Witness request: Kingsland Road incident - 2011-12-03 (Saturday night)

Hi Velocio,

I've been a long-time lurker as this website is crucially good for information. But I've never, until now, had a reason to ask questions that weren't already answered through trawling the forum or the wider internet.

but after 4 years of incident-free cycling I was hit and partially run over by an overtaking, left-turning silver van man on Saturday night, whisked away to A&E and didn't get a chance to get witnesses. In fact i don't even know exactly where on Kingsland Road it happened (somewhere between the canal and Dalston Junction). .

I joined in order to ask for witnesses since I've seen similar pleas before. I've tried calling the police officer who attended me at A&E but waiting to hear back from him and I was also told they cannot give me any of the witness information they gathered anyway. However, there were loads of people gathered there and I'm hoping, despite not seeing anything on the Rider Down forum about the incident, that someone that one of the LFGSS members knows saw the accident.

I'm in the nursery, but would love it if I could get some help asking for this.

Regards

I've released her from the nursery, but if anyone can help in the meantime, please speak up.

Oh, and more details:

would love it if I could get some help asking for this. I have (had:'-< ) a beautiful yellow bike, Masi frame, brooks seat. and it was about 23:10-23:20 on Saturday night (3 December).

"But I've never, until now, had a reason to ask questions that weren't already answered through trawling the forum or the wider internet."

BUMP for this ^ and hope you get some help.

Hope you are healing quickly. Good luck.

Get well soon Tri3. Hope you bring the little scrote to book too.

Thanks very much, all. I feel very lucky not to have had worse damage than I do. At least it's not bad enough to have to tell my parents the truth about it.

Homebound for a while though I'll probably be taking it to the LBS that helped me build it so I can share tears with someone over Apollo's death (I name my bicycles and he was my best and most favoured one).

Please spread the word as my memory about the incident is getting hazier. I am no longer confident about the fact that the police collected witnesses (after having read a few posts). Thanks again and ride safely.

get well soon.

and i hope you get witnesses so they can get the driver off the road etc.

Have a look through the what to do in case of an accident thread. Also contact ojeffcott on here (Oliver Jeffcott in real life) a lawyer who focuses on cycling accidents and who operates on a no win no fee basis. He comes highly recommended and is a very decent chap.

Oh, and find a suitable time to tell your parents. They will probably find out somehow and it's always better coming from you.

good luck, i hope someone will come forward

Many thanks cliveo! and to the well-wishers above. Actually, re-reading that very useful thread on "what to do . . ." this morning is what brought me to join now. I read it a couple years back but clearly didn't retain much of it when it came down to needing it :-(

So I had seen Oliver Jeffcott's details there already, and may contact him given the added recommendation. I contacted CTC already via the smidsy link in roxy's first post, but as they're asking me to become a member for 5 years and I'm currently a student on a budget, I don't think I can do it. [Of course, in hindsight, it's obvious that I should have become a member ages ago, but since I really am finished with cycling on London/British roads, it feels as if it would work out more as a payment to the solicitors rather than a proper joining up fee.]

As for telling my parents - they'll never find out because i'm facebook free and they are far away. This is a good thing because they are Extreme worriers, especially about my cycling in London. It certainly wouldn't help them to know that their worst nightmare has almost come true. By the time I see them next month, I hope to be able to pass this knee injury off as a bad, but merely clumsy, running incident.

Thanks again!

Don't give up on cycling.

Hello, sorry, I have to amend the previous location. It turns out that I was south of the canal (heading north). Still not sure exactly where yet as I'm waiting for the police to get back to me, but my friend is pretty sure she ran south from Dalston junction just PAST the canal based on the directions the ambulance lady gave her. She can't remember anything else either about the location though, so I'm sorry for the vagueness, but it was somewhere on Kingsland Road, south of the canal.

^ do not lie to your parents. I wrecked myself a few years ago (properly) and didn't tell them until I was positive i'd be ok. I did it for the same reasons you are sighting. I really could have used their emotional support then, I only really see that now.

Tri3, is it OK for me to forward your call for witnesses to the LCC in Hackney mailing list?

It sounds to me as if you were probably hit at the junction of Orsman Road and Kingsland Road; just south of the canal and a (minor) rat-running route. The turn into Nuttall Street is difficult, and Phillip Street isn't a rat-run. Still, it is possible that it could have happened at either of these other junctions.

As others have said, give Oliver Jeffcott a call. He's great. Another possibility is Levenes, used by the LCC. Kevin O'Sullivan is your man there: http://www.levenes.co.uk/articles/100/12/

Like Clive, I hope you're not really finished with cycling. The shock will no doubt persist for a while, but never say never! If you need support to get your confidence back and to focus on all that time of incident-free riding that you've had, rather than the one crash, just ask! There are lots of people on here who have had similar experiences. You can also call the RoadPeace helpline for emotional support: http://www.roadpeace.org/support/

Heal up soon!

Tri3, Jacqui is right as ever. As the father of two student daughters, I would much prefer them to tell me when they had problems than discover it by chance later, as then, once I did discover it, I would never know if they were being open with me or not and I would worry all the more.

Hi Oliver, I am definitely happy for you to forward this to the LCC in Hackney! Thanks very much.

And guys, I hear you on the parents thing, but it's definitely not something I'm considering!

And thanks for the roadpeace link! I think I may need to sort my head out before stepping on any bike anywhere.

I haven't truly given up on cycling on trips abroad. I love it too much. But cycling in England won't happen. I'm planning to start running instead to school once my knee heals (fingers' crossed) because it's been five years since I've had to rely on the tube (I used to run to work before cycling) and I know I can't handle public transport for too long again.

Thanks again

Hi Oliver, I am definitely happy for you to forward this to the LCC in Hackney! Thanks very much.

Done. I hope someone will come forward.

I hope you recover well tri-3. Loads of awesome support and advice up from here..... Having been in a similar incident earlier this year, you resistance to London cycling is totally understandable. I could say all sorts to sway you to stay in the saddle, you have to reach that final decision on your own.... I sincerely hope you stay in the saddle and enjoy it when you get there.
We're all here if you need to vent, and Oliver's links are amazing help too......

Recover well, and take it easy. If you get back in the saddle, there's plenty of help to get you there - Just don't be a stranger on here.......

Tri-3, you could do far worse than have a look at the women's section on here. They organise some really nice rides which are, by all accounts very supportive, fun and social. They could be a route back to cycling happiness for you.

Most of us have had accidents and injuries over time, but we have bounced back (in my case a little too literally) and have been rewarded for doing so.

Hi All, Thanks again for the supportive comments. Can't think now about cycling again in London - i want to work on making sure my injuries don't plague me for longer than necessary. Besides I'm having minor daymares triggered by nostalgia for being on the bike. All of a sudden every memory of my route ends up with my leg under the wheel of a van.

by the way, Oliver, you were right. It was Orsman road.

I thought so, thanks for feeding back. We'll look into it. The issue with such streets is always speeding through traffic. People accessing properties there are generally never a problem. That's why a modal filter would work--a selective 'road closure' that filters out certain types (modes) of through traffic. It would mean that potential rat-runners would have to use more appropriate main streets.

One step at a time! Have you contacted RoadPeace for victim support yet? Please do. It sounds as if you're still suffering flashbacks.