Personal News: how a motorist drove into the back of me on my bicycle leaving me with multiple fractures – and simply walked away without any consequences – can anyone help?

By Harry Mottram: On Saturday May 4th, 2024, at 2pm, a Christian Gospel singer by the name of Gifty Donkor drove into me from behind as I cycled along the A38 in Gloucester. I was taken to hospital with cuts and bruises and multiple fractures to my back, neck and pelvis as the car struck me at approximately 40mph.

I was approaching the roundabout south of the city and moved into the right hand lane as the left one takes traffic to the M5. I saw a car approaching but believed they would slow down but instead the driver must have been distracted and ploughed straight into my back wheel throwing me to the ground where I briefly passed out.

I was not wearing my helmet that day but had on a high vis jacket. Under the Highway Code I moved into a position to cross the roundabout. It says on positioning in the road when cycling: riding in the centre of their lane on quiet roads, in slower-moving traffic and at the approach to junctions or road narrowings.

As regards the driver it says when overtaking: leaving at least 1.5 metres (5 feet) when overtaking people cycling at speeds of up to 30mph, and giving them more space when overtaking at higher speeds.

I hadn’t arrived at the roundabout but this is what the code says on the subject:

The code has been updated to clarify that people driving or riding a motorcycle should give priority to people cycling on roundabouts. The new guidance will say people driving and or riding a motorcycle should:

• not attempt to overtake people cycling within that person’s lane
• allow people cycling to move across their path as they travel around the roundabout

The code already explained that people cycling, riding a horse and driving a horse-drawn vehicle may stay in the left-hand lane of a roundabout when they intend to continue across or around the roundabout.

Guidance has been added to explain that people driving should take extra care when entering a roundabout to make sure they do not cut across people cycling, riding a horse or driving a horse-drawn vehicle who are continuing around the roundabout in the left-hand lane.

By any kind of analysis the motorist was in the wrong and despite her assertion she didn’t see me she had clear sight as it is wide road, not busy and a clear and sunny day at around 2pm. Her daughter as front seat passenger admitted to being on her mobile and says she didn’t see me until the car hit me – and if I had been cutting across the two lanes I would have been hit at about a 45% angle not square in the back as the evidence of my bicycle shows.

Incredibly the police have declined to charge the motorist with driving without due care and attention due to a lack of CCTV, dashcam footage or eye witnesses and as a result my solicitor has dropped the case. Meaning she walks away with no consequences leaving me with a smashed bike, lost work due to being injured and various other sundries without taking into account my injuries.

Somehow natural justice seems to have been sidelined in the quest to brush the whole affair aside by the police and the motorist and her insurance company. Even if I had insurance on my bicycle it seems unlikely I would have got very far unless I had been killed. Then an inquiry would have taken place. If I was in a car it would have been a typical rear end shunt and we would have exchanged insurance details and I suspect apart from damage to both cars and possible whiplash that would have been that. It beggars belief that there can be no consequences for what is a clear violation of the Highway Code by a motorist. Most decent people would have made some kind of offer to at least pay for the bike or to show sympathy and apologise.

My belief is that the driver was distracted and was not concentrating. I have a clear recollection that I saw the car approaching about 50 yards away and assumed it would not simple drive straight into me but slow down and give way as the code states.

What happens now is uncertain. I will try to follow it up but so far I have drawn a blank. Two weeks after the crash her car failed its MOT – partly on is brakes. And in a phone conversation from the police soon afterwards I was told there was no effort to brake and there were no skid marks. This was also confirmed by a report by the Ambulance Service. All in contradiction to what the driver and passenger said in their statement.

If anyone has any advice or can help do drop me a line at harryfmottram@gmail.com