Hi all,
Who is at fault in this situation which resulted in a crash.
Yellow is a van.
Blue is a cyclist.
Red is a car.
I was following the van quite closely so the car (red) could not see me.
The van (yellow) relatively abruptly began braking and then indicating to turn left.
At this point, this caught me off guard and I entered the central dashed road area, and when passing the van / van turning off, the car (red) was halfway across my carriageway and we collided.
As the cyclist, I feel I could have been more responsible as the car (red) could not see me. However, should the driver of the car have any accountability in this situation?
by Equal_Gene_3654
16 Comments
Tough call, but you were playing follow the leader behind that van. Defensive cycling is key in this city, assume everyone’s an idiot, especially behind the wheel.
I think you were 70% at fault and the car 30% (because they had a yield sign).
Ultimately the car turning across your path.
That said: you should also be aware that you could have helped to prevent the accident. Behind a van you are invisible. Be prepared to act defensively in such situations in future. Hope you’re okay.
>I was following the van quite closely so the car (red) could not see me.
you put yourself in a dangerous position …
The red car should have waited to have a clear view of the situation.
It’s kinda partly your fault here.
Looks like the UK? To my eye (and keep in mind I’m in the US so I have to think about driving on the other side) the road you were traveling on looks like the main road. The Red car would be considered to be on a side road here based on the shape of the intersection would be required to cede the right of way to anyone on Warfield road. They would typically also have a stop sign at any intersection like this in the US.
So my guess is here the driver of the red car would be considered at fault in an accident if you are just talking legal. However all the comments about defensive cycling/riding/driving do apply and for your own safety you would want to be careful here and not follow the yellow van too closely as it blocks your sightlines.
>I was following the van quite closely so the car (red) could not see me.
You literally just answered your own question. Don’t ever do this.
Your fault I would guess.
You could have prevented this and probably should ride more defensively in the future and make sure your are seen because you are a vulnerable road user, but it’s the red cars fault 100% for not yielding to traffic in the active roadway. Just because he can’t see you doesnt make it magically your fault – he is turning into the roadway and must yield to traffic.
Maybe you followed the van too closely. I don’t know your local road rules, but where I live dashed spaces are not supposed to be used. And you are not supposed to pass a car that is going to left the main road, because of visibility.
For me and my knowledge, you passed a car in a space that is not intended for that, because you were too close of the car behind you. So you have the main fault in this collision. However, I would not be surprise if the red car has something like 20% of the fault. Sometimes you are not supposed to go on the main road if you don’t see 100% of the situation.
I think detouring into the center lane is where this becomes your fault. If you’re following a car, don’t follow closely ever, obviously. If a car slows to turn, you slow and wait, you don’t pass it on a suicide lane (in a car or on a bike). The car in red turned when he saw the van turning, knowing he had the clear. You’re the one who came out of nowhere.
Sorry mate, your fault entirely.
Driver took a bad risk by pulling out on the blind assumption that no one was behind the van. He should have waited until the van had turned and he could see behind him. Could have been anything there, a car, a motorcycle, a line of cars.
As a car driver, I wouldn’t have done that. Not sure what the code in the UK says about it?
In my jurisdiction traffic law is on side of the vehicle traveling straight on Warfield. Unfortunately the person traveling straight put themselves in danger of being hit.
# Highway Code Rule 130
**Areas of white diagonal stripes** or chevrons painted on the road. These are to separate traffic lanes or to protect traffic turning right.
* If the area is bordered by a broken white line, you should not enter the area unless it is necessary and you can see that it is safe to do so.
* If the area is marked with chevrons and bordered by solid white lines you **MUST NOT** enter it except in an emergency
Legally Red car as they should ensure they have a clear view of all vehicles before turning **however** honestly it was you. You shouldn’t be so close behind a vehicle at such a speed that you can’t adequately do an emergency stop if you have to.
It’s important for any cyclist to remember that fault doesn’t matter, safety does: a car could be 100% at fault in an incident, but that incident could leave you dead and leave the car hardly needing a repair. Drivers make mistakes, and putting yourself in situations where you can avoid any possible mistake is the habit you need to be in. You could have made yourself much safer by leaving a reasonable distance to the van ahead, and that’s all that should matter to you going forward.
If the car was blue and jumped the line illegally and ran over a bike people would be saying the car was at fault