Cyclist "doored" by car passenger - input and advice please!
Discussion
Bit of a convoluted situation here so please bear with me!
Last week, my OH was witness to an incident involving two other people from her work and is wondering what the legal positions of the various parties is.
Scenario: Line of cars leaving an industrial estate at the end of the working day, queued in a side road waiting to turn right onto the main road out of the estate. Male colleague (driver) and female colleague (passenger) are second back from the give way line, my OH is one car back from them.
Guy who also works on the estate (but different company) is legitimately filtering past the line of queued traffic on the left of the cars at normal commuter speed - not walking pace, but not TdF speed either. Without warning, the passenger decides to exit the vehicle and opens the door into his path. He goes over the door and onto the foot-high concrete kerb/grass verge like a sack of bricks.
Passenger just stands there not doing anything to help the guy, driver pulls the car forwards and out of the way, not really knowing what to do either. My OH pulls her car in behind, hazards on, gets out and assists the cyclist, who is obviously quite hurt but trying not to show it - she tries to insist on calling him an ambulance but he he insists he only lives locally and will just get home and be ok. She gets his number and gives him hers as a witness and despite her protestations, he heads off. Passenger has walked off by this point and is nowhere to be seen. My OH speaks to the driver who is panicking as the passenger apparently simply decided to get out without giving him any indication or warnign that she was about to do so, so my OH advises him to call the police and report the incident asap, giving his side of events. She then gets back in her car and leaves the scene.
Later that evening she gets a call from the police - the cyclist went home and decided that hospital was indeed a good option. Two broken ribs, and the incident reported to the police. Police agree that driver not at fault as the passenger gave no warning of exiting the vehicle - had she done so, he would have pulled over to let her out.
Fast forward to this morning, female passenger is called into manager's office at work, denies all responsibility, claims she told the driver she was getting out and he ok'd it. Driver now worried that the cyclist will try to claim off his insurance and passenger (who caused everything) will skip away scot-free.
Bit of background: passenger has a history of not taking responsibility for her actions - after passing her test and not driving for two years, she buys a car and on the second day of ownership rammed into another car in the work car park. Several more incidents occur over the next few months (with her denying responsibility for all of them), culminating with her hitting a kerb and rolling the car onto its roof on the way into work because she was drinking a cup of coffee at the time (which she denied, but was corroborated by several witnessess as the police were involved).
So, is there anything the cyclist can do to make a claim against the passenger, and is there any way the driver can prove he had no warning of what the passenger was about to do and thus keep his slate clean?
Sorry for the rambling details, thanks for reading!
Last week, my OH was witness to an incident involving two other people from her work and is wondering what the legal positions of the various parties is.
Scenario: Line of cars leaving an industrial estate at the end of the working day, queued in a side road waiting to turn right onto the main road out of the estate. Male colleague (driver) and female colleague (passenger) are second back from the give way line, my OH is one car back from them.
Guy who also works on the estate (but different company) is legitimately filtering past the line of queued traffic on the left of the cars at normal commuter speed - not walking pace, but not TdF speed either. Without warning, the passenger decides to exit the vehicle and opens the door into his path. He goes over the door and onto the foot-high concrete kerb/grass verge like a sack of bricks.
Passenger just stands there not doing anything to help the guy, driver pulls the car forwards and out of the way, not really knowing what to do either. My OH pulls her car in behind, hazards on, gets out and assists the cyclist, who is obviously quite hurt but trying not to show it - she tries to insist on calling him an ambulance but he he insists he only lives locally and will just get home and be ok. She gets his number and gives him hers as a witness and despite her protestations, he heads off. Passenger has walked off by this point and is nowhere to be seen. My OH speaks to the driver who is panicking as the passenger apparently simply decided to get out without giving him any indication or warnign that she was about to do so, so my OH advises him to call the police and report the incident asap, giving his side of events. She then gets back in her car and leaves the scene.
Later that evening she gets a call from the police - the cyclist went home and decided that hospital was indeed a good option. Two broken ribs, and the incident reported to the police. Police agree that driver not at fault as the passenger gave no warning of exiting the vehicle - had she done so, he would have pulled over to let her out.
Fast forward to this morning, female passenger is called into manager's office at work, denies all responsibility, claims she told the driver she was getting out and he ok'd it. Driver now worried that the cyclist will try to claim off his insurance and passenger (who caused everything) will skip away scot-free.
Bit of background: passenger has a history of not taking responsibility for her actions - after passing her test and not driving for two years, she buys a car and on the second day of ownership rammed into another car in the work car park. Several more incidents occur over the next few months (with her denying responsibility for all of them), culminating with her hitting a kerb and rolling the car onto its roof on the way into work because she was drinking a cup of coffee at the time (which she denied, but was corroborated by several witnessess as the police were involved).
So, is there anything the cyclist can do to make a claim against the passenger, and is there any way the driver can prove he had no warning of what the passenger was about to do and thus keep his slate clean?
Sorry for the rambling details, thanks for reading!
I did wonder - seems there was a breakdown in communication when I heard the story. The work management weren't getting involved, she came in this morning playing the "woe is me" victim card to anyone in earshot, making a big fuss over it so they simply asked her what was going on in a private meeting. After which they very kindly gave her a few days off to stop her annoying everyone recover from the ordeal...
Wow, didn't expect this to still be going! Can't believe some people are blaming the cyclist though.. Actually, what's sad is that I can.
http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/QB/2012/2197.h...
Beasley v. Alexander: motorcyclist filtering past stationary traffic at 45mph, car driver performed an unexpected manoeuvre without looking, motorcyclist hit car and sustained serious injuries. Judge ruled that even though he felt the filtering speed was too high, a lower speed wouldn't have affected the outcome so no case for contributory negligence.
I can guarantee the cyclist wasn't doing 45mph!
http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/QB/2012/2197.h...
Beasley v. Alexander: motorcyclist filtering past stationary traffic at 45mph, car driver performed an unexpected manoeuvre without looking, motorcyclist hit car and sustained serious injuries. Judge ruled that even though he felt the filtering speed was too high, a lower speed wouldn't have affected the outcome so no case for contributory negligence.
I can guarantee the cyclist wasn't doing 45mph!
stuart313 said:
Another thing, youtube is full of cyclists giving verbals and hand signals to vehicles they consider have passed them too closely, yet when a cyclist passes very close to a car its ok.
People in cars can kill people on bikes. It's unlikely to happen the other way round, is it?Anyway, an update - passenger has been off work for over a week now (signed off with stress, apparently). OH says the cyclist wasn't going too fast as he was approaching the junction where he would hav stopped anyway. It's an industrial estate with wide enough roads to permit filtering past queuing cars - the cyclist was on the left as the queue of cars was positioned to the right of the lane as they were all turning right. I can't say anything regarding the cyclist and insurance as the situation is still ongoing.
She didn't exactly leg it at the scene - she hid around the corner until my OH and the cyclist had left the scene, then came back to the confused car driver to see if she could continue her lift home after all... I'd hazard the reason she walked off would have been the hairdryer treatment she received from my OH due to standing there and not attempting to assist the injured party (which was what my OH was doing).
Regardless, I suspect she'll never take responsibility for what happened, nor will she suffer any consequences. Such is the way of the world.
Regardless, I suspect she'll never take responsibility for what happened, nor will she suffer any consequences. Such is the way of the world.
[quote=Who me ?]Legal bods might like to comment. What would the reasonable actions of a road user be to spotting a freshly parked vehicle ,with passengers in? Personally , I'd be looking to give it a wide berth, as from experience, non drivers can open a door into traffic without looking. IF cyclists want equal rights and respect,( and clearance spaceon passing), then PERHAPS, they might learn that parked cars with occupants are hazards.
[/quote]
You may want to read the details of what actually happened.. ;-)
To add - cyclist was not going fast, he was approaching a T-junction where he would have been expecting to stop. OH has confirmed he was filtering at a safe speed and not squeezing up the side of the cars. Door was opened immediately in front of him with no warning and no opportunity to avoid. If you'd like to call her a liar to her face, be my guest..!
[/quote]
You may want to read the details of what actually happened.. ;-)
To add - cyclist was not going fast, he was approaching a T-junction where he would have been expecting to stop. OH has confirmed he was filtering at a safe speed and not squeezing up the side of the cars. Door was opened immediately in front of him with no warning and no opportunity to avoid. If you'd like to call her a liar to her face, be my guest..!
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