Recovery time?

[ASC1951]

I'm not a great fan of American-style claim culture but it would've been nice if he'd at least have stopped.

Our law rightly treats failing to stop as a serious offence - used to be ten points, substantial fine and consider outright disqualification. Hit and run drivers are often wanted for other offences, too. I'm no fan of claiming for things that are just part of life's rich whatnot, either - but this isn't.

He didn't stop and I didn't get his number - so no [I didn't make a claim against his insurance].

Hang on, you can still claim for the personal injury and consequential losses from the injury such as loss of earning. Your claim is against the Motor Insurers Bureau, who cover uninsured and untraced drivers. A broken collarbone isn't going to bring you £19,000, but with the pain and suffering and loss of enjoyment of exercise it is going to be in the low £000s.
Two issues for you:-
- you still have to show that the untraced driver was at fault (although he doesn't have to be 100% at fault). Given that it's your word against his and he drove off, you are most of the way there.
- you do have to have reported it to the police and there are normally time limits.

I strongly recommend that you contact the MIB asap - details here http://www.mib.org.uk/Submit+a+Claim/en/Default.htm

Feel free to PM me. I've retired now, but I used to do this sort of stuff.

 

[Gary E]

Ah well, all hypothetical now.

I've had some close passes but this was just ridiculous. If I was the paranoid type I'd think he'd done it deliberately (maybe it was my ex wife?)

 

[Gary E]

Too be honest I'm at a bit at a loss to give any real detail at all. I heard him coming up behind me as we were approaching a roundabout. When he overtook me we were only 50ft or so from it. He pulled sharply across me before he was even passed presumably to avoid driving into the bollard at the island. There was no physical contact but only because I braked hard and pulled in as tightly to the curb as I could to avoid him (obviously too tightly!)

I couldn't even tell you which way he turned at the island (I was in the ditch by then).

It was a blue or grey small hatchback, I've no idea what sort (I'm pretty good at car recognition so this should give you some idea how quickly the whole thing was over).

I'm lucky, being in the RAF my job/wages are safe and being an old guy I've reached a rank where my job is more administrative than physical so the only real sense of lost I have is for my cycling.

I've only come into it recently (last 3 years) and was really looking forward to rides I had planned over the next few months. My new (un-ridden) bike is now so clean and over-polished I think I can see the bare metal beneath what's left of the paint.

Thanks for your advice, please don't think I'm ungrateful but I just want to get this whole thing behind me as quickly as possible. As I said to a previous poster, I just wanted to get the odd glimmer of hope that it 'could' be a quick recovery and obviously a bit of sympathy