Son's bike damaged WWYD?

[Sadie22]

Claims Adjuster here. The answer is different depending on how you are looking at it. Many of you are looking at the question as a parent. So I think that you are probably right about teaching a child responsiblity and taking care of his things. A 16 y/o should not leave his bike laying down behind a car. My question is though was the bike laying down or standing up on a kickstand? If it was laying down the driver of the car would have some responsibility but so would your son, if it was standing up the driver would have all responsibility. Where else would a person park a bike if not a driveway? Certainly not the front lawn or the flower bed. The driver of the car has a responsibility to not back into something. The bike could have been a small child. motorcycle or another car. Although it is not the popular response the answer is probably the driver of the car's fault, although I am missing some key info. I will tell you I have had these cases before a magistrate many many times and I know of what I speak.

The driver of the car was careless not to check on all sides of his or her vehicle for small children, pets, etc. before backing up. There could have been a tragedy. There have been tragedies because of this sort of carelessness. Basic driver safety classes teach to walk around your vehicle before getting in and starting it up. The driver of the car damaged the bicycle and should pay for at least some of the damages.

The 16 year old parked a bicycle on a driveway, the proper thing to do -- but I bet he will use a grassy area in the future. He did not use poor judgment, just trust that a parked car would remain parked. Has the bike owner learned not to be trusting that others will exercise proper judgment? Will the bike owner be a more careful driver of a car due to this experience? I hope so.

 

[Disneyrsh]

ok

 

[magik]

I have to go with those who say the driver is fully responsible for this. They hit the bike, the bike didn't hit the car. As others have said, if that bicycle had been something else, like a motorcycle or a pet or a child, everyone would say it's the driver's fault. It's no different because it was a bicycle - it's the driver's responsibility to make sure their path is clear before going.

Is parking a bike right behind a parked car the smartest place to park it? Probably not. But I think parking a bike on a driveway is a perfectly reasonable place to park a bike, and the driveway is where I would expect anyone riding a bike to my house to park it, not on my grass or anywhere else. Telling the kid it's his fault and his fault alone for parking his bike there is also possibly teaching him that when he drives and backs into something, it won't be his fault, it will be the fault of whoever put the thing there.

 

[okeydokey]

Well unless you are going to sue them it seems they are not going to pony up for bike repairs. Your son should have been more careful. Lesson learned.

 

[PurplePinkleEater]

what is it, 5 mph is the maximum speed for reverse gear?

Not if you're Edward Cullen



The walkway leading up to the house works well for bikes.

 

[DVC-Don]

We had a neighbor girl who left her scooter in our drive and my wife ran it over. It popped up and wacked the side of my wifes car. Her parents paid our $450 body repair bill.

 

[Tina]

We had a similar incident occur at our house. Our neighbor's daughter left her bike in our driveway at the end of the day. Please note that we have NO children and there was no reason for her bike to be in our driveway. It was lying down on the pavement. The next morning DH got into his truck in the garage at 5am and opened the garage door with the remote. He backed out into the dark driveway and CRUNCH. Her bike was toast.

We did not offer to pay for the damage and they didn't dare ask. The girl was 6 or 7 at the time. While it may be a bit young to be held responsible, I feel that her parents were 100% responsible and I hope that they used this incident as a lesson in why kids need to collect all of their toys back into their own yard at the end of the day. Unfortunately, I don't think they did since we had to endure several more years of picking up their toys from our yard, driving around scooters and skateboard ramps left in the MIDDLE of the street, etc.

 

[mrsbornkuntry]

If my child was at home I would expect them not to park their bike on the driveway, but at someone else's home where they aren't to hurt the grass or block the sidewalk with it, I think it was perfectly reasonable that he parked it in the driveway. I agree with the posters who said it's the driver's responsibility to check behind their vehicle before backing it out. If it had damaged the car then it would be their own fault for backing over a bike.

I can see finding the bike behind your car before you back out and asking him not to park there and offering an alternative suggestion for when he visits, but after they back over the bike it's their own fault.

 

[DISdreamin']

Should the child have parked his bike behind a car? probably not.... should the driver of the car been aware of their surroundings prior to operating the vehicle.... absolutely.

I have to admit to thinking the driver bears responsibility for this accident. No, the bike shouldn't have been there, but it doesn't make it any less their responsibility to make sure the path is clear before proceeding.

When I open the door and back out of my garage, I have fears of running over one of my kids bikes! If that happened because I didn't get out and check to make sure the path was clear, I'd be mad at my kids for leaving their bikes laying around, but it would be MY fault for not checking before I moved my vehicle.

Bottom line, there is a big difference between "you shouldn't have left it laying there" and "I'm not responsible for running over it", IMHO.

That said, I'd chalk it up to a lesson learned and have DS pay for it. It's not worth pursuing for the $100 or less the fix will probably cost (assuming the fork and frame are alright and it's just a pretzel-ed wheel).

 

[Disneyrsh]

ok

 

[mickeylove2]

Pretend for a minute the bike is actually a motorcycle parked in the driveway I suspect some of the replies may have been different.

Before you reverse you are responsible for making sure it is clear and safe to do so. If the driver had run over a young child or a family pet would be looking at this different?

Should the child have parked his bike behind a car? probably not.... should the driver of the car been aware of their surroundings prior to operating the vehicle.... absolutely.

Totally took the words from me!!

 

[tinkarooni]

We had a neighbor girl who left her scooter in our drive and my wife ran it over. It popped up and wacked the side of my wifes car. Her parents paid our $450 body repair bill.

People will often accept responsibility out of a moral obligation that they feel they owe. Often people will turn in a claim to me and feel that they were morally at fault, something like your story. Legally however your wife was probably at fault or at least majority at fault, these were probably good people who felt bad.

 

[tinkarooni]

Was the bike laying down or parked upright with kickstand' not that it really matters as it was a parked vehicle in a driveway. I think the responsibility is on the driver, part of driving is not hitting things. I can see where if it was laying down it was a bad idea to put it behind a car, but its still on the driver to make sure the path is clear. If they don't offer to fix the bike you as the parent should just pay and have it fixed and not penalize the child. It was a parked vehicle in a driveway, the kid (16 or 6) parked where you should park. As others have said we wouldn't even be having this conversation if it was a motorized vehicle of some sort.

We don't know all the details, that's why I said that if the bike was laying down the owner of the bike could have "some" responsibility. In my state it is called comparative negligence which means that each party could be a percentage at fault. Maybe, maybe not. Without a doubt though the driver of the car is majority at fault. I wanted to say something because the whole first page of posters seemed to tell OP her son was wrong. While I understand about teaching kids responsibility, it wasn't necessarily legally her son's fault. I also go back to where was he supposed to park it if not in the driveway. If it were my child I was also tell him that it was stupid to lay a bike down directly behind a car, but that still doesn't make it legally 100% his fault at all.

 

[tinkarooni]

We had a similar incident occur at our house. Our neighbor's daughter left her bike in our driveway at the end of the day. Please note that we have NO children and there was no reason for her bike to be in our driveway. It was lying down on the pavement. The next morning DH got into his truck in the garage at 5am and opened the garage door with the remote. He backed out into the dark driveway and CRUNCH. Her bike was toast.

We did not offer to pay for the damage and they didn't dare ask. The girl was 6 or 7 at the time. While it may be a bit young to be held responsible, I feel that her parents were 100% responsible and I hope that they used this incident as a lesson in why kids need to collect all of their toys back into their own yard at the end of the day. Unfortunately, I don't think they did since we had to endure several more years of picking up their toys from our yard, driving around scooters and skateboard ramps left in the MIDDLE of the street, etc.

This is an interesting conversation everyone's having. I am curious....if you did have damage to your vehicle would you have expected them to pay for the damage to your car? My second question would be if you ran over a small child who was trying to retrieve their ball that rolled under your car causing them injury would you still go after the parents for the damage to your vehicle?

While I can understand that a person might assume there is nothing behind them because they are in their driveway where there should not be anything behind them, we can not lower our guard just because we are in our own driveway when we are operating a two ton piece of machinery. Trust me, twice I backed into my husbands tractor that was not "supposed" to be there. While I would have liked to blame him, unfortunately it was my fault.

 

[Disneyrsh]

My second question would be if you ran over a small child who was trying to retrieve their ball that rolled under your car causing them injury would you still go after the parents for the damage to your vehicle?

wow.

 

[tinkarooni]

Only on the Dis do I read ludicrous stuff like this.

Hello, I'm uncertain why my question was ludicrous but I'll explain it if that will help. My point being exactly that, that it is ludicrous to think that if you ran over a small child you blame the parents of that small child.....however several posters have said that it is the parents fault when their child leaves a toy that you run over....there is little difference in the eyes of the law. The driver of the car needs to make sure they are not running over something before they proceed. The problem is that morally if a kid leaves a toy and someone runs over it the parents of the kid feels responsible....certainly they don't feel responsible if their child is run over....however the cause is the same.....the driver of the car did not see it(bike) them (child).

Edited to add: By the way, as ludicrous as it sounds I can guarantee you that my scenario is true. I have many instances where people have gone after the "injured party" for damage to their vehicles. If I could write a book....

 

[wdwfan16]

At 16 years old you son was old enough to know where to park his bike. He is responsible and needs to pay to repair his own bike.

 

[Tina]

I am curious....if you did have damage to your vehicle would you have expected them to pay for the damage to your car?

Yes, I would have expected them to pay the damages. Their child had no business leaving anything in our driveway. Whether it be a bike or a tackstrip that flattened our tires.

My second question would be if you ran over a small child who was trying to retrieve their ball that rolled under your car causing them injury would you still go after the parents for the damage to your vehicle?

First, I wouldn't expect a small child to be retrieving a ball in our driveway at 5am in the dark. Second, I think you're comparing the damage of a material possession with the injury or loss of human life, which is unfair.

Just for comparison sake, I'll tell you about the dog I hit once. I was driving after dark on a busy highway. Traffic was bumper to bumper. Suddenly I saw a dog's head in front of my headlights and I hit it faster than I could react. I came to a stop and saw that a couple and their daughter were riding horses (yes horses!) on the shoulder of the road and their dog was walking beside them, unleashed. He had wandered right in front of my car. I had no warning. The dog was convulsing on the side of the road, but he was breathing, their daughter was crying, and they were yelling at ME for hitting their dog. Finally, they decided to take the dog home and bury her, but she was BREATHING. I insisted on taking her to the vet. They agreed but had to take their horses home. I put the dog in the backseat of my NEW car and the daughter went with me. The couple agreed to meet me at the vet's office. The dog bled and threw up all over the inside of my car (not to mention had taken out a headlight and damaged my quarter panel). Fast forward to the end of the story: the dog had a concusion, but lived. I refused to pay the vet bill (even though the couple insisted) and the vet sided with me. I did not insist they pay for the damage to my car (although I should have). I was 25 and stupid. I should have billed them for all of it. But I had a heart.

 

[Tina]

.....however several posters have said that it is the parents fault when their child leaves a toy that you run over....there is little difference in the eyes of the law. The driver of the car needs to make sure they are not running over something before they proceed. The problem is that morally if a kid leaves a toy and someone runs over it the parents of the kid feels responsible....certainly they don't feel responsible if their child is run over....however the cause is the same.....the driver of the car did not see it(bike) them (child).

I've also run over a multitude of legos, army men, and other small toys with the lawn mower in my yard, left behind by my neighbor's children. Do you want to compare that to running over a child with the lawn mower too?

My answer is the same. If it damaged my lawnmower, I would have asked them to pay for repairs. Luckily, my lawnmower was always much tougher then their small toys.

But it all comes down to my same point, these kids needs to be taught by their parents to be responsible for their belongings or face the concequences.

 

[tinkarooni]

Yes, I would have expected them to pay the damages. Their child had no business leaving anything in our driveway. Whether it be a bike or a tackstrip that flattened our tires.




First, I wouldn't expect a small child to be retrieving a ball in our driveway at 5am in the dark. Second, I think you're comparing the damage of a material possession with the injury or loss of human life, which is unfair.

Just for comparison sake, I'll tell you about the dog I hit once. I was driving after dark on a busy highway. Traffic was bumper to bumper. Suddenly I saw a dog's head in front of my headlights and I hit it faster than I could react. I came to a stop and saw that a couple and their daughter were riding horses (yes horses!) on the shoulder of the road and their dog was walking beside them, unleashed. He had wandered right in front of my car. I had no warning. The dog was convulsing on the side of the road, but he was breathing, their daughter was crying, and they were yelling at ME for hitting their dog. Finally, they decided to take the dog home and bury her, but she was BREATHING. I insisted on taking her to the vet. They agreed but had to take their horses home. I put the dog in the backseat of my NEW car and the daughter went with me. The couple agreed to meet me at the vet's office. The dog bled and threw up all over the inside of my car (not to mention had taken out a headlight and damaged my quarter panel). Fast forward to the end of the story: the dog had a concusion, but lived. I refused to pay the vet bill (even though the couple insisted) and the vet sided with me. I did not insist they pay for the damage to my car (although I should have). I was 25 and stupid. I should have billed them for all of it. But I had a heart.

Thank you for your response. I was a little afraid that you would have taken my questions to you negatively but you did not, I appreciate that as they were not meant so. In your case you are right, when you are driving down the road and an unleashed dog runs into your lane of travel it is the owner of the dog's responsibility. You could have gone after them for your damages. So much of these issues however are intertwined with our moral opinions about things though, that is my point. Many times a person will feel bad for something and think they must pay for it. Feeling bad and being legally responsible are two different things. I will often say too that often times an adult finds it easy to blame a child, as in OP story, the driver of the car told her forget it, it was your kids fault....not necessarily.

I also agree with you a child is not likely to be in your driveway at 5:00 am however my point is the same. Thanks.