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.

As far as I'm aware insurance companies recommended NOT accepting liability until they have investigated the situation. Your comment on the page will not make you look good and I'd be deleting it.

soup you are right that I was talking about legal liability rather than just being safe.

rosie really nasty and unnecessary comment. ffs the OP has just been in an accident where she could have been killed. She's scared. Have a bit of bloody compassion and don't victim-blame.

I had a narrow miss, as the driver of a lorry. The cyclist (on my left and whose presence was completely unknown to me at that point) entered the roundabout at exactly the same time as me, but he was completely in my blind spot.

Fortunately my passenger had the window open and happened to glance to the side and back. I dread to think what would have happened had not my passenger shouted out, but as it was I managed to stop and the cyclist squeezed carried on to the roundabout, on my inside.

(Note: am not saying this was the case here).

2bees
I am sorry this happened to you and I am glad you weren't badly hurt.

However, the facebook posting is a mistake and you should remove it. I also agree with others that the driver had probably been told not to admit liability.

I saw that programme about Brompton bikes too and the moment when the presenter got out of the lorry and saw all the people in the blind spots was terrifying. It changed the way I would approach a lorry.

I'd take your post of the FB page now, its not going to help anyone bar your sense of indignation. I'm quite surprised that you find her not admitting liability to be audacious, its really standard in collisions involving both work & personal vehicles.

It must have been very frightening for you, horrible thing to happen.

Glad you're mostly OK, it must have been a horrible shock for you!

YABU posting that comment though. There is no minimum period necessary before passing your test and driving the vehicle you are licensed to drive. Whether her being a 'young girl' or a new driver had any bearing on the accident is neither here nor there - neither young girls nor new drivers are banned from driving.

Drivers of all levels of experience can have accidents. Yes, she clearly fucked up, but trying to imply she should accept liability because being a 'young girl' and new driver she clearly must have just got her delicate little head in a spin and forgotten how to drive her 4+ tonne truck is pretty low.

Let the insurers fight it out. The main thing is you are OK and she's not likely to do it again.

Johnny

I disagree my comment was "victim blaming" - for all I know the OP has actually completed the Cycling Proficiency Test - hell, she could be an instructor for all I know! I was simply pointing out that to blame the driver's training, when she has clearly reached the minimum level of proficiency according to law, is unreasonable esp considering you don't require to have completed any kind of training to ensure your own or other's safety when taking to the road on a push bike.

That's a terrible thing to happen; no wonder you were so upset.

You should not have posted on the FB page. You need to keep the moral high ground in any legal matter

Glad your ok 💐

I don't think her not taking liability for the accident is anything from her against you personally, most insurers and some companies will tell you Not to accept liability.

I also fail to see how her age is relevant to this she passed her test, if you'd of been hit by somebody that was 45 would you make a fuss about there age too. Accidents can happen to anyone regardless of age or how long you've been driving.

I wouldn't of done a Facebook post, the police and insurers will be looking in to it so what will your post achieve? I imagine the girl feels bad about what happened who wouldn't feel bad after hitting somebody

On the two occasions a total idiot has damaged my car and been clearly at fault I've made it quite clear to them that if they don't sign to accept liability immediately I will call the police. I had a strong suspicion that the chap coming home from bereavement counselling who drove into the back of my car for no apparent reason had had a drink, he signed my diary pretty quickly.

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.
Except actually neither of those posts exist. The OP said she was on the roundabout first. She didn't say the HGV pulled into her as it entered the roundabout. Posters assumed that was what had happened but it's not the only way to have an accident on a roundabout. My DB was in an accident on a roundabout. The fact that the car that ran into him was on the roundabout first was irrelevant when it came to liability because it was their action on changing lanes that caused the accident.
Secondly, no-one mentioned the OP going through a red light. Is it really too much trouble to read posts properly?

ExConstance - surely that wouldn't hold up though? The driver could say that you forced them to sign or thst they signed in shock or sthg?

#No forced log-in

She may honestly feel it was not fully her fault.
Driving in central London for me is so stressful given the number of cyclist on the road. You have them coming on the inside, on the outside, swerving in and out of traffic, stopping dead in front of you.
I am a recreational cyclist and I will not stop beside buses or lorries at lights. Especially if they are turning left.

I agree she would have been told not to admit liability. And does feel bad...probably would do even if she wasn't to blame.
I had a friend who knocked over a 10yo who ran out in front of him on a 40mph road. After investigation it was confirmed by witnesses etc he was not to blame, he was actually doing less than the speed limit, there was nothing he could have done, it was the child's fault completely. Friend still felt terrible (as you would)
Child was seriously injured in hospital - friend wanted to say sorry/apologise to their parents, write to them, send them a card maybe buy them a teddy or some sweets or something.
He was advised (by his solicitor) not to do or say anything until the investigation was complete as that could be seen as an admission of guilt.

A place on the couch. The op's second comment agreed with the poster immediately before her who asks if the lorry pulled into her. The red light point was an example of how frequently cyclists having accidents on mn becomes an example of poor behaviour by a completely different cyclist in an attempt to justify the drivers behaviour.

I had thought it was clear, but I apologise if it was difficult for you to understand my point.

Johnny

As the OP hasn't filled us in on all the details and what they have said is open to interpretation we don't know who was at fault.

My first imagining was that OP was riding around the roundabout but on the left (ie passing exits) and the lorry pulled off without seeing her.

But yes, more detail needed.

I do get that lorries have huge blind spots especially for cyclists.

But I'm not sure in the situation the OP describes that can be an issue. Op said she was already on the roundabout and the lorry pulled out infront of her.

And even if somehow she was in a blind spot then surely HGV drivers need to maybe take 30seconds linger than the average driver when pulling out to make sure there's nothing there? As professional drivers they are expected to have more advanced skills.

The rule with lorries is that if you can't see their mirrors, they can't see you. Most don't have second drivers, so the left hand side would be more blind than the other. They can't look around like you can in a car.

If every lorry on the A1 took 30 seconds to look around at every roundabout it would take days to get anywhere!

No it wouldn't. For a start they've removed most of the roundabouts on the A1

And even if it did I think it's far better to be 100% sure there's nothing coming rather than sliding out at junctions and roundabouts. Which I see enough car drivers doing! There's actually been gov tv adverts on this, all the Think Bike campaigns, etc. About looking and looking again. Rather than looking once and going.

DH is a (motor)biker. He has to preempt every other motorist because very few do "Think Bike". At least he has the power to get out of the way quickly when idiots strike.

(Am yet to see a cyclist that follows the Highway Code or shows any proficiency in cycling whatsoever. They do have a habit of getting into dangerous places.)

Hesitation at roundabouts is one of my biggest bugbears. Cretins around here seem to think you should always stop (even if the roundabout is empty), look around for 10 mins, have a cup of tea, talk about the weather, look around for another 10 minutes and then release the foot brake so the car crawls at about 2mph before braking again because they spotted a bee buzzing past. Aaarrrgggggghhhhhhh!