A CCTV camera has captured the moment a cyclist screams in pain after he is sideswiped by a motorist turning left in South London.
The incident happened on Greyhound Lane at junction with Estreham Road in Streatham on Thursday April 28 at 12.36pm.
As the clip begins a yellow car comes into view with the cyclist on the inside at the rear wheel – it’s not clear if the driver was overtaking or was being undertaken.
The driver then indicates and turns left into the path of the cyclist who collides with the passenger door and falls to the ground.
As the driver get out her car to check on the cyclist he can be heard screaming in pain, other members of the public also run to the aid of the man.
A rapid response paramedic attended and treated the man at the scene but he did not require hospital treatment.
In January this year the highway code was updated to include a new road-user hierarchy with those most a risk in the event of a collision at the top.
Pedestrians, in particular children, older adults and disabled people, Cyclists, Horse riders and Motorcyclists are above Cars, Buses and Heavy Goods Vehicles.
It says that cyclists should cycle in the middle lane on quiet roads, in slow-moving traffic, or when approaching junctions – cyclists should also maintain a distance of 0.5 metres from the kerb.
Motorists must also pass cyclists at a distance of 1.5 metres.
The footage was shared online and has since been viewed over 20,000 times and attracted over 850 comments, reactions and shares – with many split over who was to blame.
Wishing to remain anonymous a witness told SWD Media: “I would point out that apart from this set of lights, on the bridge is another set, and then 200 yards back is another set (3 sets in total).
“It’s very unlikely for the car to have overtaken the bicycle at all, and there was suspicion the cyclist was ‘milking it’ as he stayed on the ground for around 30 minutes.
“The paramedic turned turned up and diagnosed a shoulder injury, and an hour later a mini cab turned up and took him and his bike away.”
One user wrote: “Looking at the speed of the van which was in front of the car then the speed of the bike it’s very clear the bike is travelling faster on the vehicles on the road and its extremely unlikely the car had overtaken the bike.
“The bike tries to undertake the car turning left so the crash was the cyclists fault the car was indicating left and the cyclist was pedalling until the point of impact.”
Another commented: “Even before the recent changes, the driver is at fault. The driver must have overtaken at some point so should have been aware of the cyclist – from an insurance perspective, this is 100% drivers fault.”
A third said: “The cyclist has brakes too, they shouldn’t have tried to keep cycling past a vehicle that was already turning, obviously the police agree that the cyclist was at fault and cycled into the car as opposed to the car hitting the cyclist.”
A fourth added: “The driver should have waited to the cyclist passed the junction first before they turned in – I’m not a cyclist fan by the way.”
A London Ambulance Service spokesperson said: “We were called at 12.42pm on 28 April to reports of a road traffic collision on Greyhound Lane, Streatham.
“We sent a paramedic in a response car, and treated one man at the scene.”
The Metropolitan Police has confirmed that no one was charged as a result of the incident.
