with non-reporting and therefore issues around increased premiums.
3. They have no insurance / are driving illegally etc.

[peetee]

Your lack of insurance is immaterial. The drivers excuse re your position on the road should be ignored. His assumption lead him to make a mistake. It's carelessness and as a third party you are covered under his insurance, just as a pedestrian would be if he mounted the pavement, for example.

[FasterFerret]

.

As the accident happened in Canary Wharf, London, I contacted security and they may release CCTV footage if police or insurance ask for it.

Roberta

YOU should be able to submit a request for CCTV, it is worth finding out what their policy is and pursuing that angle yourself. You should ask in writing/email.

From the Gvt website

"If you’re in an accident

If you have an accident causing damage or injury you must give the following to anyone with ‘reasonable grounds for requiring them,’ for example an insurance company:

your name and address
the vehicle registration number
You also need to give the owner’s name and address if the vehicle isn’t yours.

You must report the accident to the police within 24 hours if you don’t give your details at the time of the accident.

You must also report the accident to your insurance company, even if you’re not planning to make a claim."

https://www.gov.uk/vehicle-insurance/if ... n-accident

He must give you his insurance details as you have ‘reasonable grounds for requiring them,’, you can claim against his insurance without his permission to do so - it is not up to him to decide, it is up to you and what you want to do. You may choose to take a cash payment or you may choose to claim against his insurance.

Evidence would be helpful (CCTV you mentioned) and/or witnesses.

[Vorpal]

It may be too late to obtain CCTV evidence.

However, your road position is irrelevent. A cyclist has a right to use the lane, the same as any other vehicle.

It is no different than if you had been operating a motor vehicle in the situation. The fault and responsibility are entirely on the driver whose vehicle hit you.

The advice above is good.

[SussexMan]

Rights to access CCTV images under a subject access request would only be relevant if you are identifiable as the Data Protection Act only covers identifiable people so if the CCTV doesn't record your face you probably have no right to it. It sounds like they are not willing to let you have a copy outside of the Data Protection Act. Be worth putting in a subject access request though.

[TrevA]

If you are a CUK/CTC member, you can get their partner solicitors to reclaim the costs on your behalf. If not, then there are a number of no win, no fee solicitors who would take on the case. Getting solicitors involved may make the other party pay up, or they may decide to place the matter with their insurers. Either way, it removes the hassle from you, as the solicitors will deal with the other party or the insurers. If you were at all injured, then you can also get compensation for "pain and suffering".

My son got knocked off in similar circumstances - hit from behind at traffic lights, and as he was a member of British Cycling, we informed their membership department, who contacted their solicitors and he ended up getting £1500 in compensation. Damage to his bike was minimal but he had a nasty, deep cut to his right elbow that required stitching at the hospital.

[FasterFerret]

It sounds like they are not willing to let you have a copy outside of the Data Protection Act.

Or they can't be bothered and are trying to put you off because it is extra work for them to do... You may not (yet) have been speaking to the person who actually makes the decision or has any knowledge of what is and isn't possible.

Nothing wasted by asking nicely in writing first then if that doesn't work have a go through the more official route suggested.

Worth finding out what their retention policy is AND moving quickly to make sure that it does not disappear before you have had the chance to put a request in.

[chris_suffolk]

You may also have legal insurance from your house insurance policy. If you haven't got his insurance details, and he won't give them to you, but you have a registration number, then the police can give you the details (as happened when I was knocked off). Failing that, I think there is a site where you can get the details for a nominal fee. Failing to report and give insurance details is an offence, so the police should be interested.

Also, seems like it's clear he hit you from behind (how else do you damage the rear of the bike) so can't see any way he wouldn't be liable. He's lucky you want so little for the whole bike, many on here would be claiming 4 figures (and not with a 1 at the start) for a new bike

Best of luck, hope it all gets sorted.

[thirdcrank]

I've read the OP as thoroughly as I can and I cannot see anything to suggest that there's anything to help trace the driver or their vehicle other than their (mobile?) phone number. Obviously, CCTV footage might help if it's available.

If the rider posts again, it would be useful if they mentioned whether they had anything like the vehicle make/reg and the driver's name/ address. Without these it's hard to see what might be done.

[robb_man]

Hi all,

I wasn't expecting to receive so many replies in such little time! Thank you all for your support, it means a lot right now as I am starting to lose faith that I'll ever set things straight with this driver.

To add some details to my post:
1) I am not a member of any cycling group
2) I have contacted the Canary Wharf security team and they can release the footage only to the insurance company (for £100) or to the police, but not directly to me. (I have spoken to two different people and they confirmed the same.)
3) The CCTV footage will only be retained until the 16th September, so I don't have much time left to act.
4) Unfortunately, all I have got is the driver's phone number and that's it. I have been very naive, but he really seemed like a nice guy who was seriously concerned for me and he was also a bit in a shock I think when the whole thing happened.

I think my next step will be to try and get his name and his insurance number from him, and if he refuses, I'll report him to the police.

Thank you so much!

Roberta

[eileithyia]

Time is not on your side, I would say report it ASAP, if you have household insurance or a work place union / professional body contact them as they often have solicitors / legal departments to deal with this stuff. If not get in touch with any solicitors who deal with claims but ideally look for a cycling specific one and there are usually plenty listed in cycling press / magazines.

[thirdcrank]

Good luck with this but I fear it's the old story: other party initially offers an informal settlement and then has a change of heart, either as part of the original strategy or after talking to some saloon bar lawyers.

Being realistic, you face a lot of hurdles. Unless CCTV comes up with something, the only lead you have is his mobile phone number and that's before you start trying to prove liability when it's denied. Recent changes in the "no win, no fee" rules mean that unless there's a quite large personal injury claim, you are on your own with the small claims procedure.

In theory, one possibility might be the MIB which deals with compo claims in respect of unidentified/ uninsured drivers. I've no idea how they would treat something like this but it may be worth a try.

https://www.mib.org.uk/

[[XAP]Bob]

Hi all,

I wasn't expecting to receive so many replies in such little time! Thank you all for your support, it means a lot right now as I am starting to lose faith that I'll ever set things straight with this driver.

To add some details to my post:
1) I am not a member of any cycling group
2) I have contacted the Canary Wharf security team and they can release the footage only to the insurance company (for £100) or to the police, but not directly to me. (I have spoken to two different people and they confirmed the same.)
3) The CCTV footage will only be retained until the 16th September, so I don't have much time left to act.
4) Unfortunately, all I have got is the driver's phone number and that's it. I have been very naive, but he really seemed like a nice guy who was seriously concerned for me and he was also a bit in a shock I think when the whole thing happened.

I think my next step will be to try and get his name and his insurance number from him, and if he refuses, I'll report him to the police.

Thank you so much!

Roberta

I would write to them, and the police, and your own insurance company insisting that they retain the CCTV until a decision can be taken - in the extreme it's deletion in the face of said letter could be considered destruction of evidence and obstruction of justice.