Sorry if this has been covered – a quick search didn’t find anything.

Earlier today I was waiting to enter a roundabout and got rear-ended by a car, knocking me off. The bike is definitely damaged, rear wheel buckled, not sure what else.

The driver got out and helped me, has given me name & address, admitted responsibility to me, and offered to pay for any damage.

I didn’t get any witnesses.

Just asking what I should do next…is this about right?

* Take bike to shop on Monday to get damage assessed (it’s a carbon frame)
* Call my home contents insurance to ask them if I have legal cover.

Anything else? Do I call the police or have they got better things to be worried about?

Thanks.

Accident should be reported within 24 hours I believe. I’d probably call the police so that it’s on record, and they will be able to give you insurance details for the driver.

1 Get a quote to fix your bike.
2 Call driver and tell them.
3 If they agree, get them to send you a cheque (or to the bike shop if you are both happy with this).
4 If they don’t agree, contact their insurer.

And rethink whether you could have done anything different, ie positioning/observation etc, to not get run into. It might save your life next time.

From my experience, home insurance legal and will not help unless he tries to claim from you, or you want to claim for personal injury then they will pass you to their choice of ambulance chasers.

Try and make sure you get his insurance details before you let him know how much the repair is. If the frame is damaged, (and with carbon the shop may tell you to replace it just in case there’s unseen issues) the bill may be significant.

Your man may be expecting to get away without telling his insurers for a few quid, (drivers don’t generally think any bike can be bought for more that a couple of hundred quid) and start playing daft when he finds out the real cost.

There’s a sticky thread on the lfgss (London Fixed Gear/Single Speed) forums which is the definitive resource on this topic.

Thanks. I’m thinking because I wasn’t injured I don’t have to call the police. (Thread on LFGSS is good.)

I’m not sure I could avoid it br, I had queued with traffic to get to the entry point of a roundabout (so didn’t filter, overtake or anything) and was waiting for a gap that I could get out in front of.

The car behind rear-ended me. He said his foot slipped off the clutch.

I don’t want to claim personal injury, just want to make sure my bike gets repaired.

Thanks. I’m thinking because I wasn’t injured I don’t have to call the police.

I’m mainly thinking so that there’s a record. Without any witnesses, if they want to back out at any time (and purely from seeing these kinds of threads, it seems to happen a lot once they realise the cost), they could deny any accident even happened.

ccident should be reported within 24 hours I believe. I’d probably call the police so that it’s on record, and they will be able to give you insurance details for the driver.

The accident doesn’t have to be reported by either party. He stopped and gave details. That’s all he has to do unless OP was injured in which case the driver needs to either supply insurance details at the time or report it.

http://www.theaa.com/motoring_advice/legal-advice/accidents-and-theft.html

That is the doubt in my mind too butcher.
The guy seemed decent and was aware that these bikes cost money, but might not be too happy about the cost of an ultrega wheelset and a carbon frame…

I’m going to stew on it a bit – if anyone else has any experience on the police dilemma I’d like to know.

What’s making me think I should:

* I need to protect myself from having to pay the repairs – it clearly wasn’t my fault.
* I should register an accident to have something to refer to.

What’s making me think I shouldn’t:

* The guy was very helpful and has promised to pay. He admitted it was his fault, gave me a lift home etc.
* I’d like to think we can sort this without resort to the police.

Not sure if those are good enough reasons though, I might bite the bullet, call the guy up and explain first, then call the police.

EDITED – Just seen IRC’s post. Now I’m thinking I don’t need to call them…

Now I’m thinking I don’t need to call them…

There is never a legal requirement for a cyclist to report anm accident. The law applies only to drivers

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1988/52/section/170

What I would do if you haven’t already done so is write a detailed description of events. Time, day, date, weather, road conditions. What happened. What the driver said – exact words if you can recall them. Having done that sign and date it and keep a copy safe.

And keep and notes you made at the time safe as well.

My 2p worth – when was the last time your foot slipped off the clutch?

Sound like bollox to me, he most likely wasn’t willing to admit lack of due care/attention – if he’s already told a porker whilst under pressure then be prepared for more surprises. As above, I’d make sure you report the incident to get it on record

That’s what my wife said too. She thought it unlikely.
When he rear-ended me, there was a car spaced gap in the roundabout.

One theory is he looked at that and not ahead. That’s pure speculation though, he did seem an honest guy…

Err, last time similar happened to me, when I called the driver he pulled the full manuel.
Next time I’m gonna lay there and scream medic.

And rethink whether you could have done anything different, ie positioning/observation etc, to not get run into. It might save your life next time.

did you really write that? 😆

Lol, I don’t mind, it was a good thought, and I did have a good think. Probably not riding on Christmas shopping day was the best advice I could give myself for next time 🙂

Basil – Member
…the full manuel…

Excellent.

I know nothing!

Be prepared for it to go through insurers. Depending on the type of bike and the damage to it (and I’m in no way saying to exaggerate it) you may be presenting a very large bill to the driver who may suddenly decide that he wasn’t at the scene.

I’ve seen it before where drivers will offer to pay because hey, it’s “only” a bike, and when you take them the bill for £800 they’ll say you’re taking the piss because bikes cost £129.99 at Halfords and before you know it, they’re denying all knowledge of any incident.

Hopefully it won’t come to that but be warned. If you’re not a member of either British Cycling or CTC then firstly why not? and secondly look in the back pages of Cycling Weekly for specialist cycling solicitors. Then join BC or CTC…
Good luck getting it sorted.

All good points thanks.
I will be prepared for the worst.

Going to bike shop first thing tomorrow.

If it was me, I’d ring 101 and report it to plod. It’s not like they will be pounding on his door, but there will be a record of the incident.

Foot slipped off the clutch….yeah, course it did.
Just like the woman who reversed her car into mine earlier this year, drove off like a scalded cat and then claimed she thought she had ‘just bumped the kerb’ when I caught her up and managed to pull her over.

did you really write that?

Er, yes.

When you are a ‘high-risk’ road user been able to avoid accidents is what keeps you alive. No point been dead, right.

Unfortunately, given changes in the way costs are awarded, I don’t think any of those will be able to act for you in a case which doesn’t involve personal injury (unless your household legal protection will fund it).

Plod. Now! No reason not to. Get insurance detail s ASAP. No reason not to. This happens a lot. No one wants to tell their insurer that they have caused an “accident”. Then they realise that their suggested cash settlement is not the cheap option and try to back out. Cover your are now. Not tomorrow. Nothing is lost by acting promptly .

He also told me he’s a professional lorry driver. Could be a licence thing I guess.

Terrible world we live in where I doubting him 🙁

he did seem an honest guy…

but when being hit with a big bill for bike repairs, and or an insurance claim sometimes the honesty wains, check the car is insured on the MIB database, google his reg to se if it comes up on you tube, and also streetview his address to ensure it exists.

not that i want to make you paranoid or anything

I’ve done some googling – he’s got a facebook profile, occupation checks out. He’s in a few local clubs so that all looks hopeful.

You don’t need to bother the Police and they won’t be interested. They will view it as a small accident and as the bloke has admitted fault they will advise you to pursue him for recompense. Get the estimate and send it to him. If he refuses to pay, contact his insurers.

I’m inclined that way globalti. I think the police will not be bothered.

I’m happy to be alive at the end of the day, when I think about it, could have been nasty if I’d been shunted into a car coming round the roundabout or if he’d gone over me.

As it is, I don’t think I got even a scratch, except I’m a bit shaken up!!

B R, “being” ! Come on man

The police don’t need to be bothered. They just need to log the facts.

The first thing the guy’s insurance company will do is ask for evidence, and if he doesn’t admit liability after sitting stewing on it, you’re screwed.

Terrible world we live in where I doubting him

Thing is, I’m sure most people are sincere in the heat of the moment. And maybe he’ll come up trumps. But it’s when you give people time to think about things that they start to question if they want to give a substantial wad of hard earned cash to a complete stranger. Especially if the sum turned out to be larger than they expected. Which is why I’d want the facts recorded straight away. It does no harm to contact the police, but it covers your back a bit. A little extra insurance.

IME people are as nice as can be when they knock you off, then a £600 bill for a new rear wheels comes their way and they pull every trick in the book to swerve paying it.

Contacts the police and see if you have legal cover on your car insurance, or house contents. Throw everything you can at them so they know they cannot back out.

HAPPY ENDING!!!!!
The driver paid up tonight for all damages. No problems!

Bike fixed and paid for 🙂

Glad it worked out. As a side note if not already a member of British Cycling you can join up and get retrospective legal advice from them.

How much was it? Good one, send him a christmas card!

Glad you got knocked off by a nice guy 😉

When you are a ‘high-risk’ road user been able to avoid accidents is what keeps you alive. No point been dead, right.

+1

Did you report to the police, even if no action is taken the report will add to the stats and highlight driver vs cyclists accidents more accurately. When funding is allocated they will look at the stats to see what/where is a problem.

At least there are still some honest people out there. I got knocked off by someone coming out of a junction (didn’t stop at the line).

He hit me, then drove round me and sped off. I got the make/model and licence plate. I also know where he works and parks his car.

Police couldn’t care less. I reported it, then got a letter over a month later stating that he denied it saying he was still in work and there’s nothing they can do.

I don’t think they checked the scratches on his bumper that matched perfectly with my pedals, or even bothered to check his clocking times at work.

I’ve thought about retribution, but honestly.. there would be no point 🙂