Motorcycle accident - should I search for solicitor?

InsideInsurance

Stoke wrote: »

If the car didn't stop then surely that is leaving the scene of an accident? That's a crime!

Where does the OP say the TP failed to stop? All he says was that he was knocked out by the accident, came to in the ambulance and the police havent called him back with the reg number of the car yet.

There can also be legitimate reasons not to stop at the scene of the accident and as long as it is reported to the police within 24 hrs you are unlikely to be prosecuted for failing to stop

Richard53

InsideInsurance wrote: »

The key part is the "making your own lane", which includes driving in the wrong direction in an oncoming lane. Whenever this is done its considered very high risk and you are no longer "a correctly proceeding vehicle".

I'm a bit puzzled here. I thought that 'making your own lane' was what was otherwise known as filtering or lane splitting, i.e. travelling in the unmarked spaces between other vehicles. Your definition ("driving in the wrong direction in an oncoming lane")of 'making your own lane' would include plain old overtaking , which as far as I know is a perfectly legal manoeuvre if done correctly.

Personally, I overtake cars all the time, although I try to anticipate the actions of others and leave plenty of room for the unexpected. If I am doing a normal overtake and a car pulls out into my path without looking, then I would regard the driver as 100% in the wrong. Your words quoted above would suggest that I was in the wrong as I was not a "correctly proceeding vehicle".

OnanTheBarbarian

Original poster, seek out advice from a specialist biker solicitor, there is so much toss being sprouted within this thread.

I have no affiliation with them, but there is a firm called White Dalton who specialise in biker claims and they are all bikers themselves.

From the info in your original post, if that can all be supported by the car travelling behind the Merc , I personally struggle to see why any liability should rest with the biker. Even if the Merc put his indicator on, it does not permit him to just pull out without checking (which he obviously did not). if the bike was already so close to the Merc at the time it swung out then it was an unavoidable collision, what has the biker done wrong?

When you overtake, you should overtake in a safe but hard & fast manner to minimise the time exposed to danger on single carriageway roads.

fivetide

OnanTheBarbarian wrote: »

Original poster, seek out advice from a specialist biker solicitor, there is so much toss being sprouted within this thread.

I have no affiliation with them, but there is a firm called White Dalton who specialise in biker claims and they are all bikers themselves.

From the info in your original post, if that can all be supported by the car travelling behind the Merc , I personally struggle to see why any liability should rest with the biker. Even if the Merc put his indicator on, it does not permit him to just pull out without checking (which he obviously did not). if the bike was already so close to the Merc at the time it swung out then it was an unavoidable collision, what has the biker done wrong?

When you overtake, you should overtake in a safe but hard & fast manner to minimise the time exposed to danger on single carriageway roads.

Actually I think the majority of posters agree with you.

It's also why I pointed the OP at a local bike forum to get a decent solicitor on board.

InsideInsurance

Richard53 wrote: »

I'm a bit puzzled here. I thought that 'making your own lane' was what was otherwise known as filtering or lane splitting, i.e. travelling in the unmarked spaces between other vehicles. Your definition ("driving in the wrong direction in an oncoming lane")of 'making your own lane' would include plain old overtaking , which as far as I know is a perfectly legal manoeuvre if done correctly.

Personally, I overtake cars all the time, although I try to anticipate the actions of others and leave plenty of room for the unexpected. If I am doing a normal overtake and a car pulls out into my path without looking, then I would regard the driver as 100% in the wrong. Your words quoted above would suggest that I was in the wrong as I was not a "correctly proceeding vehicle".

Both would be considered making your own lane and neither are "illegal". Just because something is legal however doesnt absolve you of all resultant accidents. Its legal to reverse into a parking space but if you hit the car next to you whilst you do it you are liable.

You are automatically at a heightened duty of care when you are performing a maneuver/ creating your own lane etc. Clearly if someone is indicating right, particularly if there are side roads or driveways that isnt a good time to decide to overtake someone (and indeed the Highway Code instructs you not to overtake where there are side roads). Yes the other vehicle should double check no one is being an idiot hence why they carry the majority of the blame but the overtaking vehicle shares some of the responsibility too.

Ultimately these things all come down to witness statements, road layouts and those involve's statement (and ultimately what a judge is likely to believe is the most likely thing to have happened). In the absence of these at this point in time, if this is one of my cases, I'd be preparing the OP to expect a split decision in their favour. If the TP puts their hands up and says its all their fault then great, but it is the minority of these cases that end like that