Wwyd cyclist, dark, no lights..

[Atwaroverscrabble]

hi,

Just had a little accident and wanted to know if what i was thinking of doing was ok or not...

Basically i dropped ds(12) off to a party this evening, it was dark and i was sat at the t junction waiting to pull out, cars parked either side of junction. A couple of cars went past and i thought it was clear but it wasnt... A cyclist suddenly appeared from beside the parked cars and collided with the front of my car.

I reversed back into the junction and asked if he was ok etc, he was fine but his front wheel was bent, he didnt have any lights on which is why i didnt see him coming...

He didnt want to give me his details etc but asked uf i could give him a lift which i did ( was on his way to tesco for port for a dinner party) and in the car we chatted. Turns out we are both at the same uni but he's a 2nd year undergrad and i'm near the end of my phd. He was very calm and polite about the accident and didnt want anything but i insisted he gives me his details and that i will email him to find out about fixing his bike (his friend works at a bike shop abd will get a discount anyway) and i reminded him to get lights for his own safety plus they are issuing fines here at the moment..

Now, i am very skint and i am aware he is not but i feel bad about the bike even thought it may not really be my fault but what i am thinking of doing is sending him a set of light with a card and probably £20 in it towards his front wheel... What do you guys think?

[Sirzy]

Personally if he had no lights on his bike and it was after dark I wouldn't give him anything!

[spiderpig8]

No don't do it.It is tantamount to admitting liability

[Kayano]

I would leave it at the lift

What a fucking idiot

[academyblues]

It sounds like he didn't expect anything and you felt some sense of responsibility for what happened at the time, now aren't so sure.

I'm not sure that sending him a set of lights is a good move.

Why don't you sleep on it?

[auntiepicklebottom2]

Tbh no he should of had lights on, luckily he wasn't killed.

[MrsLevinson]

It's his fault and he knows it - don't give him anything!

[NoVeggiesBeforeSkeggies]

I'd also leave it.

I took DS to a party on wed night (5pm)
It was rush hour, pitch black and raining.
2 seperate cyclists rode past me with no lights or reflective clothing. Why???
Idiots.

[letmehelp]

I think your gesture is a kind and helpful thought, but TBH if he was on the road with no lights you should probably be passing his details to the police so they can "counsel" him.

It's terrifying. Around here we have a fantastic network of cyclepaths and loads of (mostly) young men use them to travel to and from work, which is great, but none of them have lights. They're either going to kill themselves or a pedestrian

And a 2nd yr student buying PORT for a dinner party - my, things have changed

[MadameCastafiore]

Hope he wasn't going to get port after the wine ran out.

I wouldn't be at all sympathetic - if you had killed himbecause he was riding around int he dark like a complete knobster you would have had to live with it for the rest of your life.

[NorthernNumpty]

Don't give him anything, nice as he seemed he may put in a claim for all sorts and you don't want to have given any indication that you accept responsibility. People do strange things when their mate down the pub suggests there might be a couple of grand in compensation in it.

[MrsSnow]

I think it is very irresponsible of him to be riding in the dark without lights.

Reflective strips which wrap round your arms/ legs only cost £2.99 from Halfords so are cheap.

Also sweaty betty (realise its not manly) do a reflective strip with lights for £15 again not expensive.

A full front and back light set from halfords costs £10 affordable.

I wouldn't give him anything for his wheel, had he had lights on you would have seen him. If you feel bad buy him the lights but really he should show some common sense.

[TheOriginalFAB]

I don't think you should give him anything either.

In the space of 3 minutes today I saw 4 cars with one front light out and one had fog lights on. All I could think about was the M5 crash. What are these idiots doing on the road? .

[Sparklingbrook]

Was there any damage to your car?

[letmehelp]

A set of LED lights (front and back) including batteries is £4 in Tesco. They're pretty good too, I can see DC miles ahead of me as I struggle to keep up!

[Atwaroverscrabble]

Hi,

Thanks for your comments... No damage to my car...

I'm not sure if he had been drinking yet, and en route he ha a call from a friend and said he was in a car with xx and a funny story to tell so i don't think he's too worried about it...

[hellhasnofury]

The highway code says he is required to have front and back lights and he is required to have a red reflector on the back of his bike. He seems keen not to give his details, I wonder if he was worried you might report him?

[Pedallleur]

Ah, but you were 'at the t junction' and you did not have right of way. What you should have done is pull out slowly whilst checking your right side for oncoming traffic so technically you are in the wrong. Speaking as a cyclist I would have to side with you re the lights etc but you were at fault. At this point you should just wait and see what happens. It annoys me about cyclists (or just a person on a bike) not having lights just as much as drivers breaking the speed limit or using mobile phones but v.little I can do about it

[Sparklingbrook]

But Pedalleur I think the OP did that. They checked for oncoming traffic but didn't see the invisible cyclist with no lights. They wouldn't have pulled out if they had. Sorry if I sound thick.

[Atwaroverscrabble]

I did pull out Slowly once i could see no lights coming on and only after 2 cars had gone by... I was prob bot even going 5mph so its just the angle of the collision that bent the wheel and i have a large toyota machine so high up...

He actually said he was juat glad his chinos were still clean...

I think its my mothering instinct that wanta him to be safe even though he told me he's just come out of the army and is going back in as an officer once he has finished his degree so he said he was fine as he was used to being shot at...

[Atwaroverscrabble]

Apologies for spelling! Touch screen!

[EricNorthmansMistress]

I assumed you were asking if you had been unreasonable for yelling at him. I don't think I could have kept my cool with him OP, let alone driven him anywhere - and paying for his bike? Are you crazy? He's a bloody idiot and I hope he learns his lesson. Do not pay for his bike!

[Sparklingbrook]

What annoys me is that if the cyclist had been terribly injured the OP would have felt sooo guilty, even though it wasn't their fault.

[Theala]

I shout at other cyclists I see without lights. Stupid idiots are giving us all a bad name.


Anyway, you sound very nice, OP, but I'd leave it there if I were you. He was in the wrong, even if technically so were you, and hopefully he's learned a valuable lesson from it. Go home, have a port in his name, and thank both your lucky stars it wasn't any worse.

[Atwaroverscrabble]

Aww thank you everyone! No port in this house i'm afraid..£3.99 aldi red wine but only once ds is safely picked up!