Lorry versus Cycle - advice needed

[TJM01]

Hi All

I am relatively new to cycling and have just had my first crash since I was a kid... and hope someone can help.

Whilst cycling on the road on Friday, I was going downhill into a right hand corner. The road is poorly maintained and is flagged on Kent County Councils website as being in need of repair. The surface is covered in loose gravel. Knowing the road well, I was travelling reasonably fast as it was a downhill stretch, but in my mind appropriately for the road.

Suddenly a lorry came round the corner towards me using at least half of my side of the road, causing me to change my line to avoid hitting him. This change forced me onto loose gravel and then to the very outside edge of the road where I hit a series of potholes (see picture);

I managed to lift the front wheel before hitting the first pothole, but the rest is a bit of a blur... the next thing I knew I was sliding down the road and landed lying twisted in my bike on the wrong side of the road and unable to get up. The lorry didn't stop, but luckily for me the next car coming round the corner did.

I got a very good description of the lorry (which is a council or council contractors vehicle) which was confirmed by the next driver, who didn't see the accident but did pass the lorry just before finding me (and she is prepared to give a statement saying that).

My wife came and collected me and the bike and insisted I went to hospital where I had multiple X-Rays as they were concerned about my neck and back. Fortunately I came off pretty lightly but have bad gravel rash to me left shoulder and back, left elbow and arm, right elbow and many bruises in places I didn't know could bruise.

The bike was a 2010 Boardman Hybrid which was in mint condition and I have just spent a few hundred pounds having it re-geared to suit me I spoke to my local bike shop who always service and maintain it and explained that the front wheel is destroyed, forks bent and they have said that they cant/wont repair it as they are unable to tell if its got a hairline crack anywhere in the frame after such a heavy fall.

I have reported it to the Police on Saturday night and have a reference number from them if needed.

So I think that's the long and short of it, so if anyone can tell me where to start as I don't want to speak to the council yet in case they rush out and resurface the road before any blame can be apportioned.

Oh, also - I am not a member of any cycling organisations - a friend mentioned British Cycling and I have just subscribed to their website and will be paying for the riders insurance if & when I get back on a bike. I did call them to see if they could offer any advice and the lady who answered said that as I am not a member she is not allowed to offer any advice at all

Thanks in advance.

 

[Binka]

From the photo I reckon they'll argue that those potholes aren't actually in the carriageway. They look like they're just encroaching on the edge of the tarmac but they're not in the middle of the road so I think you might struggle with that argument but I'm no expert.

You might be better off trying to go after the lorry firm which was on the wrong side of the road. But as they didn't hit you, you have no Reg number and no witness again you may struggle.

Sadly I doubt the police will care. I had a bad accident some years ago where a scaffolding pole fell off a lorry and came through my drivers window when I was doing 60mph on a dual carriageway. I had a witness who sadly got the lorry reg one letter wrong - V instead of a W. Police realised the mistake and sure enough if you changed the Reg to a W it was registered to a lorry of that description in same town. Driver said it wasn't him and police said there was nothing they could do.

I did employ a personal injury solicitor who went after them and we had a court date. Their insurance settled out of court before we got that far. You might need a personal injury lawyer type sadly.

 

[vickster]

You could try explaining your case to a no win no fee lawyer. British cycling use leigh day who are very experience, could contact them directly and see if they can help. No win no fee lawyers only take on a case they think they can win so you'll know quickly if there is a case to pursue

I think you can also join ctc retrospectively and get their advice, unlike bc

Keep a close eye on your injuries, recent experience shows something that the medics initially think will heal with time, can turn nasty

Good luck

 

[TJM01]

Thanks Binka - I thought the same, but you could argue that the edge of the carriageway is the white line and the pot hole definitely breaks through that line, so I believe that it IS on the carriageway... also Kent Count Councils own website shows that this stretch of road is flagged as in need of repair and they also note that there is mud on the road too - obviously I will argue that these are contributory factors and the council cant say that they didn't know about it as it is already showing on their website as a repair that they know about... I didn't want to go to personal injury lawyers, but think you might be right.

Thanks Vickster - I am not sure who CTC are... but will google them to get their details and see if they would offer retrospective advice. I realise I was lucky as it could have been so much worse. Still bl***y painful, but no broken bones. Whilst my helmet is unmarked, I was also wearing Sealskinz waterproof cycling gloves with suede palms and I am so glad I was as the suede is shredded but my palms are only bruised Thanks for your advice.

Can anyone recommend any cyclist friendly no-win no-fee lawyers?

 

[cd365]

Playing devil's advocate: the lorry didn't hit you, you lost control going too fast, poor riding position or whatever other excuse they come up with!
I doubt there is much that will happen, unfortunately for you

 

[TJM01]

Thanks cd365 - that's what I am worried about... maybe you're right and I should just leave it and be thankful I didn't go under the lorry or following car

 

[vickster]

Thanks Binka - I thought the same, but you could argue that the edge of the carriageway is the white line and the pot hole definitely breaks through that line, so I believe that it IS on the carriageway... also Kent Count Councils own website shows that this stretch of road is flagged as in need of repair and they also note that there is mud on the road too - obviously I will argue that these are contributory factors and the council cant say that they didn't know about it as it is already showing on their website as a repair that they know about... I didn't want to go to personal injury lawyers, but think you might be right.

Thanks Vickster - I am not sure who CTC are... but will google them to get their details and see if they would offer retrospective advice. I realise I was lucky as it could have been so much worse. Still bl***y painful, but no broken bones. Whilst my helmet is unmarked, I was also wearing Sealskinz waterproof cycling gloves with suede palms and I am so glad I was as the suede is shredded but my palms are only bruised Thanks for your advice.

Can anyone recommend any cyclist friendly no-win no-fee lawyers?

There are some who advertise in the back of the magazines. As said, British cycling use leighday

 

[oldfatfool]

Without cam footage you will have a hard time proving the lorry was at fault, and not just you too far into the center of the road. Even in a car I had a similar situation where the other party hit my car whilst they where straddling the line but without witnesses that went 50/50

Sorry to hear about your bike but at least you only ended up with gravel rash, could have been a lot worse! Unfortunately when descending at speed especially into a blind corner you will never have the stability of 4 wheels or the abs of a car, had 1 or 2 close calls myself including this weekend, but then if you thought about it too much you would never ride. Just chalk one off and get back on and do it all again

 

[Crackle]

Sorry to hear about this but I also reckon 50/50 at most. It's not uncommon in a car or on a bike to find people on your side of the road. It's something to always watch out for, especially on a bike. Have your escape route planned.

 

[TJM01]

Have your escape route planned.

Thanks Crackle - I did... its just there was a pot hole in it before I got there

 

[fossyant]

Hindsight is always something we all think about. You really should have eased up going round a bend you can't see round, or kept clear of the centre of the road. Easy to say, we've all done it though.

On the positive side, check out your household insurance and see if you can get the bike replaced or repaired. Most parts will transfer to a new frame. Done this myself in the past - hit and run, so I priced up a new frame and transferred the parts myself.

 

[TJM01]

Without cam footage you will have a hard time proving the lorry was at fault, and not just you too far into the center of the road. Even in a car I had a similar situation where the other party hit my car whilst they where straddling the line but without witnesses that went 50/50

Sorry to hear about your bike but at least you only ended up with gravel rash, could have been a lot worse! Unfortunately when descending at speed especially into a blind corner you will never have the stability of 4 wheels or the abs of a car, had 1 or 2 close calls myself including this weekend, but then if you thought about it too much you would never ride. Just chalk one off and get back on and do it all again

Thanks - ironically I kept looking at helmet cams and thought it was another 'gadget' I didn't need... I will definitely get one when I start riding again - unfortunately with the cost of a decent bike I think it will be quite a long time before I get another one unless there is an avenue for some form of compensation.

 

[Crackle]

Thanks Crackle - I did... its just there was a pot hole in it before I got there

Yep, that's unlucky, as Fossy says, we've all done it.

 

[TJM01]

Thanks fossyant... I know you're right but I guess I just don't want to accept that the driver who's fault it was cant be held accountable. The corner is not too tight and there was no reason for him to be on my side... unless he was travelling too fast or slid on all the loose gravel which can be seen in this shot of the approach...

 

[vickster]

Did you get a partial reg. The solicitor is going to need as much info as possible as they will pursue through the insurance company