Should have reported it to Police, it's an offence to ride a bicycle on the pavement, a prosecution would maybe have got you some compensation for the repairs.

 

If he is not insured, why doesn't he have to pay from his pocket?

 

The cyclist DIDN'T have insurance because they don't need to. I, as the vehicle owner have to pay for the damages.

 

I fully agree with you JP, but I would have made him give me his address (with some ID) and got him to pay up (Even if it means going to the small claims court).

I would have called the Police as CP say's, even though he was on a cycle lane, he was not riding with due care and attention - he could have killed a child if they happed to be on the pavement at the same time as him!

 

I would have called the Police as CP say's, even though he was on a cycle lane, he was not riding with due care and attention -

Apologies, missed the fact that he was in a cycle lane. Agree with bog, his riding was without due care and attention, possibly even careless.

 

Did you get his details? If so take him to the samll claims court to get your money, as long as it's under £5000.

 

Have you considered a claim via the Motor Insurance Bureau ??

They cover uninsured drivers but im not sure about ....other road users.

It costs nothing to file a claim, its a simple form... but be warned its not fast.....

Either way nothing much to lose.... www.mib.org.uk

I got some money back when i was hit by an untraced driver, it took 6 months and they considered that fast tracked !!!

PM me if you need any more info
Rob

 

I don't know how the system work in the UK but here in France even if the cyclist is not insured like a car, you have what we call here a third party damage insurance which is included in your home insurance, including damage your children or you can cause to others it's called "Responsabilité civil" or Civil responsibility...
So if you have an accident in France; even with a cyclist you must write an accident report (called "Constat amiable") stating all the fact (People involved identity, place, time, circonstances, damages, witness and so on ...) both party have to sign it and send it with comments to the insurance company within two days ... It make the things a lot easier even if you have an accident with a pedestrian or a Cyclist.

But I understand your point of view...

 

I was hit by a cyclist riding wrecklessly years ago when I had a VW Scirocco. He completely knackered my door and I had to have it replaced and resprayed. There was no doubt it was his fault (he was screaming around a corner and incredibly close to the parked cars at speed) but when I took legal advice I was told that "Regardless of the situation and who was perceived to be at blame, a court will ALWAYS side with a cyclist over a motorist" and as a result they didn't recommend legal action. Was gutted, and what made it worse was the idiot tried to claim for injury damages through my insurer THREE MONTHS LATER!!!

The system is a shambles. ANY road going vehicle should be taxed/insured IMO

 

euh...

He doesn't need a vehicle insurance, sure, but...

Not sure about the UK but doesn't his mandatory "family insurance" covers your damage? (The same insurance that covers when your kids break the neighbours window while playing football for example...)

 

I must admit I have no patience with cyclists. 80% of them totally ignore any road signs etc and think nothing about going through red lights.

 

Cyclists are the only reason to buy a Hummer.

 

Hear Hear mate!

 

Have you got all his/her details JP
you could try billing them
or take them through the small claims court
(was there any witnesses???)

I know that cyclists pay more attention to bigger vehicles
when I am in the civic they will sqeeze up the side of me at lights
but if I am in the CR-V they think twice about it

 

well they dont seem wary when im driving a 18ton bus. They even like cycling alongside when your turning left.

 

I had my ariel ripped off by a cyclist on my 406 while on the way to work. He thought it would be cleaver to use it to stop with.

The police said there was nothing I could do about it.

I hate cyclists too.

Why do they ride on the road when there is a cycle lane?.

 

I'm sure that they would have had something to say if you had kicked his head in for doing it! Sorry CZ and others, but the Police are just taking the piss these days!

 

i feel for you and they should have bike checks and compulsory insurance. just be carefull he doesent put a claim in aginst you. as you have insurance he could claim for allsorts. i had a similar case where they rode into me while i was waiting at traffic lights, then tried to blame me!!! got a tiny dent in the wing, they were ok, so i drove off.

the morel is when you hear a cyclist has been run over, it may have been the guy who hit you, as his luck will run out in the end...stop smiling.

i would see if you could sort it for around the price of you excess and dont tell the insurance just in case he tries to stick one on you, then forget all about it

 

Ok, he's a pr*** for not being able to stop, but how come you were in a position to be in his path? If you were moving forward I possibly get it, but I'm confused as to how you were in his path AND he was on a cycle lane.

Given typical council cycle lane / junction layout designs, he could be guided to cross the road behind a give way line or similar!

I hate cyclists who ride without regard for the law or rights of way, especially on non-roadworthy machines. I also hate motorists and pedestrians who do likewise. On balance I see more bad driving than I do bad walking or cycling.

 

Ok, he's a pr*** for not being able to stop, but how come you were in a position to be in his path? If you were moving forward I possibly get it, but I'm confused as to how you were in his path AND he was on a cycle lane.

Given typical council cycle lane / junction layout designs, he could be guided to cross the road behind a give way line or similar!

I hate cyclists who ride without regard for the law or rights of way, especially on non-roadworthy machines. I also hate motorists and pedestrians who do likewise. On balance I see more bad driving than I do bad walking or cycling.

Skippy,

I was at the T-Junction, waiting to turn left and had my indicator on. The idiot wasn't riding on the road, he was riding on the cycle track, which was basically along the same path as the pavement.

Now, as the the cycle track has to cross the T-junction, there is a Give Way sign clearly painted on the cycle track with two white double broken lines. He obviously wasn't paying attention, probably on his bloody mobile phone or bopping to the sounds blasting out from his MP3 player and saw me too late.

End result, braking late, wrecking my car - d!ckhe@d.

 

Id have to say that in inner city enviroments I see more bad cycling that driving.

 

I did get the idiots contact info. I've just been given the bill and it's nearly £650. I've just faxed it over to him as well...

 

So at a T-junction, both cyclist and car have to give way. If the cyclist is going straight ahead or right, and the car turning left, who has right of way ?

 

I would have thought the car has the right of way - its similar to a person just crossing the road. A car would not give way to a pedestrian waiting to cross unless they are at a crossing, so the same applies for a bike.

The cyclist in this case was just careless, and had it been my car he hit I would have taken his details and be pursuing a claim though the small claims court.

 

Feel for you **, those cyclists show no respect - my biggest gripe, to and from work I go along a stretch of dual carriageway that has a cycle lane on both sides yet the majority of "cyclists" use the road and all the cars have to pull out to avoid them...

A thread I posted on here back xmas time highlighted that any phone call to your insurance company, even just to ask them a question (not make a claim) they flag it as an "inicident" on your records. This basically means that from now on for the next 3-5 years your car insurance quotes are going to sky rocket just because you have an "incident" flagged against your name on a central database that most of them use.

If you can avoid it, DO NOT contact your insurance company, sounds like you've got his details, contact the police, MAKE HIM PAY ALL THE COSTS and if he doesn't I'd certainly take whatever action necessary to then take him to court if he still refuses. Don't let the **** win.

Hope this "incident" is not on your insurance already

Regards,

Fedorov.

 

Feel for you **, those cyclists show no respect - my biggest gripe, to and from work I go along a stretch of dual carriageway that has a cycle lane on both sides yet the majority of "cyclists" use the road and all the cars have to pull out to avoid them...
.

A little off topic but -

I used to travel to and from work along similar dual carriageways and complained to a keen cyclist I worked with about this 'phenomena of cyclist using the roads and not the cycle ways'. His answer both surprised me but made sense - before the cycle ways were introduced the cars used the full width of the carriageway and in doing so 'swept' the road. With cycle ways, cars avoid them so they don't get 'swept' and the cyclist suffer from a greater number of punctures, so they avoid them also! Seems at the end of the day they are a costly failure for a great number of cyclist.

 

Some of you sound confused as to what I mean. The diagram CLEARLY shows what happened:

 

Some of you sound confused as to what I mean. The diagram CLEARLY shows what happened:

Nice picture. You should be employed to illustrate the new version on the Highway Code. [smilie=cheeky-grin:

 

Hi Fedorov,

I contacted my insurance and told them I didn't want to make a claim. They told me that they have recorded the details of the incident on a separate database which ISN'T linked to anything and therefore have guaranteed me (I have a letter in writing from them too) that if I don't proceed with the claim through the insurance, then nothing more will be done and it will be treated as if I hadn't made a claim.

With regards to the idiot cyclist, you'd better bet your bottom dollar that I will make him pay - why should I be out of pocket because of his ineptness!

I've got to go through the small claims court. However, I've also had independant advice from my insurance firms' lawyers that I will NOT win, EVEN though it was his fault... Will keep you updated.

 

With regards to the idiot cyclist, you'd better bet your bottom dollar that I will make him pay - why should I be out of pocket because of his ineptness!

I've got to go through the small claims court. However, I've also had independant advice from my insurance firms' lawyers that I will NOT win, EVEN though it was his fault... Will keep you updated.

Over here you (the car driver) are ALLWAYS going to pay the bill, no matter what the cyclist is doing, they can go driving against traffic on the fast lane of a motorway, and the drivers of the car(s) would have to pay for any damages.

The law (in my country) classifies cyclists as "weak" traffic participants, so "strong" participants (cars, trucks) are responsible..

 

Unfortunately cycle lanes are pretty well unusable by anyone wanting to make progress. In this case the bloke should have used the road - which he is entitled to do. Cars may have to pull around but then bikes don't line up astern in lines of 50, and cause jams! Re the RTA: if the cycle path is part of the footway, alongside the road, surely it is part of the highway? If so, then RTA applies. I know RTA is applied to the offence of driving on the footway, which is part of the highway. Where a path deviates from the road, e.g. a dedicated and separate route, RTA is irrelevant.

 

Under the banner of irresponsible road users (and upstting people) I would also like to include motorcyclists who display similar traits (but possibly with insurance!)

 

I would have thought that there would be instances when the Police would be able to take action against the cyclist - i.e. if he was drunk in charge of a bicycle on the highway. Regarding the aerial ripping off incident, I would have thought that that came under the heading of criminal damage just as it would have if he had been a pedestrian & the car had been parked in a car park? I bet if the car in question had been a police car something would have been done...