SwissTony

iTrader: (19)

Now even though i have my own personal feelings about cyclists in London, I do realise that we share the road with them and so need to make allowances for them, BUT after yesterdays incident I have reached the end of my patience and need to have a RANT.

GET OFF THE ROAD YOU PRAT

Came out of the office, up to a junction in central London, one way street, so stoped on the line,looked left in direction of oncomming traffic and then starting to look right moved forward about a foot and..
WHAM..cyclist is on my bonnet.He clipped my front spoiler with his pedal(appararently) which flips him over my bonnet, followed closely by his bike and then over the other side onto the road.

I got out the car as loads of people came running to see if he (yes they always assume the worst when you see a cyclist down and a car involved) was ok.
Luckily the accident was right outside a hospital so within minutes he had pillows and blankets over him and 2 ambulence guys tending him.

He was coming down the street the WRONG WAY, tried to cut across the road to get to the pavement (and yes he was trying to cycle on the pavement) when he hit me.He was wearing no helmet, just a wooly hat and flip flops!!

It just got bizzare after that, loads of people shouting at me as they either cycled or walked past, most comments like "typical run over a cyclist etc"
Then the police and an ambulence turned up.A guy in a suit(looking like a lawyer or something) press's a card in the guy's hand..jesus
Police take his details and then he gets put in the ambulence for a check over.He is fine apart from a grazed head and bruised shoulder.
Then the police question me and take my details and statement, followed by waiting for a breathalyser test...i asked the coppers why i had the test but not the cyclist and he just said that only the car drivers get tested.I asked what happens if 2 drunk cyclists have an accident and he said "well then we just nick em !!"
Good sense of humour the coppers had and whilst we were waiting for Mick in the van ! to come with the kit, they spent the next 10 minutes moaning about how they dislike cyclists and what a menace they are on the streets, so obviously I am not alone.The breathalyser kit eventualy arrived(only one in the area..cutbacks you see) and after the green light, off they went.

Now guess what happens next.
My insurance were sympathetic, but they said that unless the cyclist had a generous nature and they could claim damages and costs from him, the claim would go down as a fault claim on my part, i would lose 1 year no claim bonus and would have to part with a sizeable chunk of excess..
Great...so because of a fecking idiot, who has tons of miles of cycle tracks given by that other idiot Ken, who cycles around down the wrong way on a one way street, in a wooly hat, decides to crash into my car, give it a large dent and scratch on the bonnet and then gets away scot free !!!!

And that is why the title is in CAPS

Andy Porter

I'd be as angry aas you in those circumstances

Paulo P

iTrader: (42)

Didn't you get his deatils I'd be billing him for the damage!!

JasonHook

They'll have reported it as the cyclist was 'injured'.

All parties should have exchanged details anyhow.

Sue him for the damage and the shock, why not?

SwissTony

iTrader: (19)

Paul

did get his details(well when the poilice call me i will), but as the insurance and the coppers said, unless he has some form of legal aid or is prepared to pay, it is unlikely i will see anything from him at all.
I do have legal cover with my insurance so i can pursue that avenue, but i am not holding my breath.

New_scooby_04

iTrader: (4)

Sorry to hear about that mate.

It's his fault, no two ways about it! Road signs apply to all road users (bikes are no exception) He should not have been riding the wrong way up a one way street.

So, looking both ways at a one-way street doesn't make on a pessimist after all!

Hope the bill isn't too big and that your car is restored to its former condition soon!

Best.

Paulo P

iTrader: (42)

so he damages your car whilst breaking the law and you have to pick up the bill There's something not quite right there!

What damage has he caused?

madras

I often wonder what would happen if a cyclist damaged a car - guess this answer my question.

How annoying!!!

madras

flat4

i'm a safe(ish) cyclist, me so don't tar us all with the same brush



...he's still a prat though

cheeky69er

Didn't you look the other way before setting off?
What if a kid had been running across the road instead of a cyclist? Then who's fault?!

johnfelstead

the kids for crossing the road at a junction. Didnt you learn your Green Cross Code?

SwissTony

iTrader: (19)

Yes i did, as i looked right, i was just moving forward as i know its a one way street, so I did not expect anyone to be heading towards me at speed.
If it had been a child, then yes it would have been terrible, hopefully though the child wouldn't have been approaching at 15mph !!!

anyway that is not the point i was making.it was about the general way cyclists view the roads and cycling around london as a whole and also the small point of accountability

DrJP

Look on bright side, at least he will have to wait in A&E for hours being abused by p**sheads and druggies

New_scooby_04

iTrader: (4)

The party involved doesn't change the fault of an acident, be it a kid, a biker, an OAP: if you're using the road, you obey the signs and the highway code. If you're a pedestrain, you stick to the pavement and cross at safe points in the road and excercise due care with respect to the traffic conditions and road layout.

Why wasn't the cyclist wearing a helmet?

Best.

corradoboy

Why didn't he have insurance, a legal requirement for everyone else using the public highway except freeloading ******* cyclists and fat biatch horse riders ?

Why isn't the bike taxed to allow it to be used on the public highway ? Regardless of the miniscule damage to the road surface, who pays for all the ******* cycle lanes, signage and all the other luxuries they seem to have given ?

Was his bike in a road worthy condition (before, not after )? I bet no ****** had inspected it in the last 12 months to check for bald tyres, knackered brakes, dodgy bearings.... .....'cos no such ****** exists

There's enough of the ba5tards about, surely the government can realise the taxation potential. Or are the solely obsessed with motorised forms of transport

Hope you can find a satisfactory resolution mate. I won't hold my breath though, after all, you're in the hands of our legal system now, and that has nothing to do with JUSTICE !!!

Harry_Boy

Issue a summons for the cost of the damage to your car. Then sit back for 14 days and see what happens.....

Keef69

Aren't we all covered through our household insurance? I'm sure there's a third party liabillity cover under the contents insurance. So even out on a bike, you are covered. Should be able to claim off him that way.

SwissTony

iTrader: (19)

thanks for all the comments so far
yes i was hoping either legal summons or his household insurance will cover it, but will know more when i get the estimate done tomorrow morning.

trails

iTrader: (41)

**** luck mate, hope you get your car sorted.

mart360

for your information..

the guy in the suit was.

Mr Charles chavsworth esq. Solicitor for Chavs anon..

my client will be persuing his right to full compo for the damaged caused for his damaged flop, (the flip was unmarked) he will also be claimin asylum for his wife , granny and 66 children who are now potentially homless due to you insensitve approach at the junction.

the comment in this thread have been printed as evidance, and will form part of our prosecution / compo claim..





Ps if you wish to come to some form of agreement , i,m all ears..













lol

mart

MrFlibble

You've got my sympathy. Riding up a one way street the wrong way is dumb and asking for trouble. You didn't deserve that.
The title should be "F@~#!*# CYCLIST !!", though (singular). BTW, when the roles are reversed and the motorist is a cretin, the outcome is usually pretty serious...

Scratch

iTrader: (1)

Been there done that got the loss of excess.....

I had one additional complication, my accident was a youg lad (minor) on a mountain bike came flying out of a side street and slammed into the side of my, lucky for him I was only doing about 25mph so was able to be almost stationary when he hit the front corner of my last car (Citroen ZX Volcance).

Damage sufferred :
Broken towing point cover on bumper (new bumper required as cover not available separately )
Broken headlight mount (so new headlight)
Indicator punched through the front of the wing.
Wing scratched
Bonnet scratched

Little tw@t was OK thank f**k or it could have been a lot worse. I'd had the car 3 weeks, I was gutted

Dad offered to pay for damage....... When I gave him the best quote I'd been able to get he coughed and offered me £50. That didn't even cover the excess.

I enquired with the insurance company who stated that costs could be recovered but would be dependant on the cyclists ability to pay (basically they/me would have to pursue him in court). In my case he was a minor so had no ability to pay so insurance advised that pursuing that would be pointless (fair enough). The only way I could have transferred the "blame" to the parent was if I could prove they were negligent in allowing the kid to do what he did, again they advised that would be very difficult (fair enough) and suggested I take whatever he offers.

Now also at the time I was advised that if they (aprents) were homeowners and had 3rd party liability then I may have been able to claim from that, but as it was a council house, guess what they didn't have any.....

So I know exactly how you feel mate, had to claim on my insurance for a repair on my new (used 2 yr old) car that I had purchased only 3 weeks before as was unmarked.

backdoors

Ah cycling !

This guy was an idiot, but the people who do this sort of thing, aren't what I would call "real" cyclists. They are usually fat blokes trying to get fit and have no clue.

Trem

iTrader: (3)

I don't think we should. They don't pay anything towards the upkeep of roads yet they get cycle lanes. They have decided to do this round my way, they have turned a busy dual cariageway into a single lane road so that they could put cycle lanes in. Guess what, the cyclists still ride on the road by the side of the cycle lane. F*cking infuriates me.

backdoors

Why should a cyclist pay for the upkeep of a road, they don't wear it out.

As for cycle lanes, they are usually designed in the most idiotic and dangerous way and the majority should be taken away.

Trem

iTrader: (3)

Well they use the roads that in turn slows down traffic. They generally make it as hard as possible for traffic to pass.

I agree they don't wear it out but the cycle lanes f*cking well take up most of it doubly so if the cyclists refuse to ride in them.

Explain what you mean by the lanes being placed idiotically please.

Would you like them in the centre of the road or would you maybe like them the whole width of the road. THEN you would complain about having to pay road tax.

In general I have a major bee in my bonnet with the goverment on this issue. They would **** a brick if all the motorists became cyclists and we stopped buying petrol etc. Yet they are up the **** of the cyclists. Its all so hypocritical.

All the above is in my own opinion of course.

backdoors

I'd like to know where cycling slows down traffic, maybe wobbly fat blokes again.

Lanes are placed idiotically by having them on the road, then on the pavement, then suddenly completely disappearing, it also doesn't help when people park in them.

Ever thought why the government likes cycling? It doesn't pollute and gets you fitter.

you should try it sometime.

corradoboy

With todays cleaner petrol, lean burn engines and catalists, it's a close call as to how much more polution cars cause ! Cyclists (and joggers etc) excrete quite a lot of CO2 on their travels.

It does get you fit though

Trem

iTrader: (3)

So its to personal insults now is it?

Do you really think the goverment cares about pollution? Do you really?

Its a reason to give when they constantly up the price on petrol.

Yes the cycle lanes disappear and are sometimes 6 foot long, hence fuelling the argument that they are a p1ss take.

I have a bike btw. I am also posting about this on a Subaru forum, you know, the cars Subarus? Take your stroppy insults to...oh I dunno....www.bikingforlove.com or some other sort of bike bore website. You may get a little more sympathy there.

Basically don't expect love on a CAR forum.

Trem

iTrader: (3)

Oooh missed this bit. Yes the only cyclists that slow down traffic are fat blokes. Because every other cyclist reaches the speed limit on every road in the world ever. The ***** that are the uber special cyclists...you know the ones that wear all the gear...the ones that think its their god given right to ride side by side so they can talk about their next handbag purchase. They neeeeeever hold up traffic do they? Not one of that lot has ever been a fat bloke.