To think this was quite unfair

I am a keen cyclist and belong to two cycling groups. When cycling with them we are covered by a block insurance policy (for which we pay £5 per year for one and £1 per ride for another). However, when I go out cycling just with groups of friends or on my own, I guess I'm not covered.
This story has got me thinking. I've just looked at an insurance package (PedalSure) and even their gold membership, which is £14.50 a month (eek!) only has £25,000 legal expenses, which it seems in this case would have been totally inadequate.

Crazy - not his fault, where do these judges get their ideas from ?

I read about this in the Law Gazette. She is only getting £4100 in compensation. He says he has to find £20,000 to cover that and his own legal fees. They are going back to court to decide on how much is reasonable for her legal fees. It’s said she's spent £100,000 on that but his lawyers will argue that’s not fair - but he will have to pay something and probably a substantial amount. I hope people don’t mind me saying this but would someone really walk into a bike and risk death/ serious injury for £4000? It will be interesting what happens about her costs.

I assume that in law a cyclist should take the same care as a motorist in respect of pedestrians, ie. to anticipate possible unexpected behaviour and to be extra cautious. I believe the cyclist saw the woman and called out or gave some sort of warning. But did he slow down? A cyclist can do quite a lot of damage, especially if pedalling fast.

In this case, on the face of it, it seems unfair that this young woman has been awarded over £4,000, and the cyclist has got to pay £100,000 in costs. Presumably, if the cyclist had negotiated a settlement with the woman, he could have avoided the legal fees. If he appointed a solicitor, he might have been better advised to repreent himself and to make an offer of settlement.- - but there would still be the issue of her fees.

If I were that woman, I would feel guilty to have had such a huge financial and emotional impact on this man's life. She should not have been looking at her phone. In law she had the right to pursue a claim but, ethically, I think it was wrong of her, especially as he was hurt too.

I don't suppose all cyclists think about getting themselves insured but perhaps this will scare them into doing so. I think I agree with suzie that it should be compulsory for cyclists to get insurance - for the sake of both parties.

But did he slow down?
He swerved to avoid her, but unfortunately she went the same way.

OK, so cyclists and motorists, van drivers, bus drivers, etc have to be aware that pedestrians may behave stupidly and step out without looking when the road users have a green light - so, even if he should have been aware that a careless and stupid pedestrian may step out into the road, the blame, imo, was entirely hers.
He rightly took avoiding action which did not work.

Should we be crowdfunding to pay it for him?

Yes to insurance for cyclists.

Yes, some pedestrians are very careless, with or without phones, but more so with!

Was it his fault? It doesn't sound like it.

I hope a crowdfunding campaign is started. I feel so sorry for this man.

I did say to DH that I would contribute a fiver!

And I do often grumble about cyclists too, as they take over our local roads, so that proves how unfair I think this is.

www.gofundme.com/f/help-cover-rob-hazeldean039s-legal-fees

It’s doing well. I really like crowdfunding as an idea in general. You are totally free to give as little or as much as you want anonymously or otherwise to any one off cause that moves you in some way.

But I still think compulsory insurance for cyclists is the way forward

The target has been achieved.
IMO the woman was to blame.
I did read that in one city some street furniture/statue had been moved because phone users kept bumping into them.
I’m not sure if that was true or not.

Ridiculous ruling.

So glad the young man now has crowdfunding to help him out of this sticky jam he finds himself in through no fault of his own really. My feeling is that should do well the majority of people have a sense of fair play and that certainly hasn't played out in this scenario, I might wander over there and contribute a couple of quid, every little helps as that annoying ad tells us!....and yes that girl, if she has any decency, should feel guilty, or maybe she's one of those unfortunate people who are never in the wrong

The cyclist is a bit of a prat though isn’t he? He never got legal advice at the outset and therefore never put in a claim himself to counter sue. I think this is more complex then some people think and wider than the specifics of any particular case. If you are grown up enough to ride a bike in city traffic with all the known idiocies of pedestrians and vehicle drivers, maybe you should take some responsibility for insuring yourself or if involved in an accident, get some legal advice. As I said earlier ,what about a situation of a totally innocent pedestrian disabled for life by an uninsured cyclist? I was once nearly knocked down on the pavement - yes the pavement - by an adult cyclist. From what I know of the case, had I been her I wouldn’t have taken legal action but I don’t think that means I think the cyclist in the case is totally hard done by.

The gofundme page has reached over £35,000 now..! Seems that a lot of people agree with us..!

Well the lawyers will be happy as they will be the ones that will lose out if he can’t pay their bills.

My iPhone disables the phone and social media when I’m driving. Perhaps it should also do this when walking. I must say I automatically stop if I’m walking and phone rings or I want to check SM. This feature doesn’t stop in car navigation for phone calls nor would it stop talking on phone once connected. It’s the using of the eyes that is dangerous.

You can tell by my - what's it called - a moniker? a handle? an alias? well, just my name, that I cycle. I get really annoyed by the "cyclists vs car drivers" debate. I'm also a driver and have in the past got my motorbike licence and even rode one for a while. Cyclists are car drivers and vice versa. It's just that some people are idiots. I detest cyclists who ride on the pavements (unless they're very little people) or who use headphones or mobiles when they're riding. They make life dangerous for other cyclists. I also detest car drivers who are careless and sometimes actively aggressive towards cyclists. I've had people deliberately driving their cars at me, cutting me off on purpose and the close pass is a regular occurrence. The problem is that people on bikes (and pedestrians) are killed by people in cars, whilst the reverse is so rare that if it does happen it's splashed all over the media. We're used to people being killed by people driving a car, so we don't pay it much attention any more.

The solutions are so simple - build proper cycling infrastructure (like this, perhaps, rather than this). Then we could all feel safe, get exercise, enjoy the fresh air, travel cheaply and contribute our little bit to avoiding the climate emergency.

I feel really sorry for this young man. He was a bit daft not seeking legal advice, though I understand he doesn't like the "sue them" culture, which I sympathise with.

I understand that in Holland it is the law that cyclist have the right of way over everything else, pedestrian or vehicle. (Some say, even over crawling babies!) That said, cyclists are generally idiots that once their bum is on the saddle belive that they are king of the road. All the lycra cladding seems to invigorate them, change their character and adopt attitudes that a good kicking would resolve. It is not uncommon to see cyclist on their mobiles and/or listening to music on headphone...oblivious of all other traffic. The worst of the lot are the cycling clubs that try to take over the roads for training runs, as if they are using their personal sports stadium and all others are trespassing. Make it law that cyclists be licensed to cycle on the public highway, pay road tax and be fully insured.

I went on the site to donate but the target has been exceeded. I've shared on facebook though as there needs to be more awareness amongst cyclists who may need to consider insurance, especially if they regularly cycle in towns and cities.
My DS cycles everywhere as he doesn't drive. He was once knocked off his bike by a motorist who overtook him on a steep downhill then turned left across his path. Although she stopped to see if he was OK and admitted it was her fault, he was pretty dazed after going over her bonnet and didn't realise how hurt he was or how damaged his bike was, so he let her go without taking her details. He ended up having to pay all his repair costs - difficult as he was a student at the time! Fortunately he only suffered minor injuries which healed quickly, but he was very lucky!
I'll be suggesting he considers insurance.

In my experience, you never get all the facts from a report and literally have to be in the courtroom before you can speak with authority. But on face value, this matter is easily appealable. There is clear evidence to show the person on the phone, as reported, has not acted in a way to ensure her own safety and show a duty of care to others. Negligence is quantifiable by A duty of care - breach of that duty - damages from such a breach. This could go as low as "Contributary Negligence" ... but in my view a winnable case on appeal.

I cycle everyday and believe me I have encountered people crossing without looking whilst on their phone. I drive as well so I am very watchful of peoples behaviour. Some cyclists especially the Lycra brigade ride too fast. I have in the last two weeks being nearly knocked off twice, drivers not stopping at roundabouts to give way to me, riding a bike you have to overthink others behaviour all the time as it does safe your life.

Cyclists do need insurance to protect themselves as much as anyone else.

Cyvlingknitter I hope you don’t think that I was just being critical of cyclists. I’ve also had two narrow squeaks - one as a motorist with another vehicle and one as a pedestrian with a car - in both of which I would have been the innocent ‘victim’. But I do think his comments on not liking the ‘sue’ them culture were very naive. He obviously doesn’t like the ‘insurance’ culture either. I know that there has been a dreadful increase in the ‘no fee no win’ culture ( fuelled in parts by cuts to legal aid) but surely he( or you) don’t believe that innocent victims should not be able to sue if there is negligence? I’m talking about the general point here, not this specific case.

As for cycling friendly countries like the Netherlands and Denmark, cycling is very different there - not just the infrastructure but the land itself and the types of bikes people ride and the whole culture. We couldn’t replicate that

Yes I sympathise Suziewoozie, I too have nearly been mowed down a couple of times by crazed cyclists in a pedestrian thoroughfare in my nearby town, once by an older woman who couldn't manoeuvre her bike very well, she was going slowly, I pointed out the "no cycling signs" she replied "I know what I'm doing" as she rode into my leg I wasn't hurt because I grabbed her handlebars. I very much agree about cyclists taking out insurance to cover any liability they may have when accidents occur.