Bicycle hit by a car

Slydice

Hi all

Just wondering what someone should do if they go into a situation where they were on a bicycle and a car broke a red light and hit their rear wheel. That the wheel was buckled from the impact and that the driver just stopped, then reversed and then drove around the cyclist and left without even checking if the cyclist was ok.

Say the cyclist got a picture of the car on their mobile phone as it was leaving the scene?

Say for example, the incident happened along the road in this google map location here:
http://maps.google.com/?ll=53.347738,-6.29173&spn=0.001355,0.003484&z=19

Again for example that, the cyclist was cycling down Conyngham road and had the right of way as the traffic light were all green.

Then, as they were passing Parkgate St at the junction which can be seen in this google street view:
http://maps.google.com/?ll=53.347769,-6.291717&spn=0,0.006968&z=18&layer=c&cbll=53.347738,-6.29173&cbp=12,12.24,,0,19.4

That the driver broke the red light at the Parkgate St junction and hit the rear wheel of the bicycle causing the wheel to be buckled and the cyclist to have to perform an unexpected stopping maneuver.

Then, that the the driver would reverse back, use the tram tracks to go around the cyclist and leave the scene in the direction of the quays.


Wondering what could be done in a situation like that? Should the cyclist contact the gardai? I see the gardai have a contact page here:
http://garda.ie/Controller.aspx?Page=3430&Lang=1
which says:

Traffic Watch
Address:
Telephone:1890 205 805
Email:
Members of the public can use this number to report aggressive driving, driving hazards and traffic related incidents.

Would that be the one to contact? Or would it be a case of going to a garda station and making a statement/complaint?

Also, how about the small claims court? I see here:
http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/justice/courts_system/small_claims_court.html

they say:

Claims can also be made for minor damage to your property.

Would it be the best idea for the cyclist to get the wheel repaired/replaced and try to contact the driver to have them pay the cost?

and then if the driver is not willing to take the driver to the small claims court to pay the costs of the wheel?

mikemac

The small claims court is what you use against a business. It has a few exceptions but imo it doesn't apply here

And you go the local station, not necessarily your own local station

I got knocked down in Howth in Dublin once.
Got home and went to my local station
They told me to go back to Howth, procedures!

Maybe ask the desk garda about Trafficwatch, they might have info to hand on cameras which captured the accidents. For sure there are cameras in that area.
With the reg plate the garda can trace the driver and talk to them. And talk to them about leaving the scence of an accident.
They'll get the insurance details so go talk to the company

What I'd do now is sit down and sketch a few diagrams and get things clear in your head

cosmic

I'm no legal expert, but when I got hit by a car and knocked off my bike I went to my local Garda station and they sent me to the station which covers the area in which the accident happened - ie. the station closest to the scene of the accident itself. Find out what the correct station is and go directly there.




Edit - beaten to it by feelingstressed!

muboop1

Depends... do you have witnesses?

It will not stand up if you only have a picture of the back of a car etc.. as that could be any random car!

Without a proper assessment it would be very difficult to prove he hit you from damage on his car, assuming there is any damage.

Realistically you need him to admit, or have a reliable witness! or video evidence or similar!

(I think... i have no experience or proof, just trying to think about it logically)

Dan133269

muboop1 wrote: »

Depends... do you have witnesses?

It will not stand up if you only have a picture of the back of a car etc.. as that could be any random car!

Without a proper assessment it would be very difficult to prove he hit you from damage on his car, assuming there is any damage.

Realistically you need him to admit, or have a reliable witness! or video evidence or similar!

(I think... i have no experience or proof, just trying to think about it logically)

Surely the victim's evidence counts for something here I would say.

The callousness of people never ceases to amaze me. A few years ago I saw a schoolboy in Limerick get hit by a car while on his bike, the fella in the car just beeped and kept driving. Scum.

MagicSean

Go to any station and report it. Ideally this would be the one that covers the area. If not they should take a report and forward it to the proper station. Don't let them send you to another station.

muboop1

Dan133269 wrote: »

Surely the victim's evidence counts for something here I would say.

The callousness of people never ceases to amaze me. A few years ago I saw a schoolboy in Limerick get hit by a car while on his bike, the fella in the car just beeped and kept driving. Scum.

See..

I don't know that it does.

Ok, so he has a banged up bike. Could be any car or a number of causes?

The victim has a picture of a car driving away... No proof of anything aside from the car drove past the area around the time of the incident... (can the exact time of incident be proved even?)

A picture was taken... was it digital? I remember reading on this forum before that digital pictures don't stand up in court to well either... need to be verified however... but still, back to my previous point even if pic is valid.

If i was the driver of the car and such evidence was put against me... and i was a horrible mean person... I would tell the cyclist to get the boat!

user1842

If he hit your bike there will be a small mark on his car. If he is that much of an ass to drive away, he probably is too lazy to clean it off.

It only has to be a tiny mark to prove your case. A tiny rubber mark to match to your wheel