Ms D was walking along the pavement near her home when she was knocked down and injured by a cyclist who was riding up behind her. Ms D fell forwards onto the pavement, striking her head and dislocating a finger, the cyclist meanwhile was unhurt in the collision but stopped at the scene of the accident and called an ambulance for Mr D, who was an elderly lady, and clearly injured and in distress. She was taken to hospital and discharged the following day after being kept in overnight for observation.
The cyclist later stated that he had been riding on the pavement due to heavy congestion and wet conditions on the road, and had lost control of his bicycle before hitting Ms D after it skidded on the uneven and slippery pavement. He was breathalysed by police at the scene of the accident, but had not drunk any alcohol, and his version of events was subsequently corroborated by a member of the public who had witnessed the incident.
Our Legal Advice
Ms D was advised to go ahead with a personal injury claim after her family were informed by the cyclist that he was fully insured for public liability accidents. Bartletts Solicitors went on to represent Ms D in her no win no fee claim, and wrote to the cyclist’s insurance company, arguing that firstly, the cyclist should not have been cycling on the pavement at all and had put pedestrians at risk by doing so, and secondly, that the fact he collided with our client meant that he was riding carelessly and dangerously, regardless of the prevailing weather conditions, which his behaviour should have taken into account.
Cycling on the pavement is an offence under section 72 of the 1835 Highways Act, but in this instance the cyclist was neither prosecuted nor fined, with police taking into consideration his actions in coming to Ms D’s assistance immediately following the accident. The claim was concluded successfully, with Ms D receiving £3,250 in compensation.
Find Out More: Compensation for Pedestrians Injured by Cyclists
Highway Code Changes Increase Cyclists’ Responsibility for Road Safety
Department for Transport (DfT) data shows that 19,039 pedestrians were reported injured on Britain’s roads in the year ending June 2022, and while very few deaths on the roads are caused by cyclists, hundreds of pedestrians suffer moderate to serious injuries every year after being involved in collisions with bicycles.
Introduced in January 2022, the new Highway Code rules recognise the danger that cyclists can pose to pedestrians by placing the latter at the top of a risk-based ‘hierarchy of road users’, meaning that pedestrians now have priority over cyclists in many different road scenarios. Cyclists are now obliged to be more aware of the safety of pedestrians and take better care on the road to reduce the risk of collisions.
The new Highway Code regime gives pedestrians priority at junctions and intersections over all other road users, including cyclists, who must now give way not only when a pedestrian is already crossing the road, but also when they are waiting to cross. When a cyclist is turning into a road, therefore, they are now expected to check that there are no pedestrians waiting to cross, and give way if there are.
Some of the new rules have come in for criticism, including because a cyclist suddenly slowing down at a junction in fast-moving traffic risks getting hit from behind by another vehicle. Their practical application varying road conditions across the country is also a concern, as is lack of awareness of the new rules (or unwillingness to learn them), which will inevitably cause confusion and lead to accidents, at least in the short term, as both pedestrians and cyclists become familiar with their new rights and responsibilities on the road.
A New Law to Prosecute Death Caused by Dangerous Cycling?
The government continues to support proposals for a new law to prosecute those who cause death by dangerous cycling. Under the current rules, dangerous cycling is an offence under section 28 of the Road Traffic Act 1988, for which the maximum penalty is £2,500, and there is no law that relates directly to death caused by dangerous cycling.
New legislation has been in the pipeline since the death of Kim Briggs, a pedestrian who was hit by a cyclist while crossing a road in London in 2016, and the subsequent difficulty in prosecuting the cyclist.
While Department for Transport figures show that very few pedestrians are killed in road traffic collisions involving cyclists, a new law to prosecute death by dangerous cycling would undoubtedly help make cyclists pay more attention to pedestrians, as well as offer a clear legal path for the families of the few who are killed each year by dangerous cyclists.
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