Do police care about injured cyclists?

[Rabbit]

A terrible story - a 15 year boy on a bike was negotiating a roundabout at Tuckton near Bournemouth yesterday morning when he was hit by a car which had been waiting to pull out. The car clipped his back wheel, spun the bike around and the boy went under the front wheels. He was dragged under the vehicle for ten yards and suffered a complete break of both bones in his ankle. His new bike was trashed. He had been cycling with lights on. When the police came they took no photographs of the scene, although they did question the driver. They later told the boy's parents it was just an accident, and the boy had not been wearing a hi-vis jacket. The boy is now in hospital undergoing an operation on his broken ankle (it was shattered through the growth plate) and it is unclear whether or not the police intend to investigate with a view to prosecution. Given that a child was badly injured I would have thought that an investigation for careless or dangerous driving would have been a certainty.

[fastpedaller]

They don't seem to care a jot IME. An example......Years ago I was hit from behind by a motorist who then left the scene - At the Police station the officer said "can I check your bike over? " I of course said 'no problem' he then said "I want to know your brakes are good" (why when I'd been hit in the rear? ) and then he said "your back wheel is 'very wobbly' - that's not good" to which I of course said "it's been run into by a car - it was straight before that". Unreal. They did subsequently catch the guy and successfully prosecute . The officer at the court said afterwards "I'd get him in a dark alley if I was you"
Shows he didn't think the justice was enough? I never did anything, relying on karma to get him
Unfortunately there's too many happy to just wrap these collisions in the A word, and let insurance do the rest, when the motorist in his box needs a sharp lesson (ps. I add I also am a motorist)
Truly hope the lad makes a full recovery - must be terribly worrying for his family!

[[XAP]Bob]

No - they don't give a monkeys - don#t call them, just call the heavies - they don't seem to care about that either...

Edit:
I've *just* had a call from the police about an incident in September.
After they come nd chat again we shall see whether they do or don't care about bringing the heavies round to someone's house...

[NUKe]

Probably needs a complaint to the local Police commissioner and the chief Super, its not just an accident and the police shouldn't be victim blaming . I'd certainly talk to a solicitor regarding compensation.

[beardy]

I think that the individual police who attend DO care about the victims.
They have just given up banging their heads against the brick wall of trying to get a prosecution.

Those who would persist in trying to get justice will not triumph, Hollywood style, in the end. Instead they will end up out of a job or emotionally destroyed.

[wjhall]

It is possible that checking both vehicles is part of a standard procedure, one advantage of which is that they can subsequently cut off any claims from the other party based on the condition of your bike, which they can report as checked and found to be good.

I notice when reporting a minor assault once that the officer taking the statement went back to what I had been doing before the event, which I guess would help them to cut off any claims that I had spent the previous half hour provoking the offender.

Perhaps someone with better knowledge of the formalities of the legal system can expound?

They don't seem to care a jot IME. An example......Years ago I was hit from behind by a motorist who then left the scene - At the Police station the officer said "can I check your bike over? " I of course said 'no problem' he then said "I want to know your brakes are good" (why when I'd been hit in the rear? ) and then he said "your back wheel is 'very wobbly' - that's not good" to which I of course said "it's been run into by a car - it was straight before that". Unreal. ....

[rmurphy195]

My recent experience suggests that the officer attending did care - and at the same time was non-judgmental and unbiased.

Anyway he recorded that facts and statements as they were, and made recommendations based on them and the evidence at the scene (prosecution of the driver). And accompanied me to the hospital, informed relatives etc. and my wife agrees with me that he was very caring.

The back office people process the report didn't seem to give two hoots though (they may have been civilian staff).

I suspect that the officers who have attended lots of accident scenes involving cyclists (and who cycle themselves) have a different view than those who have not.

I know of one officer whose colleagues cycle to work - he cycles himself. One of these was involved in an accident with a car and had an interesting time claiming damages in the face of the 2 standard excuses "Didn't see him", and "He rode off the pavement in front of me" (apparently his Strava log showed where he was cycling).

So I would think it depends what you mean by "Police"

[MikeF]

They later told the boy's parents it was just an accident, and the boy had not been wearing a hi-vis jacket.

The police should have referred to it as a collision - not an accident. I'm not sure if police do routinely take photographs of collisions.

[irc]

They later told the boy's parents it was just an accident, and the boy had not been wearing a hi-vis jacket.

The police should have referred to it as a collision - not an accident. I'm not sure if police do routinely take photographs of collisions.

Semantics. The law refers to "accident." So a collision/crash/whatever can be correctly referred to as an accident without implying anything about the causes of it. In fact not all road accidents are collisions. A bus passenger injured by sudden braking is legally a road accident without there being a collision for example.

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/s ... 0-2011.pdf

[[XAP]Bob]

Presumably there is a collision, just inside the bus...

[irc]

Presumably there is a collision, just inside the bus...

I think I prefer the term "accident" to "collision" for a person falling over. Whether on a bus or elsewhere. If a person twisted their ankle in the street without falling to the ground avoiding a speeding car (a reportable road accident) would you say that was a collision between that person and the road or an accident?

An accident is the correct legal term and covers every incident. Collision or crash don't. Just because some people misunderstand the word "accident" in the road traffic sense as being unforseeable or without blame is no reason not to use it.

[pete75]

Presumably there is a collision, just inside the bus...

I think I prefer the term "accident" to "collision" for a person falling over. Whether on a bus or elsewhere. If a person twisted their ankle in the street without falling to the ground avoiding a speeding car (a reportable road accident) would you say that was a collision between that person and the road or an accident?

An accident is the correct legal term and covers every incident. Collision or crash don't. Just because some people misunderstand the word "accident" in the road traffic sense as being unforseeable or without blame is no reason not to use it.

Exactly - an accident is something that's unintended. One dictionary defines it thus "An unfortunate incident that happens unexpectedly and unintentionally, typically resulting in damage or injury" .

If the incident is not an accident ie intentional eg a cyclist deliberately run into by a motorist then laws relating to assault, murder or intention to murder should apply.

[MikeF]

Nevertheless the boy's injuries were caused by a collision - according to the OP he did not "accidentally" fall off his bike.

[[XAP]Bob]

No - they don't give a monkeys - don#t call them, just call the heavies - they don't seem to care about that either...

Edit:
I've *just* had a call from the police about an incident in September.
After they come nd chat again we shall see whether they do or don't care about bringing the heavies round to someone's house...

Yesterday I had a visit, and they have returned my video footage.

Both the the gentleman and lady have received a police caution (which is on their record for 5 years) and the older gentleman had a talking to about road safety.

They were apparently appropriately contrite and without previous (or with very old previous in one case). A satisfactory, if prolonged, end.