Okay friday 13th… Need some advice on a collision involving me today, did a search but was nothing on the lines of what happened.

Here goes, i was cycling at a good 20mph pace down old kent road when a taxi (not blackcab), about 2 car lengths in front tries to turn off to the left. He encounters pedestrians crossing the road he is trying to turn into and slams on the brakes. I slam on the brakes but go straight into the back of him, cue boot dent, rear light smash, bike carnage and some swearing the police and an ambulance arrive to take me to hospital. Loads of people were crowding around and seem to have more sympathy for me though i was concious and relatively fine considering the situation – I have minor injuries down the left side of my body, knee, thigh, elbow but my bike is worse off.

Now, my story is that the lane on the right had traffic going through it so there was no way i could have swerve to avoid him but the fact is that i should have stopped in time because technically i rear-ended and 'hit' him. Tons of witnesses but it doesn't seem like the law will be on my side even though witnesses are and i'm quite scared he will file a claim against me because i don't have 3rd party insurance. However, on the other hand i am livid that he essentially created the whole accident and my bike is damaged.

What should i do?

Unfortunately it is your fault entirely – as you say you went into the back of him – you should have been riding at a distance that ensured you could stop in time.

(Ohh, and he was correct in stopping as a pedestrian crossing the minor road has RoW over a car turning into the road so he was entirely within the law doing what he did).

But if he does file a claim against you check any home insurance you have – it MAY cover you. And if you can't pay, just offer something like £1 a week which shows you are willing to pay.

Hmm – hit the back of someone its your fault IMO. The only exception I could see is if they had just overtake you and then slammed the brakes on. You should leave enough space between you and the vehicle in front to stop safely.

Did he indicate?

Call CTC?

SPAZ – when you only have one life you look after it….

Could go either way depending on what the witnesses/you/the driver say.

I was knocked off a couple of weeks ago by an oncoming car which turned right across my path – I hit the back of him and came off but there was no way I could avoid him. You could argue either that I should have been going more slowly or that he shouldn't have turned across a lane he couldn't see to be clear. Fortunately no damage to either of us and the driver straight away admitted fault and was extremely apologetic

Same with yours – was it a sudden turn, did he indicate, did he check mirrors etc?

What's the drivers attitude to all this? Is he wanting to chase you up for damages to his car or is he willing to let it go?

In the meantime keep a record of any injuries/treatment and any receipts for getting the bike fixed/buying replacement clothing etc. I think you just have to see how this one pans out as to whether or not you get solicitors etc involved.

Technically he overtook me a few moments before as i remember he was behind me down the road. Can't remember if he indicated. He seemed really pissed off that the crowd were really sympathetic to me…possibly apologetic?

Okay, so i gather i'm probably screwed, but is there anything i can/should do other than wait? Shall i try to file a partial claim?

I have to say I agree and as one of the other earlier answers check on your house insurance for legal cover. Also may be worth chceking any insurance cover you have through work?
CTC could well be the most advisable way forward for advice unless there is any advocates on here.
Sorry that you and the bikes is damaged but it sounds like the bike took some of the kinetic energy out of your impact which saved you from ending up worse off. I am sure there are loads of us out there that commute in traffic at thos sorts of speeds, I know I do however I tend to ride on the outside of the traffic queues using the basis of that if a driver turns right across your path you are in the same position as a motorcyle travelling at a similar speed therefore the driver should see you in their mirrors before turning right.

Call CTC?

If you weren't a member at the time of the accident they can't help other than giving you the number of a solicitor, they won't take it up.

Join British Cycling or CTC, it's well worth it for the insurance cover alone – membership also gives you discounts at bike shops etc.

Another accident thread here: http://www.singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/accident-advice

That's different – if he overtook and stopped before you had a chance to slow. That's the story I should stick to if I were you.

That's the story I should stick to if I were you.

But only if it is true – why should the driver take the rap if it was not his fault?

If he overtook you close to the junction then that changes this somewhat. As a driver of a private hire car there's a strong suggestion that he knew where he was going on a pre-determined trip so to overtake another road user to immediately turn left is possibly driving without due care and attention. Lets just home some of the witnesses saw that part of things. He did overtake you immediatly before the junction didn't he?

Even though he did i've already left my statment with the police which is pretty much what i wrote in my 1st post.

Will it be useless if i join the CTC now?

If you believe what you said was wrong, contact the police to ask to change your statement.

But if you are moving the goalposts just to save your arse and cause the driver to suffer losses rather than you, then shame on you.

It's incredibly uncommon for a driver/rider hitting another car from behind to not get full blame for the accident. Sounds like you (or your insurers) will be paying for the damage you did to his car.

Yup thats true, his overtake wasn't noticeably enough for me to report it to the police so i guess my statement still stands.

But what i want to know now is what i can do?

Wait for his insurers to get in touch with you with the bill. In the meantime, research whether you have 3rd party liability cover from home insurance or membership of any cycling organisations (I used to be a member of LCC just for that reason). If you do have cover, pass any correspondance from his insurers to yours.

Cheers for the advice guys, i guess i just have to bite the bullet….

Indeed, all you can do is wait to be contacted while searching to see if you have any of your own cover through house insurance etc. Bad luck with the judgement but thank your stars you're alive and if paying will seriously harm your income I'm sure they'd accept a series of payments to help ease the pain. Good luck going forward and you have my respect for not changing your story to blame the driver.

His insurers will not have access to your statement so you are free to state your case on the claim form. If that tallies with witness statements (you will have to provide their names & addresses to the insurer, and there's nothing to stop you calling them first and finding out what they will say – they might need "reminding"…) you should be fine.

Good luck with the insurance thing – check any household insurance policy as said before.

I looked at the RAC and AA websites but couldn't find anything about third party cover when cycling, but did wonder whether something like LawLine might help, or whether any solicitors still do the free half hour consultation that they used to do?

Hope it works out and keep us posted!

Will it be useless if i join the CTC now?

In terms of them helping you out with this one yes. If you join them and have an accident the next day then you're fully covered!
Depending on what happens with this one no-win-no-fee guys might not be too willing to touch it either – they survive by fighting cases that have a strong chance of success.

Oh and FWIW, I'd recommend British Cycling's "Everyday Cycling" membership – £24/year you get cover at least equal to if not better than the CTC at £36/year… Whichever you join though, your money goes to supporting cycling and you get great insurance benefits.
http://new.britishcycling.org.uk/membership/article/mem–Membership—the-full-details-0