Biker hits pedestrian whilst filtering - who's fault?

Linwig said:
I very much doubt the biker will take responsibility for that, the highway code will be on his side all the way. If he uses a semi decent solicitor or well worded letter anyway ;)
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No criminal offence commited so it becomes an insurance issue. As the pedestrian is unlikely to be insured it becomes a moot point.
 
problem is most people (who drive cars) will always hate any biker filtering, reason is they are stuck in a queue and the biker isn't... it's like some kinda of instinct that says 'it's not fair why should they get to front I was here first'

i know some people filter dangerously, but the majority don't. i filter all the time and have never hit anyone / anything... have had car drivers open doors on me though on purpose :eek:

any ped who just wanders across a queue of traffic and gets knocked by a bike is just stupid imo, and are at fault totally.

i still dont' think peds have any rights of way across a street where there is no crossing... if that is the case then I'm gonna drive on pavements from now on, sounds fair :)
 
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Werewolf said:
Bikers fault - pedestrian generally has right of way and if the traffic was otherwise stationary the pedestrian would probably have looked, seen it was stationary and not expected a biker to come up between the traffic.

Theoretically the pedestrian should really have used the crossing, but the biker should also be aware of what is going on and riding accordingly.
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I'm not sure how you work out how a motorcycle with a person riding on it can stop in time if someone steps out at the last second.
 
I've given my statement to the Police. The officer said 3 witnesses plus the biker and the pedestrian have made statements. The biker and pedestrian are both OK apart from some minor cuts and bruises.

2 other witnesses mentioned the biker filtering fast, but the pedestrian said he didn't see him as his view was obscured by the position of the van not helped by the slight curve in the road at the point he crossed.

Policeman said they won't take any action over this because at any speed the biker would never have been able to avoid a collision in the time he had to see the pedestrian. As the pedestrian wasn't seriously injured he considers that the biker wasn't travelling at a speed that would be considered dangerous or would justify a prosecution for riding without due care.
 
Freefaller said:
Filtering is completely legal - but it is an "at rider's risk" manoeuvre.
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What he said. In the event of an accident between the bike and another car/van etc it would be a split % based on case history. Glad to see everyone is OK and the lemming ... pedestrian is fine/hoenst enough to say he stepped out without being able to check propperly.
 
blueboy2001 said:
I've given my statement to the Police. The officer said 3 witnesses plus the biker and the pedestrian have made statements. The biker and pedestrian are both OK apart from some minor cuts and bruises.

2 other witnesses mentioned the biker filtering fast, but the pedestrian said he didn't see him as his view was obscured by the position of the van not helped by the slight curve in the road at the point he crossed.

Policeman said they won't take any action over this because at any speed the biker would never have been able to avoid a collision in the time he had to see the pedestrian. As the pedestrian wasn't seriously injured he considers that the biker wasn't travelling at a speed that would be considered dangerous or would justify a prosecution for riding without due care.
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Wow. Sounds like a sensible and fair evaluation of the situation.

I was expecting the ped to be suffering whiplash. :rolleyes:
 
ChrisJSY said:
I'm not sure how you work out how a motorcycle with a person riding on it can stop in time if someone steps out at the last second.
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They probably can't, but as you tend to get pedestrians crossing near junctions bikers should be paying extra attention and moving slowly in order to give the best possible chance of stopping.
 
Whatever you do blueboy2001, if you can, don’t allow people’s posts to cloud your opinion of what happened, just tell it like it was.

My 2p on this then – it sounds as if the biker was riding too fast imo. When I am filtering I usually travel at 10-15 mph and when approaching a set of red lights, I will bring that speed down and look for anyone crossing; but granted, I don’t expect someone to dart out from between the cars.

As both have decided to proceed at their own risk I think the blame is 50/50, without question, if the biker had been going slower however, I would probably put the blame fully onto the pedestrian; we’re all taught not to just walk out into the road without making sure it’s safe.

As for people thinking that filtering is illegal, you’re just bitter because you have to wait :D

Scort.
 
I am no legal eagle, but would it be some sort of "perverting the course of justice" by coming on a forum to get advice as to how you should tell a story you witnessed to the police? :-P
 
Where did I ask how to tell the story? I told the story and I asked people for their opinion on who was at fault. Fault is a civil matter and is not related to a Police investigation.
 
Appears rafster hasn't read the whole thread ;)

Seems acceptable for it to be left as it is, but it essentially was the pedestrian's fault. Being so near to a crossing and not using it is plain stupid, and assuming no bike could possibly be filtering (an extremely common occurrence that the majority of people over the age of 13 will know about) is fairly poor. Also using the excuse "I cannot see through a van" is poor show.. stick your head around the bloody van and look before you walk out!
 
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