Need advice
If you need advice on a biking-related legal question or query, email mail@whitedalton.co.uk The best Q&A will be published in MCM, in confidence, of course. QI
was out with four mates riding our bikes and I was number two in the line-up. It was foggy so we weren’t speeding along when some dipstick copper jumped out from behind a parked car in a layby directly into the middle of the road to stop us. My mate in front slammed on his brakes and managed to swerve and avoid the copper (just) without hitting him. However, I also had to slam on to try and avoid hitting the copper and my mate. Unfortunately, I locked up the front, fell off and ended up sliding into some poor chap’s parked car. I broke my leg and trashed my bike. My insurer has told me I can’t claim for my injuries as a copper tried to stop us and I should have left enough space to be able to stop safely. What do you think? AThis
sounds about as much fun as catching your genitals in a door. Be very careful relying on your insurer for legal advice as they probably aren’t legally qualified. I liken it to asking me for advice on building a wall. I could give advice but I probably shouldn’t. Prima facie, you as the rider have a duty to leave enough space to be able to stop if an emergency happens. However, from what you have said the copper has jumped out into the road causing the whole situation. Why on earth is he doing this in the fog? Common sense… Anyway, before I rant, you have to prove on the balance of probabilities the copper has done something wrong and because of that you suffered a loss. Every case turns on its own facts but the first ‘link’ in the ‘chain of causation’ appears to be the copper. Get some proper legal advice and crack on with your claim is my view. QI
got a puncture on my ZZR1400’s rear tyre. My local garage said he could fix it and duly did for £30. Bargain! All was well… or so I thought. The next day I rode to work. About 30 miles in I braked for a roundabout and the rear wheel locked up causing me to skid down the road. Because I am a riding god (read that as lucky!) I stayed on and didn’t hit anyone. However, the rear wheel was completely locked up and I had to get recovered home. Having looked at the bike it turns out the garage hadn’t put the rear wheel back on properly. This allowed the brake calliper to spin on the spindle, nip the brake hose and lock on. I could have been killed and want to sue the garage. Can I? AI’m glad
to hear luck was on your side that day. However, you can’t sue someone for something that could have happened. Thankfully you weren’t killed and you didn’t get hurt. Compensation is to put you in the same place you would have been, but for the accident. Therefore, your only claim is the cost to put your Kwak back to the same state it was before the rear brake locked on. If it has trashed the swinging arm, the brake pipe etc. then the garage will be liable to pay for that. I would add before suing the garage why not contact them to see if a compromise can be reached. This is the Hyosung GD450 – a new naked roadster from the Korean bike maker that’s going to be available for 2016.
Powered by a liquid-cooled singlecylinder, dohc 449cc motor, the bike kicks out 50bhp @ 7500rpm and 47.7Nm of torque @ 7000rpm.
It gets a six-speed gearbox, a 96mm bore and a compression ratio of 11.8:1. No price or release information about the bike yet, but it will be around early in 2016. Those who know about Kawasaki’s plans for 2017 have, so we’re told, said that the company is currently developing a new 150cc motor (which will look like this insider’s sketch, below) and that new lump is going to power at least two motorcycles: a naked roadster and a 1970s-esque Scrambler.