I had an accident with an oncoming car. The police are now telling me it is my fault! This is unbelievable. I did nothing wrong; I was riding along when I saw an oncoming car turning into my path. To avoid a head-on, I moved into the oncoming lane to miss the car, but it steered back, and I hit it. I was thrown over the car and landed on the road. I am lucky I only suffered a broken wrist.
The police attended and they’ve now offered me an awareness course; otherwise, the copper told me he would prosecute me for careless riding. This just stinks and I
want some advice…
Answer
This seems to be a common occurrence. First of all, let’s see it from the officers’ eyes. He has been called to a scene where the car is on the correct side of the road and your motorcycle is buried in its front bumper. The copper wasn’t able to speak with you as you were whisked away in an ambulance, and thankfully, your injuries are only to your wrist. It could have been much worse. The copper ought to have interviewed you; if so, it would have been clear as to why you moved into the oncoming lane. This is his failure and does strike me as a pretty basic one, given that police officers ought to keep an open mind and follow all reasonable lines of enquiry.
Speaking to you is a reasonable line of enquiry. It appears when the officer did meet with you, the opening was ‘have an awareness course or be prosecuted.’ That really isn’t on. You need to lawyer up as a criminal conviction (if there is one) will mean it will be impossible for you to win any civil claim for damages on a 100% basis.
Accepting an awareness course won’t have the same impact on any civil claim, as going on a course isn’t a finding of guilt by a court or an admission of blame on your part.
The truth is, we are always learning as bikers; you cannot be criticised for going on courses to develop your knowledge. You want to defend this properly as getting it wrong could land you with three to nine points on your licence: The lower end is for less serious cases and the upper end of nine points, or a disqualification and no points, would mean the court has taken a really dim view of the standard of driving.
It is normal for criminal cases to be resolved before a civil claim. You clearly should win any such civil claim on a 100% basis as it is negligent for a car driver to swerve onto your side of the road without good reason. A good reason might be a medical condition (i.e., they had no control of their vehicle; however, feeling unwell and not pulling over will find them liable). So will mixing medication with alcohol and so on, so this is something your lawyer will need to look at carefully.
If they just had a momentary lapse of concentration and veered onto your side of the road, this isn’t an excuse. They would be found liable in negligence. They would also be found liable in a criminal court for careless driving, which makes it all the more galling that it is you being looked at by the police and not the car driver.
Lawyer up for both the criminal and civil case; a good brief will ensure your case is properly presented, avoid the criminal pitfall, and get home 100% in your civil claim. Dash cams might put an end to such confusing cases but there wasn’t a video in your case.
Gavin Grewal
Fast Bikes Mag – September 2024