Filtering down outside of gridlocked traffic last night … car i was passing flashed a car to let her out of a junction.. car didn’t see me and hit me…despite very bright lights and me shouting at her! Front wheel and disc dead… paint chips off inside of carbon fork..crushed hydraulic front hose and scuffed front sti. Police arrived so got her insurance info address phone number etc… at the scene I managed to get to my feet and hobble around so Police cancelled ambulance. I was on nights in New job(agency based so sick etc frowned upon) so went into work… as shift progressed limp and ankle pain got extremely bad so much so manager sent me home 2 hrs early. A&E x rays found no breaks, co-codamol prescribed along with rest. So losing 2 days pay plus 2 hrs. Got witness details and poss camera footage. Questions.. she’s offered to pay for damage but I warned her if frame damaged it would be expensive

Whats next steps?

Do I use BC solicitors? I’m a member but heard mixed reports

Can I get lost income back?

Am I being stupid stressing about claiming for scuffed component etc?

Any other advice welcome!

Thanks

Use the solicitors.
Go through insurance, do NOT accept a payment outside of insurance.
Yes you can get the lost income back.

Don’t feel bad about taking the Mickey, because you’re not, if the driver damaged it then you’re well within your rights to expect it to be fixed. That applies to you as well as the bike.

Take your time making a claim in case your injuries worsen or new aches and pains appear.

Do I use BC solicitors? I’m a member but heard mixed reports

I assume you pay your membership money for this reason, so absolutely use them

I got semi t-bonded in July by someone pulling out without looking. I wasn’t too badly hurt (sprained wrist) and it was only the front wheel which was damaged. Went through cycle law Scotland and got my £3250 payment in last week which is way more than I expected. Apparently there’s no fees with BC membership but my compo seems like a good deal based on what I read before I contacted them so even with their 15% fees I might still be better off without BC membership

i had a similar incident when i left uni, though i was carrying speed downhill so sailed over the bonnet of this van
ambulance was involved, bike was a write off (so was the van apparently).

Their insurers phoned me. they offered me
1) the cost of ongoing medical expenses (should i have needed chiropractor or whatever) or
2) £4k, but that was them done and i had no come back in the future.

paid off my student overdraft and some.

you’re not claiming off the driver, that’s what they’re insured for.
The insurers are not in the business of giving money away if they can avoid it, but they will want to ensure they are no ongoing liabilities.

and your lost employment may well end up being worth more than a scuffed bike

as cinnamon says, aches and pains can take a while to develop, so dont be rushed.

Definitely use you BC cover – that’s what it’s there for and they should know what they’re doing. If the impact was that hard it may have damaged the frame internally (assuming carbon) as well as the fork / wheel / Sti etc. That’s probably the equivalent of a bike write off really.

Also monitor your injuries and if you need physio etc then make sure you get it.

Go through the solicitors.

Any injury claim will take at least 3 months to be sorted, but don’t get pressured into settling early if you aren’t sure you’ve healed fully.

Thanks folks… was feeling guilty about it as the driver was really nice… im such a softy!

Do I use BC solicitors? I’m a member but heard mixed reports

Can I get lost income back?

Am I being stupid stressing about claiming for scuffed component etc?

Any other advice welcome!

Answered by this:

Use the solicitors.
Go through insurance, do NOT accept a payment outside of insurance.
Yes you can get the lost income back.

Don’t feel bad about taking the Mickey, because you’re not, if the driver damaged it then you’re well within your rights to expect it to be fixed. That applies to you as well as the bike.

When I was knocked off by a taxi letting a fare out in a No Drop zone onto a cycle lane the insurance tried to fob me off with a £1800 payout 3 weeks after the accident and paying for 6 physio sessions. Went through Leigh Day who are/were the BC solicitors of choice when it became obvious I would be off work for a while and that the amount offered wouldn’t even cover my lost earnings. The physio the taxi’s insurers appointed was also crap at understanding how a body works on a bike so the underlying damage wasn’t fixed correctly. Ended up with a total settlement of £6000 that included paying my employer back the wages they had paid me while off, the replacement bike cost, new kit and a year of gym membership. They also had to pay for a further 12 physio sessions that could have been extended if my lower back wasn’t good by then. I ended up with just under £3000 left over in cash. It was nowhere near making up for the 7 months I lost and the resulting loss of fitness but it just shows how much value is put on lost time due to something that was not your fault.

As you have BC membership use it, it’ll stop you getting short-changed by the insurers.

One thing i would say. (sorry if its already been mentioned) take photos of all your injuries and take daily photos as any cuts, dumps and bruises progress.

+ pain diary , just 2 lines a day in case it drags on for months , and you forget which bit hurt when.

And get some riding advice from Mr Perfect off here 😉

Thanks for advice folks… First collision in over 30 years so usually pretty safe!

was feeling guilty about it as the driver was really nice… im such a softy!

You absolutely shouldn’t feel guilty, but also I dont think you are being a softy.

Nobody can undo an incident like that, so if she tried to be reasonable its commendable you are reasonable back.

You could of come on here ranting and raving like billy big spuds which would of helped with precisely nothing. Kudos for being a thinker mate.

@087seb

got my £3250 payment in last week which is way more than I expected. Apparently there’s no fees with BC membership but my compo seems like a good deal based on what I read before I contacted them so even with their 15% fees I might still be better off without BC membership

Fine and dandy when you are not at fault, but BC (I prefer CyclingUK now) gives public liability in case you are at fault and liable for costs. Also, if you had a lower value non-injury claim you may find it harder to find someone willing to take on your case, especially the no-win-no-fee type places. Its not worth their time.

Genuine question here, not trying to stir stuff up, I just don’t know the rules here in the UK well enough for this specific situation: If a cyclist was filtering on the outside of stopped traffic, does this mean that the cyclist has some responsibility in this situation for showing undue care, etc?

Genuine question here, not trying to stir stuff up, I just don’t know the rules here in the UK well enough for this specific situation: If a cyclist was filtering on the outside of stopped traffic, does this mean that the cyclist has some responsibility in this situation for showing undue care, etc?

Fair question I suppose but, (IMO) no.
Two wheeled vehicles “making progress” through stationary traffic, where there is space to is not illegal, and is to be expected. And People doing so on the outside, rather than hidden against the kerb, could be argued to be safer as the rider is more visible, tends to have more space to manoeuvre and are unlikely to get pinned or left-hooked…

Thanks folks… was feeling guilty about it as the driver was really nice… im such a softy!

The man who drove straight into the side of me out of a junction gave me a lift home and was very apologetic. I claimed off his insurance though as I did end up in hospital for 2 days, missed a US business trip and had a smashed up middle finger that required 3 operations and still doesn’t bend properly now 10+ years later.
I got a 5 figure sum which was nice at the time but I would actually rather have a working finger given the choice…

Genuine question here, not trying to stir stuff up, I just don’t know the rules here in the UK well enough for this specific situation: If a cyclist was filtering on the outside of stopped traffic, does this mean that the cyclist has some responsibility in this situation for showing undue care, etc?

I’d say yes, they do.

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’.

http://www.cyclelaw.co.uk/overtaking-and-filtering-whilst-cycling

And here is some more good guidance to keep yourself right:

https://www.bikerandbike.co.uk/filtering-motorbike-whats-law/

car i was passing flashed a car to let her

rule 1 – don’t let other road users do your looking for you.

She shouldn’t have assumed the way was clear just because someone flashed.

also *technically* flashing means “warning/be aware/I’m coming through” not “please, after you”. But that ship sailed a long time ago in the UK.

Hope you feel better soon and your injuries don’t get worse. A work colleague has similar happen a month ago and is still having bi-weekly physio so don’t under estimated the time needed to recover. Especially if you don’t bounce as well as you used to.

Two wheeled vehicles “making progress” through stationary traffic, where there is space to is not illegal, and is to be expected.

Plus the car being flashed across was presumably crossing a ‘give way’ sign so Whytetrash (too soon to suggest a name change to Trashedwhyte?) had right of way.

Yep car emerged from junction on left crossing give way sign … car I filtered past had stopped to avoid blocking junction for oncoming traffic turning right i presume…..walking a bit easier now but gonna be feet up this weekend and loving the co-codamol!

I’m going through Cycling UK. Its been really slow.

My accident was a year ago now. Because my bike was stolen whilst I was in the ambulance, the solicitors aren’t going to claim anything for it, as they can’t prove the damage from the accident. I’ve tried reasoning with them, but no.

No broken bones, but I was knocked unconscious and needed phyio. Was off work for a week. As its the second time (first time very minor) in 18 months, my wife has asked me not to ride on the roads again, and there is no way I’d want to either. Which is a sad.

Based on my experience this morning take her for everything. Go through insurance and if that doesn’t work police, lawyer and so on. A driver hit me this morning and refused to stop every time i got in front of him he just kept driving round me. I really wish I had a camera so I could send the footage to the police.

Front wheel and disc dead… paint chips off inside of carbon fork..crushed hydraulic front hose and scuffed front sti.

in addition to what others have said about pain diary and not yet obvious injuries, get the bike looked at by a professional bike shop. front wheel, disc brake, fork are no doubt dead. but with a side impact you need to get the frame alignment checked and if it’s a carbon frame, I’d probably bin it as a precaution. They’re not great with sharp side loads and damage isn’t always obvious.

Lovewookie I’ve spoken to local cannondale stockists who will do me a report… yep its a carbon cross bike so we’ll see what they say. Joepud sorry to hear that hopefully if you got the reg police can pursue it?

I had a similar situation years ago except I was filtering on a motorcycle and the van I was passing waved a couple of pedestrians across the road.
They didn’t look and I had 6 feet to stop once they popped out from around the van. That and there was a pedestrian crossing 40 feet away that they could have used but didn’t. They went down the road like skittles but they were ok. Scared me near to death.

It was ruled as my fault, went to court, 4 points and fine.

So not similar at all then.

Not really, other than the filtering past stationary traffic and a third party waving other road users out in the to the road in front who aren’t paying due attention which results in a collision.

Other than that, totally different.

Yep car emerged from junction on left crossing give way sign … car I filtered past had stopped to avoid blocking junction for oncoming traffic turning right I presume

Word for word the same accident I had a few years ago! I wasn’t in UK Cycling at the time, (I am now) so had to sort it out with their insurers myself. Got all my stuff replaced, which the insurers jumped at because I told them I didn’t want injury compensation for minor grazing, (v lucky)

A driver hit me this morning and refused to stop every time i got in front of him he just kept driving round me.

Were you injured at all? They have 24hrs to report to the police if so. Assuming you got their registration, I’d be chasing that up after a few days to make sure they are going to do something about leaving the scene of an accident even if you can’t get anything from their insurer.

I have been reading this post with interest.

Apologies to Hi-jack a little, but I cycle 12-16miles a 5 days a week to work and back.

I currently do not have any insurance (I am not to worried about theft), but I am wondering about some sort of legal cover/liability insurance)

Any pointers? Am I daft to not have any cover?

Any pointers? Am I daft to not have any cover?

Your home insurance probably covers you for 3rd party liability when on a bik, and you might have some sort of legal cover too so may well already be covered to a similar extent to what BC and CUK offer.

I’m still a BC member, I figure the cost is probably less than having to declare a claim against the more expensive home insurance, and there’s less chance of the wriggling out of it.

Thanks, guessing BC is British Cycling?

If I didn’t have home insurance cover, I’d definitely take out some personal liability thing. Well, I hate paying for insurance, so maybe not definitely, but I’d definitely think about it!

Joepud sorry to hear that hopefully if you got the reg police can pursue it?

Yeh all good thanks dude, sadly no reg i was too mad to think of more than i need to stop this car. Reported it any way so maybe something will come of it, but unlikely. Im starting to think we are now in a world of strapping gopros to our head just to get some bread and milk from the shop.

Plus the car being flashed across was presumably crossing a ‘give way’ sign so Whytetrash (too soon to suggest a name change to Trashedwhyte?) had right of way.
Posted 7 hours ago

I’ll be interested to hear the outcome of this – last time I read anything about this the cases most often referred to are motorcycles filtering. Iirc correctly one was filtering near a junction and collided with a car that was turning. The car and biker were found equally at fault, I assume due to the advice in the Highway code about not overtaking where you might come into conflict with other road users particularly near junctions on either side of the road. Be interesting to see what the solicitors say if you go that route.

Because my bike was stolen whilst I was in the ambulance, the solicitors aren’t going to claim anything for it, as they can’t prove the damage from the accident. I’ve tried reasoning with them, but no.

Seeing as the insured driver resulting in you being incapacitated and therefore your bike being stolen, I’d want replacement value?! Unless its already covered under another policy…

Emailed BC lunchtime and got a call off a para legal an hour later. She’s emailed me the full form to fill out. Text contact with a witness who told me he had a camera in his car, this recorded me passing but not the actual incident ( at least there will be no arguments about lights etc). Funnily enough legal assistance was never a reason I thought about, joined BC as did mountain bike leader qualification and became a road commisaire…. I always used to save more than the annual cost via discounts from halfords and CRC…. will keep you posted

Use the BC insurance, I used them for the first time last year, no issues.