LEGAL ADVICE NEEDED!

[mitomonster]

Can anyone tell me if, legally, I have a leg to stand on in this situation? Riding along a normal road through town there was a staionary line of traffic up ahead so I decide to overtake along the white lines down the middle. All of a sudden from the same side of the road as myself, a car driver pulls a u-turn from a bus-stop. Low and behold I get knocked off, brand new mito is buggered and a big legal headache. Now is it my fault because I was going on the outside of the cars? My speed was 15-20mph. What about him pulling a u-turn? He was parked in a bus stop which is illegal, does that help? ANY HELP WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED.

[Rocket Ron]

were the line solid or broken?

[mitomonster]

THE LINES WERE BROKEN

[T.C]

Filtering in itself is not illegal if you were passing vehicles where the centre white line was broken, however, there is a difference between civil law and road traffic law which will have a bearing on liability.

For the vehicle to pull a U turn from the Bus stop is not in itself illegal unless there were signs stating that U turns were prohibited, however that does not preclude the driver from being reported for driving without due care and attention.

However, whether or not a conviction can be secured is very much dependant on the evidence available, and the evidence to prove beyond all reasonable doubt must exist to secure that conviction.

However, in civil law (which covers your claim), you have to prove "On the balance of probability" and this somewhat difference to beyond all reasonable doubt.

There are two issues with regards to a case such as this.

Firstly there is the car doing the U turn. That would suggest primary liability as the driver has a duty of care to ensure it is safe before they commit to the turn.

There will also be some secondary liability on your part, what is called in the trade as contributory negligence and this can range from 0% to 100% depending on all the circumstances.

Filtering collisions are often deemed 50/50 although this is changing in light of recent case law, but without seeing the evidence a figure is difficult to provide for example:

If you were on a wide open road and clearly visible as you filtered, then 90% liability against the other driver might be deemed reasonable, however if you were filtering in a tight confined section of road and were not clearly visible, then it may drop to 50/50.

There is the other issue that if another motorist flashed the car out of the bus stop, then an apportionment of liability may also be transferred to that flashing driver.

As I say, without seeing all the available evidence, it is very difficult to give a precise answer due to the number of variations, but in short, your manoeuvre was legal, the manoeuvre by the car MAY have been legal, liability will no doubt be contested so witnesses will be important, and you may have to accept a degree of contrib, but more and more cases of this type are being won with liabilty being found against the other side.
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It is better to arrive 30 seconds late in this world, than 30 years early in the next

[Danny]

[T.C]

[Danny]

Cheers, I was just wondering.