Highway Code -Driving too Close to kerb

[muchlovex]

My partner was knocked over last week. She was standing on the pavement, near the kerb when a car hit her and knocked her flying to the ground.

The police are not prosecuting the driver as they say it is not an offence to drive close to the kerb.

Witnesses said to the police that my partner was on the kerb. My partner is determined she was on the kerb, however the police are saying that she said that she crossed the road This is totally untrue.

The driver said that she appeared out of nowhere and stepped onto the road.

My partner is adamant that she did not cross, not step onto the road. She was on the kerb.

Does anybody know the law with regards to hitting a pedestrian who is standing on the kerb.

Apparently she was hit by the wing mirror of the vehicle.

TIA

[sassenach]

She should see a solicitor about making a claim under a conditional fee agreement, if she has been significantly injured. It may well not be a specific offence or specifically contrary to the HC to drove to close to the kerb (I haven't checked) but I would say there is a good chance of persuading a court it is negligent (i.e. below the standard of a reasonably competent driver) to drive so close to the kerb that you can strike a pedestrian with your wing mirror. Obviously there is a dispute about exactly where she was and this is the first thing she would have to prove so success could not be guaranteed.

[Keeprockin]

If she was hit as she was on the pavement,then part of the car was obviously encroaching the pavement,which I would have thought to be an offence. If the Police weren't there at the time,how could they possibly state where or what she was doing. You say she has independant witnesses,then if she or the Police got their names and addresses and they will testify on your behalf,I would take legal advice

[Grunty]

If the evidence supports what you say, then the appropriate charge would be careless driving. Even if she was in the road, there is no excuse for hitting her. A court would be less prepared to convict the driver, if the evidence was that she 'appeared from nowhere', but the comment that there is no offence of driving too close to the kerb shows the poor training nowadays. It does depend on what the witnesses say, but a good starting point would be to get advice from a solicitor, as sassenach says.