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AIBU?

WWYD - DH knocked off his bike in hit and run accident

38 replies

olympicsrock · 09/01/2015 09:29

DH got in from the pub last night at 1 am, having cycled 5 minutes home through quiet village streets. He is an experienced cyclist and he had bright front and rear lights. On the way home he was hit from behind by a car and went over the handle bars. Car did not stop and he didn't see the make or colour of the car as it came from behind and then he was on the floor.
DH doesn't want to report it as he does not think there are any cameras that would have caught the vehicle and he was over the alcohol limit to cycle home.
After giving him a big hug I have obviously said that he was an idiot to cycle so late over the limit. But.... I am livid that someone is getting away with a hit and run accident. Should I encourage him to phone the police. He has cuts and bruises only.

OP posts:

Report

MrsTawdry · 09/01/2015 09:31

Not if he was over the limit. He could have caused a fatal accident.

26Point2Miles · 09/01/2015 09:31

They def should have stopped, but drunk cyclists are a accident waiting to happen! Healm my he wasn't killed

Both in the wrong here... Massively. Yes he should report it

Efferlunt · 09/01/2015 09:33

Go to the police! There's someone out there who thinks it's acceptable to hit another person with there car and then drive off. Suppose they do it again.

There's no offence of drunk cycling is there? Cycling recklessly is an offence but it doesn't sound like this is the case here.

BikeRunSki · 09/01/2015 09:34

I'm a cyclist and a driver. If he was over the limit, I would keep very quiet about it, the drunk driving laws apply to all road users.

ZombieApocalypse · 09/01/2015 09:36

If he was over the limit, I reckon he should count himself lucky he wasn't caught or injured more and leave it at that. Yes, the driver was a shit for knocking him off and not stopping but your DH was also over the limit.

partialderivative · 09/01/2015 09:37

Do they same alcohol limits apply to cyclists as to drivers?

(Genuine question)

MrsTawdry · 09/01/2015 09:37

Partial yes they do! And as a cyclist this sort of thing pisses me off royally. Bikes aren't powerful but can still cause fatal accidents.

WooWooOwl · 09/01/2015 09:38

If he doesn't want to report it then that's his choice, I can see why he wouldn't want to if he was over the limit.

Are you sure he's described the accident to you exactly as it happened, or is there a chance he could be more at fault than he's letting on so as not to upset you?

BikeRunSki · 09/01/2015 09:40

A quick Google gives this. Frirnd's brother was breathalysed on a bike about 25 years ago.

^Section 30 of the Road Traffic Act 1988, as amended by the Road Traffic Act 1991, provides the offence of cycling on a road or public place whilst under the influence of drink or drugs. It states:
30(1) A person who, when riding a cycle on a road or other public place, is unfit to ride through drink or drugs (that is to say, is under the influence of drink or a drug to such an extent as to be incapable of having proper control of the cycle) is guilty of an offence.^

DeWee · 09/01/2015 09:40

If he's only got cuts and bruises, and the bike is undamaged, and he is over the limit, I'd suspect he actually fell off and either is trying to repair his ego or is assuming because he doesn't usually fall off.

I'm not sure you'd go over the handlbars if hit from behind would you? Going over the handlebars would mean you going faster than the bike (ie when you brake sharply), which would mean that the car hit him but didn't touch the bike. Looking from it as mathematical forces point of view.

fluffymouse · 09/01/2015 09:42

It is an offence to drunk cycle, but hit and run is a far more serious offence. He should report the incident. He will no longer be over the limit now.

Showy · 09/01/2015 09:43

With cycling I don't think it's so much about limits but about your fitness to ride. It is an offence to be drunk in charge of a bicycle. You would be fined for it iirc. A bike isn't mechanically propelled so isn't subject to the same rules as a car.

"It is an offence for a person to ride a cycle on a road or other public place when unfit to ride through drink or drugs" is the actually wording.

OP, your dh was very lucky. DH was knocked off from behind 2 years ago at 7am. He was sober and on his way to work. The woman was doing 50mph and just didn't see him. He had lights on his bike, helmet and bag, was in high vis clothing and his bike was bright orange. He was quite badly hurt. Ironically, your dh's lack of sobriety possibly helped him not feel it at the time. Hope he feels okay.

LonnyVonnyWilsonFrickett · 09/01/2015 09:46

My DFriend's brother was involved in a fatal accident with a drunk cyclist a few years back. The cyclist died, the DF bro attempted suicide because he couldn't live with the guilt, a large number of lives were devastated, DFbro had to leave his small town because of people assuming it was his fault (it was not, the FAI found it to be 100% the cyclist's 'fault').

I don't say this lightly or to be bitchy, but your DH is a fool who could have got himself killed. Yes, the person who hit him and drove off is also a nasty piece of work, but he needs to be counting his blessings and changing his habits. I think it's DH you need to be livid at too.

olympicsrock · 09/01/2015 10:05

DeWee, i am sure that it did happen. Back wheel of the bike is damaged where he was clipped and he swerved into the pavement braking hard which is when he went over the handlebars.

I am angry with DH of course and have made him promise not to cycle over the limit again. Read the riot act saying he could have hit a pedestrian etc. Totally agree that he was also in the wrong at the time of the accident.

However i do feel as fluffy mouse said the hit and run was a more serious offence and someone is getting away with it. Still not sure whether to let this go.

OP posts:

olympicsrock · 09/01/2015 10:06

Just to add I am sorry to hear what happened to your DFbro Lonny.

OP posts:

LonnyVonnyWilsonFrickett · 09/01/2015 10:11

Thank you Olympics and thanks for taking my comment in the spirit in which it was intended, you must have had quite a shock this morning too .

It is a serious offence (hit and run) and I would want to report it too.

Nicknacky · 09/01/2015 10:14

It's really up to your H to report it. If you call the police and he doesn't want to tell them anything then it's a total waste of their time.

And the police can do nothing now about his fitness to cycle, if that's what worries him. There is no "limit" however as another poster has said he can be unfit through drink or drugs but that relates more if he was stopped at the time. They can't retrospectively prove he was unfit.

nhsworker15 · 09/01/2015 10:15

Dp has been knocked off his bike a few times, never once has the driver stopped to check if he was OK. Luckily he's never been badly injured. He's never reported it, what would be the point unless he had a registration number, police won't do anything about it?

OrangesJuicyOranges · 09/01/2015 10:16

A cyclist in our town was killed last night. Be thankful your husband wasn't him. And what a stupid idiot to be cycling over the limit - he could have killed himself or caused a horrible accident. A lesson learnt I would hope.

MiddleAgedandConfused · 09/01/2015 10:20

You should leave well alone. If you find that there is camera footage it may show your DH wobbling all over the road - if he was drunk he may not have an accurate memory of events. He may find him self liable for prosecution as well as for any damage to the car.
Put it down to experience and try to convince him to stop doing this - it is dangerous for both him and other road users.

CatsClaus · 09/01/2015 10:21

I think he has been very lucky...sounds like he was just clipped and if it had been a car that had truly run him over he'd have been a good deal worse off.

He might have very bright lights, etc, but did he even have them on?

Silly man! Obviously it is hugely galling that no one checked from the car but aside from them being soulless pricks, if he was cycling a bit randomly and got clipped they may not have realised

I could have offed some guy AND his dog...not long after the clocks went back, narrow country roads, I spot a large tractor, we are local so both know that as we pass the only house on that road there is a passing space and we both adjust speed and road position to pass there....ONLY at the last minute I spot The Man In Black Walking His Black Dog standing in the road by a fucking bush

I only spotted him as the blinding security light from the house flashed on as the tractor passed the house and silhouetted him. I saw him again a week later on another road, still all in black, and vowed to rip him a new one if i saw him again....i presume someone else has run him over since i haven't seen him since.

LonnyVonnyWilsonFrickett · 09/01/2015 10:26

Oh jesus Cats that's given me chills and a flashback to the man in black stopping to fiddle with the tarp which had fallen over the reflectors on his fucking boat which was parked in the middle of the lane of an unlit country road with a 40 limit.

Although I don't think we needed to rip him a new one, I think he managed that himself with the fright. Stupid arse.

soulrebel63 · 09/01/2015 10:55

The police cannot breathalyse or make a cyclist give a blood sample. They can only decide if the cyclist is drunk by assessing their behaviour

soulrebel63 · 09/01/2015 10:55

The police cannot breathalyse or make a cyclist give a blood sample. They can only decide if the cyclist is drunk by assessing their behaviour

Showy · 09/01/2015 11:00

Bloody hell, is it some kind of National Event? I drove down a dark road last night (national speed limit, straight road, easy to fit 2 cars, fine to do 60 which I was). A woman was walking her dog down the middle of the road. Black dog, woman all in black, ambling along. I slowed right down and she just sauntered slowly to the side. 2 minutes later, I passed a cyclist who was all in black with no sodding lights. Why. Just, WHY?

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