A cyclist has been awarded more than £4,000 in compensation after taking legal action against a car driver who hit him from behind.
Harry Gray is a 28-year-old active travel activist rear-ended by driver The incident occurred while he was cycling in Bolton in December 2022. He had no camera footage or CCTV evidence of the incident but opted to pursue the driver, described as a man in his 60s, who Gray said had “showed no remorse”.
talking Cycling WeeklyGray recalled the incident as “crazy.”
“I started at the traffic lights, ahead of the car behind me,” he said. “The road narrowed into a pinch point and as I entered the pinch point the guy behind me apparently didn’t see me and just drove into the back of me.
“When he got out of the car – and I was injured – he basically just attacked me and said it was my fault. I was in pain but I was annoyed with what he had done and didn’t do it for him I feel sorry for that.”
Gray suffered a bruise on his tailbone and missed two weeks. “It also affected my mental abilitybecause I had a lot of anxiety about riding my bike for a long time after that,” he said. “I just felt like I was always going to fall off the bike again. “
Determined to hold the driver accountable for the accident, Gray instructed a lawyer and began legal proceedings. The process involved “a lot of emails” but was “very simple,” he said. He did not have to attend the civil court, which agreed the driver should pay £4,252.96 in damages.
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“I just think he deserves it because he [initially] Just not admitting he was at fault at all,” Gray said. “What worries me is the behavior of the driver.
“Maybe that attitude is what I’m trying to counter.”
Statement After two years of legal proceedings, the driver who knocked me down was found liable for £4,170.04 in damages. https://t.co/ZAwk1of23uDecember 10, 2024
Gray initially worried that the lack of video evidence would hinder his case, but ultimately found that the driver’s insurance company raised few objections. He believed this was due to the nature of the incident.
“If you’re hit from behind in a car or on a bicycle, it’s obvious who is at fault,” he said. “It’s kind of a given, isn’t it?”
The 28-year-old shared news of his win on X earlier this week, writing that he was happy to avoid legal action: “All he had to do was say sorry and oh well.”
Gray now advises other cyclists who have experienced similar accidents to follow his lead. “Don’t be afraid to push the process further,” he said. “There are no-win-no-fee experts in the industry. There’s really no risk – you go and talk to them and if they think you have a case, they’ll go ahead with it.”
As for the compensation he will receive, 25% of it will go to attorneys, while Gray hopes to use the remaining money for “the trip of a lifetime” on his next cycling adventure.
“In the back of my mind, I’ve been thinking about traveling,” he said. “I went to the Pyrenees last year, so next time I might want to go somewhere like the Alps and see some Tour de France“.
