Q. My daily ride is a Triumph Street Triple 765 RS. I have about a 10-mile commute with the latter part along a busy high street to my office (I am an estate agent). I had just passed a double-decker bus which had stopped, unsurprisingly, at a bus stop. As I had just pulled back in front of the bus, on my side of the road, I was confronted with a police car speeding on the wrong side of the road. Apparently, he had overtaken traffic at around 40mph in a 20mph zone, and had gone to the right of a ‘Keep Left’ bollard as he was on an emergency call.
I had nowhere to go and hit him head on. Now I have a trashed bike, a broken leg, and about three months’ loss of income (so far). I thought this would be a ‘slam dunk’ case as he was on the wrong side of the road, and I would not have been able to see him beforehand because of the bus. However, my insurer has just told me the Police have denied liability as they have a ‘legal exemption’ and can speed and drive on the wrong side of the road if they have their blue lights on. They told me I would lose my case. Help!
A. There are exemptions available to drivers of police vehicles from criminal prosecution in certain circumstances. For example, under section 87 of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984, there is an ‘Exemption of fire brigade, ambulance and police vehicles from speed limits’ when … ‘it is being used for …police purposes, if the observance of that provision would be likely to hinder the use of the vehicle for the purpose for which it is being used on that occasion’. In short, a police officer may have a ‘legal exemption’ from being prosecuted in the criminal courts for speeding, etc.
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However, that doesn’t mean that s/he can drive around, ignore all the traffic and hazards, be on the wrong side of the road, cause an accident and injure a biker, and not be held liable in a civil court. My advice is ignore your insurer and get a specialist road traffic solicitor to bring a claim against the Police. You should win from what you have said. The Police do not have a ‘legal exemption’ from driving around causing accidents and hurting people.
Advice from our specialist motoring solicitor Andrew Prendergast from White Dalton Motorcycle Solicitors (www.whitedalton.com) guides readers through their legal trials and troubles.
