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Hit by car – police victim blaming me, and not prosecuting. Suggestions welcome

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  • December 21, 2020 at 10:03 pm #31328
    the little onion

    OK, to cut a long story short – went out on a ride after dark. On a straight road approaching a mini roundabout, i enter the roundabout only for a car to enter from the left without stopping. I roll over bonnet, suffering ripped clothing and a lot of bruising.

    Police attend, breathalyse driver. However, they are refusing to treat it as anything other than an accident, “one of those things”, despite the fact that I was lit up with two front lights (one on twinkle mode, the other constant), reflective head to toe, light coloured helmet and gloves etc. Apparently, the driver couldn’t have expected to see me because I wasn’t wearing a high vis jacket. They didn’t take any dashcam footage which was offered by passers by, didn’t ask me any questions other than regarding my health, nor take any statements from witnesses. I asked if I could make some kind of formal statement over what happened, but they didn’t want to take one. It’s like they arrived with the presumption that no one was at fault other than myself, and carried on in that regard.

    I’m a member of Cycling UK, who will no doubt have something to say when I call them in the morning, but if anyone here has any advice or suggestions, do let me know. It may be too late for the driver to be prosecuted, but I need to make the local rozzers take cyclists’ safety seriously. How do I do this?

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  • December 22, 2020 at 11:12 am #974433
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    AlsoSomniloquism

    I raised before on a NMOTD

    I raised before on a NMOTD that Police hate dealing with anything on traffic islands as the laws are so vague on them. That article had over 100 comments and most was debating the HC and law on it with both sides quoting bits that made them “right”.

    When I was knocked down on an island, (in a similar way to you apart from a second behind so my wheel hit his rear wheel arch and I ended up in the road behind), the Police was very phelgmatic in their intiial attitude until I mentioned that they never stopped at the scene and I had video from myself and a truck driver showing that. Then they had something solid they could charge him with and got into (slow) motion and dealt with it.

    And by the way, I’m in no way stating the Police were right at all in their attitude and lack of even basic action here and I hope you lodge complaints higher up the chain, just stating that I have seen similar reactions from them before.

     

    December 22, 2020 at 7:40 am #974431
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    David9694

    Sorry to hear this, Onion. If

    Sorry to hear this, Onion. If it’s not too late, you need a registration plate and the witnesses’ details. If you have those things, then make that call to CUK – who will put you on to Slater & Gordon or similar, and go the civil route. 

    Sounds appalling, the police response. No doubt the driver has a clear conscience and won’t feel the need to come clean – never ceases to amaze me, that. 
     

    December 22, 2020 at 6:54 am #974429
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    hawkinspeter

    I’m glad that you were able

    I’m glad that you were able to walk/cycle away.

    That sounds like absurd behaviour from the police. I’d be inclined to use their online incident reporting portal as that way you get to put across your version of events.

    December 22, 2020 at 6:22 am #974427
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    Mungecrundle

    Pleased to hear that you are
    Pleased to hear that you are mostly OK. Don’t worry, a few damaged outer leaves (or scales to use the correct botanical terminology) will not affect your flavour and a little bruising won’t matter once you are diced and cooked.

    I’d suggest that the hi viz nonsense is a red herring, you probably wouldn’t have any different response from on site Officers whatever you were wearing. They attend many minor incidents every day and simply don’t have the resources to follow every one through. Unless you are convinced that the driver was acting maliciously, grossly negligently or that there is a miscarriage of justice that you are willing to invest your time and effort in fighting, just put in a reasonable insurance claim and drop it.

    December 22, 2020 at 12:52 am #974425
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    HoarseMann

    I think the driver stating

    I think the driver stating that they couldn’t see you because of no hi-viz is almost an admission of guilt. It seems like they are saying if they *had* seen you, then they wouldn’t have pulled out – i.e. they are conceding your priority at the junction.

    Unfortunately, the odds are stacked against you with it being a mini-roundabout. As we know from a couple of previous threads on this website, it’s really difficult to prove fault.

    All that matters legally, is whose front wheel crossed the line onto the roundabout first, as they have priority. Without clear evidence, it’s going to be nigh on impossible for the police to secure a prosecution – which might explain their lacklustre enthusiasm to progress your complaint.

    To make matters worse, mini-roundabouts are often marked incorrectly by the council; which offers a get-out clause for weasley lawyers to exploit.

    You should get compensated for your injuries and damaged property from the driver’s insurance and their punishment will be higher premiums next year.

    In terms of getting the police to take action, I would try and approach them calmly, not criticise the officers actions at the time of the collision, as that might get their backs up straight away. Try to ask leading questions such as what are the possible charges that could be brought for roundabout collisions and what level of evidence would be needed to secure a prosecution. This takes them away from your incident and into facts and procedure. You can then draw parallels to your incident and explore the options to take this forward. However, do be prepared that they might not have enough evidence to be confident of a charge – it’s also the case that the police have the discretion whether they are to bring charges or not for some offences, so you need to keep them onside. Get the name/number of the officer dealing with your case.

    Good luck and I hope you’re not hurting too much in the morning (if you are, keep a diary of symptoms, more evidence!!).

    December 21, 2020 at 11:54 pm #974423
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    pockstone

    Sorry to hear that Onion.

    Sorry to hear that Onion. Hope you recover quickly. Try to get the witnesses to keep their dashcam footage. (The one time I got actively knocked off, the following car promised me footage, only for it to have been wiped by the time I needed it.)

    Shock and adrenaline were my worst enemies when it happened, refusing an ambulance, which would have brought the police.

    Write your statement anyway, and get  someone to witness and date it. Contemporaneous accounts are useful should it come to court, or if you need to make a claim. Plenty of photos of damage, injuries and the crash site.

    This kind of response by the police adds insult to real injury. Keep pressing them to take it seriously.

    December 21, 2020 at 11:07 pm #974421
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    Hirsute

    How were the vehicles lights
    How were the vehicles lights supposed to have shone on you from that angle?
    If they couldn’t see 2 differently lit lights, then that says it all.
    Did you get any details from the passer bys who have footage?

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