Traffic Accident

[matt115]

I was reversing my van into my friends driveway, when a motor bike collided straight into the side of my van. The road was damp but there was a 300 yard (approx) stretch of road in which the motor bike could have stopped should he have been paying attention and riding at the correct speed limit, especially given that the road is a country lane with houses on either side. Can you advise whom would be at fault?

[jno]

depends on how the manoeuvre was being carried out - eg were you on his side of the road?

[wendilla]

Just as a matter of interest JNO. Why do you ask about what side of the road .I would have thought that if he saw a van reversing he would have slowed up therefore I think the motor cyclist must have been speeding.

[jno]

when there's an accident one person always thinks the other one was going too fast; but it ain't necessarily so; and motorists' estimates of distance aren't great either. Imagine Matt braking in the road then quickly wheeling round backwards into a driveway; a following cyclist might well fail to see what was happening. Was it day or night? Did Matt have reversing lights/beeps? Were they working? You really need a lot more detail to answer this, and it's generally useful to have both sides of the story.

[bednobs]

if the m/c was 300 yards away, why didnt you wait till he/she passed before executing your manouevre?