2010-11-30 - Rider Down (Me), Hyde Park Corner

Happened at 4.35pm on my way home from uni.

Green man/cycle: I was crossing the road (Grosvenor Place) from Wellington Arch to get into Hyde Park. Half way across, a white van accelerates, jumping the red light, and slams into the front left side of my bike, throwing me off the bike and to the right.

Surprisingly, the impact did not cause any pain, nor did the landing. The bike (steel frame) sustained no structural damage, just a few scratches to the saddle and handlebars. I landed on my right side and my head contacted the road but the helmet minimized any potential injury. Apart from a small bruise and a dodgy elbow that hurts when I straighten it, I am perfectly fine.

There were plenty of witnesses, including pedestrians and cyclists, who confirmed I was right to cross and the driver was not. I got up straight away and told the driver to step out. He protested his innocence, insisting the light was green for him, when it blatantly wasn't - all the other vehicles were waiting at the lights.

Meanwhile, the lights turned green and cars that were waiting were now beeping (his car was stopped in the middle of the road), which gave him the opportunity to drive off. I was in shock so didn't think once about getting his name and details. Two traffic officers were on the scene very quickly since they were stationed at Wellington Arch for the protests.

LL59 OXN is the one to look out for. It's a white Citroen Berlingo with a company logo on the side. This idiot shouldn't be driving.

It's my first accident in a year and a half, but it's not dented my confidence.
In fact, the same evening on the way to the police station, I got knocked off a second time after colliding with a pedestrian who wasn't looking when she crossed the road.

I've submitted a police report, including details of four witnesses (3 cyclists and 1 ped), who I thank for staying behind and helping me out. Is there anything else I can do to pursue the matter? Google Streetview doesn't show any CCTV cameras facing in the right direction - I'd like some objective confirmation that he jumped the red light...

Byron

That is a nasty story.

Glad you're well.

Glad you are ok - will leave advice up to those with experience / knowledge.

Glad you are OK!

Keep us informed on how this panned out. Glad you're ok and can't believe he didn't pull over to discuss things further. Driving without due care and leaving the scene. A ban at least I'd hope!

have you read this?

ebenzo, how are you feeling right now? normally we don't feel pain or anything during the accident but after a day, you start feeling some nagging pain.

Glad to hear you're alright, least you got enough witnesses to pursude.

Thanks for the kind words of advice.

I've read through that thread and a lot of the injury-related info seems irrelevant to me - fortunately, I've come away from the incident pretty much unscathed. I did think about visiting the GP the morning after, but felt fine. The small bruise on my shin is barely visible and doesn't show up well at all in photos. My elbow no longer hurts.

Frankly, I've had many worse injuries from doing silly things on the bike not involving traffic.

WIll keep you posted.

Thanks again,
Byron

If he has not passed you his details then he might have failed to stop and the scene of an accident, not sure about that so you need to check with a lawyer type - not the cops as they might not be interested. Or it might be in the link above. If he has failed to stop then this will go to court, assuming the cops follow it up. Make sure you start thinking about every detail of the accident and very importantly write down a description of the driver.

Any updates on this ebenzo?

5 months on, and some justice has been achieved.
The police took their time, but case closed finally.

£200 penalty fine, £100 court fees and 6 penalty points.

That's really going to learn him, isn't it :/

Glad it's over with, anyway.

To be honest, given the laziness of police when it comes to dealing with "minor" cases, I'm somewhat glad something was done.

its halfway to losing his licence, and if he drives for a living he might not be able to change jobs because they usually want a clean licence, so it is *som*e kind of punishment. Leaving the scene of an accident was quite serious though I thought?

The fine should have been higher, £200 is a bit basic

6 penalty points is pretty big. Longandwinding just finished up a court case where a driver cut her up and caused a collision - £200 in fines and 4 penalty points. Again it took several months to get things done.

The point is more that the police and courts are taking this more seriously now, are prosecuting and are finding in favour of cyclists where it merits. Small steps.

Oh, and ebenzo. Congrats on the result and for not giving up on the hassle of going through the process!

6 penalty points may be big but there was a news recently that someone was driving around with something like 30 penalty points.

probably an isolated case, however can't help but feel that there's more out there riding with lots of penalty points.

Following a post by Freewheeler, I sent a FOI to DVLA. These figures reflect the position as at 24 May 2011, and are for Great Britain and not for the United Kingdom as Northern Ireland maintains a separate drivers record. More on this from Kim and Waronthemotorist.

This was the result:
Current No. of

         Points      Drivers
         12                 6,983
         13                   809
         14                   870
         15                 1,075
         16                   297
         17                   144
         18                   233
         19                    37
         20                    46
         21                    39
         22                    10
         23                    15
         24                    24
         25                      3
         27                      3
         28                      1
         30                      4
         33                      1
         36                      2

So that bastard could still be driving, even if he already had 30 points.
What's the point of points?

Sorry Amoeba - I didn't realise this was a list specifically of those STILL DRIVING with that many points!!!
(I thought it was just the number who had that many points.)
In-fucking-credible.

Points, 16/05/2011, 24/05/2011, Change
12, 7014, 6983, -31
13, 804, 809, +5
14, 881, 870, -11
15, 1093, 1075, -18
16, 296, 297, +1
17, 147, 144, -3
18, 245, 233, -12
19, 38, 37, -1
20, 49, 46, -3
21, 38, 39, +1
22, 13, 10, -3
23, 16, 15, -1
24, 24, 24, 0
25, 3, 3, 0
26, 0, 0, 0
27, 3, 3, 0
28, 1, 1, 0
29, 0, 0, 0
30, 4, 4, 0
31, 0, 0, 0
32, 0, 0, 0
33, 1, 1, 0
34, 0, 0, 0
35, 0, 0, 0
36, 1, 2, +1
Total:, 10671, 10596, -75

The change in data between the dates interested me

Is that one extra driver with 36 points the one thathas gone from the 23 point place? or is it someone new, or have more than one person jumped or what. Puzzling.

33.7 million people in the UK have a driving license.

if the number is correct, then it appear to be a very small minority.