Legal Question Regarding Pedestrians

[Toypop]

I recently happened upon the scene of an accident where a 12/13 year old kid had been playing chicken on a dual carriageway and taken out a bike.

The bike looked written off to me, the rider and pillion were led in the road and appeared to be injured but not seriously.

It got me thinking, I nearly went for TPFT insurance on my new bike and had I been riding down the road 10 minutes earlier I could have had £5000 smashed up in the gutter.

Where would I have stood in that situation in terms of getting my money back? Also if I had been seriously injured to the point that I was left disabled or needing care for the rest of my life where would I have stood in terms of getting compensation to cover the costs?

Would comprehensive insurance cover the personal injury to myself or just the bike and what would happen with TP or TPFT?

[Jelster]

Pedestrian accidents are a pain. In court you have a job to prove anything against them, and as they don't have cover, there is little you can do. I hit a woman who ran into the road without looking about 3 years ago, about £400 of damage to my bike that I paid for...

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[Toypop]

Wasn't there a case I read about on a forum recently where a woman walked out in front of a biker and the biker successfully sued?

Not sure where the money would come from though as the pedestrian won't have insurance.

Same applies with this incident with the kid, not sure if you could sue the parents? Pretty easy to prove his guilt as the accident happened underneath a footbridge and there were no pathways leading down into the cutting so he had no business being down there.

[Peter Henry]

On reading other forums,this kind of incident is worryingly far more common than I ever thought. Particularly in city and town centres during rush hour when pedestrians are rushing to get to their desks.

Apparently another big problem,due to the drink culture in the U.K: are people that are bombed out of their heads just stepping out with obviously no awareness of the situation around them.

It is a nasty situation and let's not forget that the biker given very little chance to react,stands to potentially get very seriously injured both physically and financially. :?

[Jelster]

Guy I know had his GSXR750 written off when a woman, drunk out of her head, ran into the road, taking him out. That was over 6 months ago and she is still in hospital. He doesn't have the heart to chase her family for the money, especially as she's still not home yet.

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[mysteryjimbo]

Numerous times i've gone past school children who think its clever to try and "spook" bikers by running into the road and back again. Very common

[Anonymous]

Guy I know had his GSXR750 written off when a woman, drunk out of her head, ran into the road, taking him out. That was over 6 months ago and she is still in hospital. He doesn't have the heart to chase her family for the money, especially as she's still not home yet.

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You got a nice mate. lol

If it were me i'd be knocking on her family door the day after demanding payment. So she's not home yet.. tough cookie - should have been more careful. :evil:

Got no time for people who get so smashed out of their heads they have no spacial awareness left.

[mysteryjimbo]

Guy I know had his GSXR750 written off when a woman, drunk out of her head, ran into the road, taking him out. That was over 6 months ago and she is still in hospital. He doesn't have the heart to chase her family for the money, especially as she's still not home yet.

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You got a nice mate. lol

If it were me i'd be knocking on her family door the day after demanding payment. So she's not home yet.. tough cookie - should have been more careful. :evil:

Got no time for people who get so smashed out of their heads they have no spacial awareness left.

Thats a harsh comment. 6 months in hospital is enough payment in my books. I'm sure she regrets it.

[Anonymous]

Guy I know had his GSXR750 written off when a woman, drunk out of her head, ran into the road, taking him out. That was over 6 months ago and she is still in hospital. He doesn't have the heart to chase her family for the money, especially as she's still not home yet.

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You got a nice mate. lol

If it were me i'd be knocking on her family door the day after demanding payment. So she's not home yet.. tough cookie - should have been more careful. :evil:

Got no time for people who get so smashed out of their heads they have no spacial awareness left.

Thats a harsh comment. 6 months in hospital is enough payment in my books. I'm sure she regrets it.

Doesnt pay for your repairs though does it?

[tricky]

Got no time for people who get so smashed out of their heads they have no spacial awareness left.

Just to play devils advocate for a moment: So you've never been in that state GYKD ?

[Anonymous]

Got no time for people who get so smashed out of their heads they have no spacial awareness left.

Just to play devils advocate for a moment: So you've never been in that state GYKD ?

Nope.

I never get totally smashed. If i feel my self getting a to a state where i may lose control of myself, i stop.

Never been in a situation where i havent been in control of myself, or known whats happening around me. It amazes all of my friends. I spot fights before they happen, can tell when somethings going to kick off etc, even when ive had a few beers. Ive never lost my house/car/bike keys, never lost my wallet. Never had them stolen on a night out either... i keep my spacial awareness. Hate been out of control.

[mysteryjimbo]

Guy I know had his GSXR750 written off when a woman, drunk out of her head, ran into the road, taking him out. That was over 6 months ago and she is still in hospital. He doesn't have the heart to chase her family for the money, especially as she's still not home yet.

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You got a nice mate. lol

If it were me i'd be knocking on her family door the day after demanding payment. So she's not home yet.. tough cookie - should have been more careful. :evil:

Got no time for people who get so smashed out of their heads they have no spacial awareness left.

Thats a harsh comment. 6 months in hospital is enough payment in my books. I'm sure she regrets it.

Doesnt pay for your repairs though does it?

But on the other side of the argument to a certain extent, "expect the unexpected".

[lynw]

I read about this on visordown - happened in Piccadilly I believe not that far from Frith Street and this is one hazzard you need to be aware of on a Friday in central London. Last time I went to Soho nearly got knocked over by a drunken ped walking into me as I was stopped behind a taxi at the junction of Soho Square. :evil:

That said, he really didnt have a chance. Her mates by all accounts couldnt stop her from just running out. Though I gather they were also drunk and pretty lippy with the police that attended.

Not sure if I would pursue it though. If the insurance didnt cover it and I was faced with losing my only means of transport and my only bike I probably would. If the insurance covered it I probably wouldnt. Id bite the extra cost to me for the fact that shes paid a damn site more dearly for her stupidity than I would ever ask for as compensation.

I take it GYKD has never had a prolonged stay in hospital to fully appreciate the true horror of her situation :wink: :P

Oh and as for being out of control, you dont have to be smashed out of your face. Lets face it GYKD, up to your ban you werent able to control your speed on the bike were you? :? To the point you tried to do a runner from the Police. That doesnt strike me as someone entirely in control tbh. And dont get me started on the driving while disqualified.

I find it rich that you take this line when you've done some pretty stupid things in your time too - including boasting about them on here.

[Jelster]

A few weeks ago Jay (the guy) had a letter from the police confirming that they were taking no action.... Against him !

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[Cloggsy]

A few weeks ago Jay (the guy) had a letter from the police confirming that they were taking no action.... Against him !

In that case I'd be suing her ass off :!:

[Halonic]

OK most TPFT cover these days has legal cover, allowing you to sue the "estate" of the pedestrian involved for damages, you could even take out a small claims court thing if you really needed to. TPFT is certainly all I have insurance wise, because Daisy isnt expensive enough to justify the loss of NCB and the extra cost of Fully comp, anything more then a grand's worth of repairs and she's uneconomical anyway.

But, if you have just punted someone into a coma, well you have two ways to approach it, evolution in action or a tragic case of the modern world meets the fragillity of humanity.

which way would I jump? dunno, I'm evil enough to embrace the evolution in action thing (I live in essex, its a wonder I havent gone postal already) but still human enough to place myself in the situation of the family, facing the effective loss of a loved one AND the finanical cost of their **** up.

[Anonymous]

I read about this on visordown - happened in Piccadilly I believe not that far from Frith Street and this is one hazzard you need to be aware of on a Friday in central London. Last time I went to Soho nearly got knocked over by a drunken ped walking into me as I was stopped behind a taxi at the junction of Soho Square. :evil:

That said, he really didnt have a chance. Her mates by all accounts couldnt stop her from just running out. Though I gather they were also drunk and pretty lippy with the police that attended.

Not sure if I would pursue it though. If the insurance didnt cover it and I was faced with losing my only means of transport and my only bike I probably would. If the insurance covered it I probably wouldnt. Id bite the extra cost to me for the fact that shes paid a damn site more dearly for her stupidity than I would ever ask for as compensation.

I take it GYKD has never had a prolonged stay in hospital to fully appreciate the true horror of her situation :wink: :P

Oh and as for being out of control, you dont have to be smashed out of your face. Lets face it GYKD, up to your ban you werent able to control your speed on the bike were you? :? To the point you tried to do a runner from the Police. That doesnt strike me as someone entirely in control tbh. And dont get me started on the driving while disqualified.

I find it rich that you take this line when you've done some pretty stupid things in your time too - including boasting about them on here.

Hi Lynn.

Yes they were stupid decisions. Very Stupid deciscions. However, i was still entirely in control of the situation. I made a mental decision to take those risks. It wasn't as though i was off my head of "E" or something and not copus-mentus.

By comparing my decision to do what i did last year, with the actions of some girl who's incapacitated by alcohol, you are not comparing apples for apples. Its not a comparable situation.

If she was fully alert and thinking clear, and she ran across the M1.. then perhaps you could compare them. As it happens i was stone cold sober, not on any mind altering substances, and made the decisions based on many factors. All of which paid off, for what its worth.

She was drunk, unable to control her body actions, stumbling (i presume) all over the place, in cloud cookoo land, and she walked into the road, completely unaware of where she was.. SMACK! Into Steve's mates bike.

[Swiss]

My Bro had a ****ed guy walk out in front of his car once, and knocked him over. My Bro got the £25.00 bill for the ambulance call out for the ****ed fool who walked out in front of him :shock: WTF and was then told he may be prosecuted for driving without due are and attention. It still winds me up even thought it was a good few years ago now. It would seem Peds are almost god like when it come to RTA's

[mysteryjimbo]

She was drunk, unable to control her body actions, stumbling (i presume) all over the place, in cloud cookoo land, and she walked into the road, completely unaware of where she was.. SMACK! Into Steve's mates bike.

So you've never been drunk? Or in a similar condition?

You havent lived! :lol:

Always show extra caution around drunk people. When i lived in Birmingham, every friday when i worked afters i'd go up Broad st at 10:15pm VERY cautiously!

[Flamin_Squirrel]

A few weeks ago Jay (the guy) had a letter from the police confirming that they were taking no action.... Against him !

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I think this is because (and I'm not 100% on this) peds technically have right of way. In practice of course, common sense will often say otherwise, but probably explains why the police had to notify your friend.

[Ceri JC]

Wasn't there a case I read about on a forum recently where a woman walked out in front of a biker and the biker successfully sued?

Not sure where the money would come from though as the pedestrian won't have insurance.

Same applies with this incident with the kid, not sure if you could sue the parents? Pretty easy to prove his guilt as the accident happened underneath a footbridge and there were no pathways leading down into the cutting so he had no business being down there.

It was in MCN. Bit of a "special case" though. Biker saw a pedestrian on the edge of the road, the pedestrian walked to the edge of the dual carriageway, stopped, so biker didn't bother slowing. Then just as the bike was metres away, stepped into the path of it ( :shock: ). The woman (biker)'s insurers appointed lawyers didn't really want to get involved. The woman ended up representing herself (she was a lawyer) and made successful a claim against the pedestrian. She took the michael a bit and claimed stress/having developed a phobia of bikes as a result of the accident (the bike was her only transport) and how she had been unable to ride since the accident and got a massive claim, think it was £500,000+, which considering she wasn't particularly seriously injured, sounds alright to me.

What I can't recall, however, is how the other party paid it. I know a lot of house insurance policies cover personal liability for things like this as an "extra", but there's no guarantee a person will have house insurance (eg may be a student or renting and not bother; I know I don't).

It's a horrible situation to be in if you hit someone (and it's not your fault). A drunk ran in front of a family friend's car and got injured and aside from the attempted claim against his insurance from the pavement lemming, the poor lad has for the past 2 years been in and out of court fighting "dangerous driving" charges, irrespective of the fact that he was doing about 5 mph under the limit, was stone cold sober, Called an ambulance and administered first aid, etc.

[Daimo]

Pedestrians don't always win....

I was travelling home on my old scooter form London to Kent. Coming towards Rotherhithe tunnel is a two lane road in either direction, seperated by metal railing. Each outside lane is a bus lane, frequently used by bikers.

One day, i was plodding along on the line between lanes. A van was stopped due to red lights. All of a sudden a stupid old git walked straight out in front of the van without looking, looked up, put his arms up. I had no-where to go and hit him at about 15-20mph straight in the ribs and i came off.

The guy broke two ribs, had loads of problems etc. Got all his proffesional letters from doctors sorted and then treid to take ME to court over it. He failed to mentioned he had walked through a gap in the railing that was covered by roadworks (to stop people walking through).

I got my insurance on teh case straight away. Made them do a 2 hour interview with myself, go back to the crash scene, take photos etc (What was worse is 10 meters down the road was a pedestrian crossing).

I had no sympathy and now regret rushing up, getting the bloke in a comfy position to ease his pain etc. If i saw him now, i'd bloody aim for him on purpose..... :evil:

It ended up them pulling out. Scummy pedestrian lost. He shouldn't have been there.

Sometimes it does go in our favour. They even tried the "you were in the bus lane" trick. I wasn't, i was on the line and i wasn't speeding. I had no chance at all.

Scum

[northwind]

If I was Jelster's mate, I would totally sue, in seconds, without the slightest thought. I'd expect the same if I did something so stupid, it's just about takign responsibility for your actions. But I wouldn't go out of my way to make things worse for her- I wouldn't, for example, want criminal charges brought if it was avoidable, or go for damages above what it had cost me.

It might sound harsh, but it's no harsher than being left out of pocket for someone else's mistake... There's a difference between punishment and recompense, I think a's been said she's been punished more than enough, now it'd just be about repaying her debt.

Then again, it would depend on financial state too... No point suing her if she can't pay, after all, and if the cost of a replacement wasn't a big loss for me then that'd change things too. But the price of a bike isn't small change for most of us.

[Rob S (Yella)]

I swerved to avoid a ped who stepped out from behind a van.

I had a choice of trying to mis him or hitting him. Somehow I missed but it was wet and there was a manhole cover so I ended up on the floor with a dislodged collar bone and a very scracted Gliera Runner(dont laugh).

He admited fault gave me his address and number and was sorry for what he did BUT to try and make a claim would have been rather pointless as he was basically an uninsured ped. If he was a wealthly man perhaps there would have been a claim somewhere but he lived in a small run down 2 bed house in Gillingham.

I explained the situation to a solicitor and was told if the ped in question was employed and on duty (I.E a postman) then there might be a claim against his employer otherwise they did not want to know.

[lynw]

Hi Lynn.

Yes they were stupid decisions. Very Stupid deciscions. However, i was still entirely in control of the situation. I made a mental decision to take those risks. It wasn't as though i was off my head of "E" or something and not copus-mentus.

By comparing my decision to do what i did last year, with the actions of some girl who's incapacitated by alcohol, you are not comparing apples for apples. Its not a comparable situation.

If she was fully alert and thinking clear, and she ran across the M1.. then perhaps you could compare them. As it happens i was stone cold sober, not on any mind altering substances, and made the decisions based on many factors. All of which paid off, for what its worth.

She was drunk, unable to control her body actions, stumbling (i presume) all over the place, in cloud cookoo land, and she walked into the road, completely unaware of where she was.. SMACK! Into Steve's mates bike.

Actually I disagree. Your standing here all high and mighty about someones stupid decisions when youve been guilty of some pretty monumental ones yourself.

Whats worse is that you cant blame alcohol for yours- you made yours under whatever adrenalin and thought processes were going on at the time.

I just think its a bit rich given some of the things you've done to suddenly stand and criticise someone else for their monumental stupidity. :?

[Anonymous]

Hi Lynn.

Yes they were stupid decisions. Very Stupid deciscions. However, i was still entirely in control of the situation. I made a mental decision to take those risks. It wasn't as though i was off my head of "E" or something and not copus-mentus.

By comparing my decision to do what i did last year, with the actions of some girl who's incapacitated by alcohol, you are not comparing apples for apples. Its not a comparable situation.

If she was fully alert and thinking clear, and she ran across the M1.. then perhaps you could compare them. As it happens i was stone cold sober, not on any mind altering substances, and made the decisions based on many factors. All of which paid off, for what its worth.

She was drunk, unable to control her body actions, stumbling (i presume) all over the place, in cloud cookoo land, and she walked into the road, completely unaware of where she was.. SMACK! Into Steve's mates bike.

Actually I disagree. Your standing here all high and mighty about someones stupid decisions when youve been guilty of some pretty monumental ones yourself.

Whats worse is that you cant blame alcohol for yours- you made yours under whatever adrenalin and thought processes were going on at the time.

I just think its a bit rich given some of the things you've done to suddenly stand and criticise someone else for their monumental stupidity. :?

Agreed, however my actions were under control. They weren't legal, but they were under control. Where as her actions were not.