Shoved off bike by double decker bus !!!

[400bhp]

Bit of an update...
Police have been in touch, they've spoken to my witness (full statement to follow) and he's corroberated everything ive told them. I pushed the point to the policewoman that i was aware he MAY not be aware of some precise details that may be important (and if he wasnt, it wouldnt do me any favours) but she said he's backed up what i stated.
Statements to follow from various parties...balls rolling, looking good at the mo.

BTW, anyone had experience re repairs...
Police will get me a form to claim costs in the event of a prosecution, the courts would then issue damages on that basis.
Is that the best or only way to go ? or am i better seeking other avenues (if there are any). I'm only interested in the repair costs to the bike BTW)

Good news.

You can go down a civil claim through the small claims court too.

 

[classic33]

Get the bike checked at at least two seperate bike shops. If the bike isn't fit to be ridden & you have no means of getting it to a 2nd shop point that bit out. You could try taking it there on a bus!!! You may have to take it to shops that deal with that particular manufacturer, check on that part. Two seperate quotes is the norm for any insurance claim.

Be advised that whilst you may only want the repair costs covering these may exceed the cost of the same bike bought new. Ask that question at the two places you get to check your bike to include in their quote the cost of replacement. If the cost of repair is the higher of the two it may be seen as betterment by the insurers. Been there, done that which is why I included it.

Me, I'd go after the driver, whatever the police decided on doing. If the company he works/ed for start saying you're to blame, because of his version of events, I'd go after them. Again, been there done that. Suddenly they became a lot more interested in me. I had the CEO phoning me, at home to check on how I was.

 

[gbb]

Blimey the costs rack up.
Had a quote from LBS, mostly to replace cosmetically damaged stuff, bartape, saddle, chainring, rear derailleur etc etc plus a dented front wheel, labour etc...£320.
Its been a pig with the gears since, i didnt put two and two together. Played with it today, rear hangers bent...another £25. Luckily my LBS had one. Ive got all the gears back barring the 11T.
Spoken to my companies solicitor, he's advised me to take it straight through the bus companies insurance company. he said they'll often roll over with a bit of threatening. He's even going to deal with it for me

 

[BikeLiker]

Police will get me a form to claim costs in the event of a prosecution, the courts would then issue damages on that basis.
Is that the best or only way to go ? or am i better seeking other avenues (if there are any). I'm only interested in the repair costs to the bike BTW)

I would definitely recommend representing yourself in the County Court which you can access through https://www.moneycla...eb/mcol/welcome even if legal assistance is offered through insurance.

My experience of insurance solicitors is that they act primarily for the insurance Co. and, I suspect, negotiate with the defendant's insurance to minimise costs to the industry by which they are funded, and not to maximise your compensation.
I have successfully recovered damages from large organisations through the County Court. Do not be intimidated by the idea that they will have expensive QCs or whatever - small claims judgements are very informal and there will not be any legal technicalities to deal with with - especially if the police have already brought a successful prosecution where the burden of proof is much higher.
Remember, the cost to a company of defending a claim for only a couple of thousand is more than settling the claim itself. There is an upfront cost but for my last claim, for £14,000, this was only £80 and was repaid as part of the out of court settlement I was offered within a week of the defendant receiving the claim.

 

[teletext45]

a few weeks ago i was cycing down the cycle late ( a faint white line where all the gravel collects, awsome!) and a buss passed me so close i had to take action and mount the kerb to avoid getting knocked off.

I was really shaken, had to have my front wheel trued and was pretty peaved.

I wrote to the buss company outlining what had happened, the fact it's cost me etc etc and they were very nice to send me a leaflet about how their bus drivers 'work in harmony' with cyclists.

I think my fatal error was not getting a whitness.


good luck with your claim!!

andy

 

[gbb]

Further update, having taken statements from my witness and obviously the driver....the policewoman pursuing the case has recommended he be summons'd (summonsed doesnt look right , ah what the hell, you know what i mean ) for criminal damage. Whether my witness wasn't aware of the bus movement may have saved him on a driving charge...but criminal damage will do for me.

Should know for sure in two or three weeks

 

[joebingo]

Chopped off, hopefully!

Still think they should have been punched.

 

[benb]

Further update, having taken statements from my witness and obviously the driver....the policewoman pursuing the case has recommended he be summons'd (summonsed doesnt look right , ah what the hell, you know what i mean ) for criminal damage. Whether my witness wasn't aware of the bus movement may have saved him on a driving charge...but criminal damage will do for me.

Should know for sure in two or three weeks

Summoned?

Good news, well, better than nothing. If convicted he'll be out of a job I would think.

 

[gbb]

Final update, guilty of criminal damage and threatening behaviour/words likely to cause fear of violence/harm etc.
He was fined a total of IRO £450. There obviously wasn't enough to pursue him on the actual driving issues, but that'll do.
Ironically i feel no great satisfaction, the guy's likely to lose his job, you'd never think a course of action in that instant would have such consequences...ah well, he put himself there, as i said earlier, if he'd put his hand up in apology, we'd have all gone home slightly miffed, but non the worse.
Now there's a reminder to oneself...next time you feel like kicking someones door....think of the potential consequences

Going to email the bus company now to chivvy them along with my claim for damages, see if they'll settle without any funny business. If they start mucking about i'll just get solicitors involved, then it'll cost them even more.

 

[CopperCyclist]

DON'T FEEL BAD!!!!!

Apologies for the caps, but here's why: only good decent, nice people ever feel this way before, during or after cases. The majority of the time we don't get a result, we just have the offender lying through their teeth througout, getting away with it and never, I suspect, feeling an ounce of remorse.

This driver drove badly. He then drove dangerously using his bus as a weapon against you. He then delibrately damaged your bike. He then kidnapped you. He then lied about the whole sequence of events.

He was lucky he was only charged with crim dam and public order. You shouldn't feel bad, you should feel proud of yourself, and of your perseverance that has reduced his opportunity to do anything from (at the lowest level) drive inconsideratley to another road user again up to (the highest level) potentially kill someone.

Thank you for being a member of public that makes a genuine complaint, and then sticks with it through all the battles it takes us to get the thing through court.

 

[boydj]

Well said, CC.

 

[gbb]

DON'T FEEL BAD!!!!!

Apologies for the caps, but here's why: only good decent, nice people ever feel this way before, during or after cases. The majority of the time we don't get a result, we just have the offender lying through their teeth througout, getting away with it and never, I suspect, feeling an ounce of remorse.

This driver drove badly. He then drove dangerously using his bus as a weapon against you. He then delibrately damaged your bike. He then kidnapped you. He then lied about the whole sequence of events.

He was lucky he was only charged with crim dam and public order. You shouldn't feel bad, you should feel proud of yourself, and of your perseverance that has reduced his opportunity to do anything from (at the lowest level) drive inconsideratley to another road user again up to (the highest level) potentially kill someone.

Thank you for being a member of public that makes a genuine complaint, and then sticks with it through all the battles it takes us to get the thing through court.

You are of course absolutely right. Don't get me wrong, i won't lose any sleep over him, he put himself there, not me.
Actually, reading the letter from the courts, i said they obviously didnt have enough on him for the driving side of things,but those words...'words/behaviour likely to cause fear of unlawful violence' obviously relate to him using the bus nudge me off the bike. £200 fine for that part.

It is a curse being such a nice guy i don't usually ever harbour bad feelings against people. I'm a martyr to it y'know

 

[benb]

Good result. It's natural to feel bad/guilty for a few moments: that's normal human empathy (which the driver obviously lacked I might add).

But then you remember that the consequences were entirely the result of their unacceptable actions.

 

[BentMikey]

Well done mate, I hope you feel happy with the result. I'm very grateful for people like you standing up to this kind of person, it makes the world a slightly better place for everyone else.

 

[2Loose]

One idiot who may think twice before doing something so stupid and malicious in the future.