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

[justanotherburd]

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.

if the car had been stationary in the middle of the road, on the wrong side of a blind bend and a car came round the corner and ran into the side of it, who would have been at fault.

That's the whole point of a blind bend, you have no idea what is around it - accident scene, old woman crossing road, child playing chicken, herd of highland cattle (ok more likely in Scottish highlands). There have been roads which we have driven along (looking at you Skye ferry road) where you don't even know which way the road is going after the bend. You should always drive/ ride at a speed that you can stop if you need to.

BUT your husband reversed into the path of a cyclist

He wasnt reversing

Veterinari - if you read though the original post and the thread, you will realise that the OP's DH had gone the end of the driveway and was stationary with the handbrake on because the driveway is approx. 1.5m from a BLIND BEND. This means that if you are haring along a cycle path you do NOT go around the corner like a bat out of hell because you have no idea what is around the bend. Add in the fact that the cyclist had no lights further reducing the chance of being seen and you have a case where things are not a clear cut as you have assumed.

Does he not know you're supposed to look right, left then right again?

How did it go Op?

The issue here is the blind bend. Somebody upthread stated that cyclists can't be expected to stop at every driveway. I agree but not every driveway is on a blind bend ! .

There is a universal expectation that all people travelling by whatever means - be that walking, driving, hopping or skipping and yes - even cycling, do so with due care and attention. Just because there is a cycle lane, it does not assume a right not to take into account a blind corner and slow down and exercise caution.

It's entirely possible that he 'came out of nowhere' . If the bottom of the drive is only a few yards from the blind corner AND the cyclist was travelling at speed. Entirely possible for the stationary driver to look one way, then the other and then move forward slightly. Then within those couple of seconds for the cyclist to hurtle round the corner.

I'm a regular cycle-commuter and am constantly bemused and shocked by the aggression and lack of personal responsibility exercised by both cyclists and motorists in EQUAL measure.

I witnessed something similar. A car was very cautiously inching out of a side road and a cyclist was going too fast to stop down the hill and smacked right into the car. The cyclist admitted he was at fault though - he was going way too fast down a hill in driving rain - the car was barely moving. So it is possible for the car driver not to be at fault - it really depends on who is driving with due care and attention.

But, an ambulance and the police were called in the incident I witnessed and both driver and cyclist waited for them to arrive as did I and another witness. Although he looked badly hurt the police told me the cyclist was not injured in the end and his insurance paid for the damage to the car. But it was all subject to full police investigation including breathalysing the car driver at 10am in the morning.

Everyone banging on about how he should have looked right again.... then something could be approaching from the left since he turned to look right! You can't sit there all day looking both ways, unfortunately your husband is at fault even though it was an accident
BUT... the cyclist sounds like a prick for refusing help then going on his merry way to report him! Probably knew your husband would look worse if he called the police himself after

The OP posted at 9pm, the accident happened that evening, so let's say within a 4 hour time frame.

Serious question - how soon after an incident must it be reported?

I've had to report incidents to the police due to my work and have been told to go to the police station to report it. Travelling there (as there are less and less stations nowadays) plus queuing can take some time.

Garlic&sapphire what was the speed limit on the road and how did you know that the cyclist was breaking the speed limit?

Garlic - what would have happened if it had been a lorry traveling at the same speed?

I can understand why your dh didn't report it - it probably didn't occur to him due to the cyclist's behaviour.

But he's basically being accused of leaving the scene, which isn't true. The cyclist probably got home then was berated by his dp about how to claim for his bike. Then they made up the 'leaving the scene' story to cover his back.

I have never understood what the rule is supposed to be in UK, about who has right of way when a car & pedestrian both want to be on the same bit of pavement. Although I follow the American rule, it's obvious most drivers do not & would get irate about giving way to the pedestrian.

Rule of thumb - whichever came first takes priority so

People
Horses
Bicycles
Cars/motorised vehicles

Trains and trams are a bit different due to rails, they get priority at crossroads but are also light controlled.

The issue here is the blind bend. Somebody upthread stated that cyclists can't be expected to stop at every driveway. I agree but not every driveway is on a blind bend !

How is the cyclist supposed to know there is a drive there?

It's amazing how this cyclist is portrayed as hurtling round a blind bend at break neck speed, breaking all sorts of laws that don't even feature in the rule book. Crashed into a car came of the bike and is definitely doing this to put a big insurance claim in against the ops dh.

The reality is most likely this person was cycling along on a "cycle" path minding his own business and wasn't breaking any laws or concocting any big insurance claim. Bike did have lights, but was it after sunset? He didn't have a helmet, it's not law to wear a helmet, wearing earphones, perfectly legal to listen to music whilst travelling by bike or car (by car your outside sound is cut of more by music and windows)

Cyclist body goes into which after collision, but even the effects of shock are depicted as trying to get one over on the ops dh.

If you ever witness or find people in an accident don't let the walking wonded wander of. They can be confused, irritable and sometimes aggressive through shock. Your body does strange things in shock and your mind is not quite thinking straight.

I had a crash before Christmas, bad enough to smash my helmet & bike was damaged - on the fourth time if asking if my dad liked my nail polish he told me that's the fourth time you've asked, I couldn't remember. I know a man stayed with me whilst I waited for help to arrive - but I have no idea what he looked like by the time I got to hospital 20 minutes later and had to ask about him. Shock and concussion do strange things to your brain.

Ops dh made an error perhaps, only he can know whether there is something that can be done to prevent a reaccurance. The police will not take further action against ops dh. I hope the cyclist is ok and gets his bike fixed.

Hopefully if something can be done to prevent further incidents of the same they will be done and action will be taken.

I sympathise with your husband OP, sounds as if the cyclist was going too fast and couldn't stop. He could also have tried to contact you first (he obviously knows where you live) if he wanted to make an insurance claim rather than go to the police.

I have never understood what the rule is supposed to be in UK, about who has right of way when a car & pedestrian both want to be on the same bit of pavement

Pedestrians have right of way although you would not know it at times.

Cyclists on a cycle path do, too. Cyclists riding on the pavement - I'll refrain from comment as I occasionally cycle on a pavement myself and would prefer if a car didn't reverse or drive into me off their driveway.

All that said, if I were cycling along and heard a car engine coming from a driveway I would be very careful about checking whether that car driver had seen me before I proceeded. When I am walking along the road and hear car engines in driveways I tend to check where they are, and sometimes do a bit of a dog leg around the end of the driveway to give some space. Presumably when you are coming out of a driveway you edge out quite carefully anyway especially if it is a busier road.

We don't have an assumption of car driver liability in this country so I suspect it will come down to one person's word against another.

I choose to wear a helmet, but what everyone else does within the law is there choice. This was a low speed accident not involving anything but me and the tarmac and irregular curbstones.

If the cyclist had been pootling along then surely the damage to the car would have been minimal. From what the op said the damage was significant.

Shhh how is the cyclist to know if there has been a hole dug in the cycle path by a utilities company or a small child crossing the cyclepath ? The point of a blind bend is you cannot see or predict what is around the bend so should proceed with caution ?

It sounds like the cyclist left the scene not your DH. Did they not swap details? Did your DH offer to give the cyclist his details? He should have done as he should be paying for the bike damage as the accident was your DH's fault.
The cyclist has gone about things the wrong way reporting it the way he has and not swapping details.

He drove across a cycle path without looking properly. In what world was he not responsible for the collision?

I suggest he spends the weekend reading the Highway Code and perhaps book himself in for some refresher lessons.

Yikes ivy! A young distant relative of mine was killed in a similar accident - fell off her bike while playing in a quiet village square, nobody else involved, just knocked her head on the kerb and that was that :( 40 years ago or so so obviously no helmets - if she'd been wearing one, she'd have just walked away like you did (thank goodness).

You can buy those mirrors off the web you could buy them and put them on your drive to help in the future

I agree that it sounds like the bike was coming round too fast and didn't stop in time. But it all depends how police etc take it.

Occasions like this you need to record everything said on your mobile phone, and get a dasham, I dont know why they dont just make all motor vehicles and cycles with them.