D'oh :(

Christopher Harrison said:

Cycling to work this morning and, less than 1/4 mile from home, I was
hit by a car pulling out of a garage... Hospitalised (got to go on one
of those back board things!) but fortunately no broken bones -- my jaw
hurts and I have a chipped tooth; will get a nice scar on my chin; and
my wrist is in a splint in case there are any problems with my
scaphoid (i.e. forgive typos and broken English, but I can only type
with my left hand)... Haven't seen how badly my bike is damaged yet.

Do you want to know the worst of it?...

I live on a main road -- the A40 -- as such, I can't be bothered to
cross it at my house to get in the right carriageway (I'd be waiting
forever). So I cycle on the pavement, just up the road, to where the
nearest crossing is -- past said garage.
As I was on the pavement -- even though I was in full view and wearing
bright clothes -- it is apparently my fault. (Unless the witnesses can
prove otherwise.)

WTF!?

That potentially means that if I put a dent in this guy's bonnet,
it'll be muggins here (or my insurers) that'll have to pay to get it
fixed -- not to mention what it's going to cost to get my poor bike
mended 🙁 Haven't I been inconvenienced enough!?

Stupid laws.

Much sympathy for the injuries. Next time remember to walk on the
pavement. If it is such a short way it won't take very long to get to
the crossing.
And yes, you will be liable. You were acting illegally. Why should the
car driver be inconvenienced by your illegal actions?

...d

David Martin said:

Christopher Harrison said:

Cycling to work this morning and, less than 1/4 mile from home, I was
hit by a car pulling out of a garage... Hospitalised (got to go on one
of those back board things!) but fortunately no broken bones -- my jaw
hurts and I have a chipped tooth; will get a nice scar on my chin; and
my wrist is in a splint in case there are any problems with my
scaphoid (i.e. forgive typos and broken English, but I can only type
with my left hand)... Haven't seen how badly my bike is damaged yet.

Do you want to know the worst of it?...

I live on a main road -- the A40 -- as such, I can't be bothered to
cross it at my house to get in the right carriageway (I'd be waiting
forever). So I cycle on the pavement, just up the road, to where the
nearest crossing is -- past said garage.
As I was on the pavement -- even though I was in full view and wearing
bright clothes -- it is apparently my fault. (Unless the witnesses can
prove otherwise.)

WTF!?

That potentially means that if I put a dent in this guy's bonnet,
it'll be muggins here (or my insurers) that'll have to pay to get it
fixed -- not to mention what it's going to cost to get my poor bike
mended 🙁 Haven't I been inconvenienced enough!?

Stupid laws.

Much sympathy for the injuries. Next time remember to walk on the
pavement. If it is such a short way it won't take very long to get to
the crossing.
And yes, you will be liable. You were acting illegally. Why should the
car driver be inconvenienced by your illegal actions?

Wouldn't the driver also be acting illegally if he/she was
(presumably) reversing onto a main road?

Chris
--
Chris Eilbeck

David Martin said:

And yes, you will be liable. You were acting illegally. Why should the
car driver be inconvenienced by your illegal actions?

Well, without knowing more of the facts it's hard to say. Perhaps he
was cycling at walking pace - if he'd been walking the bike, would the
car driver have hit him anyway? Dent in bonnet (as opposed to front
wing) suggests that may be a possibility.

"The introduction of the fixed penalty is not aimed at responsible
cyclists who sometimes feel obliged to use the pavement out of fear of
the traffic, and who show consideration to other pavement users when
doing so [...]" - Paul Boateng, the Home Office minister responsible for
introduction of pavement cycling spot fines

Get well soon, anyway.

-dan

Quoted message said:

Wouldn't the driver also be acting illegally if he/she was
(presumably) reversing onto a main road?

He wasn't reversing into the main road -- just pulling-out of the
garage. I just happened to cycle passed him when he thought it was
safe to do so.

In article <[email hidden]>, Chris Eilbeck
[email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

Wouldn't the driver also be acting illegally if he/she was
(presumably) reversing onto a main road?

ITYF it's a "should not", not a "must not". You're not allowed to
reverse from a side road into a main road, but a private access isn't a
road.

In article <[email hidden]>,
Christopher Harrison
[email hidden] says...
<snip>

Quoted message said:

As I was on the pavement -- even though I was in full view and wearing
bright clothes -- it is apparently my fault. (Unless the witnesses can
prove otherwise.)

WTF!?

No sympathy here - what if it had been a small child or little old lady
instead of a car?

Christopher Harrison said:

Quoted message said:

Wouldn't the driver also be acting illegally if he/she was
(presumably) reversing onto a main road?

He wasn't reversing into the main road -- just pulling-out of the
garage. I just happened to cycle passed him when he thought it was
safe to do so.

Just how fast were you going?

Chris
--
Chris Eilbeck

Quoted message said:

No sympathy here - what if it had been a small child or little old lady
instead of a car?

I wouldn't have cycled into an old lady or small child :P

In article <[email hidden]>,
Christopher Harrison
[email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

No sympathy here - what if it had been a small child or little old lady
instead of a car?

I wouldn't have cycled into an old lady or small child :P

But you thought riding into a car was a good idea?

Christopher Harrison said:

That potentially means that if I put a dent in this guy's bonnet,
it'll be muggins here (or my insurers) that'll have to pay to get it
fixed -- not to mention what it's going to cost to get my poor bike
mended 🙁 Haven't I been inconvenienced enough!?

Stupid laws.

In this instance it seems that following the "stupid law" would have
meant you would not be in the situation you now find yourself in. I hope
you get well soon.

Daniel Barlow said:

David Martin said:

And yes, you will be liable. You were acting illegally. Why should the
car driver be inconvenienced by your illegal actions?

[snip]

Quoted message said:

"The introduction of the fixed penalty is not aimed at responsible
cyclists who sometimes feel obliged to use the pavement out of fear of
the traffic,

Which isn't the case here as the OP already said he used the pavement
out of convenience.

--
Andy Leighton => [email hidden]
"The Lord is my shepherd, but we still lost the sheep dog trials"
- Robert Rankin, _They Came And Ate Us_

Christopher Harrison said:

Cycling to work this morning and, less than 1/4 mile from home, I was
hit by a car pulling out of a garage... Hospitalised (got to go on one
of those back board things!) but fortunately no broken bones -- my jaw
hurts and I have a chipped tooth; will get a nice scar on my chin; and
my wrist is in a splint in case there are any problems with my
scaphoid (i.e. forgive typos and broken English, but I can only type
with my left hand)... Haven't seen how badly my bike is damaged yet.

Do you want to know the worst of it?...

I live on a main road -- the A40 -- as such, I can't be bothered to
cross it at my house to get in the right carriageway (I'd be waiting
forever). So I cycle on the pavement, just up the road, to where the
nearest crossing is -- past said garage.
As I was on the pavement -- even though I was in full view and wearing
bright clothes -- it is apparently my fault. (Unless the witnesses can
prove otherwise.)

WTF!?

That potentially means that if I put a dent in this guy's bonnet,
it'll be muggins here (or my insurers) that'll have to pay to get it
fixed -- not to mention what it's going to cost to get my poor bike
mended 🙁 Haven't I been inconvenienced enough!?

Stupid laws.

Stupid UK laws.

Norway and Japan, for example, don't have an issue with pavement
cyclists.

Liability laws on the continent would also hold the driver liable for
bent metal and bruised bodies, unless the cyclist is demonstrably
behaving like a dunderhead. This remains an open question, in my mind.

From your description, it seems you were cycling on the pavement
/against/ the traffic flow. Tres dangereuse, IMHO, and extra care
should have been taken.

Nevertheless, wishes for a speedy recovery from this corner.

Quoted message said:

But you thought riding into a car was a good idea?

Oh yes, I regularly enjoy cycling into the path of moving vehicles --
the larger the better -- injuring myself quite badly and spending most
of the day in A&E... Can't get enough of it.

(I wouldn't usually do this, but in case this is used against me and/
or whoever's reading is too simple to understand, here's a disclaimer
-- The above is a completely sarcastic remark; and for the record, I
didn't cycle into a car, the car drove into me and knocked me into the
road... Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to try to find some
comfort food that I can eat without chewing or using my jaw too much.)

Quoted message said:

From your description, it seems you were cycling on the pavement
/against/ the traffic flow. Tres dangereuse, IMHO, and extra care
should have been taken.

Agreed ... although I've done this every day for the past year-or-two
and I honestly thought he had seen me. Usually, if I'm in any kind of
doubt, I go behind them and ride through the garage forecourt
(carefully -- because it's full of cars and slippery!).

Quoted message said:

Nevertheless, wishes for a speedy recovery from this corner.

Thanks 🙂

Just got my bike back from the feds -- it actually seems OK, although
I think the crank maybe bent... I'll have it checked-out before
getting on again.

Christopher Harrison said:

Quoted message said:

From your description, it seems you were cycling on the pavement
/against/ the traffic flow. Tres dangereuse, IMHO, and extra care
should have been taken.

Agreed ... although I've done this every day for the past year-or-two
and I honestly thought he had seen me. Usually, if I'm in any kind of
doubt, I go behind them and ride through the garage forecourt
(carefully -- because it's full of cars and slippery!).

From you original post, I read that the car was coming
out of a private garage, not a petrol garage as per this post.

IMHO the entrances and exits of petrol garages are quite
dangerous, many drivers treat them as road. Even as a
pedestrian you have to be careful.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Nevertheless, wishes for a speedy recovery from this corner.

Ditto

Quoted message said:

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to try to find some
comfort food that I can eat without chewing or using my jaw too much.)

Chocolate. (It's good for the immune system).

Daniel Barlow wrote on 27/06/2007 14:33 +0100:

Quoted message said:

David Martin said:

And yes, you will be liable. You were acting illegally. Why should the
car driver be inconvenienced by your illegal actions?

Well, without knowing more of the facts it's hard to say. Perhaps he
was cycling at walking pace - if he'd been walking the bike, would the
car driver have hit him anyway? Dent in bonnet (as opposed to front
wing) suggests that may be a possibility.

"The introduction of the fixed penalty is not aimed at responsible
cyclists who sometimes feel obliged to use the pavement out of fear of
the traffic, and who show consideration to other pavement users when
doing so [...]" - Paul Boateng, the Home Office minister responsible for
introduction of pavement cycling spot fines

Get well soon, anyway.

Doesn't mean he was not breaking the law nor that he is liable for the
consequences of breaking the law and recompensing the losses of an
innocent third party.

--
Tony

"The most savage controversies are those about matters as to which there
is no good evidence either way."
- Bertrand Russell

On Wed, 27 Jun 2007 14:44:26 +0100, Rob Morley <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

In article <[email hidden]>,
Christopher Harrison
[email hidden] says...
<snip>

Quoted message said:

As I was on the pavement -- even though I was in full view and wearing
bright clothes -- it is apparently my fault. (Unless the witnesses can
prove otherwise.)

WTF!?

No sympathy here - what if it had been a small child or little old lady
instead of a car?

Why would a small child or little old lady be pulling out of a garage
onto the main road?

Martin Dann said:

Christopher Harrison wrote:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to try to find some
comfort food that I can eat without chewing or using my jaw too much.)

Chocolate. (It's good for the immune system).

Can be taken in liquid form if the jaw is out of commission for
chewing.

--
Dave...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Chocolate. (It's good for the immune system).

Can be taken in liquid form if the jaw is out of commission for
chewing.

I'm way ahead of you 😉