Calling LoonR1
Discussion
I think you'll like this one:
I've crashed into the back of a stationary vehicle... and the police report has it down as 100% their fault!
Anyhow, bike is a mess and I'm typing this with one hand as the other is in a cast waiting for surgery on the wrist on Saturday.
(Gory blood hounds can get my write up on BCF (maybe NSFW) )
Anyway... I've rung my insurance, they've passed it on to "their" AMC and "their" solicitors, for the personal injury claim.
It's that last bit I'm after advice on:
is it OK/best to use the appointed solicitors, who want me to sign stuff about paying their fees if it all goes pear shaped and whose paperwork is very keen to keep you locked in once you've signed... I've already noticed that "I understand I can appoint any solictors and am using this lot of my own free will and volition" (or words to that effect) which isn't exactly the case.... The paperwork says I have Before The Event insurance which will/should cover most/all of the fees (usually).
Or should I go straight to one of the very dedicated-to-bikers companies that advertise in the bike mags etc; they seem to be no-win-no-fee in general (so no risk to me but maybe/probably lower cheque at the end of the day) and, naturally, they're very keen on telling you that you can swop solicitors.
I wouldn't know if one company was any better or worse than any other from the outset; I'd really like to make the right choice now to save possible problems/costs later down the road.
In the meantime, between having an independent witness and a police report blaming the other driver, I'm hoping not to have too much trouble getting a full settlement off the other company...
I've crashed into the back of a stationary vehicle... and the police report has it down as 100% their fault!
Anyhow, bike is a mess and I'm typing this with one hand as the other is in a cast waiting for surgery on the wrist on Saturday.
(Gory blood hounds can get my write up on BCF (maybe NSFW) )
Anyway... I've rung my insurance, they've passed it on to "their" AMC and "their" solicitors, for the personal injury claim.
It's that last bit I'm after advice on:
is it OK/best to use the appointed solicitors, who want me to sign stuff about paying their fees if it all goes pear shaped and whose paperwork is very keen to keep you locked in once you've signed... I've already noticed that "I understand I can appoint any solictors and am using this lot of my own free will and volition" (or words to that effect) which isn't exactly the case.... The paperwork says I have Before The Event insurance which will/should cover most/all of the fees (usually).
Or should I go straight to one of the very dedicated-to-bikers companies that advertise in the bike mags etc; they seem to be no-win-no-fee in general (so no risk to me but maybe/probably lower cheque at the end of the day) and, naturally, they're very keen on telling you that you can swop solicitors.
I wouldn't know if one company was any better or worse than any other from the outset; I'd really like to make the right choice now to save possible problems/costs later down the road.
In the meantime, between having an independent witness and a police report blaming the other driver, I'm hoping not to have too much trouble getting a full settlement off the other company...
Sorry, didn't know link wouldn't work. As said, van driver came onto the roundabout just in front of me, even though there was stationary traffic ahead of him and a massive "KEEP CLEAR" on the road, and then stopped a few yards in front of me. I nearly missed him.
(As I'm doing this thread mainly as an insurance question, I'll add the thought that in this case actually I was probably better off clipping him than losing control in a swerve and crashing on my own as I can now claim off his insurance.)
It seems he thought that was OK as, despite seeing me coming, he'd seen the lights on the next section of the roundabout go green. Me, the bus driver who gave me his details as a witness, and the police traffic officer all disagree with him...
(As I'm doing this thread mainly as an insurance question, I'll add the thought that in this case actually I was probably better off clipping him than losing control in a swerve and crashing on my own as I can now claim off his insurance.)
It seems he thought that was OK as, despite seeing me coming, he'd seen the lights on the next section of the roundabout go green. Me, the bus driver who gave me his details as a witness, and the police traffic officer all disagree with him...
You're lucky you've got witnesses and even with that you may find that there's some contributory negligence heading your way. Just because the police see him committing an offence and potentially are doing him for it doesn't get you off necessarily. For example if you crash into a van parked on double yellows, he may get a parking ticket, but your insurance is picking up the repair bills.
Anyway back to the question. Use the insurance appointed ones, as they'll be as good as any of the ambulance chasers out there. You won't end up paying any fees as that's what your legal expenses policy is there to cover. You're using a No Win, No Fee solicitor, just one that gets their fees covered by this policy rather than by an "after the Event" policy which are very much a Nono nowadays.
Anyway back to the question. Use the insurance appointed ones, as they'll be as good as any of the ambulance chasers out there. You won't end up paying any fees as that's what your legal expenses policy is there to cover. You're using a No Win, No Fee solicitor, just one that gets their fees covered by this policy rather than by an "after the Event" policy which are very much a Nono nowadays.
The only bike accident I had I just used the agents the insurance company appointed for me. Newlaw-Scotland in my case.
I had paid for the legal cover so why bother shopping around. Never having had to do this before I took the easy way out. Apart from being a bit slow they seemed to do a good enough job.
LoonR1 said:
You're lucky you've got witnesses and even with that you may find that there's some contributory negligence heading your way. Just because the police see him committing an offence and potentially are doing him for it doesn't get you off necessarily. For example if you crash into a van parked on double yellows, he may get a parking ticket, but your insurance is picking up the repair bills.
I honestly don't see what more I could have done. It would have been tight anyway if he'd have been able to carry on, but there wouldn't have been an accident (there might have been an inappropriate horn blast from me); as it was he just stopped dead and I had no time. And that's after saying he did see me coming! I don't think the police are looking to pursue him, the traffic guy said he'd probably be "having a word", he told me the same day that his report held the van driver entirely to blame.I would be interested to hear how I could end up with any percentage of contributory negligence (beyond getting on the motorbike that morning instead of into the car (and I think the "same" accident might actually have been worse in the car - I'd probably have been going a bit faster and just ploughed into the back of the van for a much heavier crash)) as, obviously, I'd like to minimise the chances of that happening and also minimise the %age if it does.
LoonR1 said:
Anyway back to the question. Use the insurance appointed ones, as they'll be as good as any of the ambulance chasers out there. You won't end up paying any fees as that's what your legal expenses policy is there to cover. You're using a No Win, No Fee solicitor, just one that gets their fees covered by this policy rather than by an "after the Event" policy which are very much a Nono nowadays.
Fair enough, as I said, just asking to try and make things as good/smooth as possible 
I put the contributory negligence not up just to clarify that there may still be an issue. We don't have the full circumstances, which you do. However, if the van had the time to pull onto the roundabout and stop then you should've had time to see him and adjust your speed accordingly. That will be the crux of any argument. The witnesses though will be your trump card, so its a moot point.
The Keep Clear road marking is irrelevant as it carries no legal weight. Only yellow hatchings do that and even then that doesn't mean they were automatically at fault. See my example of double yellow lines earlier.
I k ow you don't want to hear this as its emotional time but I'm trying to explain all scenarios and the thought processes that go into this.
The Keep Clear road marking is irrelevant as it carries no legal weight. Only yellow hatchings do that and even then that doesn't mean they were automatically at fault. See my example of double yellow lines earlier.
I k ow you don't want to hear this as its emotional time but I'm trying to explain all scenarios and the thought processes that go into this.
LoonR1 said:
I put the contributory negligence not up just to clarify that there may still be an issue. We don't have the full circumstances, which you do. However, if the van had the time to pull onto the roundabout and stop then you should've had time to see him and adjust your speed accordingly. That will be the crux of any argument. The witnesses though will be your trump card, so its a moot point.
The Keep Clear road marking is irrelevant as it carries no legal weight. Only yellow hatchings do that and even then that doesn't mean they were automatically at fault. See my example of double yellow lines earlier.
I k ow you don't want to hear this as its emotional time but I'm trying to explain all scenarios and the thought processes that go into this.
Funnily enough, I don't get very emotional/angry about crashes; I've been playing it over in my head with my "advanced driving" mind - ie "what could I have done different/better" accepting that it takes 2 to have a crash even when one did something stupid. I'm not entirely sure what I did do... it's a nasty roundabout at rush hour with various ways I'm well aware of for having a crash and the road was cold and damp so I was riding carefully, I saw the van pull out and I came off the throttle a little (nothing sudden/harsh, greasy road) and I think even thought "tThe Keep Clear road marking is irrelevant as it carries no legal weight. Only yellow hatchings do that and even then that doesn't mean they were automatically at fault. See my example of double yellow lines earlier.
I k ow you don't want to hear this as its emotional time but I'm trying to explain all scenarios and the thought processes that go into this.
t" or similar. I would have passed the back end of him. Turned out though that he didn't really have anywhere to go due to queuing traffic ahead of him and so he stopped dead. The witness says he saw me try to swerve, but I didn't have enough room by 3 or 4 inches judging by the marks on the back of the van. The van driver said he'd seen me coming but saw the traffic lights on the next section of the roundabout (the bit where we were isn't TL controlled) go green, so he pulled out anyway... It would have been a tight/dhead move at the best of times, with the way blocked it was... well, I think the swear filter might kick in here. Not because I'm emotional, just because it's the correct word 
What could I have done differently/better?
I could have been slower in the first place. Hmmm. I'm a sensible rider on the whole, already aware of poor road conditions on a dangerous RA. Doing a speed that was not pedal cycle, but still letting me keep the bike almost upright. Faster might actually have been better... given that he saw me, it might have been my reasonable speed that lead him to think that it was ok to pull out; if I'd have been coming faster, maybe he'd have waited?
Reduced speed more when he pulled out. Possibly. No ABS on my bike, I could possibly have reduced speed more quickly, but a high risk of either having my own crash doing so, or ploughing straight into the back of the van, albeit at a reduced speed. Also a chance of getting rear-ended. Stop in the space you can see to be clear - yes, I had 50 to 100 metres clear, until the van pulled out a few metres in front of me.
Swerve harder. It was going to be tight anyway if he kept moving; the witness says he saw me try and swerve. I was riding 100% on instinct at this point; I've had five years of riding without a crash, I've done Bikesafe, I got an "A" grade on DragonRider which is DSI/DVLA/whatever recognised post-test training, I've done the BMW off-road course with an eye to improving my on-road skills... I would have to say that I can only believe I swerved as hard as I could have in the circumstances, without simply falling over. I know people say "I could see I wasn't going to stop, so I laid the bike down" and I can imagine that in many SMIDSYs you would have time to process that. I really didn't.
I honestly and open-mindedly believe that I did the best that I could - any more aggressive earlier reaction would have been a massive over-reaction placing me more danger 99 times out of a 100; the time/space very suddenly became too small for anything other than instinct after that.
The bit I am getting emotional about, is whether I will continue to ride. I do enjoy riding, a lot, but it's also for me greatly a way to cheaply, skipping traffic and with added grin, commute. I'm not sure that these consequences for what was really a fairly minor incident, are worth the biscuit. Even though I still think it could have been a worse crash in the car.
The final kicker, for me, is that I had a bit of spare time next week with a few jobs to do and I'd written them down so as not to forget... on that list is "fit dashcam to bike"! I've got the camera, already modified the waterproof case to feed it power, even soldered up the power adaptor ready to splice to an ignition feed live... but it's been too cold and/or wet to get around to fitting it all winter...
I've not suggested it was. What I have said is that the other guy could easily say new as stopped for a good few seconds and you piled into him. Obviously, the witnesses negate that option for him. However, the biggy for me is that insurance is a monetary transaction, arms, legs and other body parts tend not to be made of money. It's better not to hit things amd have no discussion over liability than knowing you were in the right in your hospital bed, or worse.
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