Wheels of Justice

Information on this page

• Bicycle Incident
• What to do at the scene of an incident
• State Police details

This page is still being developed, if you have further advice and useful links, please contact us and we’ll add them here. Wheels of Justice are working towards a more proactive approach from motor accident insurance commissions, please refer to our Get cycling on the agenda: TAC Road Safety site campaign.

Also read our Australian Road Authorities and Bicycle Rules and advice and nifty tips pages.

If you, or someone you know, has been affected by a road incident or road rage, please read our resources and support , road issues and advocacy and legal resources pages.

Bicycle Incident

You’ve been involved with a collision with a vehicle, pedestrian or fellow road user. You want to claim costs for damages incurred, without first having to resort to legal action. There is several things you can do to obtain compensation from the other parties involved.

First up, if you are a member of a State cycling organisation, such as Bicycle NSW, Bicycle Insitute of South Australia, Bicycle South Australia, Bicycle Queensland, Bicycle Tasmania, Bicycle Victoria etc, you should directly contact them for accident and legal advice, refer to links here under “Non-Competitive Bicycle Advocacy Organisations”.

From TAC: Definitions of a transport accident :: Transport accidents and accidents arising out of the use of vehicles

TravelSmart Victoria: Cycling accident and insurance implications

In addition, please itemise all your expenses and potential lost income. For example, if your bicycle and accessories have been damaged, take them to you local bicycle shop and have the damaged costed. Document any damage by taking photos or write detailed notes. Include these details in a “Letter of Demand” to the other parties involved.

As noted in the draft Letter of Demand link, please remain polite and neutral in tone when writing this letter. Insults and inflammatory language will not resolve the issue any faster, and you want to remain in contact with the other party concerned until the matter is resolved, and not make the situation any worse.

A tip, you may wish to re-word this part of the draft Letter of Demand:

” .. If this matter is not resolved by this time I may commence legal proceedings to recover the debt without further notice to you and this letter may be tendered in court as evidence of your failure to attempt settlement ..”

To something less threatening, such as,

“I look forward to having this matter resolved in full and do not wish to partake in legal proceedings, as I trust you to realise how much the accident has affected me, and your sincere wish to assist me in redressing the costs that were incurred with the unfortunate incident with __________ . I also sincerely wish __________ has also recovered from the incident and hope __________ may of learnt a important lesson about sharing the roads with bicycles.”

This sounds more a positive win/win situation and infers you actually care about their wellbeing as well.

What to do at the scene of an incident

Please read these very important tips from MASSBUG: Bike Tips: Reporting traffic incidents to police. At the scene of any crash, you should try to:

• remember you and others can be in shockand may not be completely with it;
• make sure the scene is safe, assist any injured person, call police and ambulance if necessary;
• exchange details with other vehicle drivers/riders and witnesses For any incident you want to report to police, record;
• registration number and description of vehicle (colour, make);
• description of driver (and occupants) if possible;
• contact details of any witnesses.

Record the rego by keying the number into your mobile, writing on your hand. (always carry a pen in your outer backpack/pannier pocket), or using a rock on the pavement – don’t rely on memory.

Reporting an incident to the police
Report as soon as possible. Go to any police station to report the incident as soon as you can (“after work” might be ok but it will count against you if you leave it too long).

Tell them that you want to report a traffic incident or dangerous driver behaviour or whatever, and use the magic words: “I want to make a statement and I’d be prepared to go to court if necessary”.

Without this, they won’t want their time wasted and will usually try to turn you away. It helps if you know your road rules and can tell them what offence has been committed. (more information in link)

State Police details

New South Wales Police: General contact details
Emergencies call: 000. Customer Assistance Unit: 1800 622 571 (Monday – Friday 8am – 4pm) For all general enquiries: Police Assistance Line: 131 444 For non emergencies: Crime Stoppers: 1800 333 000

• Traffic Services
• New South Wales Bike Patrol

Victoria Police: General contact details
For emergency police attendance call 000 (police, fire or ambulance).
Information About Emergency Assistance
Please be aware you cannot report crime via the Victoria Police web site. Report non-emergency crime incidents to your local police station. Details can be found in the Your Local Police section of this site.General enquiries: Phone: 9247 6666

• Traffic and Transport
• The Victoria Police Bicycle Coordination Unit can provide information on how police can assist cyclists. Call Ph: 9247 5284 or ext: 82
• Victoria Police Media Release: Bicycle theft an engraving issue (30 January 2006)
• Virtual Bike is informative cyclist site from Victoria Police, various supporters and sponsors.

South Australia Police: General contact details
Police: Emergency: 000 (calls to this number are recorded) Police Assistance: 13 1444 (calls to this number are recorded)