Crashes Lord... so i hit someone on a bike with my car... advice?

[GoldenEagleChris]

The guy in the big metal coffin with wheels is at fault.

2 hail marys
1 our father
2 shots of Patron
1 bud light lime

You will be forgiven.

 

[flashstar]

I am not a fan of the idea that car drivers are always at fault no matter what. If the kid ran into you and the fault was his, he should be required to compensate you for any damage caused to your car in addition to you being let off the hook.

 

[loquin]

If the kid was riding his bike, per AZ law, he was NOT a pedestrian. Plus, he was coming the wrong (opposite traffic) way, on the sidewalk. Sidewalks are for pedestrians, NOT for bike riders, for this very reason.

 

[loquin]

BTW. In this thread, I've posted a copy of "A Law Officer’s Guide to Bicycle Safety - Reference Guide," which is referenced by many states legislature, when they work on their bicycle laws.

In it,the author (A policeman) states on page 8:

In about one out of ten car-bike collisions, the bicyclist was riding on the sidewalk or on a crosswalk. Bicyclists who habitually ride on the sidewalk and across crosswalks are more at risk of car-bike collisions than those who ride on adjacent roadways. The crash rate per mile for sidewalk riding was 1.8 times greater than the rate for using the adjacent roadway (Wachtel and Lewiston 1994). According to the same study, riding on the sidewalk opposite the flow of traffic is 4.3 times more likely to result in a car-bike collision than riding on the road with the flow of traffic. [my bolding - loq] There is also a heightened risk of colliding with a pedestrian when riding on a sidewalk. However, in the case of a bicycle-motor vehicle crash on a sidewalk or crosswalk, the motorist could be legally at fault, if the cyclist had the right of way. Most states prohibit cycling on sidewalks in business districts. Whether cycling is permitted on other sidewalks often depends on local ordinances.

The FIRST thing you need to do is to go to court, to get the "striking a pedestrian" ticket tossed out. THAT causes the civil suit to lose much of its case.