Car avoiding cyclist problem

I'm an avid cyclist out here in the boonies, but while attempting to parallel park my car i started to back into my spot and while doing so a cyclist was coming around the outside and to avoid hitting my car he turned out of the way and fell down.  His shoes were clipped in so he had some road rash and now his tires are bent.  He is wanting me to repair his bike now, what are my options.  I saw him coming but my turning into my spot was a real quick problem, HELP!!!!

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Permalink Reply by Doug Haynes on August 19, 2012 at 10:30am

Did he hit your car?

What do you mean you saw him coming but turning into your spot was a real quick problem?

Permalink Reply by Adam Z on August 19, 2012 at 1:02pm
Is there a police report? I think he or she needs to make one to pursue a claim. And if there is a report, it should give you a clue as to who is at fault.

Anyhow, I don't think you're likely to get good legal advice here. If it were me and I didn't think I was at fault, I'd turn it over to my insurance company. That's what it's for.
Permalink Reply by Far'arned Retrogrumpalunkus #63 on August 19, 2012 at 2:10pm

It seems to me that what you are saying is that you were parallel parking and a cyclist overtook you while you were still completing your maneuver.  He/she misjudged and freaked out when they came upon you and lost control and crashed as they passed you?

If a cyclist or any other road user rear-ends a vehicle doing a parallel parking maneuver it is the over-taking vehicles fault.  If a vehicle misjudges their speed and/or position while going around a vehicle in front of them doing a parallel parking maneuver it still their fault as the person in front of them has the right of way I think. 

I'm not sure this is what happened to you or not.  You should have gotten a police report if there was a crash to protect yourself.  IMHO If the cyclist never contacted your auto and merely lost control and crashed while overtaking you I can't see how you would be at fault and not the cyclist's.  The person should have been paying attention to what was going on in front of them and not over-riding their abilities and going too fast for conditions so that they couldn't maintain control of their bike. 

That is, assuming you didn't open your car door into traffic during this maneuver which is an entirely different situation and would be totally your fault.


That's my $.02.  But like others have said we don't know all the facts and the OP's description of the incident leaves a lot to be desired. 

Best advice is to contract your Insurance company and a lawyer.  We're just a bunch of yahoos.  Like Howard said, if you want to know about costs for repair and what sounds about right we might be able to help the OP out with ballpark figures but that can vary quite a bit depending on the make and model of the bike and the damages that are possible. 

Permalink Reply by Dragonborn on August 19, 2012 at 7:31pm

I agree with what James said. If both the bicycle and its rider never came into physical contact with your vehicle, unless you did something that would force a cyclist to lose control and fall, the cyclist probably doesn't have a case. It would have to be proven that whatever actions you did was what directly caused the cyclist to drop. Just because you were parallel parking your car, that doesn't automatically mean you're the one at fault. If it were automatic, then I could just go ride my bike around the city and look for cars that are actively parallel parking, then wipe myself out on purpose just to sue people and collect.

Did you admit guilt to the cyclist? If so, bad move, as you should never admit guilt. Any insurance company would tell you this. The fact that you started this thread gives me the impression that you feel that you may not be the one at fault. Your side of the story doesn't include plenty of information. Did you guys get the police involved? Were there witnesses?

I suggest you don't offer the cyclist anything for now and you should get legal counsel and probably discuss this with your insurance company before communicating further with the cyclist.



James BlackHeron said:

It seems to me that what you are saying is that you were parallel parking and a cyclist overtook you while you were still completing your maneuver.  He/she misjudged and freaked out when they came upon you and lost control and crashed as they passed you?

IMHO If the cyclist never contacted your auto and merely lost control and crashed while overtaking you I can't see how you would be at fault and not the cyclist's.  The person should have been paying attention to what was going on in front of them and not over-riding their abilities and going too fast for conditions so that they couldn't maintain control of their bike. 

That is, assuming you didn't open your car door into traffic during this maneuver which is an entirely different situation and would be totally your fault.


That's my $.02.  But like others have said we don't know all the facts and the OP's description of the incident leaves a lot to be desired.

Permalink Reply by Justin B Newman on August 20, 2012 at 1:23am

Should a bicyclist have additional responsibility for his/her own injuries when clipped in?

-jbn

Permalink Reply by Far'arned Retrogrumpalunkus #63 on August 20, 2012 at 2:01am

Riding clipped-in, be it with toe-clips or clipped into a clipless system (such confusing terminology) is a responsibility that only the rider can take.   It definitely makes riding more "interesting" when there are a lot of stops and one is sliding between parked cars and the traffic lane.    Add in hoards of clueless hipster shoalers who often jostle and bump you as they squeeze by you to the front of the line of bikes waiting for a light to change, and only unclipping one foot to put on the ground while waiting at a busy intersection in this city is dicey maneuver.

The face you fall on will only be your own.

I love my eggbeaters, but when I am going to be bombing around the city running errands I'm almost always going to be on my bike with good BMX platform pedals.    I've done Critical Mass a few times with my 'beaters.  It can get "interesting" at times...

If someone is clipped in and falls because they weren't paying attention to what is going on in front of them and didn't get unclipped in time to put a foot down I have a hard time feeling sorry for them and blaming anyone but the rider who doesn't know how to properly ride a bike in traffic or use their chosen equipment.

The world is full of choices, good and bad. 

Permalink Reply by Duppie on August 20, 2012 at 2:02am

Yes

Justin B Newman said:

Should a bicyclist have additional responsibility for his/her own injuries when clipped in?

-jbn

Permalink Reply by Liz on August 20, 2012 at 3:43am

He may have been sitting waiting for traffic to clear prior to parallel parking and then suddenly turned into the spot, jutted his car out into the street.  If this is the case, the cyclist may have given safe clearence and then the driver suddenly moved further into the street.  Honestly I have no good information on the subject, and I would recommend to either get some sort of report and talk to insurance.  

Ask him for repair estimates.  The damage could be anywhere from $100-$1000 depending on the wheel set and bike.  If its a small amount and you feel partially responsible, offer to pay half.  If its a large amount you need to get some legal advice.  

Permalink Reply by Far'arned Retrogrumpalunkus #63 on August 20, 2012 at 3:57am

I'm pretty sure that a vehicle that is attempting to parallel park is entitled to the full traffic lane adjacent to parking spot and from whence he is starting the maneuver.   An over-taking vehicle must yield the right of way to a vehicle in front of them as that other vehicle was there first and has the right of way.  The passing vehicle has the responsibility to make a safe pass with enough clearance and not simply buzz the slower (or stopped/backing) vehicle within that same lane.    This is true in a "sharrow" as well as a non-sharrow situation.

If the parallel-parker has to maneuver across a marked bike lane to get to a parking spot I'm not sure how that works exactly.   That gets complicated and I'd love for one of the cycling lawyers on here to comment on that.

If a vehicle is already parked and is pulling OUT of a parking spot into the traffic lane adjacent to his spot then they do NOT have the right of way and must yield to traffic in that lane, however if they are still maneuvering as part of parking then over-taking traffic must yield to the parallel-parker until they have vacated the traffic lane fully and no longer are using it to maneuver into the parking spot.

Permalink Reply by dan brown on August 20, 2012 at 4:06am

i am still trying to figure out why 'bent tires' (from the OP) are a problem ?

 

I assume she meant rims ?

 

either way - we need a lot more info here but I'm sure this will be an unsolved mystery forever on the CL.

 

DB

Permalink Reply by Far'arned Retrogrumpalunkus #63 on August 20, 2012 at 4:15am

+1

Unsolved Mysteries R Us

dan brown said:

i am still trying to figure out why 'bent tires' (from the OP) are a problem ?

 

I assume she meant rims ?

 

either way - we need a lot more info here but I'm sure this will be an unsolved mystery forever on the CL.

 

DB

Permalink Reply by Dragonborn on August 20, 2012 at 5:04am

Wasn't declaring anything, just giving some perspective.



h' said:

I'm sorry, we don't even have a complete account from this woman, or an account that makes reasonable sense:

I saw him coming but my turning into my spot was a real quick problem, HELP!!!!

And we're declaring fault, or lack thereof? Wtf?

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