On a suburban road, I was driving through a roundabout ( straight through - taking the second exit) and was already on the roundabout when a Citreon people carrier arrived to my left at the first exit and although going relatively slowly I sensed it wasn't going to stop as the driver wasn't even looking in my direction so after a quick check of the mirror to make sure there was nothing very close behind me, I stood on the anchors and stopped thinking it was better to yield and avoid an accident rather than drive into it's path. There was easily enough room for the Citreon to pass across in front of me or alternatively he could probably have stopped as he wasn't going particularly fast. But instead Mr Citreon carried on his intended path, seemingly oblivious to my presence and he caught my front left-hand corner, destroying my bumper, front wing and indicator unit in the process. He kept on driving without a care in the world. Unfortunately I was a bit shocked at what seemed to be happening right in front of me and I didn't get the registration number and silver Citreons are many in this world so there is probably nothing that I can do about it. I tried to follow but a Hi-Ace van had got between us (blocking my view of the reg plate) and I was thwarted by a red traffic light at a pedestrian crossing which Mr Citreon conveniently ignored but I (and the van in front) stopped at. I couldn't see where he went after that.
I know it it's only a lump of old German metal and a minor fender bender and nobody was hurt but I am very, very angry. It's a journey I would probably have normally made by bicycle but I have a cold this weekend and was feeling a bit chesty so I had elected to drive rather than risk making myself worse. No doubt he would just as easily have knocked me of my bike and drove off leaving me lying on the road. I was driving my old VW Caddy pickup which I had put through test and taxed for a few months to assess it's overall mechanical health before my planned restoration next year and a quick look on Ebay confirms my thoughts that new replacement panels for a MK1 Golf are not cheap so unless I strike it lucky in a scrap yard this is going to add greatly to my project costs.
It is worrying that a driver couldn't see 950Kg of Wolfsburg's finest approaching at point blank range (what chance do cyclists have?) and the sort of scum that are out there that drive off after causing a few hundred quid's worth of damage to someone else's property.
Only once did I ever damage someone else's car in 20 years of driving when I wasn't paying attention in a shopping centre car park about 15 years ago and nudged the door of a Toyota Carina when turning and I sat and waited until the owner returned and made arrangements to pay the bill for the repair. I have always felt that if you make a mistake you should pay for it but obviously Mr Citreon doesn't feel the same way
I know it it's only a lump of old German metal and a minor fender bender and nobody was hurt but I am very, very angry. It's a journey I would probably have normally made by bicycle but I have a cold this weekend and was feeling a bit chesty so I had elected to drive rather than risk making myself worse. No doubt he would just as easily have knocked me of my bike and drove off leaving me lying on the road. I was driving my old VW Caddy pickup which I had put through test and taxed for a few months to assess it's overall mechanical health before my planned restoration next year and a quick look on Ebay confirms my thoughts that new replacement panels for a MK1 Golf are not cheap so unless I strike it lucky in a scrap yard this is going to add greatly to my project costs.
It is worrying that a driver couldn't see 950Kg of Wolfsburg's finest approaching at point blank range (what chance do cyclists have?) and the sort of scum that are out there that drive off after causing a few hundred quid's worth of damage to someone else's property.
Only once did I ever damage someone else's car in 20 years of driving when I wasn't paying attention in a shopping centre car park about 15 years ago and nudged the door of a Toyota Carina when turning and I sat and waited until the owner returned and made arrangements to pay the bill for the repair. I have always felt that if you make a mistake you should pay for it but obviously Mr Citreon doesn't feel the same way
