Do I need to report myself to the police?

[darkclouds232]

Please help as I am going crazy.

I had a driving incident which was totally my fault - there was a railway bridge, so I had to go through a narrow tunnel which was 'give way' to traffic on the other side. I had my sunglasses on as there was intermittent sunshine, and as I was going through I then saw there was a cyclist in the other direction. He went past me and shouted something. I was shocked because I hadn't seen him and obviously I was in the wrong as he had priority and i shouldn't have been under bridge at same time as him.

I didn't notice anything at time but now I'm wondering if I somehow touched him or something? I didn't hear anything but obviously I wasn't all there mentally to have not noticed him in the first place. I feel awful and a total danger and I won't be driving again for a while.

Do I need to report to the police in case this was an incident and I didn't stop? Should I have stopped? I don't know if he had a camera and May report my driving, but I'm more worried in case there was a chance I touched him and I didn't notice.

No it is not a joke.

Hi op, I have had similar anxieties in the past. It’s called ‘hit and run ocd’ apparently. Try not to worry. Deep down you probably know you haven’t hurt the cyclist. Your car would have some damage on it if you had and you would have noticed. My dad also used to have the same anxieties (we think ours were triggered by a couple of bereavements) and he used to trawl news reports to see if there had been any accidents reported and if not, that used to help him calm down!

100 posts to make the at fault driver feel better 🙄

@Cassilis I know I'm at fault. I just don't know what to do about it

100 posts to make the at fault driver feel better

Bonkers innit

Nothings happened so nothing to report.

Just learn from it, nothing else you can do about it.

Op I think you might be suffering from
Intrusive or obsessive thoughts. Are you okay?

@LunaLula83

You're not going 'touch' a cyclist - you 'hit' one. And if you did you should have stopped. Otherwise its a 'hit and run' and you must report yourself.

Don't be so utterly ridiculous. If she'd hit the cyclist she'd have known & he wouldn't have been shouting.

@gamerchick yeah he didn’t take any responsibility cycling in day light, when he had right of way...compared to a woman who shouldn’t have been in a tunnel. If it was that dark, taking her sunglasses off would have been the first step.

You don't need to go the police. Was there actually enough room for you and the cyclist to pass each other safely? If not you should have stopped as soon as you saw him and let him cycle past you. If you couldn't see in the tunnel you should have removed your glasses and turned on your headlights, but to be honest it sounds like a mistake anyone could have made going from bright sunlight into a dark tunnel.

@darkclouds232

Should I report it to the police anyway, so if there was an incident I won't be accused of leaving the scene? Should I explain to them I have really bad anxiety and don't know what to do?

@darkclouds232

Please stop stressing. Honestly, this place has turned into a complete bear pit it's really getting pointless posting for rational discussion

I'm a driver & a cyclist (well, probably should say WAS a cyclist)

These things happen, as both!

Yes, the onus on you was to give way to oncoming traffic. The onus was on the cyclist to make sure they'd positioned themselves in a way they could be seen. It's all to easy as a cyclist to think you're much more visible than you really are. We have a railway 'tunnel' like that near me. It's on a real bend and if the oncoming traffic is coming towards the tunnel but not yet in it , if they're too far left you cannot see them - small cars, let slime cyclists.

Hopefully the cyclist will be more aware of their road position & hopefully you'll be a bit more aware going through there.

If you'd hit the cyclist he'd have fallen off, or at the very least stopped.

Now, no more worrying about reporting & no more talk about not driving again for a while. Get back out there tomorrow before you magnify this in your mind!!!

I still think there’s nothing for you to self report. If and it’s a big IF they cyclist does report you for getting too close, and have dash cam footage, you would be entirely honest in saying you didn’t realise or think that you had a collision. The cyclist didn’t stop either did they?
In the nicest possible way, even if you get through to speak to the police, after the online reporting has told you not to, I’m sure they are going to be perplexed as to what you are actually reporting. They are not there to reassure you as you are worried. Nothing happened.

@BestOption very sensible advice. I am pretty sure you meant "let alone cyclists" (end of para 4), but as a regular cyclist myself I like the idea of "slime cyclists"

Honestly OP as long as you haven't been scrubbing under the car ever since, cleaning bits of mangled cyclist off it, you should really put this behind you and perhaps seek advice to help manage your anxiety. Good luck and try not to let some of the posts here fan the flames.

@allPeachee

As I said, I'm a cyclist and a motorist and I really hope most of thepeople on here don't live anywhere near me, as you all seem really cavalier about the wellbeing of cyclists when you're out in your cars.
I suggest you read up on the Highway Code.

And, not that I care what you think, but I am a nice person and genuinely concerned about the number of people on here that don't seem to know how to drive when near cyclists.

@Woebegonad

Did he have any lights on while cycling through the tunnel? Was he wearing any high vis gear?

God, yeah, because it has to be the cyclist's fault doesn't it?

Let me tell you - no amount of hi-vis will help you if a car driver is not fucking looking

The number of cyclists who fail to take any responsibility for their own safety by not having adequate lights, audible warning devices and hi-vis clothing is massive. All the looking in the world won't help you see a fool on a bike, in a dark place (e.g. under a bridge) with no lights and no reflective clothing.

And people that drive into dark places without their lights and wearing sunnies are simply regular competent drivers in need of a bit of encouragement

Are you feeling any less anxious today, OP?

Thank you for asking @Thenose . I am still worried, I have google hit and run OCD and it resonates (this isn't the first time I've worried, whether it ver been due to hitting a pot hole or due to nothing at all). Whenever I hear sirens outside I'm feeling on edge. I tried to call the dr but no luck.

When something like this happens in my area the police usually appeal for info/witnesses via their community Facebook page if a complaint has been put in. Check out your local police website as well although hopefully everything was ok

@Chanjer

And people that drive into dark places without their lights and wearing sunnies are simply regular competent drivers in need of a bit of encouragement

Ok @Chanjer, I think the OP has got the message loud and clear. So yes sunglasses should have been removed and it would have been better with lights on. This is the case for both parties though, the cyclist also has a responsibility for turning their lights on and being as visible as possible too. In reality a lot of cycling gear is black, hardly suited to being visible on the road.

@darkclouds232 bless you, you sound exactly the same as me. Mine is worse when I’m tired or have been under a lot of stress. Sorry to hear you’re still worried though