Electric scooter kid went flying after hitting my car door

[LoveMyPiano]

I was just about to get out of my car - door opening onto the pavement - this afternoon, not dark by any stretch of the imagination, although the car door does have a light that stays on even when ignition off.
I had seen a girl (I think I know her, she's 8 or 9) go zooming past "up" the road - wearing black, on her no-doubt Christmas present, large electric scooter.
I pushed the door open, not fully, an was about to get out when I heard a skidding sound and she hit the car door and went flying onto the ground.
When I look afterwards, the tyre marks were about 2/3 of the way across the pavement, closer to my car. Had the door been fully opened, it would have been badly damaged, I think - or she might have been.
She rolled on the ground but didn't hit her head (no helmet) and seemed to want to check her scooter thoroughly herself.

I didn't say sorry - more like "Oh God!" - and checked she was OK, briefly saying that she was very difficult to see, but that's all, even though I think a whole lot more.
This will no doubt come back to me as "she was knocked off her scooter by that woman up the road" etc - but AIBU to think it was her own fault, even allowing for the fact she is a young child?

This happens to cyclists a lot. People not looking properly and opening doors into their path.

Does the OP think the girl on the scooter should have anticipated her opening her door?

I'm not clear on your post....
I ride a bike, as I have said, daily ---- and always take great care passing parked vehicles, for fear of someone getting out of their car and maybe they haven't seen me approaching. I give a very very wide berth, and slow down, and even look for movement in the car, or brake lights/indicators etc. I can do all of this because I am an adult, old(er) and a road user.

(And I got my Cycling Proficiency Test! - back when there was such a thing...)

The kid on the scooter is none of those things, and if she does not have the awareness, should not be on the scooter - and certainly not near me I hope.
And definitely not, when they are illegal, and there was not a parent in sight.

See my previous post about cyclists.....

She shouldn't really have been there at all..... but it could be argued that her parents should have given her some instruction about the risks and responsibilities, not just going as fast as she can down a public pavement where the houses are only set back about eight feet.

And if she was too young to be instructed, she was too young to be unsupervised, I suspect.

Normally when I see a car parking and I am passing I do anticipate that someone will be getting out. I was also always taught (as a child doing cycling proficiency many years ago and as a driver) that when passing parked cars you should, where possible, allow enough room for doors to open.

Electric scooters are an absolute menace and have no place being on a path.

Well if a child isn't old enough to be aware that riding an electric scooter on the pavement il illegal and that a car door might open then they need to be supervised.

I have two 9 year olds and I do let them ride on the pavement but I supervise them and make them aware of things like parked cars and doors that might open.

What's a 2 ton vehicle got to do with it? It's a car door. If it was a person walking past then there would have been no issue. The issue was the speed of the scooter.

Correct. The driver is responsible for the passengers' behaviour.

The parents could be prosecuted under the 'cause or permit' legislation.

The OP could have been a passenger and to be honest unless you were on a busy road I doubt that the Police would be bothered about which side you were on unless they really really wanted to do you for something

I'm fucking sick of seeing these, they are a nuisance especially amongst teenagers up to no good and adults going to work ( get a fucking bus)
They pull out of junctions, undertake you, they just cause chaos and they don't have a clue how the roads work,
Two teenage girls were dressed in dark clothes, it was a dark night, they pulled out of a junction just on a bend, I had to slam on and then over take when safe and then when I bleeped they had the cheek to flash at me and give me a load of shit.
Why parents buy these their kids is beyond me either that are they are being nicked 😬

You’re in a car, you have a duty to give way to pedestrians and others on pavements and roads.

If the government doesn't want e-scooters to be used in the roads or the pavements then they should ban their sale.

I can't blame kids for riding them on the pavement when the government permits them to be sold. Where else are they supposed to use them?

Anyone opening a car door has to check properly. I'm not going to provide absolution to the OP for their failure to do so.

Sometimes everyone makes mistakes. The important thing is to learn from them. The OP made a mistake and should check more carefully next time.

I'll sit in my car - and all passengers too - until ---- when, then..? Because she came at speed out of nowhere.
Shouldn't be there.
The fact remains that my car door was not fully opened, the pavement is quite wide. She had room (but not the ability?) to steer around; the problem was the speed she was going.

She can't come out of nowhere. You're excusing your failure to check for her properly.

The same as every driver who has knocked down a cyclist and said, "Sorry Mate, I Didn't See You."

I'm sick of that attitude.

Bit too close to saying Sorry though - which could be seen as admitting fault.

If I even just witnessed an 8yo have an accident like this, I'd be checking in with the parents that she was okay.

It's nowhere near an admission of guilt, just the right thing to do.

No helmet. She was lucky. Fast scooters etc should not be on pavements.

the point im making is either look ahead to see whats coming towards you if possilbe, then your mirrors to see anything on approach from behind then open the door.

sometimes i cannot go wide when on roads due to other drivers on the other side so therefore to me as its the drivers getting out their cars onto a road, then they should look first,

like the advice at lights, stop, look, listen etc

Oh that’s not clear in the first post but either way I don’t think your unreasonable she should have some what road sense.

Two teenage girls were dressed in dark clothes,....

Why is it that they're always dressed in black or dark clothes?

I once saw boy/young man in black on an e-scooter on a bright sunny day, on a road with overhanging trees. When he went from the sun into the shade under the trees, he was invisible. If I hadn't seen him go in there, I wouldn't have known he was there. (I was a pedestrian on the other side of the road, so I was no threat to him, or him to me.)

I agree the girl should not have been riding the e-scooter on the pavement, however, OP did not use due caution before opening the door.
Rule 239 of the Highway Code.

• you MUST ensure you do not hit anyone when you open your door. Check for cyclists or other traffic by looking all around and using your mirrors
• where you are able to do so, you should open the door using your hand on the opposite side to the door you are opening; for example, use your left hand to open a door on your right-hand side. This will make you turn your head to look over your shoulder. You are then more likely to avoid causing injury to cyclists or motorcyclists passing you on the road, or to people on the pavement

Notice the last part where you are supposed to turn your head.

I'd tell the police just for your own peace of mind.

Irrespective of blame and even if you don’t know the identity of the other person, you should report this to the Police within 24 hours.

”When should I report an accident to the police?
You should report the accident to the police if:

• Anyone is injured
• You didn’t exchange details at the scene
• You believe a crime has been committed

You need to report the accident to the police by dialling 101 – the non-emergency police number – within 24 hours.” (Confused.com website).

How awful for the little girl - is she OK? Must have shaken her up a hell of a lot

Moot point cyclists should be on the road. The girl was on the pavement.

Then probably even more important to report it to the police. Don’t be scared.

I really feel for you @LoveMyPiano. A couple of years ago, I was driving home on a pitch black early winter evening. There were a lot of parked cars and it was up a slight incline so l was driving at a very slow speed. Suddenly, around a blind corner and as if from nowhere, a boy aged around twelve or so came speeding down the road on one of these e-scooters. He was also dressed from top to toe in black and only had a very faint bicycle lamp at the front. Had l been driving any faster, I would almost certainly have hit him and he could well have been killed. I was in a state of shock for quite a while afterwards as I thought of what could so easily have been. I think that these e-scooters should be banned for under eighteens and that parents who allow their fairly young children to have them are very irresponsible.

HoundsOfHelfire · Today 20:12

You’re in a car, you have a duty to give way to pedestrians and others on pavements and roads.

It's not about giving way, it's about someone riding illegally on a pavement at high speed, ,exacerbated by being both on the pavement and not legally entitled to ride the machine, as well as the device being illegal to use on the public highway.

She didn't door a cyclist in the road, she is not to blame in any way. The irresponsible parents and to a lesser degree, the girl are to blame.