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Where a car knocks into a bicycle on a public road is there a presumption of guilt against the motorist?

Where a car knocks into a bicycle on a public road is there a presumption of guilt against the motorist. My friend, who was cycling with a number of others from a bicycle club, pulled up at a crossroads beside a car waiting to turn right. A van came up from behind and as the car moved slowly to the right the van driver accelerated forward to pass the group of cyclists at the crossroad and hit my friend's bicycle, shooting him over the handlebars into the road. He suffered very serious injuries, including a broken shoulder and pelvis. The surgeon told him that if he hadn't been wearing a cycle helmet he would most likely have been killed. My friend's helmet included a dashcam which (he states) clearly shows that the van driver was too impatient to wait for the car driver to finish turning right but the police aren't interested and will take no action. Is there any way of getting a review of the police decision not to prosecute the van driver?

Asked on 23 May 2019 by HughF

Answered by Honest John
it is not a presumption of guilt, It is the protection of what the 1932 road traffic act was created for, which is to have a policy of insurance in place for any third party claim. The way the road traffic is structured, it would allow a cyclist to pursue a claim from a motorist if involved in an accident. I assume your friend is already pursuing a claim. This is the insurance standpoint, A police standpoint may be viewed differently. They should have prosecuted the driver for "driving without due care and attention". I guess the police attended? if so your friend would have been given a reference number, has he passed the footage on to them? The police would need to pass these details onto the crown prosecution service to see if it was worthy of proceedings. It may well be without the evidence that is on your friend's camera they do not think it is worthy, whereas with it, they may.
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