DH in Accident with Cyclist - Any Advice

[LilacPombear]

DH has just given me a quick call to say he was in an accident this morning. He never calls me in the mornings and had to cut the call short as he's at work and no phones allowed. He said he was driving into work (around 7am); the roads are fairly quiet at that time around here and he's done the route for years. He looked before turning left, all clear, but as he turned, a bike hit the car.

He got out and checked the rider, who was unharmed and seemed more concerned about his bike than anything else. The bike was not damaged or un-rideable. DH said the rider had added mods to the bike, which is why it was moving so fast. The rider had no helmet, high-vis, nothing. Initially, the rider was angry and called someone, speaking in another language, and making threats about DH ruining his bike.

DH has no idea how he stayed so calm but said he wanted to deal with this amicably. The first thing he checked was if the rider was unharmed, which he was. But there is damage to the car. They exchanged details, but the rider was not able to speak English very well. He got back on the bike and left. DH then headed into work and gave me a quick call to let me know.

I'm glad the man was okay as is DH, and it could have been so much worse, especially since he had no helmet. DH seemed quite shaken on the phone. What happens now? What do we do? I'm sure DH knows what to do next, but I just feel worried, especially as the rider was making threats. Any advice or similar experiences would be greatly appreciated.

No, he was undertaking.

Any bike can have an electric hub fitted.

Yes, there are ways (illegal) to basically electrify the bike so that it will move without being peddled. Presumably they're electric bikes that are modified in some way. There are several used by JustEat/Deliveroo riders near us. They travel down the roads at 20-30 mph without any peddle movement at all. Nor do the riders wear helmets or any coloured clothing - all in black, usually with a black hat or ballaclava. They're an absolute menace as they weave in and out of traffic and on/off pavements.

No, the passenger door is on the left, next to the curb side of the road. It sounds like the cyclist must have come up tbe inside (left) just as the car was turning left. I can’t see any sane reason why you’d cycle up the inside of a car indicating left. It sounds like the car list is at fault. Yes the car driver should’ve seen him, but the cyclist should overtake on the outside of the car if he wants to go past. But the driver sounds like he’s minimising things too. The bike does sound to have damage etc.

As a cyclist I would love to see the law enforce all bikes have working lights fitted. Yes it is daylight but a cyclist without lights can be really hard to see (note most motorcycles use them for this reason).

Cyclists need to read the road & traffic, many don’t. If the car indicates a left turn & was committed to the move, a cyclist hitting passenger door meant he was reading the traffic & is at fault. This is why many larger vehicles have stickers on their rear stating cyclists should not go up the inside as it is a blind spot.

Whilst there's no legal requirement to notify the police (as details were exchanged at the scene), I'd notify them anyway just to report the illegal electrical modifications. The more reports they get about them, the more likely they are to actually do something about them!

Yes you can. You can get an engine kit to modify a pedal bike. Loads of kids and delivery drivers near me have them and they are fast.

delivery drivers.

Did this happen in South West London by any chance, OP?

The traffic law changed a while ago, pedestrians and cyclists have the right of way at an unprotected crossing. Turning drivers must give way. The driver should have checked his mirror before turning.

Yes it’s perfectly legal to have power added to a bike. My 75 year old mother did.

I actually think it’s time that bikes have to have a licence number that can identify a rider riding badly, and perhaps even a test (same for low powered mopeds and mobility scooters) before they go on the roads.

And would that actually include under cutting a car and riding dangerously? Yes they have priority if at a junction, but surely don’t have the right to undertake and barge through? The new laws don’t give them permission to ride dangerously or illegally.

Depends whether the cyclist was in a dedicated cycle and bus lane, when designated traffic coming along on the inside has ROW.

Contact insurance -if the rider gave his real details they will pursue him for the damage costs.

Electric bike? careless cyclist? One of those accidents and speaking as a cyclist myself. Suspect the man wont be insured and wont take further action. just inform the insurance company. I watch those Deliveroo riders and wonder how they arent dying by the 100s. Just migrant workers trying to make money but risking life/limb

This happened to me - contact the police and get an incident number and make sure you keep it - I think they have something ridiculous like 3 years to make a claim. Mine turned out to be very suspect - I’d had a dash cam fitted the previous day and when the cyclist saw me checking it she made a miraculous recovery and rode away. Dash cam showed my car was stationary and there was no actual impact!!! I was so shocked at the time I really believed I’d hit her but my passenger kept saying I hadn’t which is why I was checking the dash cam! It happened at the exit of a posh private hospital and I think it was a scam. I still reported it to the police though.

That wont happen. no one will mandate/fund it and the DVLA cant track cars never mind cyclists. I certainly wont/wouldnt be registering my bikes

OP has not clarified this. You have no idea if he was undertaking or not, or if the driver had recently overtaken him, then turned left.

The cyclist is at fault.
He was undertaking and failed to note that your husband was turning left.

The only country in the world that does this is North Korea. Don’t be ridiculous.

A bit of this will depend on whether he was signalling which will be difficult to prove, but in general any vehicle coming up behind and crashing into a vehicle in front is at fault 100%. Even cyclists should not be going at a speed where they can't stop if something unexpected happens in front of them. Even if DH wasn't signalling, a cyclist should never undertake a car that is slowing down on approach to a left turn because it's obvious they could be about to turn left.

DH should leave it all to the insurers. The cyclist probably doesn't have insurance and is not owed anything as the accident was their fault. DH's insurers will probably treat it in the same category as e.g. if someone unknown rams a car in a carpark - an unidentifiable third party is clearly at fault but there's no way to get any money off them. If the cyclist decides to try to make a claim against DH's insurance they may end up getting sued.

Any driver intending to change direction must ensure it is safe first. Before turning or changing lanes, mirrors must be checked.

Of course tell the police. Helmet and hi-vis not a requirement. how did your dp know the cyclist was making threats if he was speaking another language?

So from your description your DH had not overtaken the bike, it had undertaken him and then wasn't paying attention and hit him.

The cyclist is at fault here, so many of them ride dangerously it's getting difficult for motorists, it always seems to be the motorists fault!

Agree with others though I would report to the police.

Yes there very much are- they turn a pedal bike into an electric bike and are illegal… if the police had been called it would have been seized immediately

Initially, the rider was angry and called someone, speaking in another language, and making threats about DH ruining his bike

I read that as he was speaking to someone on the phone in another language, and separately made threats about her DH ruining his bike.