17yo son bike collision - right thing to do?

[Number42]

ds has come home to say he had a minor collision on his bike with a car: he was going along a bike lane/pavement, crossed a side road, bumped into side of car which was driving up the road. Apparently car now has a dent. Morally, probably mostly his fault but we weren't there, who knows. Phone numbers were exchanged. Trying to work out what stance to take with the driver. Don't mind paying a few quid and certainly would rather do that than unpleasant exchanges of lawyers' letters etc - but am thinking, won't their insurance just cover it?

No, there are not bike lanes on the pavement. There may be cycle tracks shared with the pavement. Lanes are in the road.

If the collision was at a junction it’s the car drivers fault, increasingly cycle lanes cross in front of cars and cycles have right of way, it’s very easy to miss a bike.

The car driver would stop for another vehicle crossing in front, he also has to stop for a bike.

https://www.birmingham.gov.uk/info/50122/cyclinginnbirmingham/1322/wherecanni_cycle

Check out the Birmingham maps.

You can cycle in Birmingham using the recognised cycling routes, and any suitably marked dual-use footway.

I'm not sure which part of basic language comprehension you're struggling with here. Would you like to use the search function in your browser to highlight "lane" and see if you can make progress?

Sorry but you're just being anal because you were wrong. You stated there are only cycle lanes on roads (ok if you want to be really pedantic the cycle routes on footpaths aren't officially called lanes) but you said there's no justification for a 17 year old to be on the pavement, which there clearly is.

No, the more vulnerable road user has right of way. Cyclist more vulnerable than car. Pedestrian more vulnerable than cyclist.
We do need a diagram, @Number42.

I'm thinking of a similar cycle path on the pavement and road near me. The cycle path ends and there are cars coming out of the side road, who should be looking for both cars on the main road AND cyclists coming from the right.
The sign you can't read says "Rejoin main carriageway" . The RHS is the cycle path and the LHS is the walkway, and there is no give way sign.
Following the changes to clarification of the Highway Code, the cyclist has priority and the car should look for cyclists crossing the side road.

If you're not willing to be pedantic enough to distinguish between "lane" and "cycle track", or "pavement" and "road", then I suggest you have no business trying to figure out who is at fault for this (or any other) incident.

If you think that cyclists aren't allowed on designated cycle paths then neither are you.

Location is everything in this situation, we have cycle paths/pedestrian paths which cross a side road halfway down the road, cyclist or pedestrian has to give way. We also have ones which run alongside the main road and a car on a side road or turning in needs to give way to someone using the pavement/cycle path

Um,
I don't think that.
I didn't say that.

It isn't pedants corner.

@anotheropinion you said he had no right being on the pavement, which he did if there was a cycle lane.

FFS, you're not even trying to understand. There is no such thing as a lane on the pavement. That's not what the word "lane" means.

It matters what it was actually designated as.

It really matters, because it affects who was at fault.

It's all a bit of a waste of time debating it without the OP clarifying with a google streetview or similar.

There is no such thing as a lane on the pavement. That's not what the word "lane" means.
And yet, the photo above shows a pedestrian lane and a bike lane on the pavement.

FFS I'm just using the word lane instead of path. It's not me who's not trying to understand.

You said he had no business being on the pavement which he clearly did if there was a cycle path.

Is that better?

Whether he was on a roadside cycle lane or a joint pedestrian/cycle lane, he has right of way over the sideroads. This has always been the law, the highway code recently updated to clarify this as so many people were unaware. If he was riding on the pavement however, he was breaking the law.

There has always been a requirement to be aware of your surroundings but the new HW code changes the rules of the road completely and yes thats exactly what the changes mean, you see a pavement that ends on the junction you are intending to stop at and you check whether anyone is on it/about to cross, whether its a cycle lane/shared path is not the point, you should be prepared to stop.

Same as if you are turning into a road, cyclist/pedestrian has priority - doesn't remove their responsibility to act sensibly but these are the new rules - not law but will be taken into consideration, courts/police, if there is an accident.

As for making driving impossible, i've recently comeback from 2 days in Amsterdam, its very possible and actually works very well but they've had 50 years of practice and far higher standard of driving & test.

Thats not always been the case at all, a school friend was killed when she was knocked off by a car turning into a side road, across a cycle path and the driver wasn't even charged.

A top level cyclist was also killed many years ago when a lorry did similar, driver found not guilty.

The changes, in this regard, to the HW code are new and as i said not law.

round me they've put red signs up at EVERY junction where the side road meets the main road to remind you that pedestrians and cyclists have right of way and that cars must let them cross first when turning into the side road

@walkinginsunshinekat Ok, it is not law, just rules that we are all supposed to abide by. But it has always been the case that they have priority, that's why they're called clarifications This explains which are new rules and which are just being clarified: www.gov.uk/government/news/the-highway-code-8-changes-you-need-to-know-from-29-january-2022

Ah thankyou, i ve read this before, mixture of existing, new and made (hopefully) far clearer!

I wish it were law personally.

The cyclist there should "give way" as there is a double-dashed road marking on the cycle lane/track.

What could the motorist have done if they were parked at the junction and the cyclist drove into their side? Obviously motorists have to be the most wary of other road users as they can do the most damage, but that doesn't mean that other road users don't have to take care themselves. They can't just ram into cars and be immune from responsibility.

@MarshaMelrose If the car were parked on the junction they would still be in the wrong as you mustn't park within 9 yards of a junction!

This was my initial feeling from vague memories from my Law degree.
Also his age needs to be taken into account.

Was his bike damaged? Was your son ok?
He was the one more vulnerable on the road.