Rickson v Bhakar

A cyclist (Rickson) was taking part in a cycling time trial early on a Saturday morning.

He was travelling Westbound along an A-road when he collided with a van in his path (being driven by Bhakar), which had been travelling eastbound and had attempted to cross the Westbound carriageway.

Bhakar had failed to properly check for oncoming vehicles and attempted to turn at a designated gap in the dual carriageway when it was not safe for him to do so.

Rickson suffered severe spinal injuries as a result of the collision and was left paralysed.

The van driver was held primarily responsible for the collision as he had failed to exercise due care and had, indeed, created the hazard.

However, the Judge accepted that there was a reasonable opportunity for Rickson to observe the van after it had started to cross and to react appropriately by decelerating. It could not be claimed with certainty whether Rickson had been riding with his head down or not at the time of the collision.

Driver of van was held 80% responsible           Cyclist 20% responsible

A link to the full decision can be found here.