Dd hit car whilst riding her bike

[Sfuandtired]

Dd 17 has collided with a car tonight whilst riding her bike, she was crossing the road and from what I can make out didn’t see the car turning, she hit the car with her wheel leaving a dent and was thrown over the handle bars banging her head on the window, the driver got out, asked if she was ok, took her name and phone number, then said he was late for work and drove of!
Dd has since had a text saying she will be sent a bill and bank details for the damage to the car! WWYD?

I’m saying they’re not legally required to “make it right”. That’s what insurance is for.

Genuine question what should he have done differently?
If details are exchanged and she's said she's not hurt surely there's nothing else to do at the scene?

Firstly, small claims court does not award legal costs (unless you’ve been massively unreasonable). Secondly, the driver would have to prove his premium went up solely due to that incident (virtually impossible to prove). Thirdly, the court would have to find it reasonable to make a compensation order against a minor (who probably cannot pay).

In short, it would be a ridiculous waste of time for everyone.

to answer your question OP, I'd pay the man personally unless I thought he was being unreasonable in his estimation of the damage, you can always ask him to clarify what the damage was.

At the end of the day, it was an accident, but it was unfortunately caused by your daughter and he couldn't have avoided it in any way, if your daughter wasn't injured and told him she was okay to carry on where she was going, he couldn't do any more at the roadside and didn't need to contact the police at the time.

If you think the quote is too high you can always ask him to accept a payment plan, or direct him to pursue it through his insurance, but insurance is not an easy fix, it can take months of hassle, and involve hours and hours of filling forms in, providing evidence, looking things up, just for them to make you pay your excess, not pay out for the full amount of damage and put your premiums up for the next 5 years, all because they have no way of re-claiming those costs from your daughter, it is not the easy 'just go through insurance' that people insist it is and it is highly unlikely that he will go through insurance if you don't pay, he'll just have to pay the repair himself and be out of pocket.

I hope your daughter is okay, and this could be a bit of a scare lesson to be more cautious when riding, or stick to the roads where she actually has more right of way, she could have hit anyone or anything coming round that corner, and it's fortunate he was where he was as if he had been a second later, she could have been knocked out into the main road, but we all make mistakes from time to time, it doesn't help to dwell on it.

Hope your daughter is okay no matter who was at fault the driver of the car should had made sure your daughter was okay. He drove away from the scene she could of needed medical treatment also.

The way it worked when a car backed into me (definitely their fault) is that I claimed on my insurance and my insurance company went after the other driver. I would expect the same would happen with a cyclist. This is why we have insurance too - so that they get to do this work. 17 or not, they can pay back even in small installments and I don't think the insurance company would let them off. 100% I'd follow it up because a no fault claim doesn't affect my premiums.

if he was turning into a side road then it’s his fault so get the police involved she hit her head so claim for damages.

Why was she riding on the pavement? It was your daughter’s fault, she/ you should pay.

It literally says in the first post the driver got out to make sure she was ok. He hardly drove away from the scene when he did this and took her name and phone number.

17 year old hit there head on the window who gives a fuck who was in the wrong.If it was your child would you expect them to drive away any normal person would of contacted the police and instead of taking her details they would of asked to contact her parents.

OP

It sounds like your DD was not riding safely.

Check your household insurance your DD may be covered.

For the future she can get insurance for about £35 a year.

i do hope your DD is ok OP, keep an eye on her incase she has some concussion.

whilst the driver could definitely have acted more compassionately, at the end of the day his car is damaged and I think it’s clear it’s your DD’s fault. Yes there was a hedge in the way, but your DD shouldn’t have just driven straight out and assumed there was nothing there. Also as you know, she shouldn’t have been cycling on the pavement. To be blunt the driver has damage to his car and of course he would prefer your DD to pay so he doesn’t need to claim on insurance, as this will cost him in increased premiums and excess. I’d contact him, tell him your DD is a minor and he needs to come via you. Whether or not you pay it is your decision. But if it was me and I was the cyclist and a working adult I’d pay because it was my fault and I don’t see how it’s fair the driver ends up out of pocket.

I agree that his behaviour wasn’t great, but maybe he didn’t realise she was a minor. He should have asked her if he wanted him to call anyone and should have waited with her whilst they came. That’s what I’d have done

Main thing is she’s ok
but feel sorry for the driver through no fault of his own he was just driving and DD who was riding on the pavement ( which can be deemed an offence ) rode off the pavement into an on coming car
cause £100’s of pounds of damage he’ll ether have to pay for it himself or go through his insurance which no doubt will affect his premiums

she needs to do the decent thing and pay for the damage she’s caused

at 17 she shouldn’t be riding on pavements

"Why was she cycling on the pavement"

Probably because she's ND - thats the new get out of jail free card for everything now 🙄

Its the modern equivalent of wearing a hi viz jacket - you can get away with anything whilst wearing one.

Why on earth was she cycling on the pavement? She's lucky she didn't hit a person

Seems like you've taught your daughter very badly. She was riding on the pavement when this is illegal, and she crossed the road without stopping and looking first - if she had, she would have seen the driver.

She's an irresponsible cyclist who damaged someone's car as a result, and of course you need to pay up!

Your DD is at fault here and she should pay. If you and she try to wriggle out of this, you're teaching her a terrible life lesson and if I were the driver I would be reporting this to the police myself and considering a civil claim.

What if your DD had hit a person? A family with children? Would you think she shouldn't have to pay for the damage she caused then?

Some people seem under the illusion that being a cyclist gives you some sort of "get-out-of-jail" free card to skip out on and not take responsibility for damage which is your fault. It doesn't and I suspect you and your DD will find this out if she tries to avoid taking responsibility.

And the driver of the car did stop, gave his details and your DD appeared fine to him. So I don't know what all this bleating about him having committed an OFFENCE and abandoned an INJURED CHILD (17 and unaccompanied, come on 🙄) is about. Especially if your DD struck his stationary car while riding on the pavement, she really doesn't have a leg to stand on.

He might decide it's not worth the small claims court and just claim on his insurance, but in his shoes I'd definitely be reporting your DD to the police for cycling on the pavement. Partly because I'd feel morally obliged to - here is someone riding a bike dangerously with apparently no consideration for other pavement and road users and who refuses to take responsibility for their actions. I would be worried it would be a child or elderly person next time.

Please OP please, before you do anything else get your daughter to hospital or a walk in. Even apparently minor head injuries can result in serious issues and they often don't reveal themselves until sometime after the incident. I'm not trying to panic you but having a background in an area related to head injury has made me realize they should never be underestimated.

I see people have now started laying into the OP.

She will be shocked and need your support.@Sfuandtired so focus on that for now.

Talk to DD again when she’s calm and ask the driver for their version of events. Take it from there.

I hope she’s ok x

Irrespective of original fault the driver should have called the police and an ambulance especially considering she hit her head.

The driver has a legal duty to report the accident.

Failure to report this accident could carry a sentence of up to 6 months in prison for the driver.

Then you deal with insurance and or claims.

OP you really should call the police

@Sfuandtired

I think you are getting some terrible advice here! Do not pay anything.

1. any accident where cyclist hurt, she should have been checked, police informed, seen to medically.

2. DD is 17, so still seen by law as a child. I think this will make any claim tricky for him

3. he should contact his insurance company and seek advice

4. inform him that you will contact police and seek advice

5. was there any photo evidence, witnesses??

6. do not admit fault, your DD may just assume she was wrong - I don’t think it’s clear cut without photo, recorded evidence

DO NOT PAY HIM!! And I’d take over any communication on your DD’s behalf.

It does sound like it was her fault so it would be nice to pay his excess. He does have insurance so should be expected to use it, you shouldn’t be paying out £1000 plus for a new door (potentially). Obviously if it can be fixed for cheaper by a dents type place maybe he doesn’t want to go via insurance but that’s his choice if the cost is more than his excess I would not be paying more than the excess.

Years ago I had similar, a small child ran out from behind a hedge and hit the side wing of my car, I was doing 20mph so not fast. They still went up in the air and hit my bonnet denting it badly. I even got sent the bill from the ambulance! The kid was ok and luckily their parents saw it happen and said it was not my fault. I never once thought about chasing the family for money. I guess I could have gone after the parents and said they were liable as they weren’t supervising their kid. I used my insurance 🤷‍♀️

A teenage cyclist, think black hoodie no lights at night, was cycling down a pavement at speed, my H was stopped at a small (hospital grounds) junction.

The cyclist hit the side of H's car, started to shout at H, his mate saw we had young nippers in the car and they both cycled off.

H called his insurance just to let them know. He had to go to the local police station and be interviews by insurance.

H was not to blame.

But cyclists are classed as vulnerable road users.

I would text driver saying you are her mum and you will be logging incident with local police, you need to in case there is medical damage and he should pursue claim via his insurance.

H was told the insurance needed to know because the cyclist can make a claim up to 3 years after the incident.

The driver can shout and scream all he likes but he can't make you pay for damage.

So I would get daughter checked out at A&E and go to local police station. Message driver you will be doing this and take it from there.

Most likely driver will likely drop it if no damage or have to claim on his insurance and his premiums will go up.

It might not be fair but cyclists are classed as vulnerable road users.

Agree with this entirely