They reckon there is pot of gold at the end of every rainbow. But if it is a rainbow left on the road from a diesel spill, I have to say I am not entirely convinced.
Despite it being cold and wet, my mate Paul and I were out on our bikes (he has an old Blackbird, and I ride a Yamaha Ténéré 700). We had just hit town when I saw the dreaded diesel ‘rainbow’ on the road as I was slowing for a gentle left-hander. Unfortunately, I saw it too late and lost the front end.
The Yamaha slid across the road and thankfully missed the oncoming taxi. Unfortunately, it hit the kerb and flipped over, damaging both sides. Thankfully, I didn’t slide as far, and the taxi driver was fast on the brakes and didn’t run over me.
I have to confess it could have been a lot worse, but I fractured my neck, broke my wrist and damaged my shoulder.
Paul was a little way behind me so managed to avoid hitting the diesel. After I was carted off by the ambulance, Paul decided to follow the ‘rainbow’ path (with his Insta360 camera recording). Unbelievably, he managed to follow the rainbow of diesel all the way to a local bus company and found the bus, parked up with its driver, still leaking.
The driver was initially chatty but then got very stand-offish when he saw the Insta360. Instead of getting involved in an argument, Paul left after making sure he got his name and recorded the leaking bus and the registration number, etc. He rode off around the corner and called police.
Paul and I have tried several times to get police to do something about it in the weeks since, but they don’t seem interested and told me to contact the Motor Insurers’ Bureau (MIB). This doesn’t seem right to me, and I think the police are just being lazy. What do you think?
Answer
I don’t know if the police are being lazy. However, what I do know is they are completely wrong regarding directing you to the MIB in this scenario. The MIB should always be the last resort, and while it is true that it deals with cases involving diesel spills (hence why it may be an innocent mistake by the police, rather than being lazy), this is only where there is an untraced driver. In other words, if an untraced driver spills diesel that causes you to fall off, you can direct your claim to the MIB for them to pay out. However, that’s not what you have in your case, as you know who the driver is and have the registration number for the bus. Paul (who really is a top chap) is going to be essential in getting you the pot of gold at the end of this rather rubbish rainbow. Make sure you save several copies of his camera footage as this will be key evidence in case the bus driver tries to deny it. You can use this evidence to prove the diesel came from his bus and that it caused you to fall off.
I would suggest getting a specialist solicitor to bring a claim for you. All in all, it should be relatively straightforward in identifying the bus driver’s insurer and then claiming against the driver and his insurer for your injuries and losses.
Lastly, I would go back to the police again and explain this is not an MIB case and they should be looking to prosecute the bus driver. This should be the simplest prosecution ever because Paul has essentially done all the investigation for them.
Andrew Prendergast
RiDE – March 2026