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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

DC knocked over a cyclist

363 replies

blueirishues · 31/01/2017 16:33

The situation was that I pulled up and dc opened the car door, a cyclist went into it and over the top. My door is damaged and cyclist shouting all sorts about going to sue Shock what are the rights and wrongs here?

OP posts:
Original poster
blueirishues · 31/01/2017 17:08

How awful, Happy Flowers I'm glad he's ok. Not attempting to dispute we were at fault but I wasn't sure if suing was an actual possibility.

OP posts:
Waffles80 · 31/01/2017 17:08

A key step in the Dutch reach is looking. FFS.

witsender · 31/01/2017 17:10

Was she getting out into the road?

Dogivemeabreak · 31/01/2017 17:11

Of course suing is a possibility. You need to get in touch with your insurance. If you're admitting that it was you fault they shouldn't need to sue.

Thakita · 31/01/2017 17:12

Bit worried that you are a driver yet you don't know this very basic rule. It's common sense isn't it. You must make sure you don't open a car door and injure anyone or damage anything.

Original poster
blueirishues · 31/01/2017 17:12

Yes, it was a quiet road and quite wide. I had pulled over, we were waiting for a song she liked to end and then I turned off the engine, she flung the door open and the poor cyclist went over the door Sad

OP posts:
7SunshineSeven7 · 31/01/2017 17:15

Had you passed the cyclist on the road before pulling up? You need to just get in touch with your insurance and explain it was your fault. You'll lose your no-claims but its something to learn from. Child locks and looking.

Witchend · 31/01/2017 17:16

Df had a friend who was killed when someone opened a door into him on the way to work. Nice chap with a couple of young children. Fairly quiet area 30mph limit, but he was knocked off and into another car.

manwhotoldeverything · 31/01/2017 17:17

Poor cyclist and also DC and you, horrible accidents.

This thread has reminded me I have been meaning to teach 5 year old DD the Dutch reach as she is just getting to stage of being allowed to get out car alone (only when on kerb side for now) and this is a timely reminder for all of us to teach our DC.

Original poster
blueirishues · 31/01/2017 17:20

How awful Witchend Sad

I don't think we'd passed by the cyclist but I don't know. I couldn't say for definite.

Certainly a salutary lesson for DC but I hope she is okay as well. The fault is definitely mine, and I feel awful about it.

OP posts:
PollyPerky · 31/01/2017 17:24

make it a rule to get out and open the door for children if they are getting out onto a road. Or say they have to wait until you have checked all is clear. And same really applies to nearside- pedestrians?

specialsubject · 31/01/2017 17:25

The child isn't suffering as much as the cyclist. Who may be left with pain, off work , financial trouble etc. Upsetting a kid for a while doesn't come close.

This colossal fuck up which could have killed does come down to the adult, but a child old enough to open the door without looking is old enough to get a serious bollocking. Then lesson learnt and move on.

PollyPerky · 31/01/2017 17:25

She could easily have opened it into an oncoming car.

Children aged 9 are not able to just speed and distance or even see traffic approaching like an adult.

shovetheholly · 31/01/2017 17:28

So sorry this has happened- it sounds like a genuine accident and I'm sure neither you nor any wee passenger you have will be opening a car door ever again without checking! I would buy the cyclist a big box of chocs and a bottle of whisky to say sorry Smile.

BitOutOfPractice · 31/01/2017 17:30

Oh no. I bet she's very upset. I hope the cyclist is OK

I have drilled into my DC to scooch over the seat and open the pavement side door - after checking of course. They still do this automatically and they are 14 and 17

diddl · 31/01/2017 17:33

"She could easily have opened it into an oncoming car."

Was the door opened into the road?

I was envisaging a car parked & the cylist squeezing between the kerb & the car.

Stickerrocks · 31/01/2017 17:36

Thank you for posting blue. I had never heard of the Dutch Reach and I'm going to drill it into the girls I take to school each morning, so something good has come of the incident.

Molecule · 31/01/2017 17:36

One of my unbreakable rules was that no child ever opened a car door on the road side, and children always got in and out of the car on the pavement side. Mine are now between 16 and 23 and I still tell them to be careful. According to my 4 dc most of my parenting was very relaxed compared to friends' parents, but they absolutely knew not to break the car door rule.

Butteredpars1ps · 31/01/2017 17:36

To be honest, as a driver, I check my mirrors and ask anyone exiting the car to wait until the car / bike / pedestrian has passed. Including Adults.

Hope the cyclist is OK.

BIWI · 31/01/2017 17:36

Key lesson here is that your car has child locks for a reason!

angeldelightedme · 31/01/2017 17:37

The cyclist can sue your DD for damage to his bike, but I doubt she has many assets to pay with.The insurance covers yoiur negligence.You haven't been negligent your DD (arguable ) has.
Why was the moron cycling so close to your car anyway?

Floralnomad · 31/01/2017 17:37

Can I just say , if the bike was damaged can you pay for the replacement/ repair in a timely fashion , my DH was knocked off his bike in November and it took over 2 months and a lot of aggro on my part to get the money for the bike , it was very annoying . I would also say that you should ring 101 and report the incident because it's quite likely the cyclist will .

Bct23 · 31/01/2017 17:44

It's an accident at the end of the day. If people never made mistakes then there wouldn't be any accidents at all. That is what car insurance is for. Even if he does claim for damages it won't be you paying it bar the excess.

Cyclists can be just as much to blame as drivers in some accidents.

myfavouritecolourispurple · 31/01/2017 17:45

Why was the moron cycling so close to your car anyway

Charming.

The cyclist does not need to be very near to a car to be in danger of being whacked by a car door. They open very wide. Everyone is assuming it was passing on the left - as the car was stationary it was almost certainly passing on the right - ie the offside, and nobody should be opening a door on that side anyway.

If for any reason they were passing on the left, it does not really change anything, as you should be careful of pedestrians when you open your doors, too.

I'm not sure why people are getting so abusive towards the OP though - a child can make a mistake - and a child can be well over the age of needing child safety locks and still make a mistake.

In fact some months ago a lady pulled up next to me in the railway station car park. One of her adult passengers opened the door straight into my car. I gave them a hard stare, but I don't think they even realised they'd done it. My car isn't very new, I'm not precious about the odd scratch but it shows adults can be as negligent as children. Yet everyone gets on their high horse when a child does it.

It does not sound as if the cyclist was hurt badly which is very fortunate. Let the insurance deal with it, learn a lesson, and move on.

missbishi · 31/01/2017 17:46

I would buy the cyclist a big box of chocs and a bottle of whisky to say sorry

You've not seen the price of bikes recently have you?