Considering change in civil law of responsiblility

[Billy Ruffian]

For every cyclist in London, there are 3 uninsured cars.
The current system is poor and unfit for purpose. There is all out war and a lack of respect between road users in the UK and it stems from such policies as the current scheme of vehicle insurance.
This suggested policy, that works so well in NL and GER is not only fair but also moral. The way it has been unsympathetically reported, with the usual frothing outrage by 'poor put upon motorists' does no one any favours.
The cycling lobby is being out gunned by the pro-motorist PR machine if they cant explain how having fairness and respect on the road is a good thing.

 

[MacB]

Consider: I am cycling down a road with parked cars, somebody opens a door in front of me. I swerve to avoid him and hit a car coming the other day. Who do I sue? Who does the driver of the oncoming car sue? The responsibility seems to lie with the door opener, but there was no actual accident in which he was involved

Many years ago I was involved in a car accident where another car ran into the side of mine. I was on a roundabout and about to exit into Frimley Business Park. The spot was a known issue, the roundabout joined M3 slips roads with dual carriageways and right in the middle you have a small business park access point. I was stopped from exiting the roundabout by a lorry that had nosed forward to a point at which it was blocking my exit path. I had to brake and the car feeding onto the roundabout on the outside of the lorry ran into my side.

Clearly the car was at fault but was also driving in the manner generally needed to make progress at this roundabout. I had some sympathy for him as he wouldn't have been expecting me to stop on the roundabout. However I was furious with the lorry driver as his actions had created the scenario.

The police took no action, despite witness statements and a mass of data from the owners and workers on the business park. The other driver admitted liability and my car was repaired etc. The roundabout finally had traffic lights installed on it.

 

[yello]

In my ideal world, nobody would sue anybody. Everybody injured would get their injuries seen too, cars would be repaired, etc. Nobody would have a need to sue. Fault would be a completely separate issue and dealt with by a 3rd party.