London Fixed-gear and Single-speed SJS Cycles

Great thread.

Thank you; great advice

great thread Roxy and Wannabe. Deeply appreciated for the help. I have pdf all the relevant bits.

Civil claims are quite complicated but are 3 years for negligent & 6 years for deliberate( seperate to a criminal prosecution of course). some cases may be extended.
Noted your mention of cops losing documents, Plod didn't even submit my accident report(tho the report number was submited) Still won though without witnesses due to evidence I provided/chased up.
Excellent info/Advice

thanks for the advice guys

Also, if you get into an argument with someone, say for example, a taxi driver who tries to run you off the road, and they spit at you and gob lands on you DON'T wash that item. Get down to the cop shop with it.

Spitting is assualt, and the cops seem to like the chance to use some DNA evidence - easier to prosecute than bad driving without witnesses. Monica Lewinski it!

very helpfull cheers. just got hit by a black cab on my way back home. the driver def saw me, he just decided to continue to drive as if i wasn't on the road. i felt off, few scratches on my bike & scrapped up knee, stood up and asked him to pull over to exchange details, the fuckin twat just drove off. got his plate and licensed plate but i'm afraid that's gonna be another pointless paperwork for police/insurance company. will see. thanks for all those tips.

-Ben; well done on getting the numbers. Def. worth reporting it at the nearest station (they'll ask if there's any CCTV). Figure an hour of your time, tops. The PCO won't do anything if there ain't a criminal record.

Report the incident here: https://www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/contact/pco/taxi.aspx

Shouldn't take more than ten minutes of your time. Be clear, concise, eloquent and grammatically correct. It may not do anything now but they will have to record all complaints and if the driver develops a history it will have to be taken into consideration if anything more serious happens.

^ Thanks for the clarification. Always worth reporting it to the PCO at the link above, but they need the police record as well to really do something; and anything they have on file may be helpful in the future.

All good info, thanks folks.

This is such a great thread, my friend recently had a door opened on him and had his neck muscle severed - luckily he has recovered with surgery and he has recieved full justice/compensation.

Perfect thread

Just found this board while searching for something else and this is a really useful thread - I just hope I never need to use this information!

I wanted to add something about CCTV - we use CCTV at the company I work for and it records to a hard drive which is then wiped every 30 days. The images can be saved to disc for permanency but it has to be done within 30 days.

I would therefore put in your DPA requests as quickly as possible and make sure you follow up explaining urgency to whoever is dealing and really chase it.

using the term "collision" or "crash" seems more appropriate than "accident".
thanks so much for invaluable advice.
s

http://www.roadpeace.org/index.asp?PageID=302

Great thread!

This has been super-helpful. Thanks!

hey guys - i'm new to the forum. i had my hybrid nicked yesterday and was looking at buying a fixed gear bike and stumbled on this thread.

anyway...i'm a personal injury lawyer based in london who specialises in cycling accidents (nothing quite as satisfying as going after people who knock over cyclists...especially after being in a few accidents myself) so if anyone has got any questions on making a claim just give me a shout.

the criminal side of getting a prosecution seems to be covered well already on this thread but if people want a basic guide for claiming compensation against drivers (as the system is significantly different) then let me know.

cheers

come on here to look for some info as to what to do after was pushed off my bike by a moped driver and his passenger.. great info..
had a go at the guy after he rode down a busy pavement on his moterbike thing, he then followed me and pushed me off, got his plates and a whitness so fingers crossed they get him..

great information thanks

WOW
i never new ppl new tht much

whats the worst injery youve had? and what did u do?

irony

Useful info, thanks.

Hmm, this is all interesting :) Great info. Today I finally had a response to a complaint I made against a bendy bus driver for trying to kill me and not being very apologetic about it. I got a pretty lame response and wondered if there was anything I could do about it. I'm just sick of being bullied on the road :(

Basically I was on New Kent Road heading towards Bricklayers Arms and was clearly visible, at the junction, and went ahead of the bus, and he cut me up and rode me into the pavement. Thankfully i didn't come off but when I rode around and confronted him he swore at me, closed the bus doors in my face and drove off. Then I rather pathetically fell off my bike as I rode off (go figure) as i was shaking with rage and general shock.

The lady on the phone was most understanding but I heard nothing from them and have been chasing it since.....this is the response i got and its all very mysterious.

[FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3]I was concerned to hear that you had been involved in near miss incident with one of our buses. The safety of all road users is our utmost priority and this does include cyclists. In addition all our drivers are working to obtain a BTEC qualification for bus drivers in London and this does include formal training and driver assessment.[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3] [/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3]Our instructors do undertake monitoring of our drivers and monitoring is also undertaken by assessors from the Driving Standards Agency. This monitoring is undertaken whilst our drivers are operating in service and is carried out on a covert basis with the driver being unaware that they are being monitored at the time. This will include monitoring on the action that a driver takes in relation to any incidents involving passengers. [/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3] [/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3]If the driving performance is not satisfactory then a driver may be referred for retraining. On this occasion, we have attempted to trace the closest Driver to the location where the incident occurred. The Driver has been interviewed and the matter has been dealt with accordingly, in line with Company procedures. Unfortunately, I cannot disclose the outcome of any investigation or action taken, only that the Driver has been seen and the matter dealt with appropriately. [/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3] [/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3] [/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3]Thank you for contacting us and bringing this incident to our attention. [/SIZE][/FONT]

its amazing how many accidents happen to cyclists , i was nearly killed several times over the weekend whilst out riding in north london. It seems the posher they are the less they care about you . u -turns , doors flying open , overtaking although you are going as fast as they are , they dont seem to like a bike in front of them ....the closest call was a fricking bentley , they were totally oblivious how close they were to killing me and when you shout at them they have no idea !
best to just have a spare lock / chain / seatpost and drop it on their car by accident :)

Very useful. Thanks.

The Driver has been interviewed and the matter has been dealt with accordingly, in line with Company procedures. Unfortunately, I cannot disclose the outcome of any investigation or action taken, only that the Driver has been seen and the matter dealt with appropriately. [/SIZE][/FONT]

You should write back saying you don't require details, simply confirmation that the driver is a c*nt.
Btw...there a FEW good bus drivers...you know, the ones who check their wing mirrors and don't swing out into your path because they know you'll make the lights and they won't.

Rom, this is not the thread for questions like this. We try hard to keep this thread geared towards sorting out the legal side of things. Try a different one. Thank you.

Sorry mate, deleted the msg

I'm a foreigner so I apologise if this is common knowledge but I can't find the numbers to use to call the police when it's a non-emergency. I've been run down by a black cab once and have been intimidated and threatened on at least one occasion where I would have wanted to call the police.

If I'm not injured and it's not a 999 situation, where do I find the numbers to call? I tried looking at the Met website but couldn't find them and the two stations I went to to report an incident were both closed after 6pm.

It is not really the thread for this request but it sounds like you could use some help. According to the MET website, the number is 0300 123 1212.

Best of luck.

great thread. cheers

I wish I had seen this before...

Some idiot opened his car door in my face a couple of weeks ago. Fair to say he was seemly truly sorry etc.
In any case my front wheel, fork and head set needed serious repairs/replace that costed a fair amount... He agreed there and then to pay for the repairs and geve me his details. I have since spoke to him on the phone and sent him the bill (copy), but he is now saying that he was in a taxi and is going to get the taxi company's inssurers to pay for it... I don't really mind who pays, I just want the money back and I don't expect the inssurance company to pay if they can avoid it and equally I don't want to enter into an edless exchange of letters.

Is there anything I should be doing?

Thanks guys

This kinda info is super useful. cheers for all the collation people

just got knocked off in the rain , C**t overtook me , cut me up , swung hard left and didnt indicate , i braked hard , his back bumper caught my wheel and i ended up on the tarmac. funny loads of bikes / cars / people around but nobody got the registration i guess cos of the rain . there was plenty of cctv mind . should i call the rozzers ? car didnt stop ..........

this type of driver needs a serious lesson !

The driver has committed an offence in failing to stop, so yes, file a report with the police.

It is illegal to use any mode of transport on any of her majestys highway network if the vehicle in question does not have a means of retarding the back wheels. Fixed gear bike achieve this with drive train braking. Any single speed bike with a free wheel must be fitted with a rear brake to be used legal on the highway.

Great tread, saved, hopefully never to be used, but that's life!

LageRider

great info, very useful!

Moving this to mech and fixing

Good question, but I don't think that this is the right thread for this discussion.

Glad you are not more seriously injured though ;-)

Take care!

Did you seriously register with the username "nerdslut"???

@Balki, I did.... is that not okay with you?

@ojeffcott, thank you, me too. Actually, I'm glad it went down (I went down) this way because now am slightly more relaxed, in a good way not a reckless way, about the whole concept of falling.

Could anyone please suggest where to move my reply if there's a better place (not allowed to do new threads yet)...

Have a look in the mechanics and fixin' forum.

No, its frikken awesome. Anyway, I need to get back to World of Warcraft.

*cough*

i know there's all the info at the start about what to do, but I'm just looking for some advice.

on august 1st i was heading up lower clapton road towards lea bridge roundabout to go to work. i went to over take a bus on the right handside as it was pulled too close into the curb, as i pulled out from behind the bus i was caught on the forearm by the wing mirror of a car travelling in the opposite direction. hitting his wing mirror cause me to be pulled into the back end of his car, cutting up my head and shoulder. the damage to his car was a broken wing mirror and a scratch down the side of his panelling.

i luckily managed to stay on my bike. i went back over to the driver to discuss what had happened, a friend came and collected my bike, and i called for an ambulance. as this was a road traffic accident the police were called. i was taken to hospital, my head was glued up and my my shoulder x-rayed and cleaned up. after this the police came in to take my details and my account of what happened.

i got the details for the driver also.

now today in the post i recieved a letter from his solicitor claiming i was:

"rode on the wrong side of the road"

"rode into the path of our client's correctly proceeding veichle"

"failed to take avoiding action, steering, swerving or otherwise so as to avoid the collision"

does over taking really count as riding on the wrong side of the road? and within that tiny time frame of seeing the car and being hit, how was i supposed to avoid him?

any help would be great. i'm going to head over to citizens advice on monday morning.

As the driver is looking at taking action against you I would recommend getting advice from a solicitor who specialises in Defendant work (I only act for the Claimant). You will probably need to already have legal expence insurance to pay for the solicitor. Check to see if you are covered through cycling insurance, household insurance, car insurance, credit cards and bank accounts. Any of these may have legal expence insurance bundled with it.

If you do not have any insurance then contact citizens advice or your local volunteer law centre.

Best of luck

Okay, going to see about moving it over... thanks

someday, I'm seconding the advice to get a solicitor. If you're an LCC member, you can get free legal advice from one.

Re SoL for criminal cases:

Its down to how serious the case is.
Something that can only go to the magistrates court (summary only) like careless driving is 6 months. Something like dangerous driving which can go to the crown court (either way or indictable only) has no limitation.

its not just linked to it being a traffic case.

I notice that someone mentioned that going to criminal court is no use for compensation. i would disagree. Since the burden of proof in a criminal case is beyond reasonable doubt, if the other person loses in a criminal case it makes it much easier to get your compensation in a civil court because you can say - well he was found guilty beyond reasonable doubt. This is a much higher standard than the civil - balance of probabilities i.e is it more likely than not.

hope this clarifies a bit.