Hit by a car...

the same thing happened to me, luckily the driver immediately said it was her fault and how she'd "been on her tom tom". she wasn't indicating either.

but regardless it taught me a big lesson and i'm a lot more cautious riding in general, despite me not being at fault.

Wouldn't it be argued that you were undertaking a car that was indicating?
Was there a bike lane?

I remember reading something about UK traffic law stating that you aren't meant to 'filter' along kerb.

Edit: I checked and only found something that recommends against it (not stating it is illegal):

http://www.survivalskills.clara.net/riding_skills_20.htm

It's a webpage for motorcyclists, but interesting nevertheless.

do people think its worth pursuing their insurance company for bike repairs?

I'm interested to hear the answer to this. It seems the driver was in the wrong even thought the cyclist was doing something that could lead to this sort of bust up. What is the legal answer to this?

do people think its worth pursuing their insurance company for bike repairs?

Crash is his fault he merged into a vehicle from behind. how much damage is it, that should tell you if its worth it.

You are allowed to filter on the inside. The highway code even says you are also allowed to overtake on the inside if the "traffic is moving very slowly in queues" - which would appear to be the case here, due to the traffic light. You are certainly allowed to proceed to the front of your lane.

The driver is required not only to look in his mirror, then indicate left, but also physically turn his head and look behind him to check his blind spot is clear before turning. If he did not do this (and we know he didn't because he hit you) then he is at fault.

There's no grey area here. The driver is at fault and you are not.

That's not so helpful given that, in Googeland, left turns are made across the flow of traffic.

See that radio button that says "find UK pages".. well.. you work it out.

Pursue him for costs. But before you do that, get your story straight. He was either indicating or not. If you didn't see him indicating, then he wasn't. Becasue you are a good cyclist and always remember to check these things... "Yes your honour. He should pay my costs as well? Marvellous."

And in the future don't rely on indicators, don't rely on drivers checking mirrors. Watch the angle the car is pointing, look at the front wheels to see if they are turning, and ride down the centre of the road.

Legally he is at fault, but you put yourself at significantly more risk by riding up the inside where there is a possibility of a vehicle turning left:
Lower probability of being seen=higher probability of getting hit*

*Sadly even doing things correctly, (like overtaking instead of undertaking), can still mean you get hit by arseholes not looking/indicating when they turn, however being more visible to drivers at least improves your chances a bit.

do people think its worth pursuing their insurance company for bike repairs?

Nope. what would estimate the damage was worth? if its in the thousands then its a case of riding an approriate bike around a city, a few hundred (insurance value) it might be worth begging, borrowing and jumbling to fix it

without scene photos and witnesses it could be pretty tricky. this is also the most common of cycle knocks

And in the future don't rely on indicators, don't rely on drivers checking mirrors. Watch the angle the car is pointing, look at the front wheels to see if they are turning, and ride down the centre of the road.

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  also watch for them leaving space between them and the car in front, look for eye contact and adjust your speed/position so you are not in the blind spot on the junction approach
  

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  also watch for them leaving space between them and the car in front, look for eye contact and adjust your speed/position so you are not in the blind spot on the junction approach
  
  

Yes! Those fuckers flashing their lights to give other cars the all clear when they haven't even checked their mirrors scare the bejesus out of me. Especially when I'm spinning down dog kennel hill at +-30mph. They truly deserve their phlegmed windows.

Hi

Sorry to hear about the crash. Whilst it sounds like it was his fault for not indicating, I think the zig zag white lines around all lights mean that you shouldn't be overtaking. I imagine his defence would argue this and so despite any lack of indication or attention on his part they will probably say you shouldn't have been doing it in the first place. You may want to check this in the ever-so-cyclist-friendly Highway Code...