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AIBU?

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Original poster

SURELY DH didn't "run over" this cyclist??

364 replies

justanotherburd · 09/02/2017 21:02

I've namechanged

DH got into an accident with a cyclist this evening.

We live in a house with a cycle path going along in front of it- it goes driveway, path, pavement, road but the drive is at a sort of angle not directly in front of the house and we live next to a corner so the visibility is poor.

DH was going down the drive and road was clear. Looked right- clear, looked left, moved off of drive and then a cyclist smacked into the right of his car! He fell off his bike and DH jumped out to see if he was OK. Cyclist started yelling at him but DH thought he'd just got a shock, tried to calm him down and pick up the guy's bike. He then offered to drive the man to the hospital, cyclist refused, and the front of his bike was bent so he just walked away dragging the bike along.

DH then realised that the side panel of the car is quite scratched, but it's an old car and obviously that wasn't the first concern. Wrote it off to "life" and went off to work (he works evenings)

I had a phone call from police on the land line asking for DH though they wouldn't say why, gave them his mobile and he's just rung me saying they want to speak to him about leaving the scene of an accident after injuring this man!!! SURELY this isn't DH's fault?? He did everything he could and the man refused his help!!

I'm now angry as actually I think it WAS this cyclist's fault- and surely it was HIM that left the scene of him damaging our property! I saw what happened after the initial "bang" and then looking out upstairs window but was feeding DC and by the time I'd got downstairs the man had gone.

OP posts:
bittapitta · 09/02/2017 21:34

ramanoop (you can't edit posts on MN. And it's good practice to bold when quoting.)

Original poster
justanotherburd · 09/02/2017 21:35

Yes Moustache that's a good idea- I have seen those big circular mirrors on rural roads- do you know if we'd be allowed to install one across the road? Or have to ask the council to do it? It would probably help! Not sure if installing one on our property would help as it wouldn't help us see round the corner to the right IYSWIM

OP posts:
diddl · 09/02/2017 21:37

The cyclist has right of way, but that doesn't mean he shouldn't also be riding carefully, appropriately & vigilantly.

Original poster
justanotherburd · 09/02/2017 21:37

bittapitta he moved off the drive into the space before the road ( path and pavement which is about 1 car length wide depending on car) and was stopped then moving off onto road i.e. taking off handbrake when it happened. The scratches on the car are just over halfway down.

OP posts:
ivykaty44 · 09/02/2017 21:38
bittapitta · 09/02/2017 21:39

OK I see what you mean. I still think the cyclist was shaken up by the whole thing and your DH should have done more.

SofiaAmes · 09/02/2017 21:41

I think people are being harsh. It's not always so easy. I have a long narrow steep driveway with a fence on one side that blocks my view of the street and the sidewalk until the very end. Because of the location and type of traffic and stop sign etc., it's virtually impossible to reverse onto the driveway, so every day, multiple times a day I have to reverse down my driveway onto what was once a sleepy narrow residential street but which has turned into a busy cut through in the last 5 years. There are also many pedestrians, joggers, bicyclists and children walking and skateboarding. I reverse down the driveway, focusing on keeping my car straight. I then stop just before my bumper overhangs the sidewalk. I then look right and left and right and left as the cars go running through the stop sign without slowing down and the joggers run behind my car with no reflective gear in the dark and the bicyclists speed down the street on the wrong side without stopping at any stop signs and the off leash (illegal) dogs go running ahead of their owners, (pooping in my garden). In 23 years, I have never hit anyone, but at least 2 or 3 times a week I get yelled at for "putting someone in danger" as I am sitting in my car, with the brake on waiting for a break in the stream of vehicular, bicycle and pedestrian traffic which thinks the rules of the road don't apply to them.

chasingrainbows27 · 09/02/2017 21:45

If your DH genuinely had pulled out into the path and was there with his handbrake on (effectively parked) I think the fault would lie with the cyclist. He should've anticipated there may be an obstruction around the corner and slowed down.

But it does sound like you've changed your story a bit. If someone had driven forward
1m off their drive then was looking to turn, why would they put the handbrake back on?

ivykaty44 · 09/02/2017 21:46

What should the pedestrian do then? What rules of the road are they breaking Sofia

MuncheysMummy · 09/02/2017 21:47

Sounds to me like the cyclist came round the corner going too fast to be able to slow down in time to avoid a pretty much stationary hazard!

shouldwestayorshouldwego · 09/02/2017 21:47

So your dh was stationary but blocking the cycle path? I think that would not be his fault then as a cyclist needs to be aware coming around a blind bend that anyone or anything could be there. Someone might be mending a puncture, there could be a cat sunning itself, could be a hole in the path. He should ring insurance company though too.

londonrach · 09/02/2017 21:48

Dh at fault as coming into a main road and should have looked. Cyclist left scene first so dh didnt leave scene of accident. Why would you report this to the police as the cyclist had left scene first. Just get dh to give a factual statement to the police. Any witnesses?

SofiaAmes · 09/02/2017 21:50

The pedestrian is probably the only one not breaking the rules of the road (unless their dog is running ahead of them without a leash - happens a lot), but yelling at me for waiting for them seems a little silly. Personally, I would recommend making sure that the car sees you even if legally you have the right of way as a pedestrian...not much good being in the right if you're flat and dead.

SofiaAmes · 09/02/2017 21:51

I do make a point of stopping before the sidewalk, but exh always stopped across the sidewalk...maybe it's a guy thing?

maggiecate · 09/02/2017 21:51

Your husband has pulled into the path of an oncoming vehicle - what that vehicle is, whether your husband was moving etc etc is really a moot point. The oncoming vehicle had right of way.

If he looked right, then left, then pulled out he hadn't checked properly - oncoming traffic would have been coming from his right, and if it's a blind bend he should know that the situation could have changed since he last looked. The offence is careless driving, which he's compounded by not reporting.
Best thing to do would be admit fault, and if he's lucky he'll get a warning or a careless driving citation - he might get to go on an awareness course and won't get points. PROFUSE apologies to the police and all concerned and don't try and make excuses, they will have heard it all before.

ramanoop · 09/02/2017 21:51

Bear in mind also that the cyclist might have a camera on his bike. Not much use telling the police that X happened if there is a camera that might show Y.

Oojemeflip · 09/02/2017 21:52

OP, to be clear, you need to tell your OH to go to a police station now to report it. Waiting for a call back is not good enough. If your vehicle is involved in a collision causing injury or damage you must stop and exchange insurance details. It is the law. If for any reason (i.e. Cyclist riding off) you cannot, you must report it to a police station as soon as possible.

cdtaylornats · 09/02/2017 21:53

The cyclist was also travelling without paying attention surely. Was he wearing earphones so not able to hear the car.

Surely the cyclist left the scene of the accident?

ramanoop · 09/02/2017 21:56

Taylor, headphones would really have nothing to do with it. You can even cycle while being deaf.

Original poster
justanotherburd · 09/02/2017 21:57

londonrach only witness is me as far as I know, and I only saw afterwards- DH getting out of car, cyclist shouting, DH picking up his bike, cyclist taking it and walking off. He reversed back down the drive so we could have a look at the car. We normally put handbrake on as it's a bit of a slope down the drive though tbh does flatten out at the top. But we're both just in habit of look about, move off, then stop, handbrake, look about, move off again.

Police have rung him and are going to go and have a look at his car and the house, I think to try and assess situation/damage but the cyclist has still refused to go to A&E or anything. I guess he was able to remember our address so he could tell police who it was (must have been how they got the land line, no one but grandma ever rings it!)

OP posts:
ramanoop · 09/02/2017 21:59

He may also have a helmet camera which recorded the licence plate number.

dementedma · 09/02/2017 22:00

ops dh tried to help cyclist and offered to take him to hospital. Cyclist refused but then later decides to go to police. Be prepared for hefty insurance claim. Unless ops dh shot out of drive unexpectedly, cyclist should have been able to stop.

NightWanderer · 09/02/2017 22:03

I hope it goes ok, OP. If the car wasn't moving then he's not at fault. Look into getting a mirror though.

SpringerS · 09/02/2017 22:03

The pedestrian is probably the only one not breaking the rules of the road (unless their dog is running ahead of them without a leash - happens a lot),

What country do you live in that walking an unleashed dog is against the law? Because it's not against the law in any of the UK.

OP, I live with pretty much the same set up as you and if I moved off my drive into the path of a cyclist who then hit me, I'd be 100% at fault. The cyclist had right of way and your husband was essentially the same as crossing a junction from a minor road over a major road. If he really was stopped with the handbrake on when the accident happened that's a different matter but I can't see how that can be proved to the police or insurance company.

CherrySkull · 09/02/2017 22:04

so am i right in thinking that the cyclist must have come around the corner and ran into the side of your DH's car?

If thats the case, if your DH was stationary across the path, and the cyclist came around the corner too fast to stop for any hazards, then it is the cyclist who is at fault.

You don't zoom around a blind bend at any time, you're supposed to slow down for the bend and be ready to stop!