On my way home tonight I’m filtering down the inside of slow moving traffic. Classic case of oncoming car turns into road on my left and I’m left with no time and nowhere to go but straight into the car and over the bonnet. I’m so bloody lucky because I went absolutely flying but was able to get up straight away with just some cuts to hands and knees. My Cotic Escapade wasn’t so lucky though 🙁

So I think I’m right in thinking blame lies with him? Immediately he goes on the defensive saying its my fault and that the car on my side had flashed him to turn. I have no witnesses because literally everyone buggered off – I asked one driver if I could have their details as a witness but they wound their window up and did one. In all the panic (I was pretty shook up) I did get the drivers name, address and a pic of his reg. I’ve reported it to the police, and apparently the collision people will call me, but what now!?

My bike is trashed and I use it to get to work. Am I just gonna have to suck it up and spank 350 quid on a new frame? Is there any process by which I can claim against the driver? I’m in a right old shaky mess at the mo 😕

Here’s how the bike looks…

lots of cycle advice solicitors in bike mags, try ctc helpline on 0844 736 8452, or bikeline, or cycleaid,and go to see gp asap for a medical report on injuries and bike shop for estimate on cost of repairs.

The driver is responsible for his own actions, not another driver who alledgedly flashed him across.

Just over 10 years ago I had a similar scenario although it was a bus lane I was riding up and in which bikes were allowed. I was fortunate it was witnessed by a traffic warden. Driver got a conviction and his insurance paid out for my bike and injuries.

My witness was crucial so good luck getting somewhere without one, but from what you’ve outlined fault lies with the driver.

http://www.jmw.co.uk/services-for-you/personal-injury/bicycle-accidents/ I’ve ridden along the A6 through Stockport with this lawyer. That aside, they give quite clear advice on what your options are.

Good effort (on the bike damage)

I always wince when I see a car pull through queueing traffic without going slow enough to check for bikes and motorbikes. The driver is at least partly to blame as he pulled into oncoming traffic, he still needs to check its clear if he’s been flashed across. The only complication is if you were going too fast for the conditions.

Playing devils advocate here but how would the driver have reasonably been expected to see you clearly if you were hidden by the traffic you were filtering behind until the very last minute? If there was a junction to your left, traffic stopped to your right and a gap in traffic had been left at the junction, perhaps you should have slowed right down and then checked all was clear before crossing the junction? From your description I’d say 50/50 I’m afraid. Not what you wanted to hear – sorry!

If there was a junction to your left, traffic stopped to your right and a gap in traffic had been left at the junction, perhaps you should have slowed right down and then checked all was clear before crossing the junction? From your description I’d say 50/50 I’m afraid. Not what you wanted to hear – sorry!

What a surprise, someone who doesn’t know the difference between 20/20 hindsight/defensive riding and legal blame contributing to one of these threads.
As others have said, other driver flashing is irrelevant. I get this a lot going down one particular bus lane on my commute. 2 tossers in the situation, only one would be legally responsible for injuries or damage if I a collision with me (or a bus) occurred.

From a cycle law website:

Rule 160 states that road users should ‘be aware of other road users, especially cycles and motorcycles who may be filtering through the traffic’ and Rule 88, in relation to manoeuvring, states that road users should take care and keep speed low ‘…when filtering in slow-moving traffic’. Furthermore, rule 211 says that ‘it is often difficult to see motorcyclists and cyclists, especially when they are filtering through traffic’.

Although Rule 211 states that drivers should ‘look out for cyclists or motorcyclists on the inside of the traffic’ which could be taken to mean that drivers have responsibility for looking for riders before performing a manoeuvre, it is important for cyclists to anticipate the actions of other road users and avoid risks at all times. There is no specific guidance in the Highway Code about when it is or is not safe to filter through traffic, however there are some basic pieces of safety advice that cyclists should have in mind when on the roads.

Perhaps the most important advice for cyclists contemplating filtering through traffic is to avoid doing so on the approach to a junction. This advice is echoed in Rule 167 of the Highway Code: ‘Do not overtake where you might come into conflict with other road users. For example, approaching or at a road junction on either side of the road’. Obviously the risk of doing so is that a car ahead may turn into a side road without warning, leaving the cyclist with inadequate time to brake or change direction.

It is also important to note that it is far more dangerous to filter on the left hand side of a vehicle, or ‘undertake’, than it is to filter on the right hand side, or ‘overtake’, this is the case even where there is a designated cycle lane on the left of the road. This is particularly true where the vehicle in front is a long vehicle, such as a bus or lorry, because cyclists on the left of such vehicles are likely to be in the driver’s blind spot. Being in a driver’s blind spot not only leaves the cyclist at a higher risk of the vehicle turning without warning, but also leaves them at risk even if the vehicle makes a slight movement to the left of the lane. Such situations could have fatal consequences for the cyclist as they will have no space between the vehicle and the kerb to manoeuvre. Filtering on the left hand side should only be done when the traffic is completely stationary and the cyclist is confident that it will remain so until they are safely past the vehicle.

It sounds like from the OP’s description, particularly in relation to:

I went absolutely flying

and the significant frame damage, that he was traveling at some speed. It’s highly possible that the driver of the car did look out for cyclists on the inside of the traffic before turning (as was his responsibility per rule 211), but stood no realistic chance of seeing the OP if the OP was traveling so fast.

Only the OP will know.

Playing devils advocate here but how would the driver have reasonably been expected to see you clearly if you were hidden by the traffic you were filtering behind until the very last minute? If there was a junction to your left, traffic stopped to your right and a gap in traffic had been left at the junction, perhaps you should have slowed right down and then checked all was clear before crossing the junction? From your description I’d say 50/50 I’m afraid. Not what you wanted to hear – sorry!

you could also include the phantom driver who also flashed the errant driver across the lane without checking his mirrors and using his headlights in an un approved manor, eg headlight flashing should be used as a warning only.

And also:

There is very little case law that deals with situations where cyclists have been injured whilst overtaking or filtering, however, some guidance can be taken from similar situations involving motorcycles. Cases such as Pell v Moseley (2003) and Hillman v Tomkins (1995), both of which concerned a motorcyclist involved in a collision whilst overtaking on the right, demonstrate that the outcome of such cases depends on the particular facts of each case; this is likely to be the case in situations involving bicycles as well. In both of these cases the judge found that the rider and driver were equally to blame, because, they both should have anticipated the actions of the other. Whether or not a driver or rider is to blame for any accident whilst filtering seems to depend on factors such as the speed of the vehicles and the bicycle, the parties’ knowledge of the local area and the location of the accident, e.g., was it near a junction? Although it is legal to filter on a bicycle, it can be inferred from the motorcyclist cases that where cyclists are found to have been filtering in a way deemed to be ‘bad practice’ when a collision takes place, there is strong chance of a finding of contributory negligence on the part of the cyclist.

but what now!?

https://www.lfgss.com/conversations/131099/

Def get legal advice OP. I’d be very surprised if the driver’s not at fault – filtering is legal (and in many cases where the cycle lane is on the inside of the traffic, it’s where you’re effectively told to ride…) so surely it’s the driver’s fault to make sure the road is clear… what you were doing is legitimate…

Personally I think this is one very good reason to filter on the right rather than the left – it gives you more visibility into what oncoming traffic is doing, and makes you more visible to the traffic you’re overtaking (you’re visible in both rear-view mirror and wing mirror) and more visible to any traffic planning on turning…

What a surprise, someone who doesn’t know the difference between 20/20 hindsight/defensive riding and legal blame contributing to one of these threads.
As others have said, other driver flashing is irrelevant. I get this a lot going down one particular bus lane on my commute. 2 tossers in the situation, only one would be legally responsible for injuries or damage if I a collision with me (or a bus) occurred

Not really relevant here though where the OP implies there’s no bus/cycle lane…

I had an identical crash years ago and it was agreed 50/50 responsibility (she shouldn’t have taken the ‘flashing’ car to mean it’s clear, I should have been paying more attention – witness statements made 10 months later said I wasn’t looking where I was going). A cycle lane muddies the waters somewhat.

Personally I think this is one very good reason to filter on the right rather than the left – it gives you more visibility into what oncoming traffic is doing, and makes you more visible to the traffic you’re overtaking (you’re visible in both rear-view mirror and wing mirror) and more visible to any traffic planning on turning…

^^this

I always filter on the right – there are way too many queing motorists using hand held device (phones and tablets) and by filtering on the right at slow speed, you can keep a eye on what they are doing in case they decide to make a sudden move, which you wouldn’t see from the left filtering position, and you are very visible to oncoming traffic

Are you a British cycling or CTC member? They should be able to give advice.

My son had a similar accident recently, the driver paid up outside of insurance after I contacted the BC solicitors.

I always filter on the right

Me too – unfortunately that means that cars getting flashed out of junctions to the left can’t see you, which is how I got punted off.

If you are claiming for significant personal injury, then an independent, bike focussed lawyer will probably take it up on a no-win, no-fee basis. If you are only interested compensation for your material loss, probably not as IIRC costs are calculated on the size of the award these days. If it’s only a few hundred quid it’s not worth their while.

BC or CTC is your best bet if you are a member.

Anyway, heal up soon OP.

the car on my side had flashed him to turn to warn him of your impending approach and not to proceed

seeing as how you’re only supposed to flash as a warning, and he is a careful and conscientious driver with a full knowledge of the highway code, it looks like he just admitted it was his fault 😉

I hope you’re not too beat up OP, tough situation to be in. with hindsight I’m sure you’ll re-evaluate how/when and at what speed you filter, not because you’re wrong to filter, but because you now know what can happen when when other people don’t play by the rules.

As above, if you’re a BC or CTC member get on the phone to them for advice. Also make sure you write everything down that you remember now, before it gets fuzzy so you can give a decent statement.

My friend was in an identical accident (though I suppose it was slightly different in that he was in a cycle lane), driver was held entirely responsible and my friend received a decent payout (he was quite badly injured – liver and kidney damage from hitting the car side on). Happily he’s ok now 🙂

Write everything down, now. Hope you heal quick

too late but in a serious incident like this it’s best not to get up quick. Quite apart from adrenalin masking potentialy serious injury there is also the fact that an injury accident => police attendance, people hanging around, statements etc.

Any CCTV covering the junction? I think you’ll struggle to go beyond 50-50 without witnesses.

It’s his fault – he’s turning right across the flow of traffic, the flashed light is irrelevant to his responsibilities to proceed with caution and be mindful of approaching vehicles.

Sounds like he’ll muddy the waters by saying you were not approaching the junction with sufficient caution.

This is why I think anyone who commutes or spends a lot of time on the road should be a member of CTC or have similar legal protection in place. Last thing you need is the hassle and expense of dealing with it and the discounts on purchases can reduce the cost. You also get 3rd party protection with some schemes which can cover you if it is your fault.

I was perhaps a bit extreme in my previous post, however

Sounds like he’ll muddy the waters by saying you were not approaching the junction with sufficient caution.

From njee’s post, there were witnesses saying he wasn’t looking where he was going. I would assume the driver that hit OP didn’t see him until the impact, and therefore wouldn’t have seen him not looking and just go anyway.

Anyway, there’s only one way to find out how the blame would be split, but I would suggest not admitting any liability. If there was enough of a gap to travel at speed then it would be reasonable to look out for someone filtering there, and not assume a flash meant there was definitely nothing there. And again whilst it would be nice for flashers to check for people around them first, I would be surprised if there was any legal precedent for legally blaming them in these situations, particularly considering the guidance in the highway code.

Not your fault if the car turned across you, despite another car flashing them. The car making the manoeuvre has responsibility for ensuring the way is clear.

Also, if you’ve been injured then it needs reporting to the police.

t’s his fault – he’s turning right across the flow of traffic, the flashed light is irrelevant to his responsibilities to proceed with caution and be mindful of approaching vehicles.

Sorry but regardless as to whether he was flashed or not, looking at things with an open mind (as both a driver and a cyclist) I think both are equally to blame here. When the vehicle started his turn he probably looked but couldn’t see the OP because the OP was some way back hidden behind the cars but approaching quickly.

Traveling fast though the OP was soon upon the turning vehicle which by that point was already mid turn. Naturally the drivers attention at by point (having already checked on the left) would be looking down the road he was turning into, possibly to the right to make sure no pedestrians were crossing the entrance to the junction from his right. The driver of the vehicle could have exercised all due care and attention yet the OP might still have crashed into him due to the OP’s inappropriate speed approaching the junction.

What was the driver to do? Sounds like the OP was traveling way too quickly without the due care and attention required when approaching a junction with stationary traffic. Obviously OP please feel free to correct me if the above is totally wrong.

possibly to the right to make sure no pedestrians were crossing the entrance to the junction from his right.

if driver actually bothered with this then probably would have been turning at a a speed appropriate to spot any filtering cyclists/scooters/motorbikes

comment a little over generous on driving standards

report to police – make some notes – go take some photos of the road layout
get well