Do I report a minor bump with a car?

[Ron Montana]

I had a minor bump with a car this morning on a country road. I was turning right onto a side road (my right of way), the car was waiting to turn right out of the side road. As I turned, he decided to pull out, so he moved into my path and I scraped his front bumper with my pedal. Neither of us were going very fast. I wasn't knocked off the bike and there was no damage, but I was momentarily shaken and very annoyed. He didn't stop, just looked round, shrugged and drove off. I took down his number plate.

The local police force website has a page about reporting minor collisions, but it wouldn't let me progress as I said there was no damage. Do I call them to report this? On the one hand, there was no harm done. On the other, if the driver had pulled out a fraction of a second earlier I would have been in the road, so his lack of judgement seems like a safety issue, particularly as the next cyclist he prangs might not be so lucky.

 

[mjr]

Can you report the failure to stop rather than the minor collision?

It's up to you whether you want to land yourself in potential trouble (having scraped his bumper could cost £100+ if the paint needs retouching) just for the possible satisfaction of catching a hit-and-run driver before he injures someone and drives off. Only motorists are legally required to report collisions.

 

[Arjimlad]

I would, scraping the bumper with pedal is likely to have left some damage and he should have stopped. By not doing so he fails the attitude test & should be reported.

 

[fossyant]

OP has right of way - report the driver. Now't is likely to come of it though.

 

[Johnsop99]

In my experience the police won't be interested as no one was injured.

 

[Drago]

You weren't driving a motor vehicle, so you're under no obligation to report anything.

You can report it, but with no injury they're unlimely to consider it a proportionate use of resources. Even if it were, without some evidence, witnesses, footage etc, there is no means by which to progress an investigation anyway.

You can't speculate about what might have been - he didn't pull out a fraction of a second earlier, so particular avenue of thought is a waste of time.

 

[si_c]

Put in an insurance claim for your damaged pedal

 

[PK99]

I had a minor bump with a car this morning on a country road. I was turning right onto a side road (my right of way), the car was waiting to turn right out of the side road. As I turned, he decided to pull out, so he moved into my path and I scraped his front bumper with my pedal. Neither of us were going very fast. I wasn't knocked off the bike and there was no damage, but I was momentarily shaken and very annoyed. He didn't stop, just looked round, shrugged and drove off. I took down his number plate.

The local police force website has a page about reporting minor collisions, but it wouldn't let me progress as I said there was no damage. Do I call them to report this? On the one hand, there was no harm done. On the other, if the driver had pulled out a fraction of a second earlier I would have been in the road, so his lack of judgement seems like a safety issue, particularly as the next cyclist he prangs might not be so lucky.

Point of order: No one has right of way: One has priority and a responsibility to stop to prevent a collision.

Also, back in the dim dark days of the late 70's my driving instructor drummed into time the idea of ABCD boxes at a junction, ABC DON'T!

As you arrive at a junction, imagine 4 boxes defined by the intersecting roads.
You enter Box A
You can exit the junction:
By turning left directly out of box A
By carrying straight on through Box B
By turning right through Box C
You DON'T ever pass through box D

By your description you were passing through Box D

Putting it another way, don't turn before the centreline of the road you are turning into.

 

[Chris S]

Yet another new member who asks a question and doesn't follow it up. What exactly is going on here?

 

[mjr]

Yet another new member who asks a question and doesn't follow it up. What exactly is going on here?

Not everyone logs into every website every day.

 

[Drago]

Only rerired saddos with unfulfilling lives log in here daily. Like me.

 

[Venod]

Point of order: No one has right of way: One has priority and a responsibility to stop to prevent a collision.

Also, back in the dim dark days of the late 70's my driving instructor drummed into time the idea of ABCD boxes at a junction, ABC DON'T!

As you arrive at a junction, imagine 4 boxes defined by the intersecting roads.
You enter Box A
You can exit the junction:
By turning left directly out of box A
By carrying straight on through Box B
By turning right through Box C
You DON'T ever pass through box D

By your description you were passing through Box D

Putting it another way, don't turn before the centreline of the road you are turning into.

What if the road to the right, the one straggled by box C and D is a two lane one way street with the entry from box C and D, you will be turning right off this road soon after turning into it, wouldn't you go through box D to access this road ?

 

[PK99]

OP has right of way - report the driver. Now't is likely to come of it though.

no he doesn't,

The rules in The Highway Code do not give you the right of way in any circumstance, but they advise you when you should give way to others. Always give way if it can help to avoid an incident

 

[DaveReading]

As you arrive at a junction, imagine 4 boxes defined by the intersecting roads.

Maybe I'm just dim, but I'm struggling to imagine how intersecting roads define 4 boxes, which makes the rest of your post not much use.

 

[PK99]

Maybe I'm just dim, but I'm struggling to imagine how intersecting roads define 4 boxes, which makes the rest of your post not much use.

Simple crossroad.
Imagine a line across each road. (the side road already has them)
Extend the centrelines across the junction.
Et Voilla, 4 boxes
A is the first box you enter from whatever road you are on
BCD boxes clockwise from box A