What happens if you hit a cyclist with your car?

Question

50-50 responsibility, if the cyclist has no insurance. Broken arm for the cyclist and broken bike. Dented door car.

Answer 1

Probably the death penalty,,,

Its nearly always the car drivers fault.. IE responsibility.

Answer 2

It will probably be your insurance company that foots the bill. The cyclist is considered a pedestrian.

Answer 3

Bicyclists typically don't carry insurance, as it isn't required (after all, there's relatively little damage you can do with a bicycle to an automobile). If you hit a cyclist with a car, your own liability insurance would cover half of his expenses if he's deemed to be 50% at fault for the accident. However, he still has the option of suing you and trying to get more if he feels your insurance company's decision wasn't fair.

Answer 4

A lot depends on the laws where you are - where did this occur.  Katie, for example, says the cyclist would be considered a pedestrian - certainly not true in Canada, where bikes are considered vehicles, the same as farm tractors.

If the cyclist also has a car with liability insurance, or even a home with liability insurance, then that may also affect the situation.

And of course, is health care where you live public or private?  If public, you don't have to pay towards treating the broken arm, it's taken care of.

I wonder, too, how your car could have been stopped when the cyclist hit you, if a bus had already stopped so you could go....or did you see the cyclist coming and manage to stop in time to be hit?

Answer 5

as a cyclist I know that some other cyclists are very irresponsible but no more so than drivers of cars, vans etc. but it is hard to get more that 15 mph on most normal bikes unless you are going down a steep hill or are very fit

part of the problem is that many people just do not look out for bicycles - even if the vehicle is parked and they are opening their door (that one nearly got me)

Answer 6

Any accident where there is an injury and the Police should have been called.

Points come to mind.

Answer 7

Vary rarely will you find a 50/50 split of responsibility since one of the parties most likely had a duty and failed to exercise that duty which lead to the accident

New Info: Hard to know about who had the right away by your explanation the fact that you where stop is immaterial sometimes for liability, who had the right away? if it was the bike who had the right away, you impeded this and the bike did not have enough time to stop you are at fault

Answer 8

It depends on the angle and how hard you hit them .

Usually they fall to the ground and slide and depending on your speed would determine how far.

But on some occasion at just the right angle they can get airborne and sail for well over a hundred feet..

Answer 9

electron .......thats exactly what the bus drivers do in the philippines.  For real !  ...............   It is cheaper for the bus companys to pay funeral expenses , than hospital fees .

Answer 10

Your insurance company should be able to sort it out, never admit liability. I have always said that cyclists should be insured.

Answer 11

Some cyclists have terrible attitudes. Some are so careless. One guy decided not to brake when a girl walked in front of him and she died. Murderers!

Answer 12

there's always a cyclist coming. I've had that so many times as a cyclist... i'm sailing through an intersection and because the car that is turning right stops, others who want to turn coming the other way think it's ok. If you can't see that nothings coming, you should only edge slowly forward.

and the fact that your car wasn't moving makes no difference. If you drove into his path so that he couldn't avoid you it's your fault.

sorry if I've misunderstood, and sorry i've not directly answered your question, but that's the most common near miss i have as a cyclist.

Answer 13

If you are in the U.K.:

Cyclists don't need insurance.

Most courts will find in favour of the cyclist where it's 50/50.  Sorry, but that's the truth

Answer 14

talk to a lawyer to get good advice..

Answer 15

You get 10 points in the little game that everyone plays in their head.

Ok, ok. To be honest, you should have called the police and allowed them to come out and take a report of what happened. Nothing may happen at all, you may get a ticket, or you may have to go to court. It all depends on what the officer reports and if the person tries to take you to court.

Answer 16

My suggestion is trying to get as much as information as you could before making any decision,here is a good resourece.http://carinsurance.expertsupport.info/a...

Answer 17

You have to reverse back over him and make sure he's dead.

Answer 18

In the US, you better notify your insurance company. Even if the cyclist was 99% at fault, some scumbag lawyer will try to blame you.