Son's bike damaged WWYD?

[Justsyd2]

I think your son should not have parked on the driveway behind a car.

I feel the same. Your son should never park a bike in a driveway behind a car.

 

[Tina]

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.

I love a good debate. Thanks for increasing my heart rate this afternoon.

 

[tinkarooni]

I love a good debate. Thanks for increasing my heart rate this afternoon.

Truly my pleasure.....sometimes we need to hear each others viewpoints.....I've enjoyed it thoroughly. See the DISers can disagree and still get along just fine.

 

[PaulaSue]

OP, your son should have known better to leave a bike in someone's driveway. I wouldn't pay for the damage or have the other person pay. I would make him earn enough to fix it his-self. A great lesson for him to learn!

 

[Psychodisney]

My son took the bike in to the shop.
Repairs will cost approx $60. Certainly not something I would consider sueing for or ruining a cordial relationship over.
My son feels like it was his fault. He will pay for it and learn from it. I just felt like there is shared responsibiilty, but I won't pursue anything. (Yes, he layed it down and didn't use the kick stand) One of the first lessons in drivers ed is checking the surroundings of your vehicle. Still fresh in my son's mind!

 

[Leajess99]

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.

Folks, this is so VERY important. Yesterday while at a local restaurant a car was backing out and she almost hit an employee who was bent down to pick something up off the road. I honked my horn to stop the driver because I did not want to witness someone being hit. While, yes the kid is responsible for taking proper care of his bike, the driver should also check to make sure nothing is behind his or her vehicle.

 

[brymolmom]

Folks, this is so VERY important. Yesterday while at a local restaurant a car was backing out and she almost hit an employee who was bent down to pick something up off the road. I honked my horn to stop the driver because I did not want to witness someone being hit. While, yes the kid is responsible for taking proper care of his bike, the driver should also check to make sure nothing is behind his or her vehicle.

Of COURSE they need to check - however, a driver will NOT be able to see a bike lying flat NOR a person leaning WAY over to pick something up....even a very diligent mirror and over the shoulder and out all windows checker won't be able to see that. That's when it is the responsibility of the person picking something up to check for cars first (as I tell my 6 and7 year olds CONSTANTLY in parking lots) OR the responsibility of the parent to ensure their young child does not dart in the path of a moving vehicle OR the responsibilty of the bike or other toy or object owner not to leave their object in the would-be path of a much heavier machine that is sure to crush it.

 

[hsmamato2]

Sometimes I think 16 yo have little more forethought than a 6yo!

HAHAHA! you'd think so,until you are in the middle of raising a teen son,then you realize the 6 year olds are WAY more on the ball......

 

[Daddy_of_Princesses]

Since the bike was laying down, then I would have to say your son is partly at fault, and so is the driver of the car. If the bike had been on the kickstand then I would have put all the blame on the driver. Backing into a bike, or backing into a car, it's the same thing, but in this case the driver does have a slight out since the bike wasn't standing up,

 

[nordkin]

I believe the driver is at fault. Our company has a policy called circle for safety that must be done whenever you leave your vehicle and return or after you have circled and stayed in the vehicle for more tha two minutes. The reason---- ten years ago an employee circled his bucket truck, I work for the elctric company, sat in his vehicle completing paperwork, backed up when the paperwork was finished, and ran over and killed a 3 year old child that has rode his tricycle behind the truck and could not be seen in the mirrors.. I never get in a vehicle without circling for safety first. The few seconds it takes could potentially save a life and you also can see if any damage that was done to your vehicle while it was parked.

 

[dimimi]

The owner of the car is responsible for hitting the bike. As a driver you are required to make sure your path is clear before backing up. The driver didn't make sure that there was nothing in his/her way before backing up and hit something.

Maybe your child shouldn't have left a bike behind a parked car, but that is really not the determing factor as to who is responsible for the damages. The responsibility is always on the driver to make sure the path is clear when backing up.

In a court of law the driver would be held responsible.

This is what I was going to say. This happened to us last summer. A 10 year old neighbor boy parked behind our van. My DH ran it over. Not only did it damage the bike, it put a hole in the bumper costing over $1000 to fix. We still haven't fixed the van and my DH bought and fixed the bike. I feel it was irresponsible of the child and I have told this child MANY times not to do this. However...my DH really felt that as a driver it is his responsibility to check behind the vehicle. As much as it bothered me, I have to agree. It is the driver's responsibility to make sure the area behind the vehicle is clear. Yes it is inconvenient to move a bike, but it could be a little kid, animal, etc.

 

[Hans Moleman]

I think your son should not have parked on the driveway behind a car.

Ditto

 

[Indiana Rose Lee]

Never leave a bike in the drive. I would blame no one but my son.

 

[A Mickeyfan]

I know you aren't going to like my answer, but leaving your bike behind a car & then it gets ran over.. that isn't the drivers fault, but the owner of the bikes fault. At your son's age, he should be aware of where he is leaving his bike. Especially since he will be a driver soon of a car.. yes, those backing out of driveways look behind them, but they cannot see a bike laying on the ground. I would be worried his bike did damage to the car & the owner of the car would be coming after me.. sorry again, but I look at it as your son's fault. My son left my daughters bike in our driveway.. and we ran it over. It was my son's fault, point blank. If it took place in your driveway, you ran it over, your feelings would be that it is all the person who left the bike there's fault...

 

[polineedyan]

I have to go Judge Judy on this one. Was the child negligent in leaving the bike parked or laying in the driveway? No. Thats where bikes go. Cars too.
Tell me youre not suggesting the bike be left in the lawn, or in front of a door..Like in some obscure place, 'out of sight' lol. I think the kid used good judgement in leaving his bike in the driveway. He's doing what he sees done. There is no law stating a bike should have a kickstand. Its certainly not there to make the bike visible.
Had the driver walked around his car to make sure any obstacles, ie the family cat, were not in his path, would the bike have been run over? No.
Its the driver's negligence that led to the damage of the bike.
Had the driver not operated the vehicle, the bike would not be damaged.
The owner of the car has no claim to damages. Not any more than he/she would, had a dog been asleep behind the car.
Its not a matter of opinion here. You dont have to have assured distance from your point of view, meaning from the seat, you have to have complete assured distance.
If law enforcement were involved, the driver would have been cited for 'improper backing.'
Now, how much is a new rim? 20 bucks?
How much is your friendship?
lets get back to disney

 

[EKW]

Your son is at fault. Nobody owes him a penny. I'd give him lots of sympathy...but nothing else.

My parents taught us that lesson the hard way...if we were caught laying a bike down instead of using a kickstand, or leaving it anywhere except next to the house, we lost the use of the bike for a week.

I'm not that tough on my kids, but they know that if a bike is left laying down, it goes away for the day. Ditto leaving anywhere except for in it's spot on the porch or in the garage.

Teaching kids to take proper care of their belongings is common sense. Letting them suffer the consequences when they don't is common sense, too.

I'll admit to being totally befuddled by the folks here who can't tell the difference between a car or motorcycle and a bike. I don't know any motorcyclists who lay their motorcycle on the ground, but, if they did, and it got run over, tough cookies. I don't know of any cars so small that you can't see them from a car's mirrors. I'm going to guess that some people here just like to argue and don't care how illogical a point of view they have to take to do so.

 

[quentina]

My vote is for your son. He needs to be responsible for where he put's his stuff.

 

[skw444]

Just curious...for those that say it's the 16 yr old's fault...where should he have put his bike if not on the driveway??

 

[Scurvy]

Just curious...for those that say it's the 16 yr old's fault...where should he have put his bike if not on the driveway??

I think leaving it in the driveway is fine. Leaving it lying behind a car in a driveway, on the other hand, is foolish. I suspect there were probably other places it could have been placed (lawn, sidewalk, elsewhere in the driveway) where it wouldn't have been likely to be run over by someone and would have been more visible.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Just curious...for those that say it's the 16 yr old's fault...where should he have put his bike if not on the driveway??

Well, one person suggested the walkway, skw444 - although then I don't know where people would be expected to walk (and yes, I do know the difference between walkway and sidewalk).

Frankly, simply based on the name, nothing should be parked in a driveway... should it?

Couple of things I found interesting: first, that the adult was visiting the house and was apparently not already in the vehicle preparing to back up out of the driveway when the bicycle suddenly ended up there, so the driver did have the opportunity to notice the car's surroundings before entering it; and that the visitor and the homeowner were angry at the bicycle owner for . The OP says nothing about any damage to the car. What are they upset about???