Cyclist sues Tesco after delivery driver runs her over

mrchrispy wrote:

If these collisions were in a depot and workers were getting squashed then the HSE would be all over this, they'd shut the depots until they were made safe and Tesco would be fined into oblivian.

However, kill and mame on the road and its all okay. ...go figure!

The two aren't entirely comparable - Tesco aren't responsible and can't control the actions of other road users the way they should be able to exert control over people on their sites.

But I agree that the current situation on the roads is way too far towards the other end of the spectrum (basically, "accidents happen, oh well, carry on"). 

ktache wrote:

If you are paid for what you do you are a professional.

 

This is true, but when it involves a skillset that the majority of the adult population also possesses, there should be something else that sets those paid to do it apart from the rest.

(In practical terms, the standard of driving needs to improve across the board, but those paid to drive should be held to higher standards still - and not just by the insurance market).

PaulBox wrote:

In my opinion, these grocery delivery vans are very quickly becoming the most dangerous and aggresive vehicles on the road. I've had a few close calls on my bike and a few run-in's when in my car. Something really needs to be done about them.

And don't get me started on the parking while they're delivering - we share a driveway with 3 other houses and regularly have our driveway blocked by delivery vehicles of all descriptions.

I once pointed out to a delivery driver, Sainsbury's, I think, that he was breaking at least 2 laws (he was parked on a corner, half way on the pavement, half blocking 2 sides of a T-junction - all of which screwed up the visibility of the junction in 2 directions) and all I got was a cheery "oh, am I?".

nniff wrote:

  I contacted the police who gave me a number and the impression that they weren't interested.

That wasn't an impression, it was the real thing.

Yorkshire wallet wrote:

£100k seems a bit low for basically ruining your life!...

I was thinking the same, how much would it cost just to do simple things like adapt a house/car etc, for use by a disabled person. more than 100k I'd bet.

DrG82 wrote:

Yorkshire wallet wrote:

£100k seems a bit low for basically ruining your life!...

I was thinking the same, how much would it cost just to do simple things like adapt a house/car etc, for use by a disabled person. more than 100k I'd bet.

I believe I can field that one.

It depends on the extent of your injuries; I'm lucky enough that I still have enough use of my legs to use normal car controls, but I've got slightly modified steering (lightened and with a ball), as well as a hoist in the back of a rather large car (Ford S-Max Ti).

Some of these adaptations are completely covered under the Motability scheme, which is basically a lease with a few conditions for entry. Others, like my hoist, are heavily subsidised; I paid about £130 for my 80kg hoist, but I own that and will carry it forward to the next vehicle - or not, if I decide to leave the scheme.
Some cars are completely free of charge*, others have advanced payments. My car had an AP of just under £3k, but I went for a bit more car than I really needed because I considered some of the options to be worth it - in particular, the self-parking bit.

*assuming you receive Enhanced Mobility rate under PIP - you lose that, it's about £56 a week.

The house, however, is another kettle of fish.

Whilst you -can- adapt a house with ramps etc, if you require level access throughout then you're going to have to completely rearrange your furnishings, have all of your sockets moved up, switches moved down, doorways widened etc - and the oh so wonderful twats in Westminster have seen fit to completely gut and decimate the support structures that were there to get that in place.

This, of course, assumes you've got a ground floor access property; Also, if you're renting, you're usually pretty much fucked. Accessible properties are very bloody hard to find, and you'll need space to store your spares and parts - forget about just being able to put the bike on the wall, a normal handcycle is over 2 meters long, and even though a bolt on is significantly shorter, the fact that they don't generally stand up on their own makes them a bastard to store. Then you've gotta store your chair, your spare bits for that, wheels, tubes, tyres etc.

Oh yeah, and let's not forget that fact that most of TfL's stations immediately become impassable, and you'll also lose the ability to just turn up and travel on many train lines; Good luck with spontaneous planning.

If you want the same level of independence, well, again, that depends on your level of injury; I have a £4k wheelchair with a £3.5k handcycle for the front. If you want a powerchair, you can very easily pay £20k upwards, especially if you need special postural support or things such as tilt-in-space.

Basically, 100k is an insultingly low offer if she's still unable to walk unassisted. That's a life changing injury, and 100k should be considered a starting point - especially with the callousness of the incident in question.

StraelGuy wrote:

The more I read about Tesco, the more I realise what a bunch of utter c**ts they really are!

I was almost killed by a Tesco delivery van. I turned right from the ASL on a traffic light controllled T junction intending to turn immediately right again - my road positioning and arm signal clearly indicated this however the driver decided this would be the correct place to overtake me,accelerating wildly on the wrong side of the road. He missed me by fractions of an inch as I swerved into a parked car. I called Tesco with a reference ID printed on the side of the van and a partial number plate - I was told that this would be investigated and they would get back to me. They didn't and when I phoned back a few days later no-one had any recollection of my initial call.

IMO companies that employ 'professional' drivers should be forced to accept liability for their behaviour. 

jasecd wrote:

IMO companies that employ 'professional' drivers should be forced to accept liability for their behaviour. 

They're not really professional though, not in the strictest sense of the word.  Professionalism means that you're in some way more qualified than the average person.  I imagine many people driving box vans do so on a normal driving licence.

Perhaps a better idea might be to force such companies to use two people to do the job.

Peowpeowpeowlasers wrote:

jasecd wrote:

IMO companies that employ 'professional' drivers should be forced to accept liability for their behaviour. 

 

They're not really professional though, not in the strictest sense of the word.  Professionalism means that you're in some way more qualified than the average person.  I imagine many people driving box vans do so on a normal driving licence.

Perhaps a better idea might be to force such companies to use two people to do the job.

Yeah that's my unscientific observation: too many brain donors take jobs driving for a living because they're largely unemployable elsewhere.

jasecd wrote:

I called Tesco with a reference ID printed on the side of the van and a partial number plate - I was told that this would be investigated and they would get back to me. They didn't and when I phoned back a few days later no-one had any recollection of my initial call.

IMO companies that employ 'professional' drivers should be forced to accept liability for their behaviour.

Did you report it to the police as well though? Its a sad fact that you have to make as much noise as possible before anyone even slightly rise from their slumber.

jasecd wrote:

...I called Tesco with a reference ID printed on the side of the van and a partial number plate - I was told that this would be investigated and they would get back to me. They didn't and when I phoned back a few days later no-one had any recollection of my initial call

The person who answered your call will not even have written it down. Even the "how's my driving" IDs on motor vehicles result in no reaction at all, they are just there to dupe you into thinking the employer cares about the standard of driving. I have contacted a number of these. Some even have non-functioning telephone numbers

nniff wrote:

I was knocked off my bike on CS7  last week  ... I contacted the police who gave me a number and the impression that they weren't interested.

It was a correct impression. They are not interested.