so, if i cut in front of a car to cross the street, slip up on the tram tracks and end up stuck under the car, am i responsible for the damage to that car? anyone?
did this happen to you today brendan?!
Depends on the circumstances…
If you cut in front of the car then most likely yes you would be responsible…
But then the driver has to sue you to get any cashola…
Now I’m no lawyer but I know one quite well 
and we were having a similar discussion the other day regarding liability if I was hit by a car door…
So many things to consider. The first answer is always no. I once worked in car insurance, making liability claims and pursuing people for their blood… it was horrible work. I always advised cyclist to hold out, even when i was trying to get them to pay (i’ve been hit and as far as i’m concerned it’s always the cars fault). I would wait until you hear from them or their insurers or send them a demand letter for damage to your bike.
What exactly happened, what street, was there a bike lane, was traffic stationary, or coming to a stop, how many lanes of traffic etc etc…
Oh, and are you and bike ok?
yeah, i’m ok. road bike is a bit worse for wear, but not too bad - rear mech fucked, front wheel needs a truing. i got a few grazes and bruises, but not much else.
so yeah, sydney rd, around 5. i move to the middle then go to cross the road to use the bank. thought i had the space but apparently didn’t. traffic was moving pretty fast.
the woman was pretty nice. very pregnant - i was kinda glad she didn’t go into labour right then and there. her bumper had a few scratches, but not much significant damage. ABS brakes are a few of my favourite things right now. we exchanged numbers, so i’ll wait and see what happens.
You’re stuffed… Just hope the damage is so small she doesn’t go through her insurance company… They’ll replace the bumper straight away. But then if she does go through insurance there are a few tricks you could try (not that i know anything about that or would recommend anyone doing anything like that…)
Glad you’re ok, sounds a bit hairy
thanks tally. i’ll pm you should things get awkward.
glad you’re ok. i’ll ask a few of the lawyers at work who ride and see what their thoughts are.
thanks all. a quick chat with bicycle victoria revealed that a) they are kinda useless and b) their insurance excess for liability is one thousand bucks. bummer. sure glad i coughed up that fifty bucks a year. i mean really, how often does a bike cause $1000 damage to a car?
i spoke to the woman again today, when she called me to make sure i was ok. she seems quite reasonable, but if she becomes unreasonable i have a good friend who is an insurance lawyer. we’ll see how it plays out.
thanks all. a quick chat with bicycle victoria revealed that a) they are kinda useless and b) their insurance excess for liability is one thousand bucks. bummer. sure glad i coughed up that fifty bucks a year. i mean really, how often does a bike cause $1000 damage to a car?
I can neither confirm nor deny that I may or may not have received a repair bill for $3500 after my prang last year.
At least once, in my experience.
she seems quite reasonable, but if she becomes unreasonable i have a good friend who is an insurance lawyer. we’ll see how it plays out.
Did I miss something here? It’s only a car bumper. You were in the wrong, you should pay.
If you weren’t in the wrong I’d be all for running with it as far as you can.
I remember my dealings with an insurance company when I hit the side of a car at about 40km/h when it turned in front of me. Snapped my carbon roadie clean in half as I went over the roof. Got my bike for sub wholesale and they paid out full $10,000+ retail and didn’t take the wreck so I ended up with the groupset as well. Good times.
I’m thinking the same as George. Would it really be unreasonable of her to try to get you to pay damages if she was just driving along and you did something that caused an accident?
Maybe I’m getting the wrong end of the stick here, and i really don’t want to start a flame war, but aren’t there ethical issues here as well as legal ones? Even if you could get away with not paying should you try to? Was it your fault? If so, shouldn’t you pay?
If she ran into/over you, its her fault, unless you were doing something silly, which you mighta been…
What he said.
If you fucked up and caused damage you should pay.
Simple.
If you caused it, you should own it. Bad karma otherwise.
Be thankful it’s only a few bucks and you’re not in hospital on a machine.
yeah, i told her from the start that it was my bad and i would cough up. i was more wondering if some insurance somewhere would help me out.
Using Sydney Rd or Brunswick St as an example …
I’m curious as to why drivers feel entitled to tool around at a hair under 50 or 60 simply because it’s the posted limit - oblivious to the fact that they’re in a built-up area, with prams, pedestrians and so on. They wouldn’t drive in a fog at that speed, because they can’t see that far ahead. If this particular activity, driving at speed, was as great a risk to them physically as it was to anyone else they should happen to collide with, regardless of fault, would they still do it?
For the record plenty of people, pedestrians and cyclists alike, perform ‘half and half’ road crossings along Sydney Rd. It’s one of our busiest shopping strips, after all! Yes there are pedestrian crossings and crossings available at intersections but not that many.
Put it this way - if I start commuting at 40kmh and someone checking their texts or listening to their iPod strolls out in front of me, is it still tough luck to them? Or is there some onus on drivers and riders to take the conditions into consideration when they decide how fast they want to go? I know you can’t legislate ‘common sense’ but driving within one’s own ability, the performance and condition of their vehicle, and the conditions, doesn’t seem to be much of a priority these days.
(I’m about ready to strangle some colleagues here today so you’ll have to excuse the rantage)
were you the bloke who brought his carbon Guru into Bike Now - must have been a year or two ago…all the pieces in a green garbage bag?
were you the bloke who brought his carbon Guru into Bike Now - must have been a year or two ago…all the pieces in a green garbage bag?
Nope, mine was just snapped in half clean through at the biddon cage on the down tube and near the headset on the top tube. Not in pieces. I was lucky and didn’t even get a scratch. Just did a forward flip straight over the roof/rear window and landed on my back.