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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

Bike accident

66 replies

Besswess88 · 22/12/2021 10:12

My son hit a cyclist in his car a few weeks ago on a roundabout.

Two passengers in his car who can confirm the guy had no lights (it was dark).

No damage to his car or the bike.

Police now contacting my son asking for his insurance details saying the guy wants to claim for damage to his bike on my sons insurance.

My son has contacted his insurance company.

I have advised my son to get official email from the police which he has done explaining no lights and no damage.

Any advice please?

OP posts:

whywouldntyou · 22/12/2021 14:40

This is why I have dash cam back and front. I have lost count of the amount of cyclists in our town who don't have lights, and they are always dressed in black. Pisses me off because I know that i would be would be blamed in an accident if I had no proof.

TheHoptimist · 22/12/2021 14:40

See above
So if stopped by the police they can say they are Joe Bloggs of 49b Coronation Road and show their insurance papers.

WhistPie · 22/12/2021 15:13

I was once knocked off my bike on a roundabout, around 5pm in winter. Lights & reflectors all round. The driver didn't see me (the driver on his right did!) I guess because he wasn't looking for cyclists. I was bruised, shaken & scraped. I was told to report it to the police for the accident statistics. The driver then took umbrage at this, phoned me up.several.times, accused me of being in the wrong lane etc (because where I ended up going to get patched up was in a different direction to where I'd originally been heading)and in the end, I had to get the police involved for harassment!

Hellocatshome · 22/12/2021 15:19

I'm not sure why the police are involved at all if they didn't attend the accident? Why didn't the cyclist just contact your DS for his insurance details? How can the police write an email saying the cyclist had no lights and no damage if they weren't there?

Anyway all your son has to do is tell his version of events to his insurance company and wait to see what comes of it. That's why we have insurance.

Ducksareruiningmypatio · 22/12/2021 15:26

The closest I've ever come to hitting a cyclist was on a roundabout, it was dark, he had no lights, no reflectors, was dressed in Navy and black, dark coloured bike.
Most road users are very visible at night, what's the phrase? "Be safe, be seen"
I don't think your son is at fault.
Unfortunately it doesn't work that way.
I hope it gets sorted in his favour.

Tiramesu · 22/12/2021 15:40

The police are not going to vouch for your son a d get involved in a messy insurance issue. You'll just have to let it take its course

CSJobseeker · 22/12/2021 15:48

@NeedsCharging

Cyclist cycled away, He was also shocked but able to cycle off.

I would think this was adrenaline more than not hurt.
The bike could still be damaged for example gear mechanism could be damaged meaning you can still cycle but not change gear.

Agreed. The bike might well have been damaged despite being rideable in the immediate aftermath.

I broke my shoulder on my bike and cycled off afterwards - pure adrenaline. It was 15 mins later than I was crippled by pain.

Cyclist don't have an obligation to have lights on, just like pedestrians don't have an obligation to have lights on. Car drivers have to be aware that there may be hazards on the road in the dark, and many of them won't be lit up. You wouldn't run over a pedestrian and say "They didn't have lights on" in your defence, would you?

CSJobseeker · 22/12/2021 15:49

The driver didn't see me (the driver on his right did!) I guess because he wasn't looking for cyclists.

This is the usual cause. I'm always lit up like a Christmas tree on my bike, and have still had drivers claim they didn't see me. It's because they are looking out for car shaped/sized objects, not cyclists.

Icequeen01 · 22/12/2021 16:21

@Cocomarine

Old enough to drive, old enough to sort this out himself. He’s already contacted his insurance company - they will advise him better and more precisely than mummy running to the internet on his behalf.

Oh stop being so bloody mean! Totally uncalled for.

EmmaGrundyForPM · 23/12/2021 12:12

@TheHoptimist it's a photocopy, not an original. It's not at all the same as leaving my housekeys in the car.

By the same token, we should never carry any ID in handbags as if they are stolen, the thief knows our name and address. And my handbag would normally also have my keys in it.

The one occasion where my car was hit, it was really useful to have my insurance details with me.

daimbarsatemydogsbone · 23/12/2021 12:23

@CSJobseeker
You are incorrect to say
Cyclist don't have an obligation to have lights on,
It's against the law to cycle after dark without showing lights.

The comparison with pedestrians is invalid.

Uninterested · 23/12/2021 12:30

It's crazy how posters think they know what happened and who is to blame.

SoupDragon · 23/12/2021 12:34

Cyclist don't have an obligation to have lights on

Wrong.

Maybe read up on the rules and laws.

BigFatLiar · 23/12/2021 12:46

Let the insurance companies sort it out. Was the car damaged? You may have a claim against the cyclist.

HopefulProcrastinator · 23/12/2021 13:39

I witnessed a cyclist being driven into in broad daylight whilst he was wearing more neon than an 80s convention. The cyclist was perfectly and safely positioned on the road and very visible.

The driver literally knocked him flying through the air got out of the car and immediately claimed that the cyclist "came from nowhere" and "couldn't stop for something he couldn't see". Thankfully my dashcam footage proved otherwise along with my witness testimony. Thankfully the cyclist only ended up with concussion - I genuinely feared for the worse when I ran over to help.

All things considered I doubt your son is being 100% honest with you, especially with the declaration that police who didn't attend clearing him of damage of any kind. That very much sounds like someone who wants mum onside, ready to defend and angry at another party rather than the whole truth.

But even if he is...you only drive as fast as you can see to stop so even if the cyclist was dressed head to toe in black and had removed the reflectors from their bike your son is still responsible for hitting them and needs to accept the responsibility, including financial implications of that.

The highway code is being amended even further to protect more vulnerable road users like cyclists and pedestrians so hopefully your son takes this on the chin as a lesson well learnt because he didn't kill someone, only damaged their bike.

He needs to let the insurance company deal with this and make sure he tells nothing but the truth to them/their investigators because if an independent witness/CCTV is produced he could find himself blocked from getting future insurance for a breach of T&Cs telling the truth to insurance companies is a universal basic one

MauveMavis · 23/12/2021 13:54

It's for this reason I have a bike cam.

Tuesday evening coming home from work. I have front lights and a reflective cover on my front mounted bag and one of those glow in the dark jackets.

I was cycling straight on at a junction through a green traffic light. Mini cab driver coming the other way and turning right almost hit me. "He didn't see me".

For which read "he wasn't paying any fucking attention at all".

I'm sure he went home and told all and sundry about the careless cyclist. But actually the boot was on the other foot.

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