Accident with London bus and cyclist - advice required

[CopperBrompton]

You can join CTC retrospectively and their solicitors will help.

They will help on the same terms whether or not you are a CTC member. It's a kind of fake benefit the CTC lists.

 

[Pale Rider]

Think you have misread the post, according to the OP it wasn't damaged until the bus driver had driven too close, resulting in him colliding with another rider and falling from the bike, the bus driver then allegedly drove over the bike.

Ah, seems your user name is more appropriate to me than you.

 

[CopperCyclist]

So my queries are:
- Should I involve a solicitor immediately?
- Should I chase the police or await for their contact? I've been told it will take 2 weeks.
- The police officer who queried the information given to me by the driver didn't note that the information provided to me was false. Should I track down the officer down so that this is recorded in his notes?

In order -

1. Yes.
2. Wait the two weeks quoted then chase them.
3. When you chase up the officer ask if this had been noted. Check with the officer in charge of the case.

Good luck!

 

[400bhp]

With a witness on the bus telling the driver to slow down my money is on a jail sentence.

Keep us posted.

 

[gaz]

I was recently the victim of a deliberate hit and run. I'm a CTC member and as such am using their legal service to claim against the driver for my financial losses, however they offered me no support whatsoever with regard to the criminal proceedings.

No one will, criminal proceedings for traffic are only done by the CPS, you will only ever be called as a witness and that isn't always required.

 

[jefmcg]

Probably sciatica

 

[Sara_H]

No one will, criminal proceedings for traffic are only done by the CPS, you will only ever be called as a witness and that isn't always required.

Yes, I understand that. But It would have been helpful for me if they had offered me some support and advice through the proceedings. As an example, with my victim impact statement, which I hadn't fully understood the importance of and was done rather hurriedly with a police officer who was very pressed for time.

 

[jonny jeez]

In order -

1. Yes.
2. Wait the two weeks quoted then chase them.
3. When you chase up the officer ask if this had been noted. Check with the officer in charge of the case.

Good luck!

@bluepeds , I would listen to this advice.

Copper cyclists name is the clue here.

 

[jonny jeez]

Horrible by the way, hope this bus driver is taken out of the professional driving system.

 

[bluepeds]

Guys I really appreciate the feedback.

Just to answer some of the quotes on here:

Should I have let it go?
Yes and no. Yes if I hadn't an idea on the route of the bus to get his details. My determination in proceeding to get his details is due to several factors; one he cut me up without any consideration and halted the bus abruptley, two he attempted to ram the bus into me when requesting his details, and three, if the driver states to me that he didn't give a "f*ck", it made me more determined to report him.

Could I get his details after he cut me up before the accident?
Unfortunately not. When I was requesting his details I was attempting to take my gloves off and phone out and this when he was driving the bus towards me to run me out of the way. By the time I even got the phone out he'd already sped off towards Brixton. This is the reason I decided to cycle to a location where I'd get to video and record the details. Then the accident happened.

 

[clockman]

Horrible by the way, hope this bus driver is taken out of the professional driving system.

I'd like think it will happen.
Unfortunately, unless the bus driver is banned, I don't think it'll happen any time soon. He will probably get a little 'training' from his company, but most of these bus operators don't give a stuff about road safety. They only want the drivers to keep to time tables.
OK, so the drivers an idiot and quite honestly he should be banned from operating any wheeled vehicle. I wouldn't mind betting that he's under enormous pressure from his 'manager' to not let anything slow his time keeping.

 

[Dan B]

I'd like think it will happen.
Unfortunately, unless the bus driver is banned, I don't think it'll happen any time soon. He will probably get a little 'training' from his company, but most of these bus operators don't give a stuff about road safety. They only want the drivers to keep to time tables.
OK, so the drivers an idiot and quite honestly he should be banned from operating any wheeled vehicle. I wouldn't mind betting that he's under enormous pressure from his 'manager' to not let anything slow his time keeping.

I wonder whether a civil claim against the bus company would (a) succeed; (b) serve to concentrate their minds on the potential downside of employing psychopaths.

 

[clockman]

Snowballs chance in hell! On both counts I'd have thought. Especially the second, as you are not required to take a psychological exam of any type to drive any vehicle. Would be a good idea though.

 

[Pale Rider]

Presumably the driver's antics were caught on some of the many CCTV cameras on the bus.

The employer will have access to that footage, bus drivers are ten a penny and these companies tend to be ruthless with staff, so I reckon they will bin this guy without a moment's thought.

Doesn't help the OP much, but it might save another hapless cyclist or road user some bother.

 

[CopperCyclist]

Guys I really appreciate the feedback.

Just to answer some of the quotes on here:

Should I have let it go?
(snip) .

I probably wouldn't have either. However, this isn't some uninsured driver in a pool car that's going to deny knowing anything about it, it's a bus driver in a damn big bus, on a registered route. Probably would have been a lot safer to not get his details, just stick with the Reg of the bus, the bus company and the time of day and track down the driver later. I certainly wouldn't recommend placing yourself in front of someone driving 10 tons (a guess on the weight there?) of metal that's already said they don't give a f*** about running you over!

Regardless, what's done is done and wish you the best of the luck from here on in, and echo people's desire to see the maniac off the roads, but its worth remembering it's always better to be dead right than dead and right.