In 2004,134 cyclists were killed in road traffic accidents. Over 2,100 cyclists sustained serious injuries whilst thousands more incurred some injury as a direct result of an accident. Fewer than 10% of road accidents involve cyclists; however, the casualty rate for cyclists is almost 100 times greater than car users. The regrettable conclusion is that cyclists are the group most likely to sustain significant injury and loss in an accident.
Cyclists are not legally obliged to insure themselves against third party risks and are, therefore, personally responsible for claims for compensation brought by other road users. Similarly, in the event of an accident due to someone else's fault, there will be no compensation unless the cyclist (or a Solicitor on behalf of the cyclist) brings an action against the "guilty party".
The purpose of CycleAid is to help redress this imbalance and to provide the cyclist with an understanding of the procedure involved in making a claim where he or she has been unfortunate enough to suffer loss and/or injury.
There are many types of accidents involving cyclists; some are as follows:
- Accidents involving another vehicle
- Accidents due to poor or badly repaired road surfaces
- Failure of cycle, for example, failure of suspension forks
- Sporting or training accidents
- Interference with cycle by uncontrolled animals
