[News] Simulation, Surely?

[BN9 BHA]

 

[StonehamPark]

Having worked in claims investigations since 2012, I see examples similar to this often.

Tough one.
The driver should have slowed to a crawl, or even better, stopped and allowed the cyclists to pass before moving on.

The video doesn't fully show the lead cyclist as the angle changes, though it appears the most likely reason the middle cyclist fell over, is due to the lead cyclist abruptly stopping or slowing, causing the middle cyclist to lose balance and fall.
However, as the video does not clearly show that was the case, the fault legally will always be with the car/driver.

Just a shame a meal was made of it.

Source; Driver, Cyclist and Claims Investigator.

 

[amexer]

I must be missing something because Dont know why she fell off, How this can justify a £1k fine and 5 points

 

[GT49er]

I must be missing something because Dont know why she fell off, How this can justify a £1k fine and 5 points

Driving without reasonable consideration for other road users (inconsiderate driving). Offence under the Road Traffic Act 1988 section 3.

If you scare the s*** out of another road user you are not acting with reasonable consideration. Case closed.

 

[BN9 BHA]

Onside

 

[drew]

But that's not all that happened is it?

What happened was the driver of a big land rover, coming in the opposite direction, on a single lane road, failed to give due care and attention to other road users.

Now sure the cyclists don't seem the most sure of themselves (all the more reason to pay attention) and had they been 'lycra louts' I'll hazard a guess the passing would have gone unnoticed.

The incident was caused by the actions of the driver.

Typically taking one side.

It's clear that he never touched her and the most likely reason she came off was that she stopped and lost her balance, either because when she put her left foot down the verge was lower than the road surface or that the cameraman ran into the back of her.. The drivers problem was that he claimed he'd slowed down when the evidence contradicted that although it isn't clear whether he slowed down before he came into view! Could he have stopped to let them through? Of course he could have but then again they could have stopped. If it had been a tractor and not a land rover then they most certainly would have had to stop and move right over to the left.

 

[Stat Brother]

Typically taking one side.

It's clear that he never touched her and the most likely reason she came off was that she stopped and lost her balance, either because when she put her left foot down the verge was lower than the road surface or that the cameraman ran into the back of her.. The drivers problem was that he claimed he'd slowed down when the evidence contradicted that although it isn't clear whether he slowed down before he came into view! Could he have stopped to let them through? Of course he could have but then again they could have stopped. If it had been a tractor and not a land rover then they most certainly would have had to stop and move right over to the left.

If I was being typical I'd have taken the side of the driver.

Just to remind you as you appear to be hard of reading.
I think this is soft.
I think this is as much to do with the abilities (or lack of) of the cyclists as it is the speed of the car.

Basically she didn't unclip and can't track stand, therefore fell.off.

But the driver isnt blameless, his actions are the primary cause of the incident, everything else is after the fact.

The fact in this case is that he wasn't driving with due care and attention.
A fact which he admitted too.


I don't know when this happened regarding the recent change in law, but this is the very thing the law was introduced to stop.
The onus is now on us drivers to do everything possible to keep everyone else safe.

In this instance the driver didn't do that, which is why he was prosecuted and pleaded guilty.

 

[zeemeeuw]

Her fall was a perfect storm of clipped in pedals, slight panic and a ditch to her left. How about he drove past horse riders like that? The highway code (and the police) now make it clear that the onus is on drivers to protect more vulnerable road users. Motorists (myself included) are just going to have to deal with that and drive accordingly or face the consequences.

 

[Stat Brother]

Her fall was a perfect storm of clipped in pedals, slight panic and a ditch to her left. How about he drove past horse riders like that? The highway code (and the police) now make it clear that the onus is on drivers to protect more vulnerable road users. Motorists (myself included) are just going to have to deal with that and drive accordingly or face the consequences.

Exactly.

As said seasoned 'lycra louts' who are used to being intimated by careless drivers wouldn't have given a second though to this.

The whole incident would have passed by except for a few choice words said under the breath.
The driver would have been £1000 better off.
His license wouldn't have 5 points on it.
His insurance premium won't be rising.

In fact he would have been able to do it time and time again...





...until he kills someone, by driving without due care and attention.

 

[Weststander]

Having worked in claims investigations since 2012, I see examples similar to this often.

Tough one.
The driver should have slowed to a crawl, or even better, stopped and allowed the cyclists to pass before moving on.

The video doesn't fully show the lead cyclist as the angle changes, though it appears the most likely reason the middle cyclist fell over, is due to the lead cyclist abruptly stopping or slowing, causing the middle cyclist to lose balance and fall.
However, as the video does not clearly show that was the case, the fault legally will always be with the car/driver.

Just a shame a meal was made of it.

Source; Driver, Cyclist and Claims Investigator.

“The driver should have slowed to a crawl, or even better, stopped and allowed the cyclists to pass before moving on”.

I think that’s the key.

Many car drivers, in facing pedestrians, pets/animals, motorcyclists or cyclists, on that narrow stretch, would’ve slowed to a crawl and crept past.

Instead the driver of the 2.5T projectile, he certainly couldn’t get hurt, drove past as if the other users weren’t there. He wasn’t going to hang around.

We don’t drive in a bubble. When I drive on residential streets or country lanes, I try to take into account others and allow for the unexpected, I slow down if need be.

 

[drew]

Her fall was a perfect storm of clipped in pedals, slight panic and a ditch to her left. How about he drove past horse riders like that? The highway code (and the police) now make it clear that the onus is on drivers to protect more vulnerable road users. Motorists (myself included) are just going to have to deal with that and drive accordingly or face the consequences.

Actually it has been changed to make every user recognize those that are more vulnerable than themselves. In other words, cyclists need to take care when passing horses and pedestrians, there is hierarchy starting at the biggest, probably HGVs and ending with pedestrians. It's hierarchy that, prior to the changes, the vast majority of road users observed and I suspect those that didn't, still won't.

As for your comment about horse riders, do you really think he would drive past horses like that on that track?

 

[dsr-burnley]

Actually it has been changed to make every user recognize those that are more vulnerable than themselves. In other words, cyclists need to take care when passing horses and pedestrians, there is hierarchy starting at the biggest, probably HGVs and ending with pedestrians. It's hierarchy that, prior to the changes, the vast majority of road users observed and I suspect those that didn't, still won't.

As for your comment about horse riders, do you really think he would drive past horses like that on that track?

People do. A friend of mine had a horse injured when a driver tried to squeeze past her horse on a road which was literally not wide enough for them both. Not even a handy ditch to fall into.

Last time I come across a couple of horses on a road that wide (and horses ridden by children, at that) I stopped and switched the engine off. No way am I driving past and having my bodywork damaged by a horse. (At least cyclists don't kick as hard.)

 

[LamieRobertson]

It was the lorry’s fault

 

[RM-Taylor]

I must be missing something because Dont know why she fell off, How this can justify a £1k fine and 5 points

I would take a custodial sentence in court rather than pay a fine or be given any points for that incident

 

[Worried Man Blues]

I cycle every week and 90% on one track roads (Wales ) I always stop for cars to go past, either way, as I want to live a bit longer. The worst drivers would be old land rovers, farmers who think they own all the roads and tractor drivers for whom continual phone use is compulsory.

 

[Eric the meek]

If I had been the driver, I would definitely have stopped to let the cyclists feel safe while they passed me.

But then I'm retired, with no work deadlines or appointments to meet. Any old time will do. Maybe if I were still working, I would have just slowed down and hurriedly beckoned them on past. Maybe we should all reflect, including we old gits, and be a little more accommodating to others. It shouldn't need a law to tell us this.

While the driver was at fault, so the lady cyclist has to take some responsibility for her own safety. Unless she has a predilection for falling into ditches, my advice would be to practice releasing her toe clips, in preparation for the time when she needs to come to a stop.

 

[Stat Brother]

Clearly decision making isn't the drivers strong point

[tweet]1509570070330101764[/tweet]

 

[bluenitsuj]

Bloody diving cyclist

 

[GT49er]

Clearly decision making isn't the drivers strong point

[tweet]1509570070330101764[/tweet]

If he was stupid/arrogant enough to turn down the offer of a driver awareness day (which admittedly iis a pretty dull and boring way to spend a day, plus about a hundred quid) he deserves everything he got.

 

[Eric the meek]

Clearly decision making isn't the drivers strong point

[tweet]1509570070330101764[/tweet]

Cyclists shouldn't be on narrow roads. They should be confined to wide roads, so that the car drivers have enough space to safely pass them at high speed.