Summons following road traffic accident.

I'm a bit shocked by some of the attitude, I do ride motorbikes and drive cars, I'm always more careful around bikers, cyclists and pedestrians.
Each to their own but I wouldn't have it on my conscious if I hurt someone through my own negligence.

BTW it doesn't matter about the indicator, you're supposed to wait until they've turned, an indicator is only signaling intention.
 
The fact is the op is being taken to court by the guards. They obviously believe the op was wrong. I agree with j26, the op seen the bike, which was driving slowly and then decided to pull out in front of it. Guilty as charged. Your only hope for a bit of leniency is the fact the bike had its indicator on.
 
The driver and not the motor biker is totally responsible for this accident. Yes, the motor briker had his indicator on but the driver was impatient and pulled out in from of him. Two wrongs don't make a right.
 
Thank you all for your contributions.My intention was not to have a bike versus car argument,but simply to ask what penalty is usually imposed if the Judge rules that I'm guilty of the offence as I have never seen the inside of a courtroom in my half a century+ of life.

The motorcyclist is not being summoned for anything and the indicator was still flashing on the bike when the Gardai arrived.All my documents were in order as they should be,and were presented to the Gardai at the scene and I'm fully insured as I should be,so the motorcyclist has no worries in that regard.

I will contact my solicitor. Once again thank you all.
 
WOW!!
Looking at both sides. I am a car, van & truck driver who loved his motorbike and cycles regularily. You need a different head on you driving a 'caged' vehicle as opposed to a bike.
On the bike (of any kind) you are intensely aware of how vunerable you are to other road users' actions and should behave accordingly.
We all see stupid people acting stupid on bikes: under/ over taking, up hardshoulders, weaving, speeding etc. cycling through lights, cycling on motorways etc. There are just an many stupid & dangerous people in hard shell vehicles, under/ over taking, speeding etc.
We all have a duty of care to each other and should be aware of all roadusers.
Red I am sorry for your situation and hope both you and the biker are ok after the accident. The biker should have cancelled his signal, some bikes do cancel like a car, but the biker should be aware of his / her bikes habits. So there may have been a lapse of their behalf, mitigating for you but not substantiated as your word against theirs etc.
On the other side, the bike's road positioning should have told you something is off.

On another day the bike or car could have left you sittting there and made the turn without indication leaving you just as frustrated but no-one hurt.
 
Red2 said:
Thank you all for your contributions.My intention was not to have a bike versus car argument,but simply to ask what penalty is usually imposed if the Judge rules that I'm guilty of the offence as I have never seen the inside of a courtroom in my half a century+ of life.

The motorcyclist is not being summoned for anything and the indicator was still flashing on the bike when the Gardai arrived.All my documents were in order as they should be,and were presented to the Gardai at the scene and I'm fully insured as I should be,so the motorcyclist has no worries in that regard.

I will contact my solicitor. Once again thank you all.
Click to expand...
wow, what a biker/car driver war!!
From what I've seen in courts regarding road traffic offences, you will be deemed to be responsible for this accident in the eyes of the law, so should probably plead guilty, as pleading innocent when you are not 100% innocent could antagonize the judge.
However, a reasonable judge (there are all sorts and they have their moods!) should take into consideration the following:
1. The other motorist caused confusion by driving on a straight, approaching a left turn, indicating to turn left, with no intention to turn.
2. You are, as you said, 50+ with no previous convictions and a low number of penalty points.
3. You will have a solicitor with you (I presume, as you said you will be contacting them) and bringing representation in the form of barrister/solicitor shows you are taking the matter seriously & believe you have a case worth good representation.

Best of Luck, and by the way, 'Driving Without Consideration For Other Road Users' is the lowest offence of its type you can be charged for, Undue Care & Attention is only the next one up, so try not to think of it as a "very serious offence" as someone else here called it.
 
your totally at fault you should not have pulled out,it wouldnt have killed you to wait but it did nearly kill the biker.
 
So, I drive both a car and a Bike.

So, I can see this from both sides. The bike was indicating with no intention of turning. Regardless of the legal situation, this is clearly confusing and certainly contributed to the accident. Had the biker not been indicating, the driver almost certainly would not have pulled out. Simple as. The judge would have to take this into account. I suspect he will be fairly lenient.

Most bike indicators do not self cancel. You have to press a button to turn them both on and off. (Most car drivers don't realize this). Every biker has forgotten to cancel their indicator at some point.

The biker also probably slowed down as he approached the intersection as he may have suspected the car was going to pull out. I do this regularly if I see a car at an intersection and their wheels are moving or if they give the slightest indication that they may pull out.

If the car does not see me and pulls out, I might die. So I slow down. I like being alive. It does not matter that the car would be in "the wrong" if it pulled out. Being in "the right" would not make me any less dead or permanently injured. Being in "the right" would be very little comfort to my wife and kids when they put me in the ground.

However, the car driver pulled out in front of the bike. The biker was lucky. He survived. Had he been unlucky, he'd be dead now and I suspect a few penalty points would be the least of your worries.

The biker certainly contributed to the confusing situation, sure. But the car driver pulled out in front of him based on a faulty assumption (that the biker was going to turn). The car driver caused the accident and is lucky that someone was not seriously injured or killed.

There is a simple lesson to learn here. If you are about to do something in a car and there is a bike, bicycle or pedestrian in the situation make 100% sure you are not going to hit them. If you are not 100% sure, wait until you are.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top