Motorcycle and scooter information
Hurt riding a motorcycle or scooter?
Practical preparation for riders and pillion passengers: the road detail that matters, keeping damaged kit as a record, and how a legal provider could consider the collision when discussing it with a qualified provider.
Operated by Smart Family Ltd • FCA firm reference 921247
Treatment first
Get medical help before you gather anything
Get yourself out of live traffic if you safely can, and accept medical assessment rather than putting it off to collect evidence. Head injuries in particular can develop after a collision — the NHS page linked below explains when to seek emergency or urgent help. Notes and photographs can wait.
What to keep
Three things riders often lose quickly
Road layout and surface
Note the junction or bend, lane position, road markings, and anything on the surface such as gravel, diesel, potholes or standing water.
Helmet and protective kit
Keep the helmet, gloves, boots and any armoured clothing exactly as they are and photograph the damage. Do not repair, clean or throw anything away.
Witnesses and cameras
Other riders, following drivers and nearby premises may hold footage. Note helmet cameras, dashcams and CCTV positions, and ask early as footage is often overwritten.
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At a glance
Rider and pillion preparation checklist
- Date, time, exact location and direction of travel
- Registration and description of every vehicle involved
- Your lane position and the manoeuvre each vehicle was making
- Road surface, markings, lighting and weather
- Whether you carried a pillion passenger
- Damage to the machine, helmet and protective clothing
- Police attendance and any incident reference
- Witness names and contact details
Two different accounts
Rider and pillion passenger record different things
A rider and a pillion passenger may each remember different details of the same incident. Each of you should record only what you actually saw, and keep your factual accounts separate.
If both of you were hurt, write your accounts down separately rather than agreeing one version between you. Two honest independent accounts are more useful than a tidy shared one.
A pillion passenger was not in control of the machine. You may still be asked what you saw, but working out responsibility is not your job and not this site's.
Why the layout matters
Describe the road, not who you think was to blame
Collisions involving motorcycles frequently turn on visibility, lane position and what each road user could see. Plain factual description is far more useful than an opinion about fault.
Record the junction or bend, which lane you were in, whether you were filtering or overtaking, the position of parked vehicles, and the state of the road surface. Photograph the scene from where you were travelling, if it is safe.
- The junction, roundabout or stretch of road, with a name if you have one
- Your lane and the other vehicle's lane before the impact
- Whether either of you was turning, filtering, overtaking or stopping
- Sightlines: parked vehicles, hedges, signs, sun glare or darkness
- Surface conditions: loose material, spills, ruts, ice or standing water
Physical evidence
Keep the kit and the machine as they are
A damaged helmet, a scuffed glove or a torn armoured jacket is physical evidence of the impact. Store it safely, photograph it from several angles, and keep receipts if you have them.
Manufacturers generally advise that a helmet involved in an impact should not be worn again. Nothing here suggests reusing damaged safety equipment — this is about keeping it as a record, not putting it back on.
Damage to the machine and an injury are different types of loss from the same incident. A qualified provider can consider them together and explain how each is handled. This service does not repair, value or replace motorcycles, kit or clothing, and arranges no hire.
Official guidance
What official guidance says about driver details
GOV.UK guidance for drivers says a driver involved in an accident must give their name and address, the vehicle registration, and the vehicle owner's details if that is someone else. Where those details were not given at the scene, the guidance says the accident should be reported to the police within 24 hours. Drivers are also told to notify their own insurer even if they are not claiming.
That guidance is written for drivers. If you were a pillion passenger, do not assume the same duties apply to you — but any details or incident number you were given are still worth keeping.
Unknown or uninsured driver
If the other driver left or had no insurance
Incidents involving an untraced or uninsured driver follow a separate route through the Motor Insurers' Bureau, which applies its own criteria. That route exists whatever you do here, and it is worth reading directly on their site.
Reporting the collision to the police and keeping the incident number is normally relevant to it.
A referral, on your terms
You decide before anything is shared
01
Call accident support
Discuss the accident and the type of help you need.
02
Know the recipient
Before agreeing to a referral, know who would receive your details and why.
03
Choose your next step
You decide whether to proceed. A provider explains its own service and terms.
Smart Family Ltd’s role
Smart Family Ltd’s role is seeking out, identifying and referring claims or potential claims. A provider’s identity and the reason for sharing must be clear before you agree. We do not assess liability, decide eligibility, give legal advice or value claims.
Rider questions
Should I keep my damaged helmet?
Keeping it as a record is sensible, along with photographs of the damage. Manufacturers generally advise a helmet involved in an impact should not be worn again, so this is about evidence, not reuse.
I was the pillion passenger, not the rider. Can I still enquire?
A pillion passenger can discuss their own account with a qualified provider. Record what you saw independently; responsibility is assessed by the provider and insurers.
Does damage to the bike go with the injury?
They are different types of loss from the same incident. A qualified provider can explain how each is handled. This website does not decide eligibility.
There was diesel or gravel on the road. Does that matter?
It is a factual detail worth recording, with a photograph if it is safe. What it means legally is for a qualified person to consider, not for this site to judge.
Official sources
Related help and guides
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Operated by Smart Family Ltd, a claims management company authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority for regulated claims management activities. Firm reference number 921247. Company number 12188146.