[base849]

I’ve followed the forums a long while, but never needed to post…

Welcoming any opinion and advice on the following:

My 11 year old son was cycling to school last Friday along a cycle route in Southend & crossed the A127 at a recognised controlled cycle crossing.  
As he does every day, he pressed the button & once he got the green he checked that the cars had stopped (I’d previously warned him to double check people actually stopped).

He said that the car in the lane closest stopped & he started to cycle across past the car stopped in lane 1 & was hit by a driver in lane 2 of this two lane 40MPH limit road that had not slowed at all- he said he simply hadn’t seen her coming at all.  There were several witnesses that agreed that the lady driving had gone through a very solidly red light at speed , passed a stationary car in lane 1 & hit the front of my son’s bike, sending him cartwheeling down the road.  One of the witnesses said that her two children had to drag my son out of the road afterwards, which she informed me traumatised them.  The Essex air ambulance was dispatched, along with paramedics & an Ambulance Operational Commander; the police were on scene quickly & shut the road for investigation & they took statements from witnesses.  

A witness called my son’s school, who in turn called us- we got there within about 15 min.  

The lady driving maintained that she had gone through on a green light & the policeman that shut the road said it would come down to my son’s statements & those of the witnesses.  

When the (white hat) traffic collision investigator arrived he quickly explained that the course of action would be determined by the severity of my son’s injuries & that they had a unit waiting at Southend A&E for a verdict.  He swiftly told me that the lady had only passed her driving test a couple of weeks ago & that he himself had knocked a child over by accident not long after passing his test.  
They had me wait on the verdict from the hospital before they would let me take his bike, as it would be evidence if there was the possibility of a fatality resulting from his injuries.   

The woman’s car had a smashed near side head light, the entire mirror assembly had been smashed off & the almost flush indicator light had been ripped out, with marks & scratches all down the side of the nearside of the car so it was a heavy impact, but thankfully my son did not make it out onto the front of that car.  That fraction of a second saved his life.  

He was also wearing a fairly new cycle helmet & that was comprehensively trashed, with scuffs all over the left hand side of it, creases where it had deformed & a tear right through the polystyrene liner on the left side. 
The paramedics, A&E doctors & the police all emphasised that it definitely prevented him suffering serious head injuries.  

It seems that the most serious injury he suffered was a broken right wrist.  He’s got an appointment to see a consultant today to find out recovery time, but mum bought a lottery ticket for the first time in 25 years.  He has bruises & cuts all over his body, a very painful chest & ribs & he couldn’t walk unaided for a couple of days.  He has been waking up at night suddenly & he asks for his door to be left open in case he needs us, but seems happy to settle himself back to sleep.  

He’s a very keen & competent skier & we’ve got a trip in just under a month, where he was going to do a week of slalom and ski cross training.  That’s so physical that I cancelled that straight away.  
He also races motocross & he’s supposed to have his first race for his championship in just over five weeks- he’s never going to be strong enough for that with a broken throttle wrist, so he scores zero for the first one at least.  
There’s also the question of what this does to his confidence cycling to & from school- we work shifts & walking takes him about 40 minutes, compared to 10 mins gentle cycling. 
He had a really good bike that he was very proud & careful with- a Specialized Sirrus 3.0, which now has scratches all over the frame & forks & so much play in the headstock that I doubt it can be repaired. I can’t find the receipt, but I’m hoping that we can just ask the driver’s insurers to repair or replace the bike until it’s usable again.  

So the positives: he’s alive, not in a coma & actually lasted a whole day of school today, where he had to walk by himself; the driver actually had insurance & didn’t leave the scene.  

Negatives: we got a call from Essex Police today & they’ve decided to offer the woman a driver improvement course.  Apparently, faced with several witness statements contrary to her own she amended it, admitting to going through an amber light.  The police mentioned again that she had only passed her driving test a couple of weeks ago & they said that she hadn’t been drinking or been on her phone.  They reasoned that the greatest benefit would be a driver’s improvement course, rather than points.  I believe that the standard would be 6 points & as a new driver she would have to retake an extended test, which I believe would be more beneficial & appropriate.  But I also believe that Essex Police know that she’s highly likely to contest this in court, costing them time for at least two of their officiers to attend.  

I’m very unhappy at the outcome & I think it is completely inappropriate, but we feel that we are up against the system.  
My aunt that retired from being a traffic cop a good twenty years ago found out about this driver improvement course outcome & rang us up tonight saying she wanted to write a letter of complaint- that in her day it would have been 6 points, end of story.  

I have been trying to call my Union’s legal team to initiate a claim for his bike & injuries, but not got through yet.  His mum’s union will also take on personal injury claims for family members, but are there other options?

I’m interested in what anyone thinks we should do?  I’m keen on not learning the hard way, having never done this before, so if anyone has experience they don’t mind sharing to avoid pitfalls, please do.
I have been really upset by the whole thing, but I do have a thick skin- if people think we need to just accept it, I’m happy to hear why.    

Topic

[notMyRealName]

This is awful. I’m so glad

This is awful. I’m so glad your son wasn’t more seriously injured, and I’m horrified that someone who did this (even by accident) would even contemplate challenging the penalty in court. If I hit a child while driving, a suspension, an additional course of supervised driving lessons and a retest would be the absolute minimum before I would even consider getting behind the wheel again. 

 

I don’t have specific expertise or personal experience, but from what I have read online, my suggestions would be:

• consider joining Cycling UK and contacting their Cyclists Defence Fund. You don’t need to be a member to contact their incident helpline (but they have different terms for members), number on this website: https://www.slatergordon.co.uk/member-partner-organisations/charities-panels/cycling-uk/faqs/
• be careful about what you post on social media, for two reasons:
  • it might be argued that you are prejudicing the case against the driver. I am not a lawyer, I don’t know if this is a thing, but be careful
  • if you are considering a civil prosecution (you should), be careful not to post anything that could be used to imply that your son has recovered more fully or more quickly than he has. I’ve heard of cyclists who had damages claims reduced or refused because they went out for a ride during their recovery period and posted it on strava. 

You sound like great parents who are doing the right thing and being emotionally available and supportive for your son. I imagine there is a balance between trying to listen if he wants to talk about it and is dealing with the trauma, but on the other hand if he hasn’t realised how serious it was you might not want to prod too much. Good luck and best wishes. 

[Seventyone]

NB you can also claim for the

NB you can also claim for the cost of the skiing holiday, any care costs, taxis to the hospital, loss of function in the arm etc. etc. etc.  try to record everything that you do/ can’t do as a result of the accident.  I claimed for the cost of my bus fare to work each day as I couldn’t cycle for example.  

[the little onion]

This is shocking. Best wishes

This is shocking. Best wishes to you and your son.

 

I’d say a few things:

-get CyclingUK involved if you are a member. And maybe if you aren’t a member. They are the best in the business at getting the police to take things seriously, but they aren’t miracle workers

-submit a complaint. If you do, make sure you are meticulous in your notes. I’ve had too many experiences of phone calls with the supposedly independent complaints team where they have said that I’m absolutely right, then two weeks later sending an email saying that there is no case for the police to answer and that you agreed to drop the complaint. So if you do speak to the police, make sure you email the relevant person back after the call, with a few bullet points of what your interpretation of the call was, what both parties said. That way they can’t backtrack

 

I’m sorry to say this, but the police are generally terrible when it comes to dealing with bad driving and cyclists as victims. There is deep seated prejudice that cyclists were asking for it, and the driver was just momentarily distracted, which could happen to anyone. Only by complaining do things change. 

[Seventyone]

I am sure you could get legal

I am sure you could get legal advice on a “no win no fee basis” which means the risk to you financially is zero.  This is what i did whewn i was knocked off (admittedly several years ago)

 

[OldRidgeback]

I’m sorry to hear of this.

I’m sorry to hear of this. The driver improvement course is not appropriate. Going through a  red at a crossing should be treated far more seriously. I hope your child recovers from this physically and mentally. If I were you, I’d be considering a legal case although of course that’d come with associated costs and risks.

[JustTryingToGetFromAtoB]

I’m so sorry to hear this, an
I’m so sorry to hear this, an awful experience for your family. Some good advice in the comments which I won’t repeat.

If your son is up for it at some point following recovery, he might want to visit his PCC in person. It’s one thing shooting off platitudes by email. It’s quite another when looking a child in the eye to explain why they are responsible for insufficient justice for their injuries

[Hirsute]

https://saferessexroads.org

Vision Zero

In addition, an interim target of reducing deaths and serious injuries by 50% has also been adopted by 2030.

[OnYerBike]

Very sorry to hear about this

Very sorry to hear about this – must be incredibly traumatic for you and your son,  and the police response can’t be helping.

I am certainly disappointed by the response of the police and the traffic collision investigator. The driver apparently deliberately drove through a red light and nearly caused a fatal accident and personally I don’t think the police have dealt with it appropriately. If the driver had made a genuine mistake I might be more inclined to agree with a driver improvement course – I remember as a new driver there can be a lot going on which is not yet “automatic” and therefore requires more concentration, and I appreciate it can be possible to simply not notice a red light. However, by claiming initially that the light was green it certainly comes across to me that this driver knew exactly what she was doing and is now trying to shirk responsibility for her actions. Given the severity of this incident, I would certainly be inclined to put in a formal complaint about the police’s response. I wouldn’t count on anything changing regarding the result of this incident (indeed by the time the complaint has been processed, there might be legal restrictions on reviewing the driver’s charge) but I do think in the long run it might help change the police’s attitudes.

Possibly a more productive route to go down would be compensation for damages. You could certainly be looking at the cost of repairs to the bike, a new helmet, and compensation for the physical injury and trauma caused to your son by the incident. I assume your son is not a member of Cycling UK or British Cycling as both those include legal support? Do you have legal cover as part of your home insurance? Whilst you could claim directly from the driver’s insurance, I would very much be inclined to go through a reputable solicitor – even if you don’t have cover provided through any of the routes listed above, I would say the solicitor’s fees are likely to be worth it compared to going it alone. For reference, I believe Cycling UK’s legal cover is Slater and Gordon whilst British Cycling is provided by Leigh Day – this is not a recommendation and I have no personal experience of either but given they are used by cycling organisations they might be viable options. 

[brooksby]

I had thought that if someone

I had thought that if someone manages to cause serious property damage and/or injury that soon after passing their driving test, then the absolute priority would be to get that person off the road, to revoke their driving privileges, and to make them try again!

@Base – best wishes for your son’s recovery, and I hope this doesn’t put him off being outside

[Seventyone]

This is absolutely dreadful. 

This is absolutely dreadful.  I hope your son is OK in the long term.  You need to keep photos, receipts and other records for the civil claim you shoulf be putting into the driver’s insurance company.  Do you have a solicitor for this yet? 

 

EDIT: having read your post more fully I’d go for a solicitor that specialises in these cases.

Much as it sticks in the craw to make money for ambulance chasing lawyers, this is, it seems, your only opportunity to ensure the driver doesn’t drive any more (as their insurance premiums will be so high).  

I can’t see what this could not go to criminal court: the driver has been shown to be an unreliable witness as she has changed her story already, and you have witnesses.  I would write to anyone you can complaining about this.  

 

 

 

 

[hawkinspeter]

Sorry to hear this – sounds

Sorry to hear this – sounds like an absolute nightmare.

Personally, I’d consider that driving this badly after just passing should mean an immediate revocation of her driving license (i.e. she’ll need to pass a test again)  along with a ban so that she has some time to reconsider whether she has the temperament to learn how to drive.

Luckily, I have no experience of this kind of thing, but I’d guess that it should be easy to claim the cost of a new bike directly from the driver in a small claims court.

[Hirsute]

The sort of standard I am

The sort of standard I am beginning to expect from essex police.

Glad the lad is fairly ok though.

As Rendel says I don’t see any way to appeal this so it’s now down to your appetite for attritional work (maybe wtjs can help out !!)

Essex are supposed to have vision zero but this is another example of where they are not backing up their vision with action. Seems to me with an 11 year old and the crass comments from the traffic collision investigator you have all the ingredients to shame them and maybe get them to take more action. All depends how much time and emotional energy you feel you can put into raising complaints and getting media interest.

 

[Beatnik69]

That is appalling. I wish

That is appalling. I wish your son a speedy recovery. I can’t understand how this isn’t classified asdangerous driving, considering there was actual injury caused.

[srchar]

What sort of dickhead turns

What sort of dickhead turns up at a crash scene and tells the parent of a seriously-injured child that it’s not so bad because they themselves ran a child over shortly after passing their test?

Glad your boy is recovering. However, the system is very sick. Even six points sounds like a piss-take. A driver improvement course, for someone who has literally just passed their test, is a joke.

[Rendel Harris]

Thank goodness your son is

Thank goodness your son is relatively OK, I hope he recovers fully and swiftly.

You have every right to be furious about this. Unfortunately, as far as I’m aware, there is no real mechanism whereby a victim can challenge a traffic penalty decision. You can certainly make a complaint about the way the police handled the case but it wouldn’t change the decision even if it was found in your favour. The police/CPS work on the basis of likelihood of obtaining a conviction, something which is subjective to say the least and any complaint really ends up your opinion against theirs – no prizes for guessing towards whom the complaints procedure tends to lean in such cases.

The civil route is definitely the best way of exacting some measure of justice in that at least you will (hopefully) receive appropriate compensation and the driver will face some sanction in terms of higher premiums. It sounds like it’s less than she deserves, but sadly I think it’s the best result you’ll get. Civil cases are decided on the balance of probablities, i.e. what most likely happened, rather than the burden of proof in a criminal court where it must be proved beyond doubt that something happened. Good luck!

[Author]

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