Hit by a Lorry (warning cyclist thread)

[2beesornot2beesthatisthehoney]

I am so pissed off at the moment. So much I have to ask myself if IWBU. On Tuesday I was hit by a lorry whilst riding my bike. The bike is a mess, I was lucky to get away with bruises. Won't go into details as the police are involved, suffice to say the witnesses have said undue care and attention is a possibility. She has told the insurers she doesn't accept full liability which means a whole raft of additional hoops to jump through . Then googling I discover this young girl only passed her HGV less than 2 weeks ago.
I was so angry about her not admitting liability I have posted on that FB page - the company congratulating her on her success (easy way of achieving test through minimum training) that it is a shame she doesn't know how roundabouts work. WIBU by posting on that site?

To be honest I am more taken back by her audacity of saying not liable than the accident itself! It was a near miss and extremely lucky I didn't actually end up under the lorry myself and only have the bruises I have.

I think you WBU - people pretty much always don't accept liability for an accident. I believe that insurers tell you not to. So I can't blame her for doing that.

And I understand you have looked on her company FB page, where they posted 2 weeks ago congratulating her on passing her test. And then commented on that post to critisise her? You shouldn't have done that.

I used to work for car insurance claims- we always said never admit liability that is for the insurance people to do.

Can see why you are peed off OP though. You are lucky to be alive

I watched the Greg Wallace programme the other night called the factory. It's about how folding bikes are made. There is a section in the programme where they go in a lorry and show how much a lorry driver can and can't see. The blind spots were huge. It may be that she didn't see you at all.

She's driving a company vehicle. It's probably their policy not to admit liability at a scene so although I can understand your frustration, I don't think that was audacity on her part. It's standard.
The resulting investigation will determine who was liable.
As everyone has said, you shouldn't have posted on the company page. Delete it.
And tbh I don't think her age is relevant.

DP had to learn to drive lorry last year for a military posting he was going on- yes it was 10 days but 6 hours a day so 60 hours is hardly a crash course! I'm sorry you had an accident but I think blaming it on her age and being newly qualified is unfair, you don't know that's why.

Glastonbury yy there are huge blind spots on lorries.

Yes are you sure she could see you? Blind spots are very large, I'd wait for outcome of official investigation.

Also age not really relevant but some people look young for their years. If she was legally allowed to drive it then you can't go any further with that.

None of those blind spots would block a lorry entering a roundabout that a cyclist was already on, as implied by the OP.

Sounds extremely frightening, being hit by a HGV, glad to hear you were not seriously injured.

Leave it to the police/insurers to resolve. I understand your anger, but I think you should delete your comment from FB.

OP was asked if she was on the roundabout when the lorry pulled out. She said yes.

Doesn't sound to me like the OP was sneaking down the side of the lorry in a blind spot.

Sorry this happened, OP, very scary. Glad you are mainly OK.

I love how you put a cyclist wanting on this thread and people still come on here making excuses for a lorry driver driving into you on a roundabout!
I wouldn't worry about the FB post either way, it won't make any difference to the claim (but not really helping you out so maybe delete it....). As people said, everyone denies liability but I'm sure the insurance company will pay up, not worth their effort to argue over it, especially with 2 witnesses.
Hope you're ok!

Well I glad your are ok 💐

I think it's pretty standard practice to not accept liability, some insurers will even tell you not too so I don't think that will be the girl against you personally.

Lorries do have major blind spots, as others have the BBC programme aout folding bikes done a section on how much a Lorry driver can actually see and it was very surprising how little they can see.

When you take a hgv test it is 4 sets of tests, so it's not like passing a driving test for a car. I don't actually see how her age is relevant, you could just as easily of been hit by a man that had been driving 15 years.

I wouldn't of posted on the Facebook page

Op, really sorry you had such a horrible experience. Thank god you did not end up under the wheels.

But as others have said, try and separate yourself from a personal battle with the driver. I can imagine you want someone to say 'sorry' to you but at this stage, the police take over from you in pursuing justice. If the driver is found to be at fault, it will be dealt with accordingly.

I hope your injuries heal quickly ( have you been for a check up?) and the insurance sort you out for a bike asap.

Surely it's the lorry driver's job to look out for people in their blind spot though? I mean my car has blind spots but I bet if I hit a toddler I couldn't see, no one would say 'Ah never, he was in your blind spot'.

OP you are angry, scared and shaken up. I've been very-nearly taken out on my bike before and it's awful. You replay it in your mind, think what if you'd lost a leg, what if you'd never woken up.

You need to try and get calm though. Delete that FB post. The important thing is, the police are involved and they will do their best to sort it out. You are okay. You can get a new bike. And whatever she said/ didn't admit, that driver has had the scare of her life and I'll bet she is super careful from now on.

Just to play devil's advocate, have you had any formal training for cycling OP? Cycling proficiency test or anything like it? If not, could your lack of training to be to blame?

YABU to cite the training or the age of the driver as the cause - if she's passed the test she has reached the level of proficiency the law says is required to drive that category of vehicle. Older, more experienced drivers can also lapse in concentration and cause accidents.

Your frustration and anger is understandable but posting on the training company's FB page is a rather silly move, esp if there is to be a police investigation.

I thought everyone was told not to admit liability or even apologise at the scene of an accident?
I find it really difficult not to say sorry, even when I've been stationary and hit from behind.
When I was hit by a cyclist on the pavement I automatically said sorry even though I knew it wasn't my fault, totally and utterly his.

It's quite possibly a term in the companies insurance that they don't admit liability, and if they do could become uninsured. Some normal car insurance policies (mine!) also have it as a standard term.

Glad you ok op but agree with others you shouldnt be googling, posting on fb or doing anything as this will go against you. The goggling is stalkerist but ican understand why you did it. Leave it to the police etc to investigate the events and just get yourself better.

I'm very glad you're basically 'OK' but being bruised & badly scared is pretty awful 💐 Sorry to hear about your bike, I luffs mine & I'd be gutted if it was damaged like that.

18 year olds can get HGV licences? Holy crap - that's all kinds of wrong. You shouldn't be able to get one until you have much more driving experience.

Tempted though I would have been, I wouldn't have posted on their FB/website until after it was sorted out by the police/insurance, but I wouldn't worry too much, I don't think it'll make any difference.

Get back on a bike soon.

I'm so sorry this happened to you. It is a truly terrifying experience.

I don't blame you for posting on the FB page. I don't see that it can do any harm. The woman deserves the criticism - she was careless, and it could have cost a life. A bit of criticism on social media is mild in the circumstances.

I wouldn't be too angry about the liability - I think that's standard procedure. I do believe we need to hold HGV drivers to account for dangerous driving and there is a hell of a lot of it on the roads. I saw a family die in a crash last week caused by a stupid HGV driver, and am feeling extremely angry and emotional about this issue.

I mean my car has blind spots but I bet if I hit a toddler I couldn't see, no one would say 'Ah never, he was in your blind spot'.

And no one is saying that here. They are pointing out the huge blind spots and how an intelligent road user needs to be aware that the lorry driver can't see them. Unlike a toddler who has no concept of that. Stupid comparison IMO.

Johnny toddlers aren't expected to take into account blind spots. As an adult on a road whether as a driver, cyclist or pedestrian, sometimes there's a difference between being legally right and being safe. If I had a green man but a car was obviously going to speed through the lights, I would have the legal right to walk in front of them but it wouldn't be the decision that kept me safe.
There was a spate of accidents on roundabouts with HGVs and cyclists a few years ago and the safe cycling groups issued guidance on how HGVs and roundabouts should be approached by cyclists to try to ensure they were safe. There's also initiatives to encourage HGV companies to equip their vehicles with better mirrors and sensors.

unless you are right out in front or way behind a lorry, they basically cannot see you. It's not a case of them not bothering to check, they just literally cannot see it, the mirrors do not allow them to!

I'm not talking about the OP here but other road users and pedestrians really need to be mindful of this and take precautions because the driver just isn't able to.

OP, what a horrible and frightens Bing experience for you. For some reason on cycling threads people ignore what you wrote about bring in the roundabout and the hgv pulling into you and deciding you must have gone through a red light.

Ignore them. Look after yourself and make sure you're okay and let the police finish their work and delete the Facebook post.

I'm afraid the denial thing is pretty standard. The driver who hit my DH could barely walk he was so drunk and still tried to make out it wasn't his fault.