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news
London cyclists at Hyde Park Corner (copyright Britishcycling.org_.uk).jpgInsurance company warns drivers to look out for cyclists as claims rise during lockdown
A leading insurance company has warned motorists to look out for cyclists following a spike in personal claims during lockdown.
More Than says that claims for bodily vulnerable road users – cyclists, pedestrians and motorcyclists – have risen from 10 per cent of all claims made by policyholders to 20 per cent in the past few months.
The company attributes the rise to more cyclists being on the road, either for exercise or to travel to work while avoiding public transport – since lockdown began in late March.
Weekday cycling levels doubled early on during the lockdown period, and were three times their usual levels on some weekends, according to government figures.
Getting more people on bikes for keeping fit or to commute remains a key part of official strategy as the country emerges from lockdown.
But with the number of cars on the road back at pre-lockdown levels, More Than has urged motorists to be aware that they will encounter more people on bikes on the road.
The company’s head of car insurance, Gareth Davies, said: “Bike sales have boomed during lockdown as Brits are looking to stay active and avoid public transport. But unfortunately, our data shows this has prompted an increase in car insurance claims for injured cyclists.
“As drivers, it’s really important to take extra precautions now that there are more cyclists on the road. Indicate clearly and give yourself and cyclists plenty of space to manoeuvre so that, if anything unexpected occurs, there is more margin for error.
“Junctions and blind corners are also hot spots when it comes to accidents with cyclists, so be extra careful and slow down when navigating these tricky turns.”
He added: “For cyclists, please wear a helmet and bright or reflective clothing – it could save your life.
“It is also important to use cycle lanes where possible and be extra wary of the cars around you, giving them plenty of space for overtaking where it is safe to do so.
“Cyclists undertaking or passing motorists on the left-hand side can also cause accidents, so try to avoid that as much as possible.”
While wearing a cycle helmet or bright clothing is recommended in the Highway Code, neither is a legal requirement – although insurance companies whose policyholders are involved in a personal injury claim involving a cyclist will often argue that not wearing such equipment places some liability for a collision on the injured party.
Likewise, there is no legal requirement for cyclists to use cycle lanes – for faster riders, it is generally safer to ride on the main carriageway – nor is passing a queue of traffic to the left, also known as filtering, against the law.
Many cyclist might think that More Than's appeal to its motor insurance customers is more motivated by reducing its potential claims costs, rather than being primarily aimed at protecting cyclists.
Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.
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14 comments
"risen from 10 per cent of all claims made by policyholders to 20 per cent"
Is this an increase in claims involving bikes, or a reduction in claims generally?
Eg, before they get 100 claims a week, 5 involving bikes. After they get 50 claims a week, 3 involving bikes (made up those numbers!)
I'm sure they have the stats, but didn't include them in the press release.
Surely this is a reason for a little celebration. If drivers take any notice of the warning, and they might if they think their wallets will be affected, then the roads should become a little safer. What I take away from this is that we should be all endeavouring to make more claims.
"He added: “For cyclists, please wear a helmet and bright or reflective clothing – it could save your life."
Sorry Gareth Davies, but you are an utter twat. What saves lives is drivers looking where they are going, paying attention and not pretending that they own the f*****g road. Stop blaming the victims, start charging any driver involved in a collision with a vulnerable road user a realistic insurance premium, and STFU.
Privatising risk by making drivers take out third party insurance has only transferred the risk to the vulnerable. While it is cheaper to kill a vulnerable road user than to bankrupt the driver, people will die. If drivers had to pay the cost of their mistakes instead of their insurance companies, they might drive as if other people's lives mattered.
My thoughts exactly. It should read, "He added: "For drivers, please look where you are going and watch out for cyclists and pedestrians, it could save their life."
This is what we're up against!
Spill the beans
And what about the cyclists that go like a bat out of hell across footpaths and go through red lights like its their god given right. We have a dash cam in our car for this reason. If we ever do have an accident with a bike who has gone right through a red light we can prove that it was not our fault and i know i will be slated for this i will not be claiming off of my insurance for the damage to my car. I will be claiming against the bike (no insurance then take him to court for the money). Why should the car driver be out of pocket because some one with a death wish chooses to ignore traffic lights. And cyclist may mot kill every day but i think you might find they do cause accidents and do cause injury. And bike riders use mobile phones as well as wearing headphones so they are totally unaware to their surrounding's. And i would like to point out the the upsurge in electric cars and vans means that we have virtually silent cars and vans on the road now which means that the bike rider will not even hear the motor as they only make a noise upto 20mph.
Yup; definitely the cyclist's fault.
This is the mindset we are dealing with. They have the power to kill in an instant, but blame their victims for not protecting themselves against the people with the power and responsibility. It is frightening that so many drivers believe in their inalienable right to kill people without accepting any blame themselves.
I couldn't find the words to challenge this. I wondered where on Earth (and when) does he drive that his car being hit by cyclists at junctions seems to be so high on his worry list. And how frequently this actually happens.
This is what we're up against!
Spill the beans
And what about the cyclists that go like a bat out of hell across footpaths and go through red lights like its their god given right.
Agreed. This is always cropping up! This is the real truth, and there were 4 of these just as bad within 40 minutes- this is big black, blacked-out windows Range Rover F2 YNY which I think is driven by someone Lancashire Constabulary didn't want to prosecute. Consequently, they ignored the report for several weeks and then applied Dodge "too late to process" to achieve their aim.
On the plus side no 'break in an emergency'.
"Use cycle lanes where possible ... but avoid passing motorists on the left hand side"
No, it is the motorist who is supposed to give the vulnerable road user plenty of space when overtaking them. Classic reverse logic from a company which really should know better since they are insuring drivers against the cost of getting this wrong.
I thought there must be a way to untangle that sentence and it was ambiguous but no. Where are the instructions to drivers of how to look and how to use a junction given the over engineered cars with various thick pillars?
Where are the simple sentences such as 'wankpanzers are not suitable for uk roads' , 'Don't be a bully; just because you have 2 tonnes of metal does not mean give way is irrelevant' ?
Spot on. The problem is the word "it" in “where it is safe to do so” and, more disturbingly, something similar appears in the proposals for the new highway code. In both instances, “it” is gloriously undefined. IMO, a better formulation might be something like “where the more vulnerable road user (i.e the person cycling) has decided that it is safe to do so”. Oherwise it just promotes bullying as usual.
Exactly. I deliberately ride most of my routes on quieter routes, which are often single track roads. I had some dopey bint beeping me a couple of weeks back, pointing to the side of the road. Now, i heard her coming well before she started with the noise, and knew I'd move over when I had the chance to do so, but what am I supposed to do - dive into the hedge? Fuck off.
And when i DID move over, she turned off a whole 150 yards later anyway. Christs sake.