Motorcycle accident claim

UncleBucket54

About six months ago, I was riding my motorcycle and had an accident involving an articulated lorry. This happened in the A4 near Reading, a straight and wide A road in a semi rural location. In front of me, was a line of stationary vehicles - an articulated lorry, parked with its wheels hard against the kerb, behind which there were about five cars which had stopped. It didn't look like these vehicles had been there long, and I approached cautiously from behind, sounding my horn before beginning to pass by the vehicles that had stopped. At no time was there any oncoming traffic. I half expected to see evidence of a minor crash, but there was none, and so as I was coming level with the rear of the lorry, I began to open up the power and accelerated from about 30mph to 40mph. But then came catastrophe. The lorry began moving - not to continue along the road, but to execute a hard right turn into a farm entrance on the other side of the road. I did not see a turn signal. I did not want to become trapped in the apex where cab joins trailer, so tried to accelerate past the vehicle on the right hand side. If I had been half a second quicker I would have made it, but the cab came round very quickly, and clipped my top box (on the back of the motorcycle) causing me to lose control and crash.

As always, I was wearing full leathers, helmet, boots and gloves. Miraculously, I was not seriously injured, but my bike was beyond economical repair.

The police were called, and investigated the scene, and interviewed witnesses from the stationary cars, the lorry driver and myself. The police asked me if I had tried to overtake the lorry while it was turning. Of course I hadn't. The lorry had been stopped with its wheels hard against the kerb, and could have made that turn long before I arrived on the scene, given that there was no oncoming traffic.

It ended up with the police telling me that their report would recommend that consideration be given to prosecuting the lorry driver for the offence of Careless Driving.


Now here comes the problem. The solicitor appointed by my insurance company says that they cannot get a copy of that police report. I have tried to obtain this myself, but have hit a stone wall. When speaking to the local police collision records office, I am told that I cannot get a copy of any report because of the Data Protection Act. I then managed to arrange a telephone conversation with the attending police officer, who confirmed to me that his report contained the recommendations for dealing with the lorry as I described earlier. But no police report has been forthcoming.

Meanwhile, the lorry driver's insurance company has written to some of the witnesses, who are claiming that it was MY fault for trying to pass the lorry while it was turning - no mention of the fact that I was committed to passing the line of stopped vehicles before the lorry began making that turn...

The only people taking statements, names and addresses were the police, and those witness statements would have formed part of the police report, which they deny having received. And so I further asked my appointed solicitor how the lorry driver's insurance company had come into possession of those witness statements. They have ignored my question!

There's not a lot of money at stake in my claim. The cost of my helmet replacement, glove replacement, policy excess and repairs to my leathers probably comes to less than £1500. But I would prefer NOT to have this accident result in a fault claim on my part, because that will have an impact on getting future motor insurance quotes, and could even affect my car insurance. . The only way I can do that is by way of that police report.

My appointed solicitor doesn't seem to care how this case ends up, and I've had to do a lot of the leg work myself, but still no police report.

My questions to the MSE community are:
• What must I do to obtain compel the police to supply a copy of the police report?
• Is there some way of getting around the Data Protection Act in this case?

huckster

If you are named in the Police report, you can obtain a copy of the parts of the report that mention you, with all other parts of the report witheld. If you are not mentioned which is unlikely, then you can't get a copy.

If you speak to the ICO office, they will explain you need to send a formal letter to the Police and they have 40 days to supply any part of the report which relates to you. If they fail to do so, then you can complain to the ICO.

The lorry drivers Solicitors might have obtained full disclosure from the Police, because of the threat to prosecute. The lorry driver and their insurers have every right to then use the information. If you were threatened with prosecution, you would have been in the same position.

UncleBucket54

Thank you, Huckster. Your post has thrown a lot of light on what might have happened. Too bad my appointed solicitor could not have done this...

I forgot to mention that despite some witnesses claiming that I had caused the accident, the police DID NOT prosecute me for any offence relating to this incident.

Retrogamer

My friend was in a similar situation.
His insurance company had to pay a fee to get a copy of the police report. They weren't able top get the copy until the report had been submitted for prosecution. This took several months.
1 year later, the insurance company are still battling it out.

Although in my opinion the lorry driver is to blame for your accident for most, if not all of it the insurance may settle 50:50 split liability as you shouldn't overtake near junctions

Mungo76

Overtaking 5 cars who are also looking to pass a parked arctic, beeping horn or not, to me seems like a pretty bad idea.

UncleBucket54

Although in my opinion the lorry driver is to blame for your accident for most, if not all of it the insurance may settle 50:50 split liability as you shouldn't overtake near junctions

I agree about not overtaking at junctions, which is why I was approaching cautiously at 30mph. The vehicles I was passing were all stationary.

I have looked at the ICO website. Do I have to report this issue to the ICO themselves, or to the police?

Norman_Castle

So the five cars waiting figured out it was turning right and waited behind but you didn't. There may have been no oncoming traffic but the farm entrance could have been temporarily blocked.

Retrogamer

UncleBucket54 wrote: »

I agree about not overtaking at junctions, which is why I was approaching cautiously at 30mph. The vehicles I was passing were all stationary.

I have looked at the ICO website. Do I have to report this issue to the ICO themselves, or to the police?

If i was riding my motorcycle and was trying to be cautious, i'd be going a lot slower than 30mph.

UncleBucket54

So the five cars waiting figured out it was turning right and waited behind but you didn't.

The car drivers had the benefit of seeing what the lorry had done in the half minute or so up to when I arrived. I thought something might be up, but the lorry was stopped beside the kerb and clearly did not follow the steps described in Highway Code Rule 159 before moving off. You'll have to look that up. As a newbie, I'm not allowed to post links.

Retrogamer said

If i was riding my motorcycle and was trying to be cautious, i'd be going a lot slower than 30mph.

What bike do you ride?

dacouch

Most HGV drivers train their driver in how to gather evidence following an accident to assist them in defending a claim and also for them to pay a valid claim at the earliest opportunity.

This normally includes gathering the names and addresses of any witnesses which may be why their Insurers have statements.

To make a tight right turn, a HGV will often go as far to the left as possible to give it the angle to make the turn.

Bear in mind that the police prosecuting the driver for CD does not automatically mean your case is proven. It's possible for the driver to be convicted but you be liable for the accident

Norman_Castle

UncleBucket54 wrote: »

The car drivers had the benefit of seeing what the lorry had done in the half minute or so up to when I arrived. I thought something might be up, but the lorry was stopped beside the kerb and clearly did not follow the steps described in Highway Code Rule 159 before moving off.

The lorry was stationary on the left of the lane and you assumed it was parked. Didn't you wonder why the following cars hadn't overtaken it?
Did the witnesses in the cars say it was indicating?

Highway code rule 159 is for vehicles moving away from the parked position.

Rule 221

Large vehicles. These may need extra road space to turn or to deal with a hazard that you are not able to see. If you are following a large vehicle, such as a bus or articulated lorry, be aware that the driver may not be able to see you in the mirrors. Be prepared to stop and wait if it needs room or time to turn.


Is the bike ridden relevant to what is a safe speed to cautiously pass a stationary lorry?