Forgiving and forgetting

[Slioch]

Why not forget it? I don't know how badly hurt the guy was or what shape his bike was in, but if both were pretty much OK (give or take the odd ding), why take it any further? Do you want revenge? Do you want to deal with the police, lawyers and insurance companies? Life's too short to fester away with all that crap. Forget it.

I couldn't forget it if that happened to me. I would want to do my best to ensure the driver did not do the same thing again to another cyclist. If there are no consequences for their actions, then what is there to prevent them from doing the same thing again?

According to the report the guy was left with "severe bruising". He got lucky, it could have been a lot worse. I wonder if he had suffered more severe injuries (e.g. preventing him from being able to work and earn a living), whether he would have been quite so forgiving about it?

 

[slowmotion]

I couldn't forget it if that happened to me. I would want to do my best to ensure the driver did not do the same thing again to another cyclist. If there are no consequences for their actions, then what is there to prevent them from doing the same thing again?

According to the report the guy was left with "severe bruising". He got lucky, it could have been a lot worse. I wonder if he had suffered more severe injuries (e.g. preventing him from being able to work and earn a living), whether he would have been quite so forgiving about it?

No, of course he probably wouldn't have felt the same way. He made a reasonable decision to forget it because it wasn't a big deal to him. Maybe he didn't want to be some self-righteous warrior, who knows? I've been knocked off a few times in London traffic, but fortunately never hurt too much apart from the odd bruise the next day. The bikes have been OK-ish. Each time, the motorist has said that they were sorry, and they seemed sincere. That was good enough for me. I drive a van. I'm capable of making mistakes just like everybody else.

 

[Deleted member 89407]

The cyclist has every right to forgive and forget even if other people might not believe that to be the correct course of action. We are living in a society of increasing distain for our fellow people and suing and making claims because it's the way things are these days is just feeding a growing fire. We are drip-fed ads about suing the hell out of someone to make money.

Some situations are very deserving to claim, seek prosecution etc., and winning a claim in those situations would be deserving, especially if the money would help to make a better life for someone who may have been disabled as a result of an incident.

As the cyclist was not mortally wounded and saw it as a way for others to learn from this experience, forgiving and forgetting is kind of a courageous thing to do. Who is to say they couldn't become good friends afterwards? Learn from the experience and be a better person because of it.

 

[Globalti]

The car that cut the corner was a BMW, wasn't it? I thought they had fancy collision-avoidance stuff fitted?

Hope the ambulance-chasers don't find out the cyclist's phone number; the poor fella will be besieged.

 

[Pale Rider]

The cyclist has every right to forgive and forget even if other people might not believe that to be the correct course of action. We are living in a society of increasing distain for our fellow people and suing and making claims because it's the way things are these days is just feeding a growing fire. We are drip-fed ads about suing the hell out of someone to make money.

Some situations are very deserving to claim, seek prosecution etc., and winning a claim in those situations would be deserving, especially if the money would help to make a better life for someone who may have been disabled as a result of an incident.

As the cyclist was not mortally wounded and saw it as a way for others to learn from this experience, forgiving and forgetting is kind of a courageous thing to do. Who is to say they couldn't become good friends afterwards? Learn from the experience and be a better person because of it.

Prosecutions are made in the interests of the public, not the victim.

It's not really up to the cyclist to make that decision, the police/CPS are tasked - and trained - to do that.

The cyclists can demonstrate his forgiveness by not making a compo claim.

But the prosecution decision is best left to those who have no emotional involvement.

 

[Deleted member 26715]

No excuse they should have been prosecuted, not sure I would have gone past the BMW in the first place as they were likely to be turning right as well, cutting corners & very poor road position seems to be the norm for car drivers these days.

 

[snorri]

I'm capable of making mistakes just like everybody else.

In the past I forgave a driver who found himself in a situation where he had to make a snap decision and got it wrong, but the driver in the video got it wrong in so many ways, it wasn't a simple mistake. He drove on the wrong side of the road, drove at an inapproriate speed and drove into a stationary vehicle.

 

[IanSmithCSE]

Good morning,

I am dreading the response and before I get completely flamed, I have been cycling on and off for the last 40 odd years, some years with few miles other years around 10,000 miles.

I truly believe that anyone who drives enough will make the kind of stupid mistake that when described here will seem terrible but is merely a matter of neurobiology. The "Sorry I didn't see you mate" is a real phenomenon it is not necessarily careless driving.

I am yet to pull out of a side road in front of a bike and have a crash, but I have pulled out on a roundabout and narrowly missed such a crash.

In my near miss at a roundabout the rider was wearing green on a dark coloured bike entering a roundabout where the scene behind him was mostly hedges and the roundabout was grass and flowers.

He just never appeared out of the background, it was only when the background to the rider changed from greenery to the tarmac that he appeared in view.

Bye

Ian

 

[Bazzer]

Good morning,

I am dreading the response and before I get completely flamed, I have been cycling on and off for the last 40 odd years, some years with few miles other years around 10,000 miles.

I truly believe that anyone who drives enough will make the kind of stupid mistake that when described here will seem terrible but is merely a matter of neurobiology. The "Sorry I didn't see you mate" is a real phenomenon it is not necessarily careless driving.

I am yet to pull out of a side road in front of a bike and have a crash, but I have pulled out on a roundabout and narrowly missed such a crash.

In my near miss at a roundabout the rider was wearing green on a dark coloured bike entering a roundabout where the scene behind him was mostly hedges and the roundabout was grass and flowers.

He just never appeared out of the background, it was only when the background to the rider changed from greenery to the tarmac that he appeared in view.

Bye

Ian

Even if he was subject to the SMIDSY phenomenon, if the driver hadn't cut the corner there shouldn't have been any collision.

 

[Deleted member 26715]

Good morning,

I am dreading the response and before I get completely flamed, I have been cycling on and off for the last 40 odd years, some years with few miles other years around 10,000 miles.

I truly believe that anyone who drives enough will make the kind of stupid mistake that when described here will seem terrible but is merely a matter of neurobiology. The "Sorry I didn't see you mate" is a real phenomenon it is not necessarily careless driving.

I am yet to pull out of a side road in front of a bike and have a crash, but I have pulled out on a roundabout and narrowly missed such a crash.

In my near miss at a roundabout the rider was wearing green on a dark coloured bike entering a roundabout where the scene behind him was mostly hedges and the roundabout was grass and flowers.

He just never appeared out of the background, it was only when the background to the rider changed from greenery to the tarmac that he appeared in view.

Bye

Ian

To me that is different in 2 ways you weren't on the wrong side of the road secondly you were paying enough attention to notice the cyclist on the 2nd/3rd look & was driving in such a way as you could stop

 

[glasgowcyclist]

Maybe he didn't want to be some self-righteous warrior,

The rider in the clip made the choice not to go to the police and I respect (although disagree with) his decision. It's entirely up to him and I make no criticism of him.

Why are you critical of anyone who would seek proper application of the law in such a collision?
What is a "self-righteous warrior"?

Are all victims of collisions potential self-righteous warriors if they don't just suck it up?

 

[bladderhead]

I know not whether the cyclist should have gone to the cops. Hard to deliver a verdict on that. But it looks as if the driver was cutting the corner. That is not a "mistake" or "not concentrating". When I was learning to drive the instructor told me off about cutting corners. I expect that driver was also told off about it. I bet he did not do it in his test. Probably would have led to him failing. So now, should he be disqualified from driving?

 

[Deleted member 26715]

So now, should he be disqualified from driving?

I'd have no problems with that

 

[slowmotion]

The rider in the clip made the choice not to go to the police and I respect (although disagree with) his decision. It's entirely up to him and I make no criticism of him.

Why are you critical of anyone who would seek proper application of the law in such a collision?
What is a "self-righteous warrior"?

Are all victims of collisions potential self-righteous warriors if they don't just suck it up?

Sorry. You're right. "Self righteous warrior" was a bit over the top. I apologise.

 

[glasgowcyclist]

Sorry. You're right. "Self righteous warrior" was a bit over the top. I apologise.

Fair enough.