UK and Europe · Public discussion

Classic Accident

dannyfrankszzz · 2003-07-01T21:56:29+00:00

I was involved in an accident today: Parked cars on the left, stationary traffic on the right and I'm coming up in between on my bicycle (not very fast). Guess what, someone in one of the parked cars opens their passenger door (driver side) without looking as I'm cycling along. Next second, I'm on the tarmac and bleeding. I got a witness's details who saw the accident. The person who opened the door without looking basically said it was her fault. What should I do? Should I bother making a claim given the circumstances of the situation?

Started by dannyfrankszzz · 1 July 2003 · Last activity 4 July 2003 · 36 posts · 1,945 views

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01 / Original postClassic Accidentdannyfrankszzz · 1 Jul 2003 02 / This pagePosts 1–20Page 1 of 2 · chronological order 03 / Latest replyPost #36Ian · 4 Jul 2003

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Original section: UK and Europe
Published: 1 July 2003
Last activity: 4 July 2003
Original author: dannyfrankszzz
Posts: 36
Discussion status: Public discussion
Total views: 1,945
Views / 30 days: 0
Topics: Frame geometry

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Original post
dannyfrankszzz
Archived post

1 July 2003, 21:56 UTC #1

I was involved in an accident today:
Parked cars on the left, stationary traffic on the right and I'm coming up in between on my bicycle (not very fast). Guess what, someone in one of the parked cars opens their passenger door (driver side) without looking as I'm cycling along. Next second, I'm on the tarmac and bleeding.
I got a witness's details who saw the accident. The person who opened the door without looking basically said it was her fault.
What should I do?
Should I bother making a claim given the circumstances of the situation?

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Garry Broad
Archived post

1 July 2003, 23:00 UTC #2

dannyfrankszzz said:
I was involved in an accident today:
Parked cars on the left, stationary traffic on the right and I'm coming up in between on my bicycle
(not very fast). Guess what, someone in one of the parked cars opens their passenger door (driver
side) without looking as I'm cycling along. Next second, I'm on the tarmac and bleeding.
I got a witness's details who saw the accident. The person who opened the door without looking
basically said it was her fault.
What should I do?
Should I bother making a claim given the circumstances of the situation?
Glad you're basically ok. This is a perilous scenario, and virtually impossible to guard against.
The number of times I've..........anyway.
Claim? That's up to you, but witnesses are gold dust. Worth remembering.
Heal quick.
gb

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Ian
Archived post

1 July 2003, 23:00 UTC #3

dannyfrankszzz must be edykated coz e writed:
Quoted message said:
I was involved in an accident today:
Parked cars on the left, stationary traffic on the right and I'm coming up in between on my
bicycle (not very fast). Guess what, someone in one of the parked cars opens their passenger door
(driver side) without looking as I'm cycling along. Next second, I'm on the tarmac and bleeding.
I got a witness's details who saw the accident. The person who opened the door without looking
basically said it was her fault.
What should I do?
Should I bother making a claim given the circumstances of the situation?
--
Quoted message said:
--------------------------<

Posted via cyclingforums.com cyclingforums.comcyclingforums.com

I think your equally at fault matey.
Ian

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John B
Archived post

1 July 2003, 23:31 UTC #4

dannyfrankszzz said:
I was involved in an accident today:
Parked cars on the left, stationary traffic on the right and I'm coming up in between on my
bicycle (not very fast). Guess what, someone in one of the parked cars opens their passenger door
(driver side) without looking as I'm cycling along. Next second, I'm on the tarmac and bleeding.
I got a witness's details who saw the accident. The person who opened the door without looking
basically said it was her fault.
What should I do?
Should I bother making a claim given the circumstances of the situation?
This is a no-brainer. Of course you must. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain.
Even if you don't receive any compensation (which I think you should) you will at least be
highlighting the irresponsible actions of the idiot who opened the door.
Are you a member of the CTC?
John B

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John B
Archived post

1 July 2003, 23:31 UTC #5

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Ian said:
dannyfrankszzz must be edykated coz e writed:
Quoted message said:
I was involved in an accident today:
Parked cars on the left, stationary traffic on the right and I'm coming up in between on my
bicycle (not very fast). Guess what, someone in one of the parked cars opens their passenger
door (driver side) without looking as I'm cycling along. Next second, I'm on the tarmac and
bleeding.
Quoted message said:

Should I bother making a claim given the circumstances of the situation?
I think your equally at fault matey.
I reckon you work for an American insurance company.
John B
--------------AEB1FEF2F2597644FF7F63B2 Content-Type: text/html; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
<!doctype html public "-//w3c//dtd html 4.0 transitional//en"> <html> Ian wrote: <blockquote
TYPE=CITE>dannyfrankszzz must be edykated coz e writed:
> I was involved in an accident today: > > Parked cars on the left, stationary traffic on
the right and I'm > coming up in between on my bicycle (not very fast). Guess what, >
someone in one of the parked cars opens their passenger door (driver > side) without looking
as I'm cycling along. Next second, I'm on the > tarmac and bleeding. >
<q>> > Should I bother making a claim given the circumstances of the situation?<a
href="cyclingforums.comcyclingforums.com"></a>
<r>I think your equally at fault matey.</blockquote>
<s> I reckon you work for an American insurance company.
<t>John B</html>
--------------AEB1FEF2F2597644FF7F63B2--

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Richard Goodman
Archived post

2 July 2003, 08:00 UTC #6

"dannyfrankszzz" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...
Quoted message said:

Should I bother making a claim given the circumstances of the situation?
In principle, the driver can be responsible for the actions of his/her passengers in situations like
this, but what was your loss/damage? If it was nothing but a few scratches and the bike is ok then
what is there to claim for, really? Whether it is worth bothering to make a claim depends entirely
on the extent of any injuries and damages - the more they are the more bother it is worth.
Rich

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Ian
Archived post

2 July 2003, 09:00 UTC #7

Quoted message said:
This message is in MIME format. Since your mail reader does not understand

this format, some or all of this message may not be legible.
--MS_Mac_OE_3139983328_65035_MIME_Part Content-type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII"
Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit
John B must be edykated coz e writed:
Ian wrote: dannyfrankszzz must be edykated coz e writed:
Quoted message said:
I was involved in an accident today:
Parked cars on the left, stationary traffic on the right and I'm coming up in between on my
bicycle (not very fast). Guess what, someone in one of the parked cars opens their passenger door
(driver side) without looking as I'm cycling along. Next second, I'm on the tarmac and bleeding.
Quoted message said:

Should I bother making a claim given the circumstances of the situation?
I think your equally at fault matey.
I reckon you work for an American insurance company.
John B
I think we are all aware of the danger of car doors opening, so we need to stay far enough away from
parked cars or be sure we can stop if not.
Ian
--MS_Mac_OE_3139983328_65035_MIME_Part Content-type: text/html; charset="US-ASCII"
Content-transfer-encoding: quoted-printable
<HTML> <HEAD> <TITLE>Re: Classic Accident</TITLE> </HEAD> <BODY> John B must be edykated coz e
writed: <BLOCKQUOTE>Ian wrote: <BLOCKQUOTE>dannyfrankszzz must be edykated coz e
writed: > I was involved in an accident today: > > Parked cars on the
left, stationary traffic on the right and I'm > coming up in between on my bicycle (not very
fast). Guess what, > someone in one of the parked cars opens their passenger door (driver <=
BR>
Quoted message said:
side) without looking as I'm cycling along. Next second, I'm on the <B=

R>
Quoted message said:
tarmac and bleeding. > > > Should I bother making a claim given

the circumstances of the situatio= n? I think your equally at fault matey. 
</BLOCKQUOTE> I reckon you work for an American insurance company. John B 
</BLOCKQUOTE> I think we are all aware of the danger of car doors opening, so we need to = stay
far enough away from parked cars or be sure we can stop if not. Ian </BODY> </HTML>
--MS_Mac_OE_3139983328_65035_MIME_Part--

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Ben
Archived post

2 July 2003, 12:00 UTC #8

dannyfrankszzz said:
I was involved in an accident today:
Parked cars on the left, stationary traffic on the right and I'm coming up in between on my
bicycle (not very fast). Guess what, someone in one of the parked cars opens their passenger door
(driver side) without looking as I'm cycling along. Next second, I'm on the tarmac and bleeding.
I got a witness's details who saw the accident. The person who opened the door without looking
basically said it was her fault.
What should I do?
Should I bother making a claim given the circumstances of the situation?
Up to you on the claim front but it is an offence to open a car door into someones path.
This thread in uk.rec.motorcycles may help, it's the same thing but happened to a biker:
groups.google.comgroups
2u5bfv4jsuta5uhtvb29d06q8rpitqkcob%404ax.com&rnum=1&prev=/groups%3Fq%
3Dpassenger%2Bopen%2Bdoor%2Boffence%2Bgroup:uk.rec.motorcycles%26hl%
3Den%26lr%3D%26ie%3DUTF-8%26oe%3DUTF-8%26as_drrb%3Db%26as_mind%3D12%
26as_minm%3D5%26as_miny%3D2002%26as_maxd%3D2%26as_maxm%3D7%26as_maxy%
3D2003%26selm%3D2u5bfv4jsuta5uhtvb29d06q8rpitqkcob%25404ax.com% 26rnum%3D1
--
******** replace 'spam' with 'ben' to reply *********

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Just Zis Guy
Archived post

2 July 2003, 12:00 UTC #9

"dannyfrankszzz" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...
Quoted message said:
Parked cars on the left, stationary traffic on the right and I'm coming up in between on my
bicycle (not very fast). Guess what, someone in one of the parked cars opens their passenger door
(driver side) without looking as I'm cycling along. Next second, I'm on the tarmac and bleeding.
Puzzled: if the parked cars are on the left and the stationary traffic on the right, how could
opening the passenger door of the parked car impinge on your path? Or was it parked facing against
the traffic?
Quoted message said:
The person who opened the door without looking basically said it was her fault.
It was :-)
Quoted message said:
Should I bother making a claim given the circumstances of the situation?
I would, if there is any damage to bike or clothing. You won't get much for cuts and bruises (maybe
a few tens of British pounds) but bike togs are pricey and the car driver is insured. In theory.
They should also pay for a frame geometry check at your LBS. The bike may be more bent
than it looks.
--
Guy
===
WARNING: may contain traces of irony. Contents may settle after posting.
chapmancentral.comchapmancentral.com

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John B
Archived post

2 July 2003, 12:00 UTC #10

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Ian said:
John B must be edykated coz e writed:
Ian wrote:
dannyfrankszzz must be edykated coz e writed:
Quoted message said:
I was involved in an accident today:
Parked cars on the left, stationary traffic on

the right and I'm
Quoted message said:
coming up in between on my bicycle (not very

fast). Guess what,
Quoted message said:
someone in one of the parked cars opens their

passenger door (driver
Quoted message said:
side) without looking as I'm cycling along. Next

second, I'm on the
Quoted message said:
tarmac and bleeding.
Quoted message said:

Should I bother making a claim given the

circumstances of the situation?
I think your equally at fault matey.
I reckon you work for an American insurance company.
John B
I think we are all aware of the danger of car doors opening, so we need to stay far enough away
from parked cars or be sure we can stop if not.
True, and an experienced rider will also look for additional clues such as someone in the vehicle,
perhaps looking behind, someone reaching across, a vehicle with its indicators being switched off,
etc However legal responsibility rests also with the driver/passenger not to open the door when a
cyclist is passing. HC 214: you MUST ensure you do not hit anyone when you open your door.
By your argument one could also say we are all aware of the dangers of using the roads, so need to
keep away from them. That is clearly nonsense.
John B
--------------A9421F52993946D3EA93A2F7 Content-Type: text/html; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
<!doctype html public "-//w3c//dtd html 4.0 transitional//en"> <html> Ian wrote: <blockquote
TYPE=CITE>John B must be edykated coz e writed: <blockquote>Ian wrote:
<blockquote>dannyfrankszzz must be edykated coz e writed:
> I was involved in an accident today: > > Parked cars on the left, stationary traffic on
the right and I'm > coming up in between on my bicycle (not very fast). Guess what, >
someone in one of the parked cars opens their passenger door (driver > side) without looking
as I'm cycling along. Next second, I'm on the > tarmac and bleeding. >
<q>> > Should I bother making a claim given the circumstances of the situation?
<r>I think your equally at fault matey.</blockquote>
<s> I reckon you work for an American insurance company.
<t>John B</blockquote>
 I think we are all aware of the danger of car doors opening, so we need to stay far enough
away from parked cars or be sure we can stop if not.</blockquote>
<v> True, and an experienced rider will also look for additional clues such as someone in the
vehicle, perhaps looking behind, someone reaching across, a vehicle with its indicators being
switched off, etc However legal responsibility rests also with the driver/passenger not to
open the door when a cyclist is passing. HC 214: you MUST ensure you do not hit anyone when
you open your door.
<w>By your argument one could also say we are all aware of the dangers of using the roads, so need
to keep away from them. That is clearly nonsense.
<x>John B</html>
--------------A9421F52993946D3EA93A2F7--

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Ian
Archived post

2 July 2003, 12:00 UTC #11

Quoted message said:
This message is in MIME format. Since your mail reader does not understand

this format, some or all of this message may not be legible.
--MS_Mac_OE_3139994089_712246_MIME_Part Content-type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII"
Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit
John B must be edykated coz e writed:
By your argument one could also say we are all aware of the dangers of using the roads, so need to
keep away from them. That is clearly nonsense.
John B
Now your being pedantic, I don't see any problem with showing a bit of grace in a graceless world,
the car passenger was apologetic, and will no doubt take a bit more care in future, as will the
cyclist, if you want to stick to the letter of the law and sue whenever possible, you just end up
heading towards old age as a twisted miserable old [censored], and there are plenty of those already,
if you want to change attitudes you need to display a balance. Otherwise we end up in a hit and
run culture.
Ian
--MS_Mac_OE_3139994089_712246_MIME_Part Content-type: text/html; charset="US-ASCII"
Content-transfer-encoding: quoted-printable
<HTML> <HEAD> <TITLE>Re: Classic Accident</TITLE> </HEAD> <BODY> John B must be edykated coz e
writed: <BLOCKQUOTE> By your argument one could also say we are all aware of the
dangers of usin= g the roads, so need to keep away from them. That is clearly nonsense. 
 John B </BLOCKQUOTE> Now your being pedantic, I don't see any problem with showing a
bit of grac= e in a graceless world, the car passenger was apologetic, and will no doubt = take a
bit more care in future, as will the cyclist, if you want to stick to= the letter of the law and sue
whenever possible, you just end up heading to= wards old age as a twisted miserable old [censored], and
there are plenty of th= ose already, if you want to change attitudes you need to display a balance.
= Otherwise we end up in a hit and run culture. Ian </BODY> </HTML>
--MS_Mac_OE_3139994089_712246_MIME_Part--

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Jt
Archived post

2 July 2003, 13:30 UTC #12

"Ian" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...
Quoted message said:
John B must be edykated coz e writed:
By your argument one could also say we are all aware of the dangers of

using
Quoted message said:
the roads, so need to keep away from them. That is clearly nonsense.
John B
Now your being pedantic, I don't see any problem with showing a bit of

grace
No he's not. He's being correct; unfortunately for you if you disagree.The door-opener's actions
resulted in damage to the person and property of the poster. Post-incident attitude is no excuse.
The law and circumstances are clear, as are the explanations you have received.
Quoted message said:
in a graceless world, the car passenger was apologetic, and will no doubt take a bit more care in
future, as will the cyclist, if you want to stick

to
Quoted message said:
the letter of the law and sue whenever possible, you just end up heading towards old age as a
twisted miserable old [censored], and there are plenty

of
Quoted message said:
those already, if you want to change attitudes you need to display a balance. Otherwise we end up
in a hit and run culture.
We already have one. Blaming the victim does not help. Ensuring that careless people are made aware
that their actions may have consequences will help. Wooly thinking and touchy-feely statements have
no place in the real world.
It's much easier to change actions compared to attitudes, much easier to measure the results, and
MUCH more effective. Best example in the cycling world is the law change regarding presumption of
fault in the Netherlands (?) - despite extremes such as a drunk cyclist travelling at night on a
one-way without lights being held not at fault, the collision rate is reported to have dropped by
around 50%.

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dannyfrankszzz
Archived post

2 July 2003, 13:54 UTC #13

Just to clear things up: the driver opened the driver door (right hand drive car) whilst I was cycling on.
Any suggestion that fault lies with me the cyclist is completely nonsensical - the driver opened the door without looking - end of story! Guilty!
From my point of view, the rule in Holland that if a driver hits a cyclist, then it's automatically their fault makes a lot of sense. I mean think about it: when you think of the damage that can be caused to a cyclist travelling at any reasonable speed, then there is hardly an argument to suggest that the cyclist would cause the accident on purpose so as to make a claim unless the cyclist didn't mind risking breaking limbs, paralysis or death.

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Davep
Archived post

2 July 2003, 14:00 UTC #14

dannyfrankszzz said:

I was involved in an accident today:
Parked cars on the left, stationary traffic on the right and I'm coming up in between on my
bicycle (not very fast). Guess what, someone in one of the parked cars opens their passenger door
(driver side) without looking as I'm cycling along. Next second, I'm on the tarmac and bleeding.
I got a witness's details who saw the accident. The person who opened the door without looking
basically said it was her fault.
What should I do?
Should I bother making a claim given the circumstances of the situation?
yes, that's if you are injured and the bike is damaged, which it is, isn't it??
my last "car door incident" involved a near side passenger door. I didn't get details and just
cycled off. my right shoulder ached for ages ( weeks ) afterwards. from now on I always stop and
exchange contact details.
davep

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Ian
Archived post

2 July 2003, 14:00 UTC #15

jt must be edykated coz e writed:
Quoted message said:

"Ian" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...
Quoted message said:
John B must be edykated coz e writed:
By your argument one could also say we are all aware of the dangers of

using
Quoted message said:
the roads, so need to keep away from them. That is clearly nonsense.
John B
Now your being pedantic, I don't see any problem with showing a bit of

grace
No he's not. He's being correct; unfortunately for you if you disagree.The door-opener's actions
resulted in damage to the person and property of the poster. Post-incident attitude is no excuse.
The law and circumstances are clear, as are the explanations you have received.
Quoted message said:
in a graceless world, the car passenger was apologetic, and will no doubt take a bit more care in
future, as will the cyclist, if you want to stick

to
Quoted message said:
the letter of the law and sue whenever possible, you just end up heading towards old age as a
twisted miserable old [censored], and there are plenty

of
Quoted message said:
those already, if you want to change attitudes you need to display a balance. Otherwise we end up
in a hit and run culture.
We already have one. Blaming the victim does not help. Ensuring that careless people are made
aware that their actions may have consequences will help. Wooly thinking and touchy-feely
statements have no place in the real world.
It's much easier to change actions compared to attitudes, much easier to measure the results, and
MUCH more effective. Best example in the cycling world is the law change regarding presumption of
fault in the Netherlands (?) - despite extremes such as a drunk cyclist travelling at night on a
one-way without lights being held not at fault, the collision rate is reported to have dropped by
around 50%.

OOOOO touchy.

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Davep
Archived post

2 July 2003, 14:32 UTC #16

Ian said:

dannyfrankszzz must be edykated coz e writed:
Quoted message said:
I was involved in an accident today:
Parked cars on the left, stationary traffic on the right and I'm coming up in between on my
bicycle (not very fast). Guess what, someone in one of the parked cars opens their passenger
door (driver side) without looking as I'm cycling along. Next second, I'm on the tarmac and
bleeding.
I got a witness's details who saw the accident. The person who opened the door without looking
basically said it was her fault.
What should I do?
Should I bother making a claim given the circumstances of the situation?
--
Quoted message said:
--------------------------<

Posted via cyclingforums.com cyclingforums.comcyclingforums.com

I think your equally at fault matey.
Ian
you're not serious? the onus is on the passenger to check for cycles,motorcyles and cars before
opening a door.
davep

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Ian
Archived post

2 July 2003, 14:32 UTC #17

davep must be edykated coz e writed:
Quoted message said:
Ian said:

I think your equally at fault matey.
Ian
you're not serious? the onus is on the passenger to check for cycles,motorcyles and cars before
opening a door.
davep
Yes I'm completely serious, you might advocate riding with eyes shut and brain in neutral but I
don't. When you are in a traffic dense situation such as this you should use your brain for
protection, the highway code is not adequate as safety clothing.
Ian

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Davep
Archived post

2 July 2003, 15:30 UTC #18

Ian said:

davep must be edykated coz e writed:
Quoted message said:
Ian said:

I think your equally at fault matey.
Ian
you're not serious? the onus is on the passenger to check for cycles,motorcyles and cars before
opening a door.
davep
Yes I'm completely serious, you might advocate riding with eyes shut and brain in neutral but I
don't. When you are in a traffic dense situation such as this you should use your brain for
protection, the highway code is not adequate as safety clothing.
Ian
I'm cycling along a road and there's a car parked in front of me. I look behind and indicate that I
will be pulling out to overtake. I overtake with 2 metres between me and the parked car because I
see the car has occupants and I suspect someone might open a door. Sometimes situations exist that
mean I cannot give 2 metres between myself and the parked car. ( a car coming in the opposite
direction comes over the white line etc etc). You're suggesting that if someone subsequently throws
the car door wide open it is partly my fault. Sorry, I disagree.
davep

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Ian
Archived post

2 July 2003, 16:00 UTC #19

davep must be edykated coz e writed:
Quoted message said:
Ian said:

davep must be edykated coz e writed:
Quoted message said:
Ian wrote:
>
> I think your equally at fault matey.
>
> Ian
you're not serious? the onus is on the passenger to check for cycles,motorcyles and cars before
opening a door.
davep
Yes I'm completely serious, you might advocate riding with eyes shut and brain in neutral but I
don't. When you are in a traffic dense situation such as this you should use your brain for
protection, the highway code is not adequate as safety clothing.
Ian
I'm cycling along a road and there's a car parked in front of me. I look behind and indicate that
I will be pulling out to overtake. I overtake with 2 metres between me and the parked car because
I see the car has occupants and I suspect someone might open a door. Sometimes situations exist
that mean I cannot give 2 metres between myself and the parked car. ( a car coming in the opposite
direction comes over the white line etc etc). You're suggesting that if someone subsequently
throws the car door wide open it is partly my fault. Sorry, I disagree.
davep

No, I'm suggesting that if you know you are putting yourself into a vulnerable position then you
have to be extra vigilant, car occupied, you know you have to pass close enough to be struck by a
door, slow to a crawling pace and indicate your presence with your bell or horn.
Ian

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Adrian Boliston
Archived post

2 July 2003, 16:00 UTC #20

"davep" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...
Quoted message said:
I'm cycling along a road and there's a car parked in front of me. I look behind and indicate that
I will be pulling out to overtake.
better & safer to *gradully* move out about 100-200 yds before the obstruction, then no need to
"pull out" at all!

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