Hit and knocked form bike - by a cyclist!

WithCheesePlease

EDIT: tl;dr version - I was hit and knocked from my bike (and hurt as it turns out now) by another cyclist after he broke a red light. Would others have called the gardaí and reported this at the time, as one would with any other kind of RTA??

Just curious what others think of this and might have done in my situation...

The entrance / exit to my estate has a filter traffic light, which cars ALWAYS break. I was waiting to come out yesterday to turn right (so to cross the road and turn right) and the lights went amber - car when through from my left, typical - then red, another car went through from my left. Then as I was about to go (my light had turned green at this point) ANOTHER car broke the red light from my left. I was annoyed looking at him and then went to take off and BAM - I was hit by a guy on a bike from my right.

He clipped my front wheel from the right and I came off the bike and landed hard on my head - so lucky I was wearing a helmet. My head literally bounced off the ground. And the amazing thing is he didn't even stop!! He kept going!! I had to roar after him to stop while still lying on my back on the ground. He slowly came to a hesitant stop but never once looked back at me! I brought myself to my feet and straightened my steering (the wheel and handlebars had become misaligned) and made my way up the road to where he had stopped. When I saw him he was bricking it and never once looked up at me but kept saying how sorry he was and fidgeting with his handle bars. He looked like a scolded puppy, I think he might have been afraid he was going to get a hiding. I found myself asking HIM if he was ok!! And then heard myself saying we were both to blame before asking him again if he was ok (I still can't believe that) and going on my way and leaving him off.

I hadn't seen him coming since I was so annoyed by the line of cars that had broken the light coming from the other direction. My light was green, I was cursing the cars and I pulled out without looking right again.

In hindsight I'm wondering should I have called the gardaí since technically it was RTA and I wasn't sure if I was hurt or not of if there was any damage to my bike or if I needed a new helmet after the impact of me hitting the ground. Since then I have increasingly worse pain in my neck and thinking I might need to get it seen to.

It's funny, cos if it was a car that broke the lights and clipped me I absolutely, 100% would have called the gardaí to report it. But since it was "only another bike" I figured it wasn't as serious, even though i still ended up hitting the ground hard.

Obviously I need to get over the cars breaking the lights and just be more observant before proceeding once my light has turned green, but would people have reported this at the time if they were in my shoes?

The other thing is, I usually have my young daughter on the bike in a child seat bringing her to creche but luckily didn't that morning. Could have been a very different story if she had been, and that scares me.

Jabel

Hope you're ok OP, unfortunately many cyclists think that traffic lights don't apply to them.
I see it all the time on my commute, one particularly stupid woman this morning running
a red at a crossroads! I probably would have done the same as you, even though mightily pissed off!

Del2005

You could have reported it to the Gardaí but unless the other cyclist has insurance getting anything off them ultimately depends on their good will. Go see your GP and get yourself checked out.

seamus

You don't technically have to report it to the Gardai unless someone has been injured. Which is always a tough call when you've come off the bike; sometimes you don't feel serious injuries for a while after, and sometimes cuts and scrapes which look serious turn out to be nothing.

The problem with stopping and talking to a cyclist or a pedestrian who has caused an accident is that in reality you can ask for their name and address, but do you really expect to be able to claim from them?
The damages involved in an accident with a ped or cyclist are usually very small, so people don't consider it worth the hassle of chasing up for costs.

I hadn't seen him coming since I was so annoyed by the line of cars that had broken the light coming from the other direction. My light was green, I was cursing the cars and I pulled out without looking right again.

So you're right to a certain extent that you were both to blame and you've learned a lesson from this, but the primary blame is his.

I would wonder - given that cars ignore this red light and clearly this moron had no inkling that you were going to pull out - is there a specific reason why this set of lights is difficult to notice? Is there only one red light, and is it obscured?
It would be worth discussing with a local councillor and highlighting it as a specific problem. Maybe ask them to ensure there are lights on both sides of the road (harder to ignore two reds), and perhaps a speed ramp/raised area at the junction to force vehicles to realise that there's a light-controlled junction there?

rollingscone

Del2005 wrote: »

You could have reported it to the Gardaí but unless the other cyclist has insurance getting anything off them ultimately depends on their good will. Go see your GP and get yourself checked out.

If the Gardai can identify the other party, they may have third party liability cover under their household insurance.

If you have any sort of serious financial loss (such as requiring ac ourse of physio or repairs to your bike this is worth investigating).

Beasty

seamus wrote: »

You don't technically have to report it to the Gardai unless someone has been injured.

When I tried to report an incident to the Gardia a few years ago, where I sustained pretty serious injuries, they refused to take details as no motor vehicle was involved. They stated to me that only incidents involving motor vehicles should be reported

Alek

They stated to me that only incidents involving motor vehicles should be reported

I wonder if they would repeat this bx if somebody died after being hit by a bicycle.

zl1whqvjs75cdy

Does that cycling ireland membership insurance cover incidents like this?

Beasty

donkeyoaty0099 wrote: »

Does that cycling ireland membership insurance cover incidents like this?

Covers third party, medical expenses permanent disability of certain types and death

There is no cover for damage to the bike for example

The only material benefit in this sort of situation would probably arise if the other cyclist was identified, was shown to be responsible, and had CI insurance - that could cover any claim against him for causing the accident under the 3rd party cover

Orion

Would the motor insurers bureau cover this they way they would cover injuries caused by uninsured drivers?

WithCheesePlease

Beasty wrote: »

They stated to me that only incidents involving motor vehicles should be reported

That's kinda what I was thinking. I'd actually have felt foolish calling them for something like this.

seamus wrote: »

I would wonder - given that cars ignore this red light and clearly this moron had no inkling that you were going to pull out - is there a specific reason why this set of lights is difficult to notice? Is there only one red light, and is it obscured?
It would be worth discussing with a local councillor and highlighting it as a specific problem. Maybe ask them to ensure there are lights on both sides of the road (harder to ignore two reds), and perhaps a speed ramp/raised area at the junction to force vehicles to realise that there's a light-controlled junction there?

Good suggestion, I might look into following up on something like that.

But on a similar note, I think it's symptomatic of a wider problem or more and more cars jumping red lights now. There was always the "amber gambler" but now you have the extra car or 2 sneaking through a red light thinking they'll make it. I see it all the time.

The thing is, it annoys me when a car does it but it's downright dangerous when a cyclist does it. By the time they (we!) get to the junction for which they've broken the red light on their side it may already have turned green for traffic or pedestrians on the other side seeing as they're travelling that much slower - hence the increased danger. And what happened to me.