**!!CC RIDER DOWN!!**

[jamesxyz]

Glad to hear all is well.

Typical insuracne companies - trying to avoid all expense but happy to take your cash.

 

[Andy in Sig]

Glad to hear all is well.

Typical insuracne companies - trying to avoid all expense but happy to take your cash.

Spotty bastards!

 

[Danny]

Sounds extraordinary to me that you are considered to be 75% at fault in such circumstances.

Having said that I am not sure I would want to take a 75 year old driver to court (unless they were a complete pratt).

The big lesson from this is that there need to be safe crossing places for cyclists on main roads like the A64 - it is a complete nightmare to get across at the best of times.

 

[fossyant]

Glad you are better.

I've don the same, car indicating left, pulled out then realised he wasn't turning - fortunately, I was in a car and suffered no more than a bent wing.

 

[Glow worm]

Really pleased your recovery has gone well UP. Sounds like you've been through hell. I found your update brought home to me that being an experienced and confident, assertive cyclist, is still sometimes not enough when there are so many muppets out there. I'll be taking extra care tomorrow-
cheers,
Giles.

 

[Plax]

Just seen this thread now, bit slow me!
Sorry to hear about your accident uncle P and glad you are on the mend. Bit of a shame about the bike though, does look impressively out of shape if I may say so myself.

 

[Crankarm]

Glad you have made a full recovery UP.

I would take the case elsewhere for a second opinion as in your favour you have two witnesses that corroborate your story. It sounds to me like this coffin dodger was committed to making the turn and changed his mind right at the last second and ran into you. I would make contact with the CPS as with witnesses confirming he was driving along still indicating on a busy road and then manoevring to make a turn - this has got to be an easy open and shut case of driving without due care and attention. The wrinkly is 75 years old for christ sake. He needs to be got off the road. I've had so many coffin dodgers nearly drive into me this week had I not been more vigilant and shouted and taken evasive action I would now be dead.

If the CPS prosecute and he's convicted then I reckon you could get 50-70% of damages maybe more as had this old duffer not been driving without due care etc then you would not have pulled out and therefore not have been injured. I think it really depends on what the CPS do. If they decide to prosecute and then he were convicted, then a civil action against grandpa is likely to be more successful. What have you to lose? You have 3 years from the date of the accident to bring proceesings in PI cases otherwise you're out of time.

As I say glad you've recovered .

 

[Night Train]

I am really glad that you have come out of this in one piece and without any major ongoing injury. Before finalising the insurance thing it may be worth thinking about the whole three years you have to declare any medical issues that may show up later on.

The 'do not trust the indicator' thing has been about for decades. I was taught that when I was learning to drive 26 years ago. My driving instuctor told me then about the 75/25, or there abouts, split in responsibilty and said to always wait until the vehicle has started to turn before believing it will, and even then being aware that it might not complete the turn either.

It is also the defensive driving mantra 'Treat every bastard out there as trying to kill you!'

It may be worth looking into the accident rate for that junction as the Highways Agency may be able to make it safer for road users who want to turn right there.

 

[CopperBrompton]

Glad to hear you're fully recovered, Phil.

Personally I'd have plumped more for 50/50 in those circumstances from a legal perspective, but yes, from a survival viewpoint, I never trust an indicator to mean anything.

 

[Rhythm Thief]

I've arrived a bit late to this one, but glad to hear you're ok. Shame about your bike though.

 

[Arch]

The wrinkly is 75 years old for christ sake. He needs to be got off the road.

The person in question may need to think about whether they are still up to driving. The fact that they are 75 is not relevant really. There are plenty of much younger bad drivers out there and plenty of older superb ones. My Mum is 74, is she automatically for the scrap heap next year?

I hope you're old one day, to have younger people sneer at you like that.

 

[Arch]

And perhaps we could have a show of hands for those who have at some time realised they've left an indicator uncancelled, or similar. I'm sure I have, in 22 years of driving, just as I know I've done stuff and thought afterwards "That was daft" and learned from it. Was it a fairly new sort of car? Drivers expect their cars to do so much for them these days, maybe that's part of the problem.

 

[Norm]

And perhaps we could have a show of hands for those who have at some time realised they've left an indicator uncancelled, or similar. I'm sure I have, in 22 years of driving, just as I know I've done stuff and thought afterwards "That was daft" and learned from it. Was it a fairly new sort of car? Drivers expect their cars to do so much for them these days, maybe that's part of the problem.

Yup, I can definitely confess to that one. And try it on a motorbike. No self-cancelling indicators (unless you ride a Harley), no annoying beeping noise to remind you and even more ramifications for the rider if a car does pull out on the basis of flashing indicators. You do a little more than kicking yourself for that one, I can assure.

 

[Crankarm]

The person in question may need to think about whether they are still up to driving. The fact that they are 75 is not relevant really. There are plenty of much younger bad drivers out there and plenty of older superb ones. My Mum is 74, is she automatically for the scrap heap next year?

I hope you're old one day, to have younger people sneer at you like that.

Yes it is. 75 years old is toward the upper limit of safe driving age. I'm not saying that there aren't any younger bad drivers compared to this guy.
Pretty much every driver is going to be younger than this individual. He needs to be re-tested. TBH the frequency of seeing indicators left on when a driver isn't turning these days is low. Drivers seem to prefer not to use indicators full stop hence the reduction in occurance of these incidents in IMHO. If it's not switched on it cannot flash. Anyway for him to be driving along unaware that one of his car's indicators is flashing away signals to me (no pun intended) that he must not have been paying sufficient attention to 1) his dash board as indicator light flashing away or 2) the audible clicking noise of the sender unit which are now very audible in cars. Which tells me his concentration, sight and hearing are not too good. Assuming of course he were driving a modern car. The guy should automatically be retested as should all 70 year olds who are involved in a collision irrespective of fault or better still when they reach their 70th birthdays and then every 3-5 years. The re-test should be free.

 

[Sh4rkyBloke]

Anyway for him to be driving along unaware that one of his car's indicators is flashing away signals to me (no pun intended) that he must not have been paying sufficient attention to 1) his dash board as indicator light flashing away or 2) the audible clicking noise of the sender unit which are now very audible in cars. Which tells me his concentration, sight and hearing are not too good.

.. and yet here you are displaying such excellent abilities of observation... I refer you to the OPs post:

Furthermore, because I have made a full recovery in 2 months, the claim might be worth about £1200, of which (if the driver did not countersue), I would get 25% - £300. Of course, the driver, or her insurer, might countersue, and hold my insurer (CTC) liable for 75% of her losses - probably rather more than £300.

which clearly states that the driver was a woman.

So, should you be retested/forced to relearn to read, as clearly your skills are not up to par?

Some older drivers are very cautious (sometimes a little over cautious) and some are just plain useless due to a combination of traffic conditions being so differnt to when they passed a test (perhaps) ad/or failing eyesight etc. but some are excellent due to their experience.... Let's not just tar them all with the same brush, eh?