Knocked off by a Police Women!!

Commuting, Day rides, Audax, Incidents, etc.
gar

Re:Knocked off by a Police Women!!

Post by gar »

But to my utter amazement her excuses were:
I was traveling too fast for a cyclist
I should have worn a helmet (U wot?)
I should have seen she was looking for a house and slowed down expecting her to stop
She could not give me room to pass her on the inside as she had found the police she had been searching for and was of duty, so needed to park quickly. (no blue light note)

Despite my complaints to her and her control room, she flatly refused to say sorry, as “this could be taken as an admission of guilt and I could sue her


If she accepts that these were her excuses at the time, then they ARE an admission of guilt
and you could.

A complaint to the chief constable would be the proper thing to do, since you wisely saved yourself from injury.
blackie

Re:Knocked off by a Police Women!!

Post by blackie »

Drivers indeed anyone who gets away with something we disagree with only gets off with it because we do not bother to complain. We have the good intention to do so in the heat of the moment but that dwindles and once again they get away with it.
COMPLAIN then tell us how you get on.
thirdcrank

Re:Knocked off by a Police Women!!

Post by thirdcrank »

I am sorry to have added to the frustration you feel. I really was trying to be helpful. When I first saw this I felt there was nothing you would want to hear from me and I only commented when it was implied by another that I should. It might have generated less excitement if others had actually read what I wrote. Anyway, I hope I have provided a realistic summary for anyone involved in a similar situation but I cannot imagine this will ever be an FAQ - amongst all the indignation there have been no other examples quoted in reply to your original Q.

Finally, you are in a win/win situation: either you will have the immense satisfaction of being proved right or you will be pleasantly surprised if you get a satisfactory result. Mick Agar
Adscrim

Re:Knocked off by a Police Women!!

Post by Adscrim »

Gar, have you thought about becoming a Police Community Support Officer?
troywinters

Re:Knocked off by a Police Women!!

Post by troywinters »

quite a few respondents are missing the point. This was a road traffic accident. It dont matter whether she was a police officer, whether on or off duty, or whether she was responding to an emergency, stopping for fish'n'chips or anything else. Though of course it would be a matter for her employers to decide if she had acted inappropiately as far as her employment terms and conditions was concerned i.e should she have been going to her lover's house or whatever she was upto and whether she followed her employers procedures for an accident which as others have said does involve the attendance of a senior officer, usually a sargeant from the transport division as this wasn't a fatal accident.
What does matter is whether she drove her vehicle with due care and attention. When having overtaken another road user you must for a reasonable distance give extra consideration for that road user if you then change speed or course. Her defence that the other person was going too fast is in fact harmfull to her case as by logic if that was so then she must of been going way too fast to overtake.
I'd not muck around anymore, I'd instruct my legal team to proceed now, on the other hand this may result in an increased level of police brutality against innocent cyclists.
gar

Re:Knocked off by a Police Women!!

Post by gar »

Gar, have you thought about becoming a Police Community Support Officer?

My concern for the law is in the realm of law making and not law enforcement. The difference may seem superficial, but in fact worlds apart.

I have a particular interest in cycling as a life time pleasure which is what accounts for my remarks here.

Thank you for the kind suggestion nonetheless.

If you want me to keep quiet while Thirdcrank
writes just say so, as his explanations are what most cyclists need before thinking about Legal advice, which is a big step for anybody, especially somebody new to Legal procedure.

While there is sufficient demand for such explanations, I know we are grateful to Thirdcrank for them.

May MB business be brisk.
gar

Re:Knocked off by a Police Women!!

Post by gar »

AJP1TFC

We still have not heard back from the correspondent named with an acronym in bold type.
OR
Is this a police lapel number or a car number??!!
gar

Re:Knocked off by a Police Women!!

Post by gar »

Beg your pardon Alan, you have properly identified yourself.

Good one!
gar

Re:Knocked off by a Police Women!!

Post by gar »

Yes I have registered a compliant, but the complaint about the copper, well lets just say it a waste of time.

Alan says that the complaint against the copper is a waste of time and that the police are not interested in cyclists.

I am quite certain that the latter is mistaken and that traffic police are concernd with ALL road users and their safety. The work of traffic policing can be gruelling at the best of times and
they certainly don't have time to set particular groups of road user apart from others.

I am quite certain that if Alan has made his complaint effectively , it will be properly heard.

If he has contacted the Chief constable's office
of the Suffolk force, then he has gone the right way about it. His secretary will take the message in the first instance.

Otherwise he is correct in supposing that it is a waste of time. There is discipline and... discipline; there are complaints and... complaints.
daveg

Re:Knocked off by a Police Women!!

Post by daveg »

I reckon it would this would make a good film. Have you thought about selling the rights?

:<)
thirdcrank

Re:Knocked off by a Police Women!!

Post by thirdcrank »

Post Script:

The refusal to apologise has caused ill-feeling.

I think it is fair to say that all motor insurance policies contain a clause to the effect that no admission of liability should be made by or on behalf of the insurer. I also think that there is a widespread belief that apologising after an accident is just that. Certainly, many drivers who have received an apology are pretty confident that they have also received an admission of liability. A few weeks ago, I did read a letter from a lawyer (in the Daily Telegraph motoring supplement) suggesting that this was not the case but I have no idea how the law does stand on this. It is certainly the case that whatever training police officers receive on criminal law, they receive none on civil law and have, therfore, no more reason to be aware of the niceties than anyone else.

I point this out, not to take sides over an incident in which we have heard only one party, but to remind everyone that there are indeed two sides. Mick Agar
gar

Re:Knocked off by a Police Women!!

Post by gar »

I also think that there is a widespread belief that apologising after an accident is just that. Certainly, many drivers who have received an apology are pretty confident that they have also received an admission of liability.

There is an old saying that it costs nothing to apologise. Insurance liability terms can be so obscure that however much an individual denies responsibility they will still share the cost between the insurance companies, and however
much an individual apologises the other side may still pay.

Where the myth comes from, that an apology is an admission of liability, is anybody's guess, but it seems to be very widespread indeed.

There are some people who specialise in demanding apologies in all their walks of life, and do their best to avoid giving one themselves at ANY time. The "you should not be there at all
when I am" type;

Damages and apologies do tend to go together
but I am quite sure that those who apologise eventually get their own dues, and those who demand them, end up having to do some very heavy apologising themselves.

Knock for knock cars hitting each other, apologies may not be approporiate;

It really is when there is the suggestion of criminal liability that an apology becomes a critical question, or action.

Isn't it the old rule, that if you hurt (damage) somebody,always stay with them until there is nothing further you can do to help their recovery? That would not be an apology...... but it would be every bit as good as one.

It's an interesting subject and insufficiently discussed.
Yorkshireman

Re:Knocked off by a Police Women!!

Post by Yorkshireman »

Isn't it the old rule, that if you hurt (damage) somebody,always stay with them until there is nothing further you can do to help their recovery? That would not be an apology...... but it would be every bit as good as one.
==============================

Gar,
I believe that this is the law in France and some other countries, but not this one.

Colin N.
blackie

Re:Knocked off by a Police Women!!

Post by blackie »

In this country irrespective of the type of vehicle, you could be liable to prosecution if you leave the scene of a road collision without exchanging your correct details including insurance company. Paul Basildon
thirdcrank

Re:Knocked off by a Police Women!!

Post by thirdcrank »

The requirements to stop, supply certain details to a third party, and report to the police within 24 hours applies only to the driver of a motor vehicle. A cyclist, stagecoach driver, Santa Claus are all outside this legislation. Mick Agar
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