Knocked off my bike

impr0v

Cycling into college about three hours ago, through Terenure, moving at a good pace, when somebody opens their door on me, point blank, outside the cinema just the Harolds Cross side of Kenilworth crossroads. I have a split second image of it opening, and next thing i'm in pain and eating tarmac. I literally had no time to respond because of the speed I was going and his perfect timing. The door frame caught me in the chest and perhaps on the finger as the top of one of them is numb, and I hit my head off the road surface. I wasn't wearing a helmet (i know) and have a large bump and graze to the right side of my forehead. My chest is sore all across it and I have a mark at the point of impact and a scrape leading from it. There are a few other hot spots, on my hip and knee, and there seems to be something pulled in my arm.

I fell out onto the road, which was a bus lane and looked up to say 'you f****** idiot' to the guy in the car, then sprawled for a bit to get my bearings. A friendly cycle courier came over and offered to call an ambulance before helping me off the road. I was in a mild shock and didn't really know what to do. A woman then appeared who said I nearly fell in front of her car and she nearly got sick with the fright. I didn't feel like anything had been broken, so i declined the ambulance. The car driver was apologising over and over, and said he'll pay to fix my bike, which was in a bad way. He offered to bring me home, which I accepted after a while, but when we couldn't fit the bike in his boot, I said I'd make my own way home, as I really wanted to get rid of him. I rang my brother and while waiting for him to collect me I just burst into tears, and was still in tears when he arrived. was a strange experience.

I guess the moral of the story is, if you didn't know it already, watch out for car drivers, both stationary and moving.

Here's my bike, post accident:

The wheel didn't just buckle, it actually broke, as did the forks:

as you can see from the crack.

here's the unfortunate head and chest



I got the guys phone number and said I'd phone him after i got a quote for the damage to the bike. It'll be interesting to see how keen he is when he gets the bill for a new wheel and fork, probably about 300 quid. I took his reg number and was kicking myself for not getting the name of the woman who stopped, but I really wasn't thinking straight. The courier guy should be easy to find though, as he worked for cyclone and had a distinctive haircut.

qz

Wow, sorry to hear it. Hope you get reimbursed in the end. Let us know.

roadmanmad

You were haunted.

The exact same happened my cousin in Dublin in 1990. Cycling along, door opened, knocked over, truck drove over both legs. Months in Traction and followed by months in Dun laoighaire Rehab. He can walk now but thats about it.

You know now what you should have done. You got off lightly.

johnnyrotten

I see in the pic that the bike has no light. Did it?

impr0v

It had a flashing light front and back, they were taken off in the photo as I generally strip anything removable off it when leaving it in the car park. I was also wearing a hi-vis jacket.

KTRIC

Did you inform the Gardai ? As the driver offered to pay for the repair of your bike then he is admitting liabilty. If I was you I'd speak to a solicitor asap and sue for damages.

Civilian_Target

And no helmet. Not so smooth.

Although to be honest, this is why I stay away from parked cars. They deliver the worst kind of accidents - it all happens very quickly and usually lands you head first in the middle of the road....

Anyway, good luck with the recovery, its not too bad if repairing the bike is the expensive part!

johnnyrotten

impr0v wrote:

It had a flashing light front and back, they were taken off in the photo as I generally strip anything removable off it when leaving it in the car park. I was also wearing a hi-vis jacket.

Not taking away from the fact that the idiot should have been more careful, but thise flashing LED lights are F**K all use . Theres no replacement for a proper white Light. It makes you properly visable.
Take care and speedy recovery

fenris

Get yourself some Arnica tablets - great for swelling and bruising, there is also arnica gel but rubbiing in stuff would probably be sore!
A little bit of Teatree oil in the bath and have a soak makes the world a better place or at least it will tomorrow!

There was a particular kind of madness out there tonight, not even the usual dublin taxi style agressiveness just normal people doing lots of stupid things on the road, I saw more stupid things today than in the last month, it was just a crap road day, with not even a full moon to explain it!

Just make sure that you get back on the bike and don't give them a second crack at you.

P.S. Just saw a classic while driving down the N11, coming up to amber traffic lights so I stop, a car in the right hand lane right containg a couple of young chaps, floor it and go through on a nice freash red light. The traffic corp car behind them turns on their flashey blue lights - and the rest is history and at least one other person that doesn't know what mirrors are for gets and education - karma???

roadmanmad

I just do not get it.

How many of us are drivers.

Do you look every time as you open the door that there is no one coming. 99% of the people I see, do not.

Doors can open up to 3.5 feet from a car. You have to stay away. Do not take them to court. You will be creamed. All they have to say is that they looked and did not see you. They win. Because you were in control of where the position of where the bike was, you will have the hughest level of responsibility.

You seriously need to think about what happened and who was responsible.

Let it go and count you lucky stars.

cregser

I'm learning to drive and getting out more and more. I've cycled a fair bit and been a passenger in cars for thousands of miles but am only now appreciating the danger of Irish roads. I actually feel lucky now, when I arrive home safely. Whereas travelling in a car before was a mild inconvenience between wanting to be somewhere and getting there.

I remember a guy I used to get a lift off before. He always stuck to the speed limit because he knocked over a guy one time. I still thought he was a bit square and didn't really respect him for it (same as you probably would when you see a cyclist all kitted out). I think we're all to casual about the roads - whether your pedestrian, cyclist, driver whatever.

impr0v, I've never had such a life threatening experience as yourself (not that close anyway) so I can only wish you the best and hope it effects you for the better.

sobriquet

Hard luck man, that was a bad fall to take. I got doored not too long ago. I was filtering alongside stationry (sp?) traffic to the lights and still had a bit of momentum when all of a sudden the passenger door of the car at the front of the queue opens and spills me across the footpath. I saw it and reacted in enough time that the door only caught my arm and spun me to the ground, so I landed on my bike. Left me with a bruise that just about covered my right bicep. It's a sh*t experience, happens so quick. Nothing so bad as yours though.

Since then I've gotten in the habit of keeping at least two feet from the cars when passing them and keeping an eye on anyone inside to see if a door is likely to open (lights on inside, people on driver side front and back etc), as well as keeping an eye on traffic in my lane, an eye on oncoming traffic, an eye on pedestrians... I've been neglecting using my lid too. It's about time it went back on.

Best of luck with getting things settled, and I hope your recovery is speedy.

RasTa

Nah that rubbish two posts up. My uncle did the exact same thing to a cyclist that happened to you and was sued. Take it to court if you feel you have any long term damages and cant work etc... you will win. I urge you not to if its only a few scrapes

daymobrew

roadmanmad wrote:

Do not take them to court. You will be creamed. All they have to say is that they looked and did not see you. They win. Because you were in control of where the position of where the bike was, you will have the hughest level of responsibility.

You seriously need to think about what happened and who was responsible.

This is the complete opposite of what a Garda in Cabra station told me when I reported a accident I witnessed where the motorist "didn't see" a cyclist and T-boned him (cyclist on primary road, motorist approaching from side road on his left).
The Garda told me that, even when a cyclist is at fault, the courts generally rule in their favour. I guess it is because the cyclist is more vunerable.

impr0v - get your LaPierre cruiser fixed or replaced. Ask a solicitor for advice - they will know whether the courts will be nice to you or not.
BTW, did your clipless pedals release? I've always wondered whether my SPDs would be a negative thing in the case of an accident.

Mucco

Definitely report it to the Gardai, and might want to take a careful look at the frame to make sure it's not damaged, you must have hit at some speed to break the forks, so the frame could be bent.

M

Trampas

I had an accident like this about 5 years ago.

Car was a few cars back from the lights. I was passing on the inside and passenger front door opened. Bang i got the door in the chest and whack my knee of the ground.

Ambulance came and gave me the look over and was asking do i want to go to hospital but i said no. You do be in shock and you don't be thinking correct.

Went straight down to the garda station to report it shortly after the ambulance left.

Ended up going to a solictor due to advice from people, 10 physio sessions on my knee as i had done tissue damage to my knee.

kincsem

roadmanmad wrote:

Do not take them to court. You will be creamed. All they have to say is that they looked and did not see you. They win. Because you were in control of where the position of where the bike was, you will have the hughest level of responsibility.

When I had a motorbike years ago I was taken out by a driver who was stopped in a line of cars turning right. He pulled left into my lane as I was passing. He admitted responsibility to me in hospital but then in a court case fudged it.

Try to
(1) get something for your bike
(2) try to get something for your injuries
in that order.

But you will be lucky to collect.

Hope you recover and have no permanent health problems from it.

Johnny Jukebox

Speedy recovery and commiserations.

Looking at the damage, I'd ask for a new bike, or at least a new frame, fork, wheel, headset and rebuild. I'd have little confidence that the frame has not been affected by the crash.

If medical opinion takes the view that you have long term after affects, get lawyered up and go after them. Because thats what they will do, even though the motorist is completely in the wrong here.

i71jskz5xu42pb

First off, tough luck on the fall. But ...

impr0v wrote:

I literally had no time to respond because of the speed I was going and his perfect timing.
<snip>
I fell out onto the road, which was a bus lane and looked up to say 'you f****** idiot' to the guy in the car

Please tell me you accept some responsibility for this? When you're doing the driving test (for a car) they tell you that you should leave room for somebody to do just what the motorist did i.e. suddenly open a door. Presumably cyclists should do the same.

The way people are going on here you'd think it was completely the motorist's fault. I'm not coming at this from a position - consider myself both a motorist and a cyclist (despite having my bike nicked last year)

impr0v wrote:

I guess the moral of the story is, if you didn't know it already, watch out for car drivers, both stationary and moving.

Agreed

K-TRIC wrote:

If I was you I'd speak to a solicitor asap and sue for damages.

Nice to see Ireland's compo culture is alive and well. The driver offered to pay for the bike. Assuming he comes good on this what more damages are there - emotional trauma? What's wrong with dusting yourself off and getting on with your life - thousands of people do it every year without the assistance of a solicitor.

John_C

PaschalNee wrote:

When you're doing the driving test (for a car) they tell you that you should leave room for somebody to do just what the motorist did i.e. suddenly open a door. Presumably cyclists should do the same.

The driving tester doesn't tell you anything, he just tests you. Apart from that you're 50% correct. A cyclist chould be aware that a car door could open and someone opening a car door should be aware that they're opening it into traffic.

The mitigating factor in favour of the cyclist is that it is next to impossible to keep 4 or 5 feet clearance between you and a parked car without slowing down the motorised traffic and causing danger to yourself. So the rules of the road say one thing, common sense says the opposite.

impr0v

I got myself examined by a doctor after posting here, no serious damage. Am currently very sore and there is a significant percentage of my body that is yellow, have also had headaches for the past two days.

I bought the bike back to the guys in the cycle superstore who originally sold it to me and have done any work/servicing on it since. The front wheel was broken, the back wheel buckled, the fork broken and the bracket that drops the derailleur down from the frame bent completely in under the frame. They suspect there's a stress fracture in the head tube due to the force of the impact and therefore aren't willing to fix it up without replacing the frame, as they would then be liable should the frame give way at a later date. The bike is consequently a write off, as to replace all the parts, including the frame, will cost as much as a similar new bike, roughly 680 euro.

I reported the incident to the gardaí in Terenure on the following day, who said to see how I get on with getting the driver to repair the bike and if I'm not successful, they'll follow it up.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the guys phone has been off since he gave me his number.

I'm going to call Cyclone couriers tomorrow and try and locate the guy that stopped to help, as I'm pretty sure he witnessed it, and if there's no response on the guys phone, I'm going to go back to the guards.

I'm not sure I want to get into the quasi-legal conversation that has developed above. I will say this: I was in a bus-slash-cycle lane, illuminated and wearing hi-vis clothing, doing under the speed limit during heavy traffic. Any further out into the bus lane and I would have effectively being obstructing it, perhaps compromising my safety more than the position I was in. The guy getting out of his car breached the duty of care he has towards other road users by not checking his mirror before opening his door. He said that he checked, then went back to turn off his radio, then opened the door without checking. This means that he was cognisant of the risk that he presented in opening his door, and was effectively reckless in doing so after turning off his radio. The place where he was parked was on a slight bend and it was obvious that he could not see sufficient distance upon checking his mirror to ensure that it was safe to open his door at any time except immediately after checking.

Furthermore, he said to me, in the presence of the bicycle courier, 'it was completely my fault', which seems to me to be a pretty unambiguous statement of his side of the story, and also offered to pay for my bike, another admission of liability. In other words, I'd be confident of my case if it went to court.

In respect of the 'compo culture' references, I've no intent to claim for illnesses I don't have or emotional stress, which I may in fact have a case for, I do however fully intend to get my bike replaced, since the damage caused to it by his actions has rendered it unsafe for further use.

impr0v

daymobrew wrote:

impr0v - get your LaPierre cruiser fixed or replaced. Ask a solicitor for advice - they will know whether the courts will be nice to you or not.
BTW, did your clipless pedals release? I've always wondered whether my SPDs would be a negative thing in the case of an accident.

It's not actually the cruiser, though it does look like one. It's the '04 equipe bike, the budget replica of the FDjeux team bike that they bring out every year. I put straight across bars on it when I went back to college to use it as a commuter rather than a road bike. The pedals are actually just the standard ones that come on it with the clips removed.

HusseinSarhan

Sorry to hear it. I almost got knocked off too by some girl in Rathmines the other day. Just cycling along at a reasonably fast pace (its a road bike so you can't help go at a decent speed) whilst in the cylce path with a helmet and lights on when this girl just pulls in full speed in her car. She was travelling in the direction coming towards me and just cut right accross. I had just enough time to swerve drastically out of the way and could have left quite a dent in her car. I didn't bother to stop and give out. What a goon though.

Rathmines seems full of them though. I was cycling along in the same way another time recently and this fella with a cardboard box just steps out right in front of me in the cycle path. What the hell? There are so many cyclists, it could have been pretty painful for all involved.

You could havebeen a lot worse off but seriously, you are a fool for not wearing a helmet. Anyone who is commuting should have a helmet.

dalk

Sorry for the spill, pretty serious...

Suppose its a good time to remind all the cyclists, in my experience, car door hits are the most common accident. And they are nearly impossible to avoid when they happen.

I've been knocked twice by car doors. "Luckily", each time i didnt hit the door head on but was clipped on the left side of the handle bar. Each time i was spun and landed on my back, no cars to run me over, and with only some bruising to to show for it. One of the incidents the guy basically hopped out of the car and started verbally attacking me whilst i was sprawled on the road, dazed and confused. All my fault, basically why had "run" into his door? etc... Gave as good back. He then stormed into a shop he had stopped for in the first place. I then let the air free from his tyres and went on my way... :rolleyes:

Funsterdelux

I know how it feels, that would be one of my worst fears (door opening like that)however any of my accidents only involved myself and the road, last time was a mouth full of tarmac and a broken tooth.

markpb

roadmanmad wrote:

Do you look every time as you open the door that there is no one coming. 99% of the people I see, do not.

Doors can open up to 3.5 feet from a car. You have to stay away. Do not take them to court. You will be creamed. All they have to say is that they looked and did not see you. They win. Because you were in control of where the position of where the bike was, you will have the hughest level of responsibility.

You seriously need to think about what happened and who was responsible.

I know from your other posts that you cycle regularly so I assume then that you've seen the miles of cycle lane right beside parking spots. I assume you've seen the way a cyclist is treated by other road users when they cycle in the middle of the lane and obstruct traffic to avoid being beside said parked cars. There are many places, particularly in the city centre where there just isn't space to cycle away from parked cars.

Ignoring all this, you've already said that you and a lot of other drivers fail to look in the mirrors when they open the door. How then can you possibly suggest that the OP was at fault? If it was taken to court, the driver has a duty of care to check before opening the door and the cyclists is legally obliged to cycle in the cycle lane. There's no way they'd be "creamed" as you put it by adhering to the rules of the road.

If you're going to make excuses for drivers, at least be consistent - they can't have it every way.

TempestSabre

Having been in a n accident where the other party admitted liability then retracted, I was told that anything said at the scene of a incident is usually not taken as liability. You have to prove it with witness'es and evidence. If no cop witness'es it then they can't help you either. They shouldn't comment on it either. Of course this is just what I was told, legally it could be BS, you'd have to ask a solicitor to know for sure.

Personally when cycling I'm always very wary of a parked car with someone in it. Of course noone opens a car door deliberately, its just a lapse of concentration.

johncl

impr0v wrote:

I reported the incident to the gardaí in Terenure on the following day, who said to see how I get on with getting the driver to repair the bike and if I'm not successful, they'll follow it up.

hiya,

the guards basically told you to try and go sort it yourself. you need to go straight back into them and make a full statement, as detailed as possible, as unless they took a statement from you when you went in to them it means nothing.

once you've made that statement, it's up to the guards to track down the other guy and take a statement from him.

if he admits fault - you're sorted. contact his insurance company, they'll send you a claim form you fill in and send back with the quote you got from cycle superstore. and you'll be grand.

if he doesn't admit fault i guess you'll need to contact a solicitor - and you'll need that guy from cyclone to act as a witness. i've never had to take this legal route so someone else should give you advice here.

(it seems like it's the drivers' fault pretty obviously though. i don't know specifically - i think it's more important that the gardai are on your side - be nice to them when making the statement and hope you get a good one - if they're on your side when they contact the other guy he'll have a much harder time denying responsibility - good for you)

as far as i can see the gardai were fobbing you off by telling you to go and try and sort it yourself - saving themselves work. even if you contact yer man now and he promises to pay you the full whack, you still HAVE to go to the gardai, make a full statement, and get them to log it in the same way they log ANY road traffic accident. this is the only way you will have ANY recourse to follow it up.

hope this helps.

markpb

johncl wrote:

as far as i can see the gardai were fobbing you off by telling you to go and try and sort it yourself - saving themselves work.

Not really. It's a he-said, she-said case where the guardai can't really do anything. At the end of the day, if it goes to court there's no evidence (except to some extent the witness) either way.

impr0v

Thanks for the advice Johncl.

As an update to this I've located and talked to the courier from Cyclone in the past day and he's happy to talk to the gardai. He didn't actually see the accident, he heard the bang and looked around in time to see me hit the ground. However, he did hear a number of the guys statements that I've recounted above, which I think will be sufficient should it go to court, specifically the one re the radio. Am going back to gardai today to make a detailed statement and to ask them to pursue it since the phone which the motorist gave me the number to has not been switched on since the event.

In fairness to the gardai, I told them that the only reason I was reporting it was in case I got nowhere with the motorist, whom I hadn't rang at that stage. I did so once I found out how much it would cost to repair the bike, as I figured that, even if I could contact him, he would be expecting a significantly smaller sum.

The courier said he was suspicious of how the guy acted afterwards and considered taking the reg number himself. I'm kicking myself that I didn't take the details from the woman that stopped her car after seeing what happened, but I really wasn't thinking coherently at the time.

t5pwr

Keep us posted anyway, it would be very interesting to see how you get on.

Myself and a friend were hit once by a guy coming out of a T junction and just didn't look. Cleared the two of us off the bikes.

We got the bikes fixed up, just buckled wheels on each and gave him the bill and he paid up. Some motorists just except the responsibility when they are wrong and some don't. This guy even rang his own insurance company and told them what happened just in case we sued. He even paid our travel costs for the few days that the bikes were being fixed.

I hope you get what you need without much hassle...

johncl

markpb wrote:

Not really. It's a he-said, she-said case where the guardai can't really do anything. At the end of the day, if it goes to court there's no evidence (except to some extent the witness) either way.

i don't accept this. a crash between two vehicles (bike/car or car/car) should be dealt with in the same manner by the gardai.

(a) if they don't take a statement there is no record of this accident so legally you will have no recourse in case it has to be taken further.

(b) from the point of view of cycling advocacy, if the gardai don't record these accidents, they won't show up on road safety statistics etc, which will result in a false picture of road safety when they compile the statistics etc. and no improvements will be made to the road infrastructure. from this point of view the gardai were not doing their duty.

make sense?

Squirrel

Last two times I have been knocked off my bike, the guards have been great. I was cycling to work experience when I was taken out of it by a car. Needed two new wheels, as one of them also went straight into a tree. The gardaí came and called out a riot van and gave me a lift to a bike shop, and then went back and got the money to cover it off the woman and gave it to me in work experience. Another time I was knowcked off and the gardaí saw it, the guy refused to accept responsibility but they sorted it all, there was no damage that time though

TempestSabre

johncl wrote:

i don't accept this. a crash between two vehicles (bike/car or car/car) should be dealt with in the same manner by the gardai.
...

In my experience they'll do nothing about that either.

I'm glad some of you have had some satisfaction from the guards in these situations, at least the're not ALL totally useless.

Mucco

Just a word of advice, keep a copy of all the paperwork. I have a friend who got knocked off and injured. The gardai lost all the witness statements.....

M

youcancallmeal

Between college and work I've been cycling in and out of town for the last 6years. I've had a lot of near misses but the worst accident I've ever had is pretty much what happened to you except it happened in my own estate of all places. I was coming home one night and was only around 100 yards from my own house, A guy who lives a few doors down from me was sitting in his car lights off talking on the phone or something. Out of nowhere drivers side door swings open and next thing I know I'm on the ground. Basically my chest took the full force of the impact, I'm a fairly big guy at 6'4" and I pretty much took this guys door of its hinges. He was very apologetic and we both kind of agreed it was an accident and we would leave it at that. About a week later I had to go to the hospital because I was still having really sharp pains in my chest. One x-ray later and they said I had a bruised sternum for which there was nothing they could do only give me some ointment. It still hurts on a cold morning .

Altogether it cost me about 150euro for a new wheel and a chest x-ray/ointment. I met the guy a few weeks after it happened and he proceeded to tell me that he had to get his door and front right panel replaced which cost 1500euro as if I should be the one paying for it??? I didnt get into an arguement with him but normally in this situation as long as I wasn’t in the wrong I would be the one looking for costs. He's my neighbour so I just left it be happy in the knowledge his mistake cost him quite a lot.

I also like to think we both learnt something from this, for him to always check the side mirror before opening your door and me to be more observant/careful. Nowadays I kind of have a fear of cycling close beside stationary cars. Moving through traffic I always keep a close eye if theres a person in the passenger seat and adjust my speed accordingly. Strange thing about these kind of incidents is that if the guy had opened the door 5 seconds earlier or later then the whole thing could of been avoided.

I hope you get your case resolved satisfactorily Improv. It’s a crappy situation but as far as your circumstances go it would appear the driver of the car was in the wrong. All you have to do now is find him.

impr0v

Update on this.

I went back to the Gardaí and left a statement with them and asked them to follow it up. There was a delay at that point, as the Garda I had originally dealt with wasn't back on shift for four days. She rang me when she did go back on duty and said she'd try to get in contact with the guy, and if necessary take official statements from both of us, but to leave it with her.

Two days later she rang back and said she had located the car driver, and that he had asked her to pass his number on to me, which she did - completely different number than the one he gave me at scene. She suggested we try and reach an agreement, and if we couldn't she'd progress it. I rang that day and left a message on voicemail, and did the same again yesterday morning.

He rang back yesterday afternoon and apologised for the delay in getting back to me. It seemed to me that he made a point of clearly asking how I was. I said that I was ok, but that my bike wasn't. I outlined the cost of a replacement and why replacing the parts, as well as the frame, would cost as much, if not more. He expressed disbelief at the cost of the bike saying that a few of his friends were 'big into' their cycling and had gotten 'top of the range' bikes for a lot less than 630. I offered to give him the contact details for the Cycle Superstore, and to show him the estimate they had prepared for me, but he said he'd take my word for it. I also informed him about the call-out fee for the medical check-up.

He then said he'd speak to his insurance and get back to me, which he did today. He wanted to meet to 'fix up' with me next week, but I'm out of the country, so we're doing it the week after. Hopefully all will be straightforward and I can get a replacement bike with the money (will probably add some to it and trade up) and forget this happened, aside from the lessons to be learned obviously.

Thanks for all the support and advice in this thread.

eth0_

If I was driving my car down a road with parked cars along the side of the road and someone opened their door and I hit their door, it would be my fault because I was not driving with adequate space between my car and the parked cars.

Why is being on a bike any different, or is it? I don't think it's at all fair hitting the car driver for the full cost of the bike.

alantc

eth0_ wrote:

If I was driving my car down a road with parked cars along the side of the road and someone opened their door and I hit their door, it would be my fault because I was not driving with adequate space between my car and the parked cars.

Why is being on a bike any different, or is it? I don't think it's at all fair hitting the car driver for the full cost of the bike.

READ THE ****1NG THREAD

celt2005

Eth0,

Cars have to be 18 " away from parked cars, Bikes do not have the Luxury ....., try to cycle in the middle of the road in traffic.

It is drivers fault, he should check in side mirror before opening door, too many morons asleep in cars these days ...

impr0v

eth0_ wrote:

If I was driving my car down a road with parked cars along the side of the road and someone opened their door and I hit their door, it would be my fault because I was not driving with adequate space between my car and the parked cars.

Why is being on a bike any different, or is it? I don't think it's at all fair hitting the car driver for the full cost of the bike.

Every road users owes a duty of care to other road users, this effectively means they are bound to take certain steps so as to avoid causing injury to other road users and/or damage to their property. The duty is especially acute where the risk of injury is high. Therefore I for example, as a cyclist, am bound to take care that I don't damage cars, but I'm bound to take special care that my actions aren't endangering pedestrians. If I was to cycle at speed down a footpath with no lights in an unlit area, this would be an extreme example of negligence in respect of that duty of care. Similarly, car drivers, given their potential to injure pedestrians and cyclists, have a higher duty of care towards them. To open one's door suddenly, without looking, into a cycle lane during rush hour undoubtedly carries an inherent risk, as the action should be carried out with care. Indeed the car driver in this particular case admitted he was cognisant of the risk by stating that he did check, but he then went back to adjust his radio, before opening the door without sufficient care. He therefore, in my opinion, acted recklessly and negligently and thereby caused the damage to my property.

Your statement implies that I was similarly negligent by not maintaining a safe distance from his car.

The safe distance theory makes perfect sense. However, if you've cycled around the city for any length of time you'll know it's practically impossible to maintain all the time, without compromising your safety in other ways.

When the accident occurred I was in a cycle lane at peak traffic, a cycle lane which is also designated for use by taxi's and buses, and had just left a junction where it can be used by ordinary motorists too, to avoid right turning traffic. If I block that lane by staying 5 feet out into it, i.e. in the middle of it, I render it next to useless for other traffic. This is notionally fine, as I think the traffic planners have given me authority to do so by designating it a cycle/bus lane. However, in practical terms it means I will be constantly endangered by impatient vehicular traffic trying to get past me while the main traffic lane is also full.

In reality, the danger of cycling closer, i.e. within two feet or so, to parked vehicles, and thereby letting other traffic have the use of the majority of the lane, is less than the danger of being clipped by wing mirrors, or being simply knocked down in the above scenario. With good observation it is possible to avoid the majority of situations arising, but due to darkness, motorists sitting in cars with no interior lights on, a lack of line of sight, bad cycle lane and/or parking spot siting, one sometimes has no choice but to place a degree of faith in car drivers that they will check their mirrors before throwing their doors open.

TempestSabre

celt2005 wrote:

Eth0,

Cars have to be 18 " away from parked cars, Bikes do not have the Luxury ....., try to cycle in the middle of the road in traffic.

It is drivers fault, he should check in side mirror before opening door, too many morons asleep in cars these days ...

18" thats impossible in car on some roads. If hes asleep there wouldn't be a problem would there...:)

Gegerty

Sue him. His insurance will cover it. If he did that and his door hit a passing car causing damage they'd be exchanging insurance details and there'd be damages paid. You don't have to keep a safe distance, most roads that would mean cycling/driving in the middle of the road which is ridiculous.

daymobrew

Gegerty wrote:

You don't have to keep a safe distance, most roads that would mean cycling/driving in the middle of the road which is ridiculous.

I was thinking this last night as I cycled past loads of parked cars along Fassaugh Ave in Cabra. It was very difficult to see if anyone was in the cars.
I passed one car and did see someone about to get out - there was no interior light. As Gegerty says, to keep a safe distance would have meant cycling in the middle of the road. There are plenty of drivers on that road that don't want to give a cyclist even a few inches, never mind enough to avoid a car door.

At the Phibsborough end of that road (Connaught St) there is barely enough space for two cars to pass, never mind 2 cars plus a cyclist. Oncoming cars often move out a good bit from the parked cars (which are on both sides), so much so that it feels like they are heading right at you.

So, cycling beyond the reach of a car door is rarely possible.

tywy

Sorry to hear about your accident! Hope you are feeling okay.
I cycle from Terenure into town twice a week to college. (I'm sometimes in Belfield sometimes in town.) It is unbelievably dangerous. Terenure Road West is a death trap. Cars pulling in and out to let kids out, kids opening doors with no warning. Plus there isn't enough room to cycle on the frikin road anyway. I've seen cyclist run into opened doors at least 3 times. I've seen many more near misses.

I got sick of the bus about 2 months into first year. So I decided cycling was the best option. My mom was a bit nervous...but I was like screw it I'm not sitting on a bus for an hour. Anyway, my second day cycling, I'm cycling down Rathgar Road...fairly slick morning, this car comes out off a side road in front of me, I didn't have to break because I wasn't goin fast enough but there was a motorcycle behind me. He had to jam on the brakes and his back wheel locked. He came off his bike and the motorcycle when flying down the road (sparks flying) and clipped my back wheel. I was creamed! took it all in my shoulder and hip. Luckily was just badly bruised. Bike was perfect my dad cycled it home. Such a freak accident but the guy in the car gave a fake name to the Gardai so there was loads of follow up ****...

I feel your pain improv, all you can do is stand on the side of the road and think about what happened while all these strangers come up to see if you are ok. I remember holding it together for about 5 mins before bursting into tears.

The Gardai were great tho I have to say!

impr0v

Just to close the story, I got paid in full by bank draft yesterday, €630 for a replacement bike and €65 for the doctors call out fee. His insurance company gave him a waiver for me to sign stating that the payment was in full satisfaction of any current or future claims arising from the incident. Theoretically I should have got X-rays to ensure there is no lasting damage, as my chest was very sore to the touch in a certain spot on the bone up until last week, but I think the chances are it'll be ok.

The Gardaí rang me with a follow up call last week to see how things were progressing. Generally they have been very helpful throughout.

When giving me the draft he stated that it was an expensive mistake, the door of his car had to be replaced, and cost him €1500. We shook hands and wished each other the best, etc.

TempestSabre

I think you've met a very rare breed of Garda.