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news
Uxbridge Street Evershed Way Burton (Google Maps)Hit-and-run driver laughed at seriously injured cyclist before fleeing crash scene
Almost a year on since Simon Woodings was seriously injured when he was hit by a driver in Burton upon Trent the 43-year-old cyclist still does not understand what motivated the "cruel" driver to get out of their vehicle, laugh at him and then drive off.
The dad, who suffered significant ankle fractures in the collision and still needs treatment for the injuries, thought the driver would offer help but instead laughed at his pain and fled the scene.
"To this day I still don't understand why anyone would be so cruel. It wasn't a minor incident; I was knocked off my bike and seriously injured," he told Staffordshire Live via Irwin Mitchell Solicitors who shared the story as part of a renewed appeal for information.
The incident happened near the junction of Evershed Way and Uxbridge Street in the Staffordshire town on Sunday 5 December last year and saw the cyclist knocked off his bike by the driver of a silver Peugeot.
The collision caused injury to Mr Woodings' ankle and foot, the latter was broken and needed surgery to insert titanium plates and pins, and left him in hospital for 10 days.
"One moment I was cycling along the road and the next thing I remember was something crashing into me and being on the ground," he recalled.
"The next thing the pain kicked in and the driver got out of the car. Initially I thought they were going to see how I was but then he started laughing at me.
"As other people started to stop or come out of houses to see what was happening, he got back in the car and drove off. To this day I still don't understand why anyone would be so cruel. It wasn't a minor incident — I was knocked off my bike and seriously injured.
"Before the collision I had started cycling to exercise and help lose weight and was really enjoying getting out on my bike. Now I'm still not right. I struggle to put weight on my foot and I find mobilising difficult following my accident.
"I haven't been able to go out on my bike, not just because of my injuries, but also the psychological impact of what happened. I remember a man, who I think was Latvian, stopped shortly after the collision and helped me. I would like to thank him and others who also helped me until the ambulance arrived.
The man stayed with the injured cyclist until the emergency services arrived at the scene and even dropped his bicycle back to Mr Wooding's house while he was being treated in hospital.
"The last few months have been incredibly stressful for me and it's been difficult to accept what happened," Mr Woodings continued.
"I know I still face challenges in my recovery but it's something I'm determined to focus on. Therefore, I'd be so grateful if anyone who had any information about the collision which will allow me to receive ongoing rehabilitation and support can help."
The cyclist's legal team from Irwin Mitchell has made a renewed appeal for witnesses or those with dash or helmet camera footage to come forward.
"The last few months have been incredibly difficult for Simon as he battles to overcome the serious injuries that he sustained," specialist serious injury lawyer Kelly Lingard said.
"Many months on he's still in a lot of pain, is unable to walk very far and continues to struggle with his mobility. Not only were the injuries Simon suffered bad enough but he also had to suffer the upset of the driver getting out of his vehicle and laughing at him as he lay on the ground in pain.
"Simon is likely to require extensive, ongoing physiotherapy and other specialist rehabilitation and we’re determined to support him the best we can. Therefore we're appealing for anyone who may have more information or footage of the collision, the moments leading up to it or its aftermath, to get in touch.
"Any detail could be key in helping us secure the ongoing rehabilitation Simon needs to overcome his injuries and get more of his life back. We also hope his case acts as a warning to the consequences vulnerable road users such as cyclists can face because of the actions of others and the need for everyone to take care on the roads."
Anyone with information about the incident is asked to contact Kelly Lingard at Irwin Mitchell via the email: kelly.lingard [at] irwinmitchell.com
Dan is the road.cc news editor and has spent the past four years writing stories and features, as well as (hopefully) keeping you entertained on the live blog. Having previously written about nearly every other sport under the sun for the Express, and the weird and wonderful world of non-league football for the Non-League Paper, Dan joined road.cc in 2020. Come the weekend you'll find him labouring up a hill, probably with a mouth full of jelly babies, or making a bonk-induced trip to a south of England petrol station... in search of more jelly babies.
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40 comments
Am I right in thinking that in other countries it is illegal to leave the scene of a road traffic incident where there has been an injury?
Is there a good reason we don't have that law, or do we already have it and we just don't observe it?
We sort of have that law, but the penalty for leaving the scene is less than remaining at the scene and failing a drink/drugs test. It's better for drivers to clear off and then if they do get caught, they can just pretend that they were in shock and had a couple of stiff drinks to settle their nerves (maybe a bump of coke too), but they most definitely weren't intoxicated before the incident.
The short answer is we already have it, but some people ignore it.
The longer answer is that the law (S170 of the RTA 1988) requires the driver to "stop" and give their name, address and insurance details. But the "stop" requirement does not specify how long one is required to stop for. And the "providing details" requirement can be satisfied by reporting the accident to a police station within 24 hours. So there are edge cases where you can leave the scene of an accident fairly rapidly, but still avoid committing any offence.
This case however, where the driver left and did not subsequently report the accident, is definitely already illegal.
The latter, to the extent, as OYB notes, that it's illegal not to provide your details, but as far as I know there is no obligation to render assistance. We should have a "Good Samaritan" law such as that which exists in varying degrees in different countries, one which imposes an obligation on every citizen to render or summon assistance to those in difficulty where necessary and also that indemnifies them from any adverse events arising from them doing so.
Yes, with the usual caveats, otherwise we'll start hearing "my client merely stopped to assist when the cyclist fell off; unfortunately the cyclist did not recover even though my client gave them a jump-start from his van..."
Here is a summary of laws in other countries - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duty_to_rescue
Perhaps we don't have such a law because it's thought that the vast majority of people would render assistance without having to be legally compelled to do so.
It's probably more likely that we don't have such a law due to our classist society - landed gentry wouldn't want to be forced to provide assistance to the layabout workers.
I thought the German case was interesting at the bottom of that page:
not quite in the same league, but I distinctly remember once coming off on a junction, due to an oil spill. I was lying a bit shocked, bruised and bleeding slightly in the middle of the junction. Drivers were slowly driving around me, just lying there as if I were a traffic cone or something, but about 12 cars had pased before one driver stopped to check if I was OK.
My partner came off on a black ice on the final right hander before school, during school dropoff. Several drivers went around her to drop their little darlings to school (she was just cycling back after having taken our son to school) until one blocked the road, resulting in much horn beeping and other cockwombling. She was quite dazed and the driver who did stop called an ambulance as he was worried about a possible head injury.
Would seem that the only thing more important to some drivers than MGIF is MGKTS
Quite a lot of drivers are uncaring scum.... much the same as society in general. However, the last time I found myself laying in the road after taking a flying lesson over the bars (hit a pot hole which I thought was just a puddle!) the first driver by stopped to see if I was okay and offered to drive me home.... tha make of car...BMW.
There are some nice people out there. For those who are not nice, we really should consider introducing a law like I believe the French have (so, no chance then) that you are legally required to offer assistance if it is reasonably required/ you are not putting yourself in danger doing so.... thus, its okay to help a cyclist who has come off.... not so required to run towards a madperson with an axe.
.
Might it be more that they are spectators? Anything outside their car is just Somebody Else's Problem, to be gawped at, whether that is a car crash, debris on the road, a fallen cyclist, or an injured unicorn...
Could be. My most recent experience of an accident was when following a moped rider while I was driving on Bond Street in Bristol. Fairly busy main road. The moped rider in front of me had a little fall from locking their front wheel and having a minor spill. I put my hazards on and got out and asked if he was okay, and made to help him to the side of the road. He was very sheepish and got back on and whizzed off before I could suggest he had a sit down.
No-one else stopped or offered to help, and at least 2 people beeped their horn at me.
Just the same reason they can't wait another 20s to overtake safely. You are inconveniencing them. Your safety is far less important than their time.
I once got T-boned by a right turning driver who had been driving towards me in the other lane. I went up over the bonnet and then rolled back down and landed on the ground. The driver jumped out of the car and the first thing he said was "Look what you've done to my bonnet!".
Some nice people around.
Driver wasn't cruel, driver was evil. Every cyclist should have cameras back and front, they are cheap enough. Has Road.cc done a review of available cameras yet?
They have done a few camera reviews, including looking at some cheaper cameras. Maybe a page like the light beam test, but for bike cameras, would be a good addition to the site. There is a buyers guide for 2022 that is close: https://road.cc/content/buyers-guide/how-buy-best-bike-camera-255982
I'm still waiting for them to do a review of reasonably priced cameras that are effective enough. The budget reviews basically whoed us those camera's are useless.
I'm not sure there's a truly cheap camera that's effective at the moment. They usually fall down on number plate clarity or ease of use.
I know what you're saying* but - why shouldn't every driver? Much easier to mount on cars and a smaller percentage of the cost of a vehicle. Even the police have (are supposed to have) them in part to show they didn't do anything shady.
* Like a helmet it's something we can do - even though it doesn't solve the problem and isn't guaranteed to fix things after the fact either.
As in this case, where the driver hasn't stopped or owned up to hitting a cyclist. So many cyclists are hit by cars on empty roads, and police giving up unless somebody provides evidence to prove that the cyclist didn't just fall out of the sky.
I agree but as shown here it's not all empty roads. And if no-one's around for moment of the accident you might at least be able to find which vehicles passed along the route (picked up on other cars' cameras).
After all, if a single camera (or even two) on your bike might help - and that's always a might because the camera might be off / get damaged / manage to miss the action or be unclear - surely having many more cameras around has got to be helpful?
As always we can do more than one thing. I'm very keep to keep redirecting people's focus back to item 1 on the list though e.g. make this impossible or much less likely to happen in the first place...
I've got a go-pro 10, so not cheap by anyone's standards.
In the summer the picture was really good. 4k image and could zoom right in on a section.
Now it's darker out the camera can't cope. Huge amount of blur. Have had to move it from a mount under my garmin out front to a chesty to try and remove some of the road buzz. Thankfully on the times I've needed to submit footage I've managed to get one frame where the numberplate is visible.
not clear from the article but it may be that a road like that has enough cameras on it to identify the vehicle but linking it to the incident is why witnesses are needed.
Once I overshot a corner and yes that was my fault I ended up on the floor. I was lying winded, I noticed the driver approaches I'd hit the right front wing, I offered my apologies to the guy profusely, the guy said 'you stupid d*ckhead, you deserve that the way you rode', I was extra shocked and how I got up off that floor I'll never know as it was my means and no one else's. The driver had gone by then. Now I don't give a dam about anyone on the road now, that treatment I received that day was the worst I'd ever received especially as I was lying in agony on the floor gasping for breath
So because one person was rude and had no empathy, you "don't give a dam (sic) about anyone on the road now"?
You should give people a second chance. I was riding up to Great Chishill a few weeks back and a guy was riding a bit ahead of me in the distance. There's a small hill up to the village, and at the top of the first section - just past the windmill for people who know the area - the guy pulled to the right, I think to stop and catch his breath, but for some reason he must have run out of energy. He forgot to unclip and went flying through a hedge in a comedy fall.
Now I suppressed my laughter at this Benny Hill moment and asked if the cyclist was all right, as any polite and courteous person would do. But the empathy shown by the local motorists was exemplary - the car behind me was being driven by a very wealthy old gentleman who offered for the chap to go into his mansion for a few minutes to see if he was ok. Fortunately there weren't any injuries, and cyclist graciously thanked both me and the kindly old man for our concern.
So the moral of the story is that there are a few dickheads out there, we see them every day on Road.cc, but most people have empathy of something bad happens and are quick to help.
Unless you're in London. Virtually everyone in London is like you said.
Cool story bro!
an anti-reflective screen coating might be worth a try?
If you smell dog poo all day, Rakia, you're the one who has it on their shoes.
And then everybody watching got out of their cars and applauded...
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