Yes, you can, and you will have a very good chance of success. Car drivers often treat cyclists as if they have less right to be on the road just because they’re using pedal power.

This perceived power imbalance can lead to them pull out, assuming you will stop. If this causes an accident then you can claim against their insurance just like if you were in a car accident.

You have as much right to be on the road as they do, and this is the case even where there is a cycle lane available which you’re choosing not to use.

Each road has its own layout but it’s always incumbent on the person joining a new road to make sure its safe to do so.

No. Its enough that the fact of their pulling out caused you to have the accident. It doesn’t matter whether there is contact, even making you swerve and causing the accident would be enough for you to make a claim.

Trying to give you fashion advice is no defence. There seems to be some confusion about this because the Highway Code suggests wearing bright clothing but, it’s not mandatory. As far as the law is concerned, this is like trying to escape liability for crashing into a black car on the grounds that the person should have bought a bright red one.

Not having lights on when its dark however is a different story. It’s both illegal and would offer the driver who hit you a strong defence.

You don’t need witnesses in a junction pull-out claim, because the facts usually speak for themselves, but if there are any, they will certainly be helpful. Its always best to get the details from anyone who saw your accident.

Unfortunately, apologies and on-scene admissions of liability don’t carry much weight. The court takes the approach that we Brits tend to say sorry a bit too freely.

Instead, the court will look at the facts, so its more important to focus on factual statements like how the driver thought the accident happened.

You can claim compensation for the pain and suffering that the accident has caused you as well as any rehabilitation costs on a private basis, rather than having to rely on the NHS.

You can also claim for any financial loss which can include damage to your bike and kit, loss of earnings if you have to miss work, and anything else which has reasonably flowed from the accident.

Because in the UK we have an adversarial legal process. That means the more your lawyer is a specialist in the field, the better they will be at maximising the amount of compensation that you get.

At Cyclinglawyer, we know all about 2 wheeled accidents and how to get our client’s the best possible outcome.