Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Key definition

Accident definition

What does Accident mean? In legal practice, an accident describes a sudden, unintended and unexpected event that causes personal injury, death or property damage. The term is descriptive and used across personal injury (negligence, employers’ liability, public liability), insurance and health and safety law; its precise scope depends on context and any applicable statute or policy wording. In road traffic cases, legislation imposes duties following an accident (for Great Britain, see Road Traffic Act 1988, s.170; Northern Ireland has equivalent provisions; Ireland’s Road Traffic Acts contain similar duties). In workplace health and safety, reporting regimes refer to accidents (for example, RIDDOR in Great Britain and...

Liability and Contributory Negligence for Collisions Involving Motorcyclists, Cyclists, E-bikes, E-scooters, Emergency Vehicles and Learner Drivers

Published by a LexisNexis PI & Clinical Negligence expert

Practice notes

Beyond motor vehicles, the highway is used by many others, including:

motorcyclists
cyclists
e-bikes
e-scooters
emergency vehicles
learner drivers

Every highway user owes a duty to take reasonable care in the circumstances to avoid causing injury to their neighbour. Looking at the leading authorities for each type of road user, together with the Highway Code Rules, offers practitioners the general approach adopted by courts when determining the relative culpability of parties in road traffic accidents. It should be noted that motorcycles and cyclists are far more likely than cars to overtake and to filter past stationary traffic. Cyclists and motorcyclists also face a higher risk of harm in a collision than car drivers and therefore occupy a higher place in the ‘hierarchy of road users’, which has appeared in the introductory sections to the Highway Code since January 2022.

Motorcyclists

Motorcycles can accelerate considerably faster than cars and they also require a longer stopping distance. The combination of these two characteristics helps explain the frequency of accidents involving motorcyclists...

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Web page updated on 21/05/2026

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