Right off the bat, I want to stress that unlike certain members of the village who love to moan about them on the local Facebook group, I get it’s a hard job and the farmers must go like the clappers to beat the weather and try and earn a living.
However, I’m also a firm believer in health and safety as my old man got killed in a building site accident when I was a kid. With that in mind, as I was riding towards my village after work on my virtually new Triumph Speed 400, three tractors and trailers came whizzing towards me, filling their side of the road and some of mine, bouncing on their huge tyres.
As I was on a bike, I moved to the left so we could pass. However, at that very moment a hay bale fell off a tractor trailer straight in front of me (thankfully not on top of me). I tried my best to go around it and nearly made it. However, my handlebar caught it, and I went down hard on the road, breaking my arm.
After I caught my breath, I got up to find I was on my own. Not a tractor in sight! I called my husband to come and pick me up and take me to hospital and a neighbour kindly picked up my trashed bike in his van.
We called the Police who kindly came round but have said there is nothing they can do as they do not know what tractor the hay bale came from.
I suggested doing some investigation and using forensics, looking for video footage from ring doorbells, etc. The Police were polite but said it wasn’t going to happen.
Can you ‘bale’ me out? (I apologise in advance for the bad pun!) I don’t know what to do next about claiming for my injuries.
Answer
At least you haven’t lost your sense of humour! I can indeed look to ‘bale’ you out of this situation.
First things first and to state the blindingly obvious, it appears clear that the tractor driver was driving with an ‘unsecure load’ because a hay bale fell off into the road. Therefore, if you could find the tractor, you could bring a claim against him/her and their insurer.
However, it sounds like you would be looking for a ‘needle in a haystack’ (my turn to apologise for a pun!). On the basis you cannot identify the tractor, then you will have to direct your claim to the Motor Insurers’ Bureau (MIB).
As the hay bale came from a vehicle that should have had insurance, you can make a claim against the MIB under the ‘Untraced Driver’s’ Agreement’.
As an untraced driver, i.e. the tractor driver caused this accident, the MIB will step in and pay out for your personal injury and uninsured losses.
Andrew ‘Chef’ Prendergast
More Bikes – August 2024
