November 4th, 2009
A teenage girl was killed in a tragic accident when the mast of a boat being towed along a road hit the car in which she was travelling, a court has heard.
Sarah James, 19, died after the loose dinghy mast smashed through the windscreen of her friend’s car.
Mark Tissiman, a millionaire businessman whose Range Rover was towing the boat after he had been taking part in a sailing competition, is accused of failing to properly secure the mast of the boat and causing death by dangerous driving.
Prosecutor Peter Arnold told Hereford Crown Court: "The mast came out of its mooring and swung out like a lance in a medieval joust and, like two horsemen approaching, the cars approached each other."
He added that it should have been properly secured to the dinghy.
Mr Tissiman is the director of MT Heating, a West Midlands heating contractor that is employed by several local councils in the region.
The trial continues.
Tags: Cars, Crown Court, Dinghy, Freak Accident, Hereford, Local Councils, Mast, Medieval Joust, Millionaire Businessman, Mooring, Peter Arnold, Prosecutor, Range Rover, Sailing Competition, Sarah James, Teenage Girl, Teenager, Tragic Accident, West Midlands, Windscreen
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September 22nd, 2009
A new proposal put forward to the government has suggested that motorists should be liable for compensation for all crashes involving cyclists or pedestrians, even if they were not at fault.
The suggested changes have been outlined by the Department for Transport-funded body Cycling England, which has said it would encourage more people to get out of their cars and onto bicycles.
Under the proposed legislation, the party with the most powerful vehicle would become liable, for instance, the motorist in cases between a car and a bike, or the cyclist in crashes involving a bike and a pedestrian.
However, motoring groups have reacted with anger, stating that it would create disharmony on the roads.
Germany and Holland have both already adopted such laws.
According to statistics from the Department for Transport, 2,538 people were killed in road accidents in 2008. The number of cyclists involved in fatal road crashes totalled 115 during the same period.
Tags: Anger, Bicycles, Cars, Cyclists, Disharmony, England, Fatal Crashes, Germany, Holland, Motorists, Pedestrian, Pedestrians, Proposal, Proposed Legislation, Road Accidents, Road Crashes, Statistics
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April 7th, 2009
The number of compensation claims being made as a result of damage to cars in potholes is on the increase, it has been reported.
According to the AA, potholes cause more than £1 million in damage to vehicles and are endangering lives, with one in seven people having experienced such a problem.
AA president Edmund King said authorities should work harder to ensure that Britain’s roads are in a good state of repair.
"Skimping can cost lives and not a single one should be lost on the roads for want of a pothole being filled or surface renewed," he added.
Research from the Asphalt Industry Alliance recently found that there has been a 13 per cent increase in compensation claims for pothole damage or injuries over the last ten years, with an 87 per cent rise in London alone.
The news follows reports earlier this month in which it was revealed that cyclist Ian Davis is to receive compensation from his local council after badly injuring himself when his bike hit a pothole.
Tags: 1 Million, Aa, Asphalt Industry, Authorities, Cars, Compensation Claims, Edmund King, Industry Alliance, Last Ten Years, Local Council, London News, Lost, Pothole Damage, Potholes, Single One
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April 3rd, 2009
A cyclist who fell off his bike after the tyre hit a pothole is to receive compensation from his local council.
Ian Davis, 49, was travelling between Lambourn and Newbury in West Berkshire in 2006 when he had the accident.
He was thrown over the handlebars and suffered broken ribs, a dislocated shoulder and tissue damage to his ankle, hands and hip.
Mr Davis said the pothole had been invisible as he approached it, but the impact of hitting it ripped the handlebars from his hands.
"The accident has had a significant impact on my lifestyle. I’m still able to cycle but due to the pain I can’t ride for long periods like I used to," he told Newbury Today.
He is seeking £7,600 in compensation from West Berkshire district council, claiming that it had not kept the road in an adequate state of repair.
The council said in a statement that it has carried out extensive resurfacing since 2006.
In related news, according to the AA, 2,000 drivers in the UK claimed for pothole damage to their cars in February 2009, up from around 700 last February.
Tags: Aa, Adequate State, Cars, Dislocated Shoulder, Handlebars, Lambourn, Lifestyle, Local Council, Long Periods, Pothole Damage, Related News, Ribs, Significant Impact, Tissue Damage, Tyre, West Berkshire
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February 27th, 2009
A council has made a u-turn after originally telling a man he would not be eligible for compensation when a lorry hit his car.
Mark Jones’s vehicle was parked outside his home in December last year when it was hit by a refuse collection lorry, the Staffordshire Sentinel reports.
The workers left a note on the car to say who had caused the damage, which included smashed lights and crumpled bodywork.
However, when Mr Jones sent in a £2,000 claim for damages, he was told that he would not receive compensation because the road was icy.
He contested the decision and has now been told that he will receive compensation after all.
"After a review, it appears regardless of the ice this accident may have happened anyway due to the density of cars and narrowness of the road, so we have made an offer without prejudice," said a Stoke council spokesperson.
Mr Jones said he is pleased with the new development, which has been described as a victory for common sense.
Anyone whose vehicle is damaged by a council vehicle should keep photographic evidence and any written correspondence in order to support their compensation claim.
Tags: Bodywork, Car Mark, Cars, Common Sense, Compensation Claim, Correspondence, Damaged Car, Damages, Density, Lorry, Photographic Evidence, Prejudice, Quot, Refuse Collection, Spokesperson, Staffordshire Sentinel, U Turn, Victory
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