When you’re riding a bike, whether on a dedicated cycle path or along the road, you need to make sure you stay safe. To do this, you should wear reflective and protective clothing, and make sure you follow the rules of the road. However, no matter how much effort you put into staying safe, nothing will stop accidents from happening. If you’re involved in an accident on your bicycle, follow these steps.
Await the Arrival of the Police
When you’re involved in a collision with a motorist, you’re both legally obliged to stay at the scene, even if there have been no injuries to yourself or the property. Firstly, you may not notice that you’ve suffered an injury until later. Secondly, you need the police report if you hope to claim on any insurance policy or make a compensation claim.
Collect Motorist and Witness Details
While you’re waiting for the police to arrive, you should speak to people in the area that may have witnessed the crash, and make sure you collect any necessary details. As well as this, you should write down contact and insurance details for any motorist involved in the collision.
Avoid Negotiating with Drivers
There’s a strong likelihood the motorist will attempt to negotiate with you at the scene to avoid escalating anything to insurance. However, you must avoid doing this, no matter how genuine or apologetic they are. After all, you may not find out about medical injuries or property damage until much later.
Get Medically Assessed
Whether you’re lucky enough to walk away without a scratch or you’ve got more serious injuries, you have to be assessed by a medical professional. This isn’t only important because you may have underlying trauma – you’ll need to collect a medical assessment if you want to claim compensation for damages.
Avoid Insurance Company Negotiation
Cyclists can claim compensation through a motorist’s insurance policy, but it has to be proven beyond a doubt that the motorist was responsible. Therefore, to avoid saying anything that could be taken out of context, you should avoid speaking to any insurance company. If you do need to make your insurance company aware of the accident, then do this and refuse to say anymore.
To make sure insurance companies are handled correctly, a law firm like www.carldbarnes.com will help ensure you’re paid the compensation you deserve.
Retain Any Evidence
Even though you’ve not got a lawyer on your side, you need to collect and keep hold of any evidence about the crash. As well as collecting and recording this evidence, you should keep written documentation of how you’re feeling and what’s happening at each stage. After all, the statute of limitations for personal injury claims is two years, which is more than enough time for you to forget what happened.
As a cyclist, you have the same responsibilities and rights as a motorist, which means you have to take steps to stay safe and avoid accidents. However, if accidents do occur, make sure you follow the steps outlined above.
Also, Read: Why You Should Hire a Private Criminal Lawyer
