Wednesday 30th September 2009

Motorists To Take Blame For Cycle Crashes

Cycling lobby group wants 'legal onus' for accidents involving cars to be placed on drivers

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Law would be intended to encourage bicycle use

The government is being advised to make motorists automatically responsible in all accidents involving cyclists, a move that could cause insurance premiums to soar.

A Department for Transport funded agency called Cycling England is calling for a change in civil law to make drivers liable for compensation and other insurance costs. "I would like to see the legal onus placed on motorists when there are accidents" says Phillip Darnton, chief executive of Cycling England.

The legislation that Cycling England is pushing for could also have worrying implications for other motorists. If the idea is that the more powerful vehicle in an accident is always to blame, what's to stop a clever lawyer arguing that the Toyota Prius that's just rear-ended your new 911 is actually the innocent party?

Hopefully, however, the proposals are little more than hot air. In fact a spokesman for the DfT, in a moment of uncharacteristic common sense, said: "This is something that gets raised by pressure groups from time to time. Cycling England has proposed it, but it is not something that is being considered by ministers."

[loomx]

Well the ammount of cyclists that dont know how to use the roads in oxford is just unreal! so this is a load of BS in my opinion.

How about, if its the cyclists fault, its cyclists fault. If its the drivers fault, its the drivers fault... Oh wait is that to simple?!

[red_slr]

What happened to the good old innocent until proven guilty.... this is a load of BS. IMHO.

[JADCampbell]

No govt would go for this, it's political suicide as there would be stories of injustice every day in the papers.

It's a contemptable idea with no redeeming features.

[328iGT]

When they obey the traffic lights, then just MAYBE they'd be innocent OCCASIONALLY.
What a load of BS.

[leon9191]

Do there not already do this in some of Europe?

To be honest I do quite a lot of cycling and it would be gratifying to have power over the useless old guffers that from time to time try to swipe you with their wing mirrors, but I find a torrent of verbal abuse does the trick normally.

This idea is madness though on what planet can blame be automatically assigned to any accident? What if a cyclist hits the side of your car and breaks his neck your insurance would have to fork up a mint because you didn’t fly away or turn into a cloud of pixie dust!

Phillip Darnton, chief executive of Cycling England needs to get off his bike he’s clearly inhaled to may car fumes!

[tackb]

as road users shouldn't they have training or a licence? and especially insurance? while we're at it lets apply the same to horses? what about a bit of road tax as well?

[B Oeuf]

Its just another dying gasp from Labour and as likely as all his other promises

[XTR2Turbo]

They have a law to 'protect' cyclists in Holland that places a greater liability on the motorist. There does seem a bit of logic to the law there e.g. if overtaking a cyclist etc. Don't know the detail but it certainly made the taxi's show a bit more care when I was over there and it was introduced.

[rgracin]

I have nothing against cyclists, but this makes my p!ss boil.

There can't be a political party in this land stupid enough to push this through....can there?

[jonlwright]

tackb said:

as road users shouldn't they have training or a licence? and especially insurance? while we're at it lets apply the same to horses? what about a bit of road tax as well?

As a cyclist and a petrol head - I already pay considerably more road tax than most people on the streets.

Insurance however is a good point. I guess the reason for this suggestion is that most cyclist don't have insurance, so if there was automatic cover in car policies to cover and accident with a cyclist then this would resolve the issue. However, a more fair approach would be to just enforce cyclist to get at least 3rd party insurance when cycling.

[djbeddows]

That is a joke. I've got a better idea, lets make insurance and maybe tax a legal requirement for any mode of transport that uses the roads including cycles and horses. Then insurance claims can be settled the same way for every accident.

[Alicatt1]

Here in Belgium it is the drivers that are responsible in accidents with cyclists, so much so that they think that they are invurnable and will cross the road without looking. I've had it happen to me on many occasions while driving, you see them in thier "tour de france" cycle outfits, heads down and just watching their wheels go round then suddenly they veer off the cycle path and cross the main road right in fron of an on-coming car.
Recently a 50 year old man, member of the local cycling club got killed in such a manner. Just because the law says the car driver is resposible does not remove the need for the cyclists to take due care and attention.

[hman]

I cycle on the roads, if i'm hit by a car then I would expect to be talking to the motorists insurers - if i hit a car then I would stop and discuss how we can resolve the damage.


Why should anyone be automatically at fault?

[drewcole81]

I ride my bike on and off the road and think that this is a load of C R A P....

Because I know what it's like to drive with bikes undertaking you at a junction of swinging out on you at traffic lights I try my dam hardest not to..

What they should do is make anyone wanting to ride a bike on the road have insurance to cover them incase of a crash etc... just like bloody Horse riders should have to as well.

Make them pay road tax too whilst your at it...

Govenment = W A N K E R S

Edited by drewcole81 on Wednesday 30th September 08:54

[someoneelse]

The press for this has been really badly managed; the idea is that cases will start from the assumption that the big hard to manoeuvre object hit the small, hard-to-see object. I don't think this'll make any difference to how cyclists go about (who's gonna think "Ah, if I get run over it's the car's fault... I'll see if I can get run over, then!"?) but it might scare car drivers into giving more space. Trouble is, I slightly suspect most of the polis would operate from the assumption that the car hit the bicycle in any case, so I don't really see what this would actually achieve...

[Escorttom]

I have to travel to a town in Holland called Veenendaal for 2 days every fortnight with work. And its made me realise how badly equipped we are in the U.K by means of cycle paths and the like. Every road has 2 red cycle paths next to it (One for each direction) each of them separated from the road by concrete kerbs usually. And the sheer numbers of people cycling in the morning is staggering. Apparently dutch law is very quick to side with cyclists in accidents with cars. If they truly wanted people to cycle then the same sort of infrastructure needs to be implimented where possible. It makes cycling a lot safer,plus if you have never seen a hoarde of tall, leggy, blonde dutch girls all cycling you start to realise why a large percentage of the dutch all have the Brits down as unfit and lazy.

[leon9191]

Insurance for cyclists?

Don’t be mental.

You going to buy your son or daughter a bike for xmas if they need to insure it?

[S3_Graham]

hman said:

I cycle on the roads, if i'm hit by a car then I would expect to be talking to the motorists insurers - if i hit a car then I would stop and discuss how we can resolve the damage.


Why should anyone be automatically at fault?

what happened to innocent until proven guilty... its a joke!! Just another thing to piss me off about this country! Along with the police offical on the radio yesterday morning saying disabled people should be dealt with the same urgency as racist issues... ERRRRR how about they should be dealt with the same as elderly people etc!!! winds me up so so much.

[B Oeuf]

someoneelse said:

I don't really see what this would actually achieve...

At the risk of sounding alarmist......a further erosion of the civil liberties our ancestors fought for?

[drewcole81]

leon9191 said:

Insurance for cyclists?

Don’t be mental.

You going to buy your son or daughter a bike for xmas if they need to insure it?

Exactly... my point was that it is a stupid idea... much like the motorist taking the blame for anything regardless is a stupid idea.

Why don't the poweres that be in this country start looking after there own rather than trying to upset them and 'driving' them out...