Overtaking/Filterning Accident? Read this...

Its been said before about no legal precedences supporting bikers or references to outdated case law which found 50/50 blame apportionment. This however may be a much needed quote for anyone going through an insurance dispute:

http://alpha.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWCA/Civ/2006/974.html

In addition to the letter I posted up seemingly helping with insurance claims which dont go to court, it does seem that the courts are now starting to accept there is a large degree of responsibility on the driver making the manouver.

Obviously, this doesnt negate your responsibility to anticipate driver stupidity or ride recklessly but it may help there are now legal precedents to support claims. And the driver was found negligent and appeal dismissed even with the biker doing an estimated 40-45 mph past stationary traffic.

Apologies if quoted before, but thought it may be nice to have a thread pointing out there is a legal case available to quote since if it has been done before I missed it

An interesting read. I cant really see how the cage driver thought it was the bikers fault however???

I have had the misfotune of being on the giving and receiving end. Once in a car I did a Uey (at night) and was crashed into by a car on the rear right panel - didnt see him as he had no lights (or road tax or insurance) - was a work vehicle so no drama. On the bike filtering I was knocked off from a guy doing a Uey - no damage as he caught my leg and the bike landed on the bungs - plus was I was going slow.

Originally Posted by Gmonsta

An interesting read. I cant really see how the cage driver thought it was the bikers fault however???

I have had the misfotune of being on the giving and receiving end. Once in a car I did a Uey (at night) and was crashed into by a car on the rear right panel - didnt see him as he had no lights (or road tax or insurance) - was a work vehicle so no drama. On the bike filtering I was knocked off from a guy doing a Uey - no damage as he caught my leg and the bike landed on the bungs - plus was I was going slow.

It's the whole cagers thinking filtering is illegal + most lawyers not knowing how to argue the case properly resulting in 50:50 if you are lucky

[Stu]

Many Thanks Lyn good work finding that an putting it up.

I would say though, that this sounds like a particular set of circumstances IMHO
i.e. the rider was overtaking and has nothing to do with filtering.

I would be hesitant to rely on it, for example in Gmonsta's example, of filtering & not crossing the solid white line. (I hope I've got that right?) although hopefully it would still be of some use.

Originally Posted by Stu

Many Thanks Lyn good work finding that an putting it up.

I would say though, that this sounds like a particular set of circumstances IMHO
i.e. the rider was overtaking and has nothing to do with filtering.

I would be hesitant to rely on it, for example in Gmonsta's example, of filtering & not crossing the solid white line. (I hope I've got that right?) although hopefully it would still be of some use.

Courtesy of visordown I found that... but like Tescos, I figure every little helps

Particularly as the court case and appeal effectively confirms there is some onus on the driver to ensure the manouver is safe before doing it. And if needs be this would at least show courts are moving away from the 50/50 blame of the precedent which was previously used. Also, may be a good argument to use in any insurance argument - if insurers are no longer guaranteed a partial apportionment they may not be so prepared to fight tooth and nail and go to court. The more ammo we have the more we can push to change things.

Originally Posted by jenni

It's the whole cagers thinking filtering is illegal + most lawyers not knowing how to argue the case properly resulting in 50:50 if you are lucky

Jenni - you are right. Most lawyers (this one included) are no experts on bike law. I won't take work like this - I'm often asked to take on this sort of work BTW - as I don't want to be sued. My professional indemnity premium is bad enough with no claims, if I had a claim it would probably treble.

Nice one - Just let my Solicitor know about that one. Not too sure if it's going to help in my case, but can't hurt......

Fantastic. This is almost identical to my accident.

40-45mph sounds way too high to overtake a line of traffic though.

Thanks Lyn,

Downloaded and stored in the 'Hope I never need this stuff' folder