McGeer v McIntosh

The driver of an articulated HGV was straddling two lanes of traffic while stationary at a traffic-light controlled junction, indicating his intention to turn left.

When the traffic lights turned to green, he executed the left turn colliding with a cyclist, who had been filtering along the near side of the HGV and across its front.

Evidence revealed that the cyclist would have been visible in the driver's mirror for approximately 3 seconds before he moved off.

It was also established the driver knew that an approaching cyclist could reasonably believe he was turning right rather than left due to his road position. This imposed upon him a requirement to check his mirrors again, after he moved off. He had failed to do this.

Although major responsibility lay with the driver, the cyclist was also held to have been contributorily negligent. She had approached the junction at considerable speed and should have realised that as the HGV was straddling 2 lanes, she could not safely assume that it was going to go straight ahead.

The driver of the HGV - 70%                   Cyclist - 30% responsible for the collision

A link to the full decision can be found here.