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?

She hit her head and went over the bonnet. He can’t just assume she isn’t injured, even if in the immediate aftermath she says she isn’t. In that situation the police should be informed.

Years ago, a colleague hit an elderly lady. The elderly lady admitted fault.

The colleague asked her insurance company to claim against the elderly lady. They told her that that was not their policy. She dealt with the damage herself.

He didn’t drive off, he checked she was OK.

As others have pointed out, he may have thought she’s a grown and she damaged his car. She said she was fine. Was he meant to force her to stay still?

Why would an accident that’s not his fault be the least of his worries?

With head injuries you often don’t know you are ok straight away plus she will have been in shock. Anyone half decent would have contacted someone and even called for an ambulance. I would have done. It’s completely irrelevant whose fault it is.

dramatize much? She didn't go over the bonnet, she rode into his door and banged her head on his window with no apparent injuries.

It’s very hard to behave decently when someone has just damaged your car, scared the shit out of you and been totally careless. If she said she was fine and appeared to be a woman, not a child, I can’t see what he’s done wrong

Honestly what is MN bloody like!

Hitting a passenger window suddenly gets turned into “thrown over the bonnet”.

You people are too old for Chinese whispers, behave yourselves

https://www.gcoffey.co.uk/our-services/personal-injury-services/motor-vehicle-accident/cyclist-injury-claims/resources/who-pays-if-cyclist-hits-car-uk

Read through this from the driver's perspective.

But she's a CCCHHHHIILLDD!! she should of course be able to purposely cycle into his car, damage it and still have people wail that she's the REAL victim 😭😭😭

So it’s really clear. Car driver’s insurance pays for repairs. If the driver feels he is out of pocket and the cyclist is at fault, he can take the cyclist to small claims court. It’s complicated if the cyclist is a minor.

Even if the car driver wins and is awarded damages, the cyclist could be told to pay £2 per week for 20 years. Then the cyclist stops paying and the driver has to take them to court again. It’s not worth the hassle. Essentially the cyclist gets off scot free and the car insurance has to pay.

🤣🤣🤣

I wish there was a parallel MN where people posted opposite sexes. If this was a 17yo boy who cycled into a lone woman’s car OP would probably be told her son was a sexual predator and that the woman should report him for harrasment

Is she a member of British Cycling or Cycling UK by any chance? They both include insurance cover and BC membership includes legal representation when required (I'm not sure about Cycling UK as I'm not a member). If so, I would give them a call in the morning. If not, as others have suggested, you may have both insurance and legal cover included in your home insurance so check your policy.
I hope your DD is ok.

Regardless of who was at fault, I'd like to think my main priority as the driver in this situation would be making sure the child I'd just hit was OK, not asking her to cough up cash!

Your poor dd, hope she's OK op x

If the daughter has damaged a car (and was at fault) of course she should pay (or parents should).

I’m not sure it’s a great moral lesson by your mum to leave the innocent party paying more insurance for the next 5 years because you weren’t paying attention - but so many people these days are incredibly entitled so it’s no surprise really.

You (or your mum) should have paid if you caused the damage regardless of insurance.

TBH, I wouldn’t see a young adult as a child and if they said they were fine I’d be far more annoyed about my car and my panic than looking after them

Yep! And it would be an evil cruel calculative move of his, and he'd clearly been evilly loitering on the pavement illegally cycling on it, JUST to get her! Quick!! Call 111!!(who cares that's the NHS! Just call everyone!!)

Fair enough but the nutter obviously thinks he can get money out of an uninsured child cyclist, which is just madness. He needs to claim on his insurance and count himself lucky the cyclist isn’t trying to claim from him as well.

Call 111!!(who cares that's the NHS! Just call everyone!!)

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

Or her parents can teach her a lesson on morality, owning your mistakes and seeing to the consequences with a moral outlook. By paying and working out a payment plan for her to pay off. That’s what I would do with my kids, because I think, where the law fails or doesn’t actually seem right, our own moral behaviour should make up for it.

FGS with the ‘child’ nonsense

OP’s DD is not a 6yo with stabilisers.

Unless she said “I’m 17” (and why would she) he will assume she’s an adult. An adult who should have been looking where she was going

Why would the cyclist try to claim for him for an accident that’s their fault?! It doesn’t work like that.

Dont you think it’s shit his insurance will sky rocket and the OP has no intention of paying for his repairs when the accident is entirely her DD’s fault?

@Stigglet whys he the 'nutter' rather than the illegally pavement cycling, no road safety knowledge straight into a road 17 Yr old.
What if she'd actually cycled into and mowed down an ACTUAL child, like a 3 year old, and parent, thinking they were safely crossing until an idiot on a bike hit them as they weren't looking? Would you still have the cyclist as the tragic victim?

I would as well.

It’s no good teaching them that they aren’t accountable for their fuck ups. Unless they’re trying for them to fail at adulthood

But that's what the ethos is now, 'never apologise, never explain, you're always the victim, SOMEONE ELSE is always to blame'

This is exactly what OP should be saying to her DD. What is if it was an elderly cyclist coming out the junction cycling legally and the OP’s DD killed her? Or a 10yo doing their bikeability? These things happen in real life and can change the course of someone’s entire life. Yet we are expected to believe HE is the bad guy?!

The more I read MN the more I think some MNers just really fucking hate men even when they’re not the least bit at fault.

This is why you insure your car (and your home, and your personal possessions). Shit happens that’s not your fault and you need to be covered, and you end up out of pocket with higher premiums, and it’s just tough.

A child cyclist hits your car, or you get burgled, or your friend spills a drink on your laptop. Your insurance covers it. Thats what it’s for.