Your tricky legal questions answered

‘Drivers have to ensure any loads are secure’

Who’s in deep Q water for canoe drama?

I was riding to west Wales in the middle lane of the M4 motorway. Quite some way ahead of me in the inside lane was a van with two canoes on the roof. The green one suddenly came loose and flew through the air across the motorway towards the outside lane. The car driver in the outside lane steered left to avoid the canoe hurtling towards him and I braked as hard as I could in my lane. If the car driver had taken me out would he have been at fault? The van driver pulled off at the next exit - not sure if he had any idea what had happened.

Tony Roach, email

It sounds like you had A a very lucky escape! Drivers have to ensure that their vehicles are roadworthy and any loads securely attached. Clearly the load (in this case, the canoe), was not securely attached and the driver’s insurer would be liable for injury and loss caused arising out of the negligent use of the vehicle. If the driver did not stop (he may have pulled off to stop to rescue the canoe or to contact the police) the M4 has CCTV so he could be traced. If not then it would be a case for the Motor Insurers’ Bureau to compensate under the Untraced Drivers Agreement. It is likely the car driver would not be held liable. If he were to be brought into proceedings he would likely add the van driver as another defendant hoping that his insurer would meet the claim in full.