Motorists have ‘enhanced duty of care’ towards cyclists says lawyer who represented time trialist hit by 4x4 on single track road

I've had a car towing a caravan pass like this while I was riding with my 4 year old daughter on a tag-a-long!

I drive on narrow country lanes far more than I cycle and I myself always stop for oncoming cyclists or pedestrians, although I find many, in the expectation of bad driver behaviour have already dived into the hedge!

To me it just make sense to allow the most vulnerable road users to pass those with the potential to injure them.

If I'm stopped there can be no possibility of impact.

I'm sure in countries with presumed liability, that everyone would do this for fear of being charged with an offence.

I just don't understand how in the country a cyclist injured by a vehicle in this way can be judged 50% liable, when clearly the vehicle should have stopped.

Whilst I agree with what Cugel says I feel I ought to point out that it's not an RTA it's a RTC I realise some people will think I'm nitpicking but calling a collision on the road an accident aliviates anybody of blame, most emergency services have dropped/changed their acronyms.

Why on earth would you organise a 10 mile time trial that goes along an open single track road? Can't help but feel this was an accident waiting to happen, regardless of who was at fault.

1/ I don't like anyone who owns and speedboat.
2/ Look where you are going when you are riding your bike, time trial or not.

"but the law recognises that a motorist has an enhanced duty of care towards more vulnerable road users such as cyclists and pedestrians because of the greater ‘causative potency’ or potential for serious injury of a larger vehicle versus smaller road users"

Does it?

So why the fuck did your client only get 50%?

Heeps just held his line, didn't slow or stop: I imagine having to ever so slightly move his hands or feet, or extend his journey by a few seconds, was far too onerous a task for such an important person (especially for someone driving an SUV and towing a speedboat...).

The UK is one of the last 7 countries to establish strict liability in the event of a collision between a motor vehicle and a pedestrian or cyclist. The car driver is assumed liable unless there are mitigating circumstances. Until the the mentality of car drivers is changed by financial penalties then there is a lesser need of segregated cycle ways.

I’ve just spent my first day CX/gravel/whatever you want to call it riding on the South Downs Way. Really enjoyed it, but... I like good tarmac. SRAM shifters aside (will adjust, I know), I’ve instantly fallen in love with my Canyon Inflite, the traffic free trails, amazing views, friendly... everyone, but I’m a roadie.

And on the roads we are the past, present and future. Respect us ✊.

Elsewhere in Europe, there are laws which firmly establish the motorists' enhanced duty of care. When there's an RTA with a bicycle, pedestrian or other more vulnerable & less dangerous road user, it's assumed to have been the motorist's fault unless there is compelling evidence that it wasn't.

In Blighty (and the USA) we have a fatter tradition of "individualism" and "freedom", which seems to mean that it's OK to exercise as much freedom as you like, even when it severely curtails the freedom of others to stay alive or at least whole & functioning aright. There is no such thing as society, you see. This "individualism" is especially developed for the  Mr Toad variety of freedom(poop-poop) in "the great car owning democracy".

On the other hand, there is also a traditon with Time Trialling, especially amongst the desperate-to-win ilk (against others, despite a TT suposedly being "the race of truth" against only yourself, but nevermind) for attempting to force motorists, wagons and especially buses to make a close pass, as this gives a significant degree of suck or at least kills the headwind for a bit. Oh yes they do! I used to do TTs, mostly to observe these peculiar obsessive person and their antics, often performed with the appropriate dickhead hat on. And a clown-bike of strange configuration with drilled parts that snapped a lot.

Humans are daft, eh?  (Yes, me too on occasion, often to an extreme degree, especially downhill).

Cugel.

Except the judgement was 50/50.
Nice but no.

With great causative potency comes enhanced duty of care.  As that spiderman movie would have said, had it been written by a lawyer.

Pity it wasn't the judge who said that