Accidents on club runs or group rides

[mjr]

[*]When in the group, ride at a steady pace in tight formation. Follow the wheel in front, and always consider that there will be other members of the group following your wheel. Do not accelerate or brake suddenly.

^^ To me, that is key, more than it being a group ride because there are groups and then there are groups. If you choose to take part in tight formation riding, thereby ignoring the highway code advice on riding so you can stop within what you can see to be clear, then I feel you've chosen to place your bike at risk and everyone in the group should pay for their own broken bits. I don't see why a rider behind should have to take care to follow only cheaper bikes if they or their insurance won't pay out to fix expensive ones.

And (yet again) accident? Collision! It sounds like someone goofed, whether the front rider braking too suddenly or the following rider not braking hard/soon enough.

 

[screenman]

I'd see it similar to a track day with your car, that you accept the risks of riding in a group and are comfortable with that risk. Its not nice for the person who got shunted and maybe come to an agreement with the person who hit them. If it was me at fault I would feel obliged to offer help with the repair.

Quite often in close riding the rider in fron does a sudden move, even standing on the pedals slows you down very quickly, until you put the presssure down again, first lesson I was taught at the cycling club 50 years ago.

 

[mjr]

Quite often in close riding the rider in fron does a sudden move, even standing on the pedals slows you down very quickly, until you put the presssure down again, first lesson I was taught at the cycling club 50 years ago.

As someone taught at the cycling club 50 years ago, what do you think of the posted guidelines? Isn't it a bit odd not to warn against any of the common FUs like standing up without warning or coasting on the front on descents while singling out earphones for prohibition?

 

[screenman]

As someone taught at the cycling club 50 years ago, what do you think of the posted guidelines? Isn't it a bit odd not to warn against any of the common FUs like standing up without warning or coasting on the front on descents while singling out earphones for prohibition?

Very odd, maybe those things were not gifted to the person who wrote those rules.

 

[Drago]

Ultimately it's for a Court to decide upon fault if the parties don't agree. It's not beyond the realms of possibly that the organiser or ride leader may have some degree of liability, even if not involved in the actual incident, but again that could be for a Court to ultimately decide.

From what I see on my travels, general roadcraft and cycle-specific positioning and roadcraft are dire on many of these club rides, so I steer well clear of them when I encounter them in the wild.

 

[screenman]

I have also noticed that the standard of club rides have gone downhill in recent years.

 

[DCLane]

Didn't @DCLane 's boy have a club or race accident that suffered damaged bikes irrc? How was that sorted and what was the outcome?

It was in training. We made a 50% contribution to the repair on a goodwill basis as we wanted him to continue with the club, which cost us £90. I appreciate not everyone would agree with this. However the result has been positive with no issues and they get on well. Neither 'caused' the accident - it was a case of poor group communication and they were both partly responsible.

He was hit (deliberately) in a race in March. That's a racing incident, even if it cost us £250 for a new Dura-ace mech, hanger, chain and fitting. The commissaires gave the rider who caused the crash a penalty.

Iirc BC insurance doesn't cover member-member claims. In my club though one member asked another to cover a repair when he caused a crash due to messing about.

 

[AlanW]

In this instance, the group were literally yards from the café stop and coasting to a stop ready to dismount.

Unfortunately, one of riders at the back of the group who had being having problems with a badly kinked chain most of the ride (dropped his chain twice) just happened to be glancing down at his chain at a crucial moment and consequently ran into the back of another rider. The rider that was hit stayed upright yet sustained damage to his bike, while the rider who hit him ended up on the floor in a heap.

 

[mustang1]

If someone slammed into me because they were riding too close to me then that's their fault and they should pay. But I would not ask or expect them to because it's a "club ride" (if we don't need to follow the no-tailgating rules on the public highway, then I guess jumping red lights and such is fine too).

If I slammed into bike in front of me, I'd pay for that bike, because I was stupid enoien to ride too close to that guy.

Club rules has nothing to do with this but club guidance might be useful. I'd imagine it s an awfully good idea to settle these problems before any accidents occur.

 

[fatjel]

I would expect to pay for any damage my bike sustained whilst on a club run however it was caused.
If I were riding a bike I couldn’t afford to repair/replace I’d be looking at insurance or a cheaper bike.
Riding in a group is I think inherently more risky than riding alone

 

[derrick]

So lets say for arguments sake, you are on a club ride and as the group slows down one person at the rear of the group doesn't and runs into the bike in front of him, thus causing some damage to that persons bike.

So should the person that caused the damage be expected to pay for all the cost of the repair, or maybe part of it or should that person with the damaged bike just accept that its part and parcel of riding in a group and not expect the person that caused the damage to pay anything at all?

And the second part to that question, should it make any difference as to which level of equipment is fitted to the damaged bike, so the huge price difference between components, for example:-

Tiagra rear mech = £25
Dura Ace rear mech - £150
Etap rear mech = £450

If you run into my bike you will pay for any damage caused, Same as if you are driving a car,

 

[AlanW]

If you run into my bike you will pay for any damage caused, Same as if you are driving a car,

I'm of the exact same opinion, but I was interested in what others thought would be considered as being acceptable

 

[derrick]

I'm of the exact same opinion, but I was interested in what others thought would be considered as being acceptable

If i damaged someone elses bike or property i would not think twice about putting it right, Anyone who thinks differently is an arsole.

 

[Brandane]

Sounds like another reason to avoid club riding (not that I partake anyway, it's just not my scene on several levels). But......

A motorcycle club that I used to belong to, used to organise fairly regular semi-organised ride-outs; where one member would post a route with start time/date, and it was then up to others whether or not they wished to attend the open invitation.
They stopped happening after questions were asked about the ride organiser's liability in the case of an accident in which a participant was injured, or worse. The consensus of opinion was that it wasn't worth the risk involved in being ride organiser.
There are no hard and fast rules, but it would be down to a court to decide on the matter of whether the organiser was liable or not. It might not even be down to the injured party to decide whether to pursue a claim or not (as some had said they would never do that) - his or her insurance company would probably make that decision depending on the costs involved.
So now, there are no more ride-outs and the club has pretty much disintegrated...
The attempt to duck out by posting a disclaimer along the lines of "This is not an organised ride, just a meeting of biker mates on a casual ride-out" was also deemed to be open to interpretation by a court, and probably of no legal significance.

 

[derrick]

Sounds like another reason to avoid club riding (not that I partake anyway, it's just not my scene on several levels). But......

A motorcycle club that I used to belong to, used to organise fairly regular semi-organised ride-outs; where one member would post a route with start time/date, and it was then up to others whether or not they wished to attend the open invitation.
They stopped happening after questions were asked about the ride organiser's liability in the case of an accident in which a participant was injured, or worse. The consensus of opinion was that it wasn't worth the risk involved in being ride organiser.
There are no hard and fast rules, but it would be down to a court to decide on the matter of whether the organiser was liable or not. It might not even be down to the injured party to decide whether to pursue a claim or not (as some had said they would never do that) - his or her insurance company would probably make that decision depending on the costs involved.
So now, there are no more ride-outs and the club has pretty much disintegrated...
The attempt to duck out by posting a disclaimer along the lines of "This is not an organised ride, just a meeting of biker mates on a casual ride-out" was also deemed to be open to interpretation by a court, and probably of no legal significance.

Surely it's common desceny, if you damage someones property you pay for it. what is this country coming to?