New debate over who’s to blame as cyclist and pedestrian collide

Another incident where it isn't too clear who's at fault, this time in a collision between a pedestrian and a cyclist in South London

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Footage has come to light of a collision between a cyclist and pedestrian in South London, and the incident has sparked a debate as to who’s at fault.

This video was shot on the dashcam of a bystanding vehicle that captures the moment the rider comes into contact with the crossing pedestrian. The video was shared on YouTube by silent1983.

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The cyclist goes down and hits the road and the walker continues to the pavement. The cyclist is soon back upright but the pedestrian can be seen crouching down and possibly holding their head.

Before crouching down it had looked like the pedestrian was ready to leave the scene. The cyclist appear to tuck in their earphone cable before readying themselves to leave.

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It seems that little is said between the two involved parties, but the filming car moves off before the cyclist so the end of the episode is unknown.

Another incident caused a similar debate earlier this week when a commuting cyclist and turning taxi came into contact.

That incident was viewed to its conclusion and saw the driver and rider part with a handshake.

  • Cynara2

    The problem is you try to miss them. You panic the pedestrians.
    You need to slow or stop.

  • Seb K

    Pedestrian not looking as usual .

  • Phyl Rubble

    If the ped. did have a helmet, it certainly wasn’t on his noggin….ba-boom!

  • Phyl Rubble

    Yes, I do remember, and the standard of journalism was rather better too.

  • Michael

    Speed limits on normal roads don’t apply to bicycles.

    That’s not to say that you can ride as fast as you like though because there are laws against ‘cycling furiously’ and laws again dangerous or careless cycling.

    It might be the case that bye-laws impose a limit (typically applicable on things like towpaths and other cycle paths rather than the road though)

    Put simply you might get charged for going too fast on a bicycle (“cycling furiously”) whether you are over the stated limit for motor vehicles or not.

  • Phyl Rubble

    Steven—-precisely so, squire. Take a bow.

  • Phyl Rubble

    Spot on, Chris.

  • Michael

    No one ever has “the right of way” there’s no such thing.

    The highway code starts with this message

    “The rules in The Highway Code do not give you the right of way in any circumstance, but they advise you when you should give way to others. Always give way if it can help to avoid an incident”

    In this case though the pedestrian is clearly at fault. He runs across the road when it isn’t clear and then stops like a rabbit caught in headlights when he realises his mistake.

    Luckily for him the collision from a bike isn’t particularly significant, no one seems badly injured.

  • Phyl Rubble

    Nah—da pedestrian THEY woz gooin’ two farst, innit! “They” is a jaywalker….simpuls.

  • grizzman

    I’m not sure if you’ve noticed but quite a lot of cyclists’ centre of gravity are too high… That’s why they take up cycling in the first place… ;-).. You pose a stupid argument… The cyclist is ‘traffic’, the pedestrian walked in front of ‘traffic’ and got hit… pedestrian’s fault 100% regardless of cyclist’s choice of accessories…

  • grizzman

    WHAT????????????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  • Nik Thomson

    The zig zag lines at the beginning of the video indicate that there is a zebra crossing there

  • burttthebike

    Have you not heard of panniers?

  • burttthebike

    I’ve been knocked off three times by pedestrians, who just couldn’t be bothered to look where they were going. Were any of them my fault? Well, they all happened in broad daylight and I was wearing bright clothing and the fastest I was going in any of them was 10mph, but none of that helps when a pedestrian walks off the pavement into you.

  • burttthebike

    You all seem to have missed the vital point: why wasn’t the pedestrian wearing a helmet?

  • Rich ard

    Whats the speed limit on that road? I’d be surprised if the cyclist was going faster than that

  • Rich ard

    Pedestrian at fault, any road going vehicle has right of way on the highway unless stated by road signs etc. A cycle is a road going vehicle and as such must abide by those rules. Shame it happened though.

  • Paul Jakma

    There’s no crossing nearby, that I can see from the video.

  • Paul Jakma

    Really, listen to yourself. You’re little different from a driver giving out about cyclists being on the road – “We build them cycle paths and they don’t use them”.

    I don’t see a crossing anywhere near there, from the view we have. Why should a pedestrian have to go maybe hundreds of metres out of their way, to use a crossing that prioritises vehicles over them? Why should a cyclist have to go out of their way to use shitty cycling infrastructure that makes them cede priority at every side street?

    Pedestrians deserve respect and care from other road users, just as cyclists do. Anything else is just wrong-headed, and incredible to read from commentators on a cyclist website!

  • Paul Jakma

    Doesn’t have right of way there, but still has an equal right to use the road. Speed doesn’t give more rights.

  • Chris Britton

    In a way this is Darwin in action. The pedestrian was given a safe way of crossing the road, but was too thick to use it, got injured.

  • MikeWeb7

    The start of the clip shows zigzag lines on the road so the pedestrian was only yards from a pelican or zebra crossing.

  • MikeWeb7

    Perhaps we should build special crossings for pedestrians so they can cross the road safely. Maybe ones similar to the crossing that can be seen at the beginning of the clip which the pedestrian chose not to use. Pedestrian is at fault for moving in to the cyclists path.

  • Lance Bumstrong

    That was an accident..! Walker rushed, cyclist did not see. At least it was a slow get-off !

  • PavoFahrer

    Pedestrian => Highway Code:

    D If traffic is coming, let it pass. Look all around
    again and listen. Do not cross until there is a safe gap in the traffic
    and you are certain that there is plenty of time. Remember, even if
    traffic is a long way off, it may be approaching very quickly.

    E When it is safe, go straight across the road – do not run.
    Keep looking and listening for traffic while you cross, in case there
    is any traffic you did not see, or in case other traffic appears
    suddenly. Look out for cyclists and motorcyclists travelling between
    lanes of traffic. Do not walk diagonally across the road.

  • Les Orton

    I have looked at it many times. It is a genuine accident in this case. Neither at fault.
    Now move along, nothing to se here.

  • Paul Warren

    What ‘debate’ does it need.. fool pedestrian jumping out in a busy traffic road..you’ll find it’s called jaywalking in the US..

  • Simon Clarke

    The pedestrian does not have the right of way. Common misconception, they only have the right of way when crossing behind a T-junction or on a signed crossing.

  • Simon Clarke

    The cyclist wasn’t exceeding the speed limit, the pedestrian only has right of way at a signed junction or when crossing the road behind a T-junction. It is the pedestrians fault, though the cyclist could have avoided it 100% by the earlier application of the ‘there’s an idiot in front of me’ rule.

  • Adrien

    Highway code recommends that all pedestrians abide by the Green Cross Code: “Where there is a crossing nearby, use it. Otherwise choose a place where you can see clearly in all directions.”

    Cyclists can easily not be seen if they are tucked in behind a car. I have seen this from experience. I am a cyclist myself and when I have pedestrians jwalk in front of me at whatever speed I am doing sometimes from behind a bus or another vehicle your reaction time is limited. Some are better than others. Practice makes perfect.

    On this occasion it is clearly the pedestrians fault. The cyclists did his best to manoeuvre out of the way but you can clearly see him losing grip on his rear wheel from the sharp breaking on the wet surface prior to hitting the pedestrian. Yes at the same time he was fast but if it was me I would have been doing roughly the same speed. Every cyclist, every vehicle owner would have reacted different so in this scenario the odd one out OS the pedestrian.

    For all those thinking he was putting his headphones back on it was actually his eye wear.

  • TrevorHoldsworth

    The cyclist shows zero anticipation: replace the pedestrian by a motorbike waiting to overtake the bus. The cyclist can see the bus is stopped in the bike lane, and can see the vehicle with the dashcam is stationary. So he thinks he can speed round the car/van and switch into the middle of the road when he has absolutely no visibility? In this alternative scenario he would sail (sorry, cycle) straight into the motorcycle. Who would you blame then?

  • ummm…

    I actually think these are somewhat useful news blurbs as this is not just click bait, but gets us talking about cyclists place in and effecting traffic patterns.

  • Roland Lawrence

    The cyclist is pulling out of a cycle lane to overtake the bus. Hes within his right to do so. The pedestrian should have checked the cycle lanes as well instead of just the main roadway before crossing.

  • Ja Son

    it was the pedestrians fault

  • barraob1

    Shame on us work cyclists that carry clean clothes and rain gear in our rucksacks.

  • barraob1

    Bang on the money, sick of all these idiots rolling out those lines. Pedestrians expect drivers and cyclists to avoid them or else.

  • trummy

    Deffo the pedestrians fault. Its happened to me, the guy walks out into the road the cyclist attempts to estimate the time/space required to miss him and then the ped pauses and the cyclist cannot react/change his line quick enough and so a coming together happens. No different than a vehicle coming out of a junction and causing an accident

  • Stevo

    No such thing as jaywalking in the UK, so that argument doesn’t work.

  • wesawithappen

    But a pedestrian’s right to cross a street doesn’t erase the reality that there are sections of roadway where cars (and bikes) are allowed to move freely and can’t be expected to stop on a dime the moment someone decides they feel like stepping off the curb. And since we all understand that pedestrians are vulnerable and need to cross at some point, the special care you mention is given in the form of crosswalks (at intersections and other points). I totally agree that the pedestrian probably didn’t see the cyclist until it was too late, but that doesn’t change the fact that he took an albeit common risk and this time, unfortunately, ran into trouble.

  • CyberTonTo72

    A lot of cyclist ( my self included ) use a bike for transport to work and carry work clothes and other things in the rucksack.

  • @chivers67

    The cyclist hit the pedestrian by skidding you can see he veers off to the left from the path he was taking but the pedestrian looked very erratic slow, slow, quick, slow, quick, slow, stop – why?, Bang! So in my mind both are at fault – stupid place to cross a road though no doubt there was probably a better place to cross but was “inconvenient” .

  • David Chadderton

    The second cyclist aimed at the pedestrian jaywalker deliberately and would have crashed into the back of the bus anyway.

  • Paul Jakma

    The pedestrian has a right to use the road, and to cross it – just like any other road user. It’s funny how often cyclists forget that. Given the cyclist is undertaking a vehicle, the pedestrian may not even have been able to see the cyclist when they started crossing.

    I think pedestrians, as the most vulnerable road users out there, and least able to avoid others, deserve special care from other road users…

  • Earl

    Clearly the pedestrian is at fault for Jay walking!

  • Rupert the Super Bear

    Why do so many modern cyclists carry rucksacks on their backs – this is crazy stuff.
    40 years ago, every club cyclist knew that carry a rucksack was wrong, your centre of weight is too high – your control and balance are affected.
    In this case, adding a greasy road, the cyclist has limited control of his machine.

  • Roger

    If you pull out in front of somebody doing 30 in a 20 zone it is presumably not entirely your fault, as it wouldn’t be if he/she was doing 70 in a 20 zone or driving the wrong way down a one-way street.

  • Dam

    Neither person was doing anything crazy, it was an unfortunate series of events. What upsets me is the lack of consideration for the pedestrian afterwards (this might not be the case as we don’t see the conclusion).

  • dannybuoy

    Thing is, he must have seen the bus in the cycle lane so why was he going so fast. He’s either a complete maniac or his anticipation is poor.

    The cyclist I mean 🙂

  • jonathanlindsey

    Pedestrians often walk in front of bikes as if the bike ought to stop.

  • wesawithappen

    I think you can only say that the cyclist was going too fast to avoid the collision, but not that he was speeding as I doubt he was riding fast enough to overtake the bus had it continued moving. The pedestrian shouldn’t have been there, so it was he who caused the accident, in my mind.

  • errol_day

    It’s not really a debate is it, or a news item, or really of much interest at all. It’s just yet another dash / go-pr / helmet / body/ whatever camera on you tube. It’s right up there with the Daily Mail pulling stories out of Twitter. What it is, is Yellow Journalism.

    Remember when Cycling Weekly was actually about actual cycling?

  • purpleacky

    The pedestrian was crossing without a pelican or zebra crossing, so it’s his job to be extra careful to avoid the traffic. His fault.

  • Steven Saunders

    about 90% pedestrians fault, and 10% fault of the car driver, from what I can see. Pedestrian crossing against flow of traffic, and if you look closely at the video there are two distinct flashes of light on the back of the bus just as the car starts to slow and before the pedestrian crosses the centre line. This indicates that the car may have flashed the pedestrian to indicate they are letting them cross. This is a dangerous thing for a car driver to do – especially in the close proximity to a cycle lane. I don’t see any fault of the cyclist, who until shortly before the collision was exactly where you’d expect him to be. He clearly didn’t see the pedestrian until he was ahead of the car, and you would expect one to appear in that situation, and he clearly attempted to stop given his wobble as he crossed the cycle lane white line. The pedestrian acting like a rabbit in the headlights and then trying to move out the way only made matters worse.

  • Chris Britton

    So the pedestrian that watched him coming, thought “he’s going a bit quick” and then thought “Sod it, I will walk out and it’s up to him to find a way around me”

    How about we go try crossing a main road and say “Well, he’s doing 40mph in his car, but if I walk out I think he’ll be able to drive round me” and jump out at the last minute?

  • Waldo Pepper

    Cyclists fault without a doubt. He (I presume) started to veer to the right but then continued straight ahead, which would have seen him hitting the bus rather than go around it. His speed was excessive and he should have seen the pedestrian with enough time to slow and/or do a life-saver look over his shoulder and get in an appropriate position to go around the bus.

    This was a clear “head down and full steam ahead” moment which was reckless. A car driver, or motorcyclist, would have been taking far more notice of the road ahead.

    Too much of a focus on listening to music rather than paying attention to his surroundings.

  • Chris Britton

    I can’t see any red lights or a zebra crossing, so pedestrians fault all day. The cyclist may have been riding a bit fast, but if I am driving and pull out in front of somebody doing 30 in a 20 zone, it will still be my fault.

    Or, if the Cyclist had the same attitude as the anti-cycling mafia, it would be something like this:

    The pedestrian should have had lights!
    The pedestrian should have had hi-viz!
    The pedestrian should have had insurance!
    The pedestrian should do a test to make sure he can go on the road!
    The pedestrian shouldn’t have been on the road – he doesn’t even pay road tax!

  • EB

    I’ve seen some debatable ones, but that is quite straight forward. The cyclist was in a cycle lane and well within the speed limit. That he overtook the car to the left is the design of the cycle lane. The pedestrian messed up. My guess is that he only checked the road and not the cycle lane before crossing. You can make criticisms of the cyclist about the speed and the possible weight of the rucksack, although we don’t know its weight, but none of that excuses the pedestrian for trying to cross at that time. The road design doesn’t help.

  • Leodis75

    Looks like the cyclist is skidding for a good few yards trying to stop. The Ped should have been wearing hiviz, it would have saved his life.

  • John Smith

    The cyclist was going too fast. The pedestrian hesitates not knowing whether the cyclist is going to go in front of or behind him but then carries on. The cyclist is unable to react in time so there is collision. The cyclist was going too fast.

  • Ed

    I think the pedestrian has had a shocker here.
    However, whether the cyclist should be travelling at that speed in wet conditions with a heavy looking backpack is debatable.
    Lessons to be learned all round I think.