DH bike accident

[SometimesrightlySometimeswrongly]

My DH had an accident on his bike yesterday and I was wondering who would be blamed for causing it.
He was cycling down a road with parked cars on both sides. The car behind him overtook him, then saw another car coming towards them and cut in front of my DH leaving about one metres space. He then breaked hard and my DH went into the back of him.
DH has badly cut his knee and bumped his chest on the handle bars, but is okay. He damaged the car when he hit it. The car driver got out and said "No harms done." And then drove off.
My DH managed to get back.on his bike and cycle off. When he got home, he reported it to the Police online.
Is the accident my DHs fault because he went into the back of the car, or is the driver guilty of driving without due care and attention?

I would say the car driver is responsible here. Terrible of them to drive off without exchanging details. I hope your DH isn’t feeling too sore.

Thanks. He's not too bad this morning. Going in the car today though!

It's incidents like this that make me think it'd be worth having a video camera on my bike.

The car driver was responsible, and should be reported to the police.

The car driver. What an arsehole. Hope your dh is ok x

He needs a head camera.

I'll mention about getting a head camera, it's a really good idea.

Did he get the car reg?

Yes

Did he get any witness details? Terrible of the driver.

I had a car pull out from a side road into me and knocked me off. Lots of damage to bike and me. I got the drivers phone number but not his reg (he moved his car round the corner and I was too shaken up). I reported to the police as he blocked my number. I had to put pressure on the police but they eventually got his insurance details for me.

the car driver definitely.

report to the police. hit&run is a serious offence.
if he has witnesses even better.

Totes the driver's fault.

How could he have avoided rear-ending driver?

But speaking as a cyclist myself, what he should have done, I suspect, is cycle in first position so the motorist couldn't pass him.

Does it matter whose fault it is? Nothing will happen as a result, so trying to allocate "blame" is pointless. Cyclists are tough, they accept that accidents happen, so I would expect him to be back on his bike ASAP.

No witness details. All the other drivers kept going. A pedestrian stopped because they heard the impact, but not what happened.

He was cycling to the bike repair shop when he had the accident. He will be right back on it when he gets it back.
We're not expecting anything to come from it. I just wondered about who was to blame, because if you go into the back of someone you are often blamed. Not exchanging details though is very wrong.

Car driver, should not have overtaken if he was unable to complete the manoeuvre, giving the bike clearance.

If a motor vehicle goes into the back of another motor vehicle, then the "hitter" is usually to blame, but a bike is not a motor vehicle. Bikes are more vulnerable than cars, so I'm not sure "hitter is to blame" applies here. Anyway, I'm not sure what else your DH could have done - the car he hit changed course suddenly - so not "making normal progress". It sounds like your DH was the only road user who was!

I have been in exactly the same situation as a cyclist. No one pursued me to claim!

Thanks for your reply. Hope you were okay whan you had your accident.

Well ultimately the problem is that there are just too many of us on inadequate roads. Parked cars, lots of traffic both ways, cyclists etc.

Whilst the car driver should not have overtaken, I am not sure that there is sufficient evidence for the police to really do much other than have a conversation. Seems like the driver knew he was in the wrong though if he said no harm done and drove off.

I hope your husband is okay, I know from experience it can shake your confidence. It's a more than 30 years since I last had a bad accident but at the time the Cyclists' Touring Club (now Cycling UK) took on my case and won me compensation.

If he's a regular cyclist he might want to consider joining Cycling UK who offer legal support www.cyclinguk.org/member-benefit/cycling-uk-incident-line.

This happened to me - slightly different situation, but I went into a car (at the rear side) and it drove off.

It was treated as a Hit and Run and the police took it very seriously.

This was in 2013 though so when the police were slightly better resourced.

Eh? The car driver who overtook you was clearly at fault and he could have died. You don't overtake a cyclist unless you can see that you can do so safely. If you can't see far enough ahead of you, you wait until you can.

Not always - if the car in front has suddenly pulled in front of the "hitter", then it may well be the "hittee" who's at fault. For example, on a motorway, if a car in the middle lane suddenly pulls in to the left lane and then slams the brakes on, the car behind won't have time to stop, so it could be decided that the fault is with the car which pulled in. That's more or less what's happened here.

New laws for drivers overtaking cyclists. It can be annoying not being able to pass due to park cars but that's just tough luck and is a hell of a lot less annoying than dealing with police when you've been a twat around a cyclist.

Suspect driver did not leave enough room time to pass.

Thanks for all the responses. I will mention Cycling UK to DH.
The roads are really dangerous for cyclists. Worries me when DH is out cycling.

If he got the car reg, I'd advise him to make a police report. The driver was at fault and left the scene of the accident. Even if all they do is 'have a word', it's important that this stuff gets reported.