Son's bike damaged WWYD?

[Oglet]

Poor Kids....

Park it in the grass and someone trips over it and they are in trouble or someone yells at them for riding their bike over their lawn.

Park it on the sidewalk someone could trip over it and then again they are in trouble.

Park it in the drive way and someone drives over it, well you should have known better and they are out a bike.

 

[DISNEY1975]

Yes, I agree with you. I would think it's obvious that especially in a minivan or SUV, where your rear window is a certain height off the ground, you would not be able to see a child who is shorter than that window. The child wouldn't have to be lying on the ground to be unseen.

It really makes me wonder what all these small children are doing unsupervised in driveways? My kids a) never played in the driveway b) as they got a little older, they did ride their bikes, with supervision c) if my husband or I were leaving in the car, whoever was with the kids would pull them to the grass area until the car was gone.

We are not talking about a child. We are talking about a 16 year old leaving a bike behind a car in someones driveway and now the parent wants someone to pay.

No wonder why teens these days are the way they are.

 

[A Mickeyfan]

Based on many of the replies, I hope my car is never parked behind one of your cars since you will blame it on me if you back into my car.

a car is easily seen, it isn't lying down below your view..
based on your logic, I hope you never run over a bike..

 

[A Mickeyfan]

It really makes me wonder what all these small children are doing unsupervised in driveways? My kids a) never played in the driveway b) as they got a little older, they did ride their bikes, with supervision c) if my husband or I were leaving in the car, whoever was with the kids would pull them to the grass area until the car was gone.

We are not talking about a child. We are talking about a 16 year old leaving a bike behind a car in someones driveway and now the parent wants someone to pay.

No wonder why teens these days are the way they are.

agree... a 16 year old that will be driving one day soon.. and may be running over someones bike.... the shoe will be on the other foot then. Wonder how the family would respond if that were to happen.. their car damaged by some 16 year old carelessly leaving their bike in the dark, on the ground, behind a car.

 

[Daddy_of_Princesses]

a car is easily seen, it isn't lying down below your view..
based on your logic, I hope you never run over a bike..

My point is, the driver of the car has the responsibilty of knowing what is around it. Let's put it this way, I am driving down the highway, and I look in my rear-view mirrors, and my side mirrors and don't see anything, so I switch lanes. Unfortunately there is a car in my blind spot, is it that drivers fault since he shouldn't have been in my blind spot? Obviously this is an exagerated way of looking at this situation, but the driver of the car does bear some responsibility here. I have also stated before in this thread that since the bike was laying down, and the kid didn't use his kickstand he is also partially responsible here, but someone can put a bike on it's kickstand, and leave it behind a minivan or suv, and the driver would never see it. Same could be said for a motorcycle if it is parked close enough to the vehicle, so would it be the motorcycle owners fault if someoen backed into it?

And yes, I hope I never run over a bike, because that means I didn't fulfill my obligation as a driver of a vehicle.

 

[wvjules]

Based on many of the replies, I hope my car is never parked behind one of your cars since you will blame it on me if you back into my car.

Yea because a car parked behind another car is as hidden as a bike LAYING behind a car.

Gotta love the ridiculous comparsions that pop up on the DIS.

 

[wvjules]

Poor Kids....

Park it in the grass and someone trips over it and they are in trouble or someone yells at them for riding their bike over their lawn.

Park it on the sidewalk someone could trip over it and then again they are in trouble.

Park it in the drive way and someone drives over it, well you should have known better and they are out a bike.

To me, parked is it standing upright on a kickstand. Laying on the ground haphazardly is not parked.

 

[robinb]

I still wonder why the visiting adult didn't see the bike when they got into their car. It's not like the car was in the garage.

I started reading the thread thinking that the teen was at fault and then changed to thinking that the driver was at fault. The driver should be aware of what is behind them when they start to back up. The fact that the bike might not have been seen out the back window does not exempt the driver.

 

[Daddy_of_Princesses]

Yea because a car parked behind another car is as hidden as a bike LAYING behind a car.

Gotta love the ridiculous comparsions that pop up on the DIS.

It isn't a rediculous comparison. I bet if you parked a Fiero behind an SUV, you wouldn't see the car. If you parked a motorcycle behind a mini-van or SUV you may not see it either.

 

[polineedyan]

I just dont see how this can be made any more easy to understand..
Ask the driver what happened.
Driver, what happened? 'I ran over the bike'
Why? "I didnt see it"
There's two "I's" right there.
NOW DO YOU SEE?

 

[stitchlovestink]

It really makes me wonder what all these small children are doing unsupervised in driveways? My kids a) never played in the driveway b) as they got a little older, they did ride their bikes, with supervision c) if my husband or I were leaving in the car, whoever was with the kids would pull them to the grass area until the car was gone.

We are not talking about a child. We are talking about a 16 year old leaving a bike behind a car in someones driveway and now the parent wants someone to pay.

No wonder why teens these days are the way they are.

Bolding is mine...
Wow snarky much??? Did you read the entire thread? I did and I do not recall the parent wanting someone else to pay!! OP commented she was surprised that they didn't offer to pay 1/2 and were so angry. You have made it sound like the parent was demanding the driver of the car pay for the damages to the bike...which by law, the driver would've been responsible for... I seem to recall somewhere in the middle of the thread, the OP said that the 16yo was paying the costs.

Poor Kids....

Park it in the grass and someone trips over it and they are in trouble or someone yells at them for riding their bike over their lawn.

Park it on the sidewalk someone could trip over it and then again they are in trouble.

Park it in the drive way and someone drives over it, well you should have known better and they are out a bike.

I agree completely!! they are darned no matter what they do. Growing up, I was to park my bike on the grass at my house, at my BF's it was to stay OFF of the grass and be left on their driveway. I don't think it is unreasonable for them to park a bike on the driveway. It's not a toy like a skateboard or scooter or tricycle.

I still wonder why the visiting adult didn't see the bike when they got into their car. It's not like the car was in the garage.

I started reading the thread thinking that the teen was at fault and then changed to thinking that the driver was at fault. The driver should be aware of what is behind them when they start to back up. The fact that the bike might not have been seen out the back window does not exempt the driver.

AGREED completely!!

I just dont see how this can be made any more easy to understand..
Ask the driver what happened.
Driver, what happened? 'I ran over the bike'
Why? "I didnt see it"
There's two "I's" right there.
NOW DO YOU SEE?

how true...how true

 

[luvsJack]

Do people really circle their vehicles before getting in them? I've never seen that before. When my kids leave their bikes or scooters in the driveway, I tell them to move them, so they don't get run over.

After damaging a paint job or two, I look. Not all of the things belong to my kdis.

It really makes me wonder what all these small children are doing unsupervised in driveways? My kids a) never played in the driveway b) as they got a little older, they did ride their bikes, with supervision c) if my husband or I were leaving in the car, whoever was with the kids would pull them to the grass area until the car was gone.

We are not talking about a child. We are talking about a 16 year old leaving a bike behind a car in someones driveway and now the parent wants someone to pay.

No wonder why teens these days are the way they are.

I don't know about "all these kids" but I do know of a grandfather that backed over his 3 year old granddaughter. She had been playing in the side yard but they are assuming she wanted to dig in the softer dirt in the driveway. He did not even think there was a possiblity of a child being in the driveway and ran over her. After that, I figure 2 seconds to look is much better than a life time of heartache.





And the comparison to a car? Not so ridiculous. My dh got into his pick up at the store, looked behind him, started to back out and CRUNCH! Had no clue what he had just hit. Jumped out and looked. Tiny little sports car had pulled up just to the corner of his back bumper. Could not see it. He now makes sure he walks up to the driver's side door by walking behind his truck. Better safe than sorry.

 

[crisi]

There are a few things going on here....

Who has the ethical liability - in my opinion its shared. You should look behind you when pulling out and you shouldn't lie your bike down behind a car in a driveway.

Who has legal liability - for $60 - you can't establish that. While not looking behind you and killing a child would make you criminally negligent, I don't think you'd see the same result over a bike.

The etiquette at play here. In that case, the person who ran over the bike should call and say 'I'm so sorry, I ran over your son's bike. Let me know what the bill is and I'll pay for it.' And the parent should say "Thank you, but Bobby should really know better than to set his bike down behind a car. Maybe paying for his own repairs will make him remember next time. I hope your car didn't get scratched." And that is that. Since the call didn't come, you couldn't do the right thing and refuse them to take responsibility.

 

[allison443]

There are a few things going on here....

Who has the ethical liability - in my opinion its shared. You should look behind you when pulling out and you shouldn't lie your bike down behind a car in a driveway.

Who has legal liability - for $60 - you can't establish that. While not looking behind you and killing a child would make you criminally negligent, I don't think you'd see the same result over a bike.

The etiquette at play here. In that case, the person who ran over the bike should call and say 'I'm so sorry, I ran over your son's bike. Let me know what the bill is and I'll pay for it.' And the parent should say "Thank you, but Bobby should really know better than to set his bike down behind a car. Maybe paying for his own repairs will make him remember next time. I hope your car didn't get scratched." And that is that. Since the call didn't come, you couldn't do the right thing and refuse them to take responsibility.

No one talked about criminal liability...I think everyone was referring to civil liability, where you are liable for money damages. Whether the driver is civilly liable or not doesn't depend on whether he ran over a bike, a pet or a person. Liability either exists or it doesn't exist- it doesn't only exist if you killed someone, but not if you injured someone or only damaged property. The liability is the same-it stems from the driver breaching a duty to operate his vehicle carefully, and thus the driver is liable for any resulting damages, whether it's a $60 bicycle, or something much more tragic. I guess I don't see why people don't understand that?

I do agree with your last paragraph. I personally think that would be the best case scenario.

 

[crisi]

No one talked about criminal liability...I think everyone was referring to civil liability, where you are liable for money damages. Whether the driver is civilly liable or not doesn't depend on whether he ran over a bike, a pet or a person. Liability either exists or it doesn't exist- it doesn't only exist if you killed someone, but not if you injured someone or only damaged property. The liability is the same-it stems from the driver breaching a duty to operate his vehicle carefully, and thus the driver is liable for any resulting damages, whether it's a $60 bicycle, or something much more tragic. I guess I don't see why people don't understand that?

I do agree with your last paragraph. I personally think that would be the best case scenario.

I don't think you'll find civil liability over $60 worth of damages either. Because the responsibility is shared. He has an obligation to operate his vehicle safely. The kid has an obligation not to lie his bike down behind a car. The law has room it it to treat this differently than something more tragic.

 

[eeyore#1fan]

What I'd like to know is if either the driver of the car or the owner of the bike were tipped properly??????? I think 20% is standard in these types of situations.

 

[Judique]

It isn't a rediculous comparison. I bet if you parked a Fiero behind an SUV, you wouldn't see the car. If you parked a motorcycle behind a mini-van or SUV you may not see it either.

You are correct. I have several training films for drivers which emphasize this point. It's almost amazing how hidden a vehicle can be in blind spots directly behind another vehicle. The driver is at fault for not physically checking behind their car and knowing what they can or cannot see behind them.

That said - as the parent I would have been too bad so sad to the teen - don't park a bike behind a car - some adults are just not going to take a few seconds to check - it should be done but people just don't make it a habit. They assume that no one would drop something valuable where it can be run over and that people are watching their kids.

 

[Leajess99]

It really makes me wonder what all these small children are doing unsupervised in driveways? My kids a) never played in the driveway b) as they got a little older, they did ride their bikes, with supervision c) if my husband or I were leaving in the car, whoever was with the kids would pull them to the grass area until the car was gone.

We are not talking about a child. We are talking about a 16 year old leaving a bike behind a car in someones driveway and now the parent wants someone to pay.

No wonder why teens these days are the way they are.

How about neighbor kids?? Just because you do something does NOT mean that all the neighbors around you follow the same theories or perform the same actions. If I see a child outside (not my own because I know where they are, etc) when I am leaving, I always make sure where they are and I will tell them to get up in the grass or on the sidewalk where I can see them BEFORE I ever move my vehicle.

Okay, so the kid is 16 and left the bike in a DRIVEWAY. The driver had a responsibility to make sure it was clear and safe PRIOR to backing up.

I love how you want to blame this one teen for "how teens are today." The reason so many teens have issues is because of the way they were brought up. Many teens are very considerate, hard working, respectful individuals. The teens that I see with the gimme attitudes are the ones that have been given everything their whole lives. When my son's high school yearbook has a section talking about cool cars and sharing the different cars and how each kid attained them, it showed me how ridiculous it has gotten. Every kid pictured was given their car and some were also given their insurance, and has gas paid for by their parents. We are not talking about an old hoopty car but rather cars like a camero, Crossfire, Mercedes slk convertible, Colorado truck, and a mustang convertible just to name a few. This is where a lot of the problems fall with teens that think they should be given everything and not responsible.

As for the 16 year old in question, do you not think he has beaten himself up on this?? But for the adults to get mad because THE DRIVER failed to make sure it was safe to back her vehicle out is ridiculous. As for those stating he should not have laid the bike down flat, how do you know he did not attempt to use the kickstand?? I know that in the past 13 years of having kids with bikes, not all kickstands work correctly or the bike could have very well been knocked over. We were NOT there and do not physically know the type of bike or whatnot. I know that when I get in my vehicle, I or my 17 year old makes sure there is nothing and no one behind it. I did have a van before and did the same thing prior to ever moving it. You just never know what could be there whether your child, a neighbor, etc has put something there or what not.

 

[sookie]

I guess you don't have small kids because they don't have to be lying down to be backed over by a car. Just ask many of the drivers who have accidentally ran over a child and killed them because they did not physically check before they backed up. The mirrors are only an aid but if you fail to do the most responsible thing in walking behind your vehicle to make sure it is clear than you are at fault. Oh and small kids do sometimes run behind a vehicle without thinking as well.

its called the bye bye phenomenon and is very common - and sad. many children have died doing this.

 

[a1tinkfans]

Last night, my DS16 was visiting a friend and left his bicycle on the driveway. An adult who was visiting that house as well, backed out of the driveway and damaged the front wheel of the bicycle.
Apparently, the friend's mother and the adult who hit the bike were angry with my son and felt the total responsibility falls on my son. I agree it was stupid of him to park his bike on the driveway behind a car but, also feel that the driver of the car bears some responsibility as well. I know if I had hit a friend's bike, I would at least offer to pay half.
What do you think?

I "think" that is why people have insurance, namely coverage you pay for to take the risk away from YOU and place it on the carrier.
And if it was a child behind the car????? I mean really, you don't back up without looking, fact!
All they had to do was call in a simple claim, aggravation averted and no ones policy goes up for this stuff, if only all claims were this easy........