One Merc post away from being banned...
First of all, it wasn't me... but here is the scenario a mate went through...
Pulling up to a set of lights, there was a car in the far lefthand lane indicating to turn left. Oldmate rode up on the righthand side of the car (between the left and centre lanes) just as the lights changed to green. He coasted through the lights and started to pedal away while the car changed his mind and decided to go straight ahead - still indicating left though.
The car accellerated past the bike and my mate got a real surprise and yelled out to him that his indicator was on. I am not sure of the exact wording of the alert, but it must have been taken to be aggressive as the car then pulled past him and braked hard - deliberately. My mate was slowing down and pulling across to the left behind the car and consequently hit the back hard and was sent through the rear window.
My mate recalls the driver getting out of his car and abusing the hell out of him while he was lying in a bloody heap on the road. The passenger on the other hand was pleading for my mate not to sue them.
He was carted off to hospital but it was a classic case of the helmet saving yet another life. Mostly cuts and a lot of bruising. The police were called and interviewed him at the hospital then again at his home a few days later. Initially the police were intending to charge my mate since he hit the car from behind. When they got the full story from him however they decided not to charge anybody and he was informed that there would be no further follow up.
Today, my mate has received a letter of demand from the car owner's insurance company for replacement of the rear window. Obviously the insurance company still think it is a clear case of the vehicle behind being 100% at fault despite the police agreeing that the car driver's actions directly contributed to the accident (hence no charge). Of course the insurance company says they have not seen any police report on the incident and their letter of demand contains the usual threats of court action and massive legal expenses for non-payment. And being a bicycle, there is no 3rd party property cover so the insurance company is out for blood as they can't claim "knock for knock" with another insurer.
My mate is understandably angry about this and is now contemplating actioning a personal injury lawsuit against the driver.
How would others proceed to deal with this?
Swaggie
Sounds like a good plan - especially if they are willing to take it on a "no win no fee basis" (and won't charge your make more than the settlement).Originally Posted by solmanic
That way your mate won't be out of pocket, however the idiot in the car will get what he deserves...
Another option would be to draft up a letter of demand to the insurance for the injury costs and include a copy of the police statement.
ChatterBox
send them the bill for his $14000 bike.
AT REST
Contact your local bicycle advocacy group. I assume by your location it will be Bicycle Queensland. They will know of lawyers willing to work for a cyclist.
TopicToaster
Unfortunately picking an argument with a car when on a bike is foolish at best. Its all very well being right, but it doesn't get you anywhere if you are dead or a paraplegic
Do you have all the info? There are 2 sides to every story.
If its as clear cut as your post suggests why aren't the police pursuing the car driver for dangerous driving or similar?
Any independent witnesses to it?
Does he have a copy of the police officers findings/report?
Hopefully there is a fair outcome, whatever that is.
p.s. I cycle quite a lot on the road and put up with asshats on a nearly every ride basis.
One Merc post away from being banned...
He is trying to get the police report. As I said, they were initially looking to charge him (the rider) and decided not to when they got his side of the story. The idea of charging the driver doesn't seem to have been considered and that kind of makes sense since he was in front and could have told the police any old story as to why he braked suddenly. I think the police backed off charging anyone when they realised it could develop into a ****fight and they couldn't conclusively prove which party was at fault - without some effort.
He believed that the driver and his passenger were more concerned about him potentially suing them and they had an agreement on the spot that he wouldn't seek compensation. It is possible that the driver isn't even aware his insurer is seeking payment from my mate.
Regardless of who the insurer thinks is at fault, if it comes to a personal injury lawsuit it would almost certainly result in an out of court settlement. It would come down to the rider's story vs the driver's story and whilst no-one can prove conclusively that the driver braked specifically so my mate would crash into the back, the injuries cannot be disputed (there are photographs). It also cannot be disputed that my mate wasn't paying attention as the driver was aware that my mate yelled at him that his indicator was on. So clearly my mate was paying attention to the car, and no-one deliberately crashes into a car and totals their bike and face in the process. So if he was clearly aware of the car, and his bike was in sound mechanical order, it can be argued that it was somethig the car did that precipitated the crash.
So while an insurer may automatically blame the vehicle behind, in this case a personal injury lawsuit would force the driver to prove he wasn't using his car as a weapon. It has the potential to flip the onus of proof onto the other party.
Swaggie
Sorry for your mateNo matter what the argument cars and bikes dont mix and should,nt mix , Bike no reg no licence
, Some honest car drivers pay reg and have a licence ,
Dont get me wrong im not bagging bike riders , The day they separate them all should stop bitching about each other
Swaggie
Rego has SFA to do with it.
It was deliberate... See red and go nuts!
Cheers
Slunnie
~ Discovery II Td5 ~ Discovery 3dr V8 ~ Series IIa 6cyl ute ~ Series II V8 ute ~
Swaggie
Not wanting to get in a slanging matchRego has SFA to do with it.
It was deliberate... See red and go nuts!cars can be made accountable and traced through rego and licence . How does one trace a bike (knock them off)
Like i said i dont want to bag bike riders i just think the 2 should be separated
Swaggie
tough one.....i commute on pushy, infact i just climb off the bike......
if it were me i would have pulled up behind the car and waited for the car to move off, this eliminates all the risk.....much to my lovely wifes frustration at times i see no reason for your mate to lane split in this instance.....i hate it when motorbikes do it as i nearly knocked one over yesterday on the freeway.
when it is a turn left lane only than yes i do lane split to get to the front....if the traffic is stopped mainly because i am fairly confident the driver will not change his mind
yes you mate was in the wrong by lane splitting but i think the driveris also in the wrong for not checking around him prior to changing his mind....the problem is very few drivers actually ride therefore its a little hard for a good percentage just are not aware the knock on affect when around bikes
keep in mind i am no angle on the road.........i try as much as i can to follow the road rules but do bend them at times......i.e. most afternoons i need to go through a RED turn right arrow purley because the sensors in the road dont detect me and the bike...and in the morning i push off before the light turns green so that i clear the left turn area/lane so that traffic is not held up (i reckon the car would appreicate this, i would)
i wonder if they would detect a steel framed bike?
just my view......please update us with the outcome
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