My Bicycle damaged a car in an RTA- where does the liability lie?
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Man of Honour
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How's your bad neck?
So are we suggesting that the OP was riding a bike equpped with state of the art hydro disks? If you are driving a car, you should so with due care, considering that the car behind is not a state of the art F1 car, but an ordinary car available in a showroom and that if a bicycle is coming behind you, you must assume that it is a normal bike that is not fitted with all the latest gizmos.
I think we are getting off topic though, regarding the capabilities of bicycles. The jist of what I was saying is that you have to consider the vehicles that people are riding/driving when on the road. You cant assume that all because your top of the range 2-seater Lamborghini is able to go from 100mph to 0 mph in 2 seconds, that all cars/vehicles, bikes behind you can do the same.
Some people are stopping 40kg push bikes quicker than a 2000kg cars, how is that possible
I have a bike whose frame is a Trek carbon fibre monocoque, equipped with a top of the line Shimano Dura Ace groupset. I estimate its weight to be around 7.5kg. At speeds of around 30mph, my caliper brakes and race tyres are no match for a much much heavier (ordinary) car, which has better stopping power than my bike. If i brake really hard, then the wheels will lock and the tyres will skid. In effect, the brakes are not the weak link here ... the tyres are. But I choose to use the (non-grooved) tyres that I do because they are fast.
Finally, somebody who agrees with my own experiences when cycling.
Cycles were not built with braking in mind, but with speed and agility. Hell, Ive even seen some bikes with no brakes on them
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It is and you can buy it.
However, some house insurance policies will cover you under Personal Indemnity cover if you are involved in a serious accident, hence a separate policy it might not be necessary in some cases.
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It's as feasible as car insurance if cyclists start paying road tax for their usage
We all know that road tax has nothing to do with maintaining the roads or their use. Motorists are a target for taxation, cyclists are not, simple really.
Burnsy
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Man of Honour
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They would charge the amount appropriate to the level of payout/claims. If it's a legal requirement (as it should be for any road user) then it shouldn't be a problem.
I don't see why not.
Actually I want cyclists held with to the same standards of behaviour and responsibility that everyone else is. Contributing to road maintainance (especially as there are a growing network of dedicated cycleways) and having adequate insurance cover, as well as being treated the same as motorists for blame and responsibility for accidents is all part of that.
Why should cyclists be exempt from any of the above?
Who knows, but hopefully whatever it will be will garner a more responsible attitude than cycling.
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It's an optional extra.
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Or mine.
Dolph raises some interesting points about road usage. I cycle to keep fit and save money. I have insurance and if I was required to pay tax I would see if it were cost effective and do so if necessary.
Unfortunately there are so many poor road users on four and two wheels that the generalizations of "poor cyclists" and "poor drivers" becomes far to prevalent. For example, today, whilst cycling to pick up my car I saw a women on a moped (with an L-plate!) drive around a car stopping a red light and then go straight through the light. I was aghast and she was nearly a pancake.
The morale, there are many poor road users and everyone makes bad decisions at one time or another. Just do you best to respect the others one the road around you and dont go through red lights!
I agree with this.
Anything that uses the roads should have to pay insurance.
Motorbikes & car’s (etc) do, so why should cyclists on push-bikes be exempt from this.
If the OP had insurance, there would have been no panic, both parties would have exchanged insurance details at the road-side just like any other road traffic accident, then both make a claim, as previously stated it may have been settled 50/50 and nobody is out of pocket.
I just dont understand why this is not enforced.
I'll take objection to the Motorcyclist bit mate.
Granted, some are idiots, as you get in all walks of life.
Most though, get punted off through no fault of their own. Car drivers generally don't look for bikes, and the inevitable happens.
Some however take objection to normal riding, such as filtering (Which you will do on an advanced test, usually taught by Police riders or Instructors), and open car doors, pull out etc (Yes, this has happened to me).
The vast majority of people I know that ride a bike are sensible about it. They are more than aware they they are vulnerable, and tend not to like ending up on the tarmac.
I'm not blaming all motorcyclists or anything like that. However, I will just point out that you've cited an 'at risk' activity (filtering) as being normal. Just like single lane overtaking, it's the responsibility of the person making the move to ensure it's safe, not the responsibility of everyone else to watch out for someone making a third lane down the middle where there isn't supposed to be one.
I know some good and responsible riders, unfortunately the majority of those I see on the road don't qualify. YMMV of course.