If the ball hits a neighbours car?

Fittle

Just wondering what are the legalities if my son and his pals are kicking ball on the road and it does damage to a neighbours car?
It hasn't happened, but they were threatened today by my neighbours (obnoxious)new lodger, that if they continued kicking ball on the road (which they've been doing for three years without one neighbour complaining), and it hit his car, he'd have them prosecuted and their parents would have to pay for the damage (these are a group of boys between the ages of 6 and 9).

So I just wanted to know if my kid kicks the ball and it breaks his window on his car, am I responsible for the damage?

Victor

Tell him get a garage. He wouldn't go around warning other motorists not to hit his car.

Pkiernan

Fittle wrote: »

So I just wanted to know if my kid kicks the ball and it breaks his window on his car, am I responsible for the damage?

Yes, you are.

Honest question, why would you think that you wouldn't be (assuming your kid is a minor).

Mr. Presentable

Fittle wrote: »

Just wondering what are the legalities if my son and his pals are kicking ball on the road and it does damage to a neighbours car?
It hasn't happened, but they were threatened today by my neighbours (obnoxious)new lodger, that if they continued kicking ball on the road (which they've been doing for three years without one neighbour complaining), and it hit his car, he'd have them prosecuted and their parents would have to pay for the damage (these are a group of boys between the ages of 6 and 9).

So I just wanted to know if my kid kicks the ball and it breaks his window on his car, am I responsible for the damage?

Why would he need to prosecute you? You're a decent person, surely you'd pay for your child's damage without quibble.

Yes, you are liable - the very same as if he broke a window on a house.

Fittle

Honest answer - I didn't necessarily think I wouldn't be. My child has just never been threatened about this before, so it's the first time I've had to consider it.

His car is a 99 corsa. This guy is in his 40s and I've never had the displeasure to meet anyone so ignorant - our road is residential and is mainly families with young children.

I just wanted to know where I stood if my child was the one who kicked the ball that might damage his car.

Having said that - there were 7 of them playing with the ball today and they all denied that they kicked it anywhere near his car (his car wasn't hit at all today) - why he just won't park where the rest of us park is beyond me.

mattjack

If a football kicked by kids aged between 6 and 9 broke a window on a car ,I'd want the manufacturer of the car to check out the window and Barcelona to sign the kid.
How many times have you ever seen a ball kicked by a small child break a car window ?

mikemac1

Fittle wrote: »

So I just wanted to know if my kid kicks the ball and it breaks his window on his car, am I responsible for the damage?

A football isn't going to break a window on a car. Unless he is the next Roberto Carlos
However it could dent the bodywork. I know as I've done it

Fittle wrote: »

he'd have them prosecuted

Well it wouldn't get that far
Just a straightforward civil matter, if your son damages his car then you as the parent pay up and that's the end of it

Fittle

mattjack wrote: »

If a football kicked by kids aged between 6 and 9 broke a window on a car ,I'd want the manufacturer of the car to check out the window and Barcelona to sign the kid.
How many times have you ever seen a ball kicked by a small child break a car window ?

Well according to our lovely new next door neighbour, the ball can do serious damage to his car - including breaking his engine:rolleyes: Only that I heard the abuse he gave the kids myself, I wouldn't believe it.

So obviously, a ball could dent a door - and I'm liable for that if it's my boy who has kicked the ball, yes?

Fittle

mikemac1 wrote: »

Well it wouldn't get that far
Just a straightforward civil matter, if your son breaks the window or damages his car then you as the parent pay up and that's the end of it

Ok grand thanks, that's all I wanted to know from a legal perspective.

Thanks.

juan.kerr

Victor wrote: »

Tell him get a garage. He wouldn't go around warning other motorists not to hit his car.

Probably because motorists know they would be responsible for the damage.

OP doesn't, so chances are his kid doesn't know either.

Fittle

juan.kerr wrote: »

Probably because motorists know they would be responsible for the damage.

OP doesn't, so chances are his kid doesn't know either.

OP is a her.

And OP wasn't 100% sure that she would be responsible if it was her kid that hit the car with a ball, as opposed to herself that hit his car with her own car (which of course, I would know 100% that I was completely responsible for).

But it hasn't happened.

But if it does, I know now, thanks.

mikemac1

Does your son realy have the power to break a window? This lad has a big future ahead of him

Can I be his agent?
This is legal forum so we can sort out the contract here

MyKeyG

Jeez times have changed. When we were kids if you shouted and threatened about your precious anything being broke you usually came out in the morning and found it broke!!!

mattjack

99 corsa ? how bout we club together and buy a roll of bubble wrap for the car.

magicianz

Tbh if theres a gang of kids there kicking a ball around, i'd like to see him find out who did it >.>
You act like a prick, you should get no respect or common courtesy.

Vegeta

Car glass is tough and would survive a soccer ball from all but the beefiest of 9 year olds. A 9 year old child could easily kick a ball hard enough to damage a car panel.

MagicSean

Why not just tell your kids not to play near cars? It's common sense.

Fittle

Yep, I know that - but we've been living here 3yrs and they have yet to hit any cars thanks God. We all tend to park on one side of the road, because we know that kids play in the (empty) parking spaces as there is nowhere else for them to play on the road (it's a cul de sac too, so safe enough for them to play there). Anyway, this fella is in his 40s and is terribly ignorant in many other ways, to say the least. He's only been living here about 6wks and already caused hassle, where there was none before.

I could hear someone shouting the odds from an upstairs window - when I went downstairs, I found three 6yr olds in tears because the 'big man' was roaring at them...my own lad is just more annoyed that he can't kick the ball outside his own house anymore:mad:

MagicSean

Fittle wrote: »

Yep, I know that - but we've been living here 3yrs and they have yet to be seen hit any cars

3 years of kids playing football around cars and I can guarantee they've hit a car at some stage.

Fittle

MagicSean wrote: »

Why not just tell your kids not to play near cars? It's common sense.

My lad was playing opposite his own house, in the empty parking spaces - where he's played for 3yrs. This guy is new on the road, and is now parking in the space. The house he is renting from, has no kids, and the owner has no car, so there is a space outside her house also. All of the children playing out today live in the houses opposite this particular section of empty parking spaces - they've been playing there every day since the Xmas break. If they were to move down the road, they wouldn't be near their own houses and their parents couldn't see them (keeping in mind many of them are 6yr olds).

juan.kerr

Don't take this the wrong way OP, but why should the guy care too much about your kids being able to play ball?

Fittle

MagicSean wrote: »

3 years of kids playing football around cars and I can guarantee they've hit a car at some stage.

They haven't.
Because they haven't been playing near the cars - as I said, none of us park in the parking spaces, so they have been playing in an empty section of the road. We all park at the footpaths outside our homes. Trust me, if any of them had hit a car, we would have heard about it.

Fittle

juan.kerr wrote: »

Don't take this the wrong way OP, but why should the guy care too much about your kids being able to play ball?

I never said he should.

I came here just asking if I was legally obliged to pay for damage to his car if my son did damage to it..and I know I am now, so thanks.

jsd1004

Fittle wrote: »

They haven't.
Because they haven't been playing near the cars - as I said, none of us park in the parking spaces, so they have been playing in an empty section of the road. We all park at the footpaths outside our homes. Trust me, if any of them had hit a car, we would have heard about it.

Your kids are playing on a public road kicking a ball around another guys property which he has rightly parked in a parking space and you think you are not liable for any damage your kids cause..get a grip

Fittle

jsd1004 wrote: »

Your kids are playing on a public road kicking a ball around another guys property which he has rightly parked in a parking space and you think you are not liable for any damage your kids cause..get a grip

Firstly, it's not his property.

Secondly, the kids have been playing there for 3yrs without one of the neighbours complaining and they didn't touch his car.

Thirdly, he's a twat. I'm not the one who needs to get a grip, he is.

Fourthly, it's not a public road - it's a small road in a housing estate and is a cul de sac so unless you live here, or are visiting someone on the road, you wouldn't drive here.

I got my answer here, thanks.

Victor

MagicSean wrote: »

Why not just tell your kids not to play near cars? It's common sense.

Children have played on streets for thousands of years. Parking expensive vehicles 12-year old lumps of scrap there is a modern phenomenon.

Mister Dread

Accidental damage is a civil matter and could never result in prosecution.
He has a right to park in that spot and any you'd be liable for any damage caused by your child.

mattjack

jsd1004 wrote: »

Your kids are playing on a public road kicking a ball around another guys property which he has rightly parked in a parking space and you think you are not liable for any damage your kids cause..get a grip

a 99 corsa ... are you serious ? not exactly a collectors item .

juan.kerr

mattjack wrote: »

a 99 corsa ... are you serious ? not exactly a collectors item .

You don't follow the Classics thread then...it's well on its way to being one.

jsd1004

Fittle wrote: »

Firstly, it's not his property.

Secondly, the kids have been playing there for 3yrs without one of the neighbours complaining and they didn't touch his car.

Thirdly, he's a twat. I'm not the one who needs to get a grip, he is.

Fourthly, it's not a public road - it's a small road in a housing estate and is a cul de sac so unless you live here, or are visiting someone on the road, you wouldn't drive here.

I got my answer here, thanks.

It does not matter how long they have been playing there they are still not entitled to enfringe on other people or damage their property.
The car is his property. It does not matter its year or condition you/kids should have some respect for it.
If he is a twat or not is incidental.
The road is a public place..cul de sac or not.

I am in a similiar situation on my avenue and see the kids hit my car on a regular basis but i dont complain even though i should.

Pkiernan

Victor wrote: »

Children have played on streets for thousands of years. Parking expensive vehicles 12-year old lumps of scrap there is a modern phenomenon.

Let them play hurling there too. How about curling in the winter? Golf in the summer? Darts at Christmas time??

There has been no legal precedent set by the playing of games on the streets that allow for damage to vehicles parked on same streets.

Mister Dread

What about road bowling?

juan.kerr

Victor wrote: »

Children have played on streets for thousands of years. Parking expensive vehicles 12-year old lumps of scrap there is a modern phenomenon.

I understood that he was parked in a properly designated parking space. Have these existed that long?

tricky D

The likelihood of hitting the car and doing damage is low, very low - hasn't happened in the last 3 years and it needs to hit the panel's softest spot. If it happens, so be it, you pay up. I really wouldn't worry about it.

What I would do is give him a good ticking off next time he resorts to reducing kids to tears for something that hasn't yet happened and is unlikely to, and threaten to report him to the Garda if he harrasses or bullies them again. Make sure the neighbours are onside with the same hymn sheet too. Hopefully that'll nip his bullying small children and spoiling their good fun in the bud.

jsd1004

tricky D wrote: »

The likelihood of hitting the car and doing damage is low, very low - hasn't happened in the last 3 years and it needs to hit the panel's softest spot. If it happens, so be it, you pay up. I really wouldn't worry about it.

What I would do is give him a good ticking off next time he resorts to reducing kids to tears for something that hasn't yet happened and is unlikely to, and threaten to report him to the Garda if he harrasses or bullies them again. Make sure the neighbours are onside with the same hymn sheet too. Hopefully that'll nip his bullying small children and spoiling their good fun in the bud.

Easy to know you dont have a car..and if you do can i use it as a goal mouth please..When i was growing up i would get a good kick in the hole if i hit my dads car with my soccer ball.

mattjack

jsd1004 wrote: »

Easy to know you dont have a car..and if you do can i use it as a goal mouth please..When i was growing up i would get a good kick in the hole if i hit my dads car with my soccer ball.

so your dad would kick a child.

mickdw

mattjack wrote: »

jsd1004 wrote: »

Easy to know you dont have a car..and if you do can i use it as a goal mouth please..When i was growing up i would get a good kick in the hole if i hit my dads car with my soccer ball.

so your dad would kick a child.

I would get terribly upset if people were playing football near my car but I would take it up with the parents if anything beyond'watch the car' was needed. How the op even has to ask about responsibility is mind boggling.
On the other hand, seeing as the car is a ball of sh1t, it is a bit much giving out to the kids.

tricky D

jsd1004 wrote: »

Easy to know you dont have a car..and if you do can i use it as a goal mouth please.

You are correct, I don't have a car, I have 2. You can use them as goal posts if you like.

jsd1004 wrote: »

When i was growing up i would get a good kick in the hole if i hit my dads car with my soccer ball.

Ah, the good old days, they weren't that good were they now?

mattjack

jsd1004 wrote: »

Easy to know you dont have a car..and if you do can i use it as a goal mouth please..When i was growing up i would get a good kick in the hole if i hit my dads car with my soccer ball.

have you kids ?

Bandana boy

I think its perfectly reasonable to warn kids off banging a football against your car.

The manner he did it sounds bad ,but i suspect he has warned them off several times and been ignored.

I broke a Passat side window with a football when I was under ten so it can happen although would be unlikely ,it was my dads car so we obviously paid.
I did a neighbours window with a sliothar when they were at work as well.I told my parents and my dad arranged for it to be fixed and marched me down to apologise.

You are liable for all damage your kids do ,and I hope one day for the costs the state expends on them ,if they have to get involved.

Bandana boy

MyKeyG wrote: »

Jeez times have changed. When we were kids if you shouted and threatened about your precious anything being broke you usually came out in the morning and found it broke!!!

Where all the kids were you grew up scumbags?

breanach

The guy has right to warn them, but you should speak to him and tell him if he has a issue to speak to you.......

also if you had to buy a panel or window for that car u may aswell buy him a another 12 year old corsa.....

jes*s people the lady only came on looking for advise, Im sure the people that replied to the tread in a manner that suggests she should know exactly where she stands if something happens should be aware that not everyone is a fountain of knowledgeon on the law (which is bull), hence the need for this site and no need for such condescending replies.

ieoinu

As always there are two sides to every story. Tell you child to continue playing ball but to do it away from all your neighbour's cars. Tell your neighbour that if he has an issue with the conduct of your child to speak directly to you and not to speak to your child again. Leave it at that and don't get engaged with him if he tries to be confrontational.

You would be civilly liable for any damage your child may cause. You child will not be prosecuted for playing ball. The age of his car is irrelevant and he is entitled to park it expect it to remain in the exact same condition as he left it. He's obviously overly sensitive to kids being around his car, but kids aren't angels either and can target residents just be mindful of that.

MagicSean

breanach wrote: »

The guy has right to warn them, but you should speak to him and tell him if he has a issue to speak to you.......

also if you had to buy a panel or window for that car u may aswell buy him a another 12 year old corsa.....

jes*s people the lady only came on looking for advise, Im sure the people that replied to the tread in a manner that suggests she should know exactly where she stands if something happens should be aware that not everyone is a fountain of knowledgeon on the law (which is bull), hence the need for this site and no need for such condescending replies.

You don't need a fountain of knowledge to have a sense of responsibility.

castie

Remember when I was a kid we had people park in places intentionally.
Was a green area and one guy insisted on parking at the edge of it rather than where every other car was parked.

Was constantly giving us abuse for playing soccer next to his car....

stoneill

Your worry is not damage to a car that may or may not happen.
Your worry is a strange adult shouting and verbally abusing small kids out playing.
That bit needs to be sorted

Yawns

The op seems a bit miffed that the guy parks in a parking spot on the other side of the road. So what if everyone else parks the other side so the kids can play. That's their choice. It's his choice to park where he wants legally. If your child damages the car then you pay for it.

Fittle wrote: »

as I said, none of us park in the parking spaces, so they have been playing in an empty section of the road. We all park at the footpaths outside our homes. .

He doesn't want to park on a footpath, but in a parking space.

If he did shout at the kids, then go have a word with him about it. But he can park there all he likes regardless if the kids played there for 3 years or 6. He would have a hard time proving which kid did the damage and he can't prosecute. But lets face it, if someone damaged your car or window in a house, you wouldn't like to be out of pocket yourself for fixing it so if your kid does do any damage, then please pay for it.

castie

Dont think the OP is claiming he cant park there more like claiming hes a twat to park there when its obvious the houses have left it unused for a reason.

Which I tend to agree with.
I dont care that he can park where he wants and no one can force him to otherwise. A normal reasonable person would spot whats happening or if informed do something about it as long as it did not cause any huge inconvience.

Also If kids were playing in an area its the last place I would want to be driving at any speed at all. (parking spot there or not)
The little buggers are liable to come out from anywhere and are too small too be seen.

Yawns

The guy moved in and should park on a footpath where people would walk, when there is parking spaces for parking cars in????

Who gives a flying **** if the kids can't play there. The places are for parking cars. The footpaths are for walking on, not parking cars, especially when there's parking spots opposite.

Why did you mention speeding? I don't recall speeding being an issue here in any way. Am I mistaken? In fact what the OP and the others are doing is worse with regards to "the little buggers coming out of anywhere". With all cars parked on the footpath, it would be harder to spot a child dashing from between cars to cross the road to play with their friends in the parking spots. Where if all cars where parked in the spots, the children would have no reason to be there as they can't play football there, which is the main gripe with OP. Apart from the man roaring abuse at the kids of course. I don't condone that in any form. In fact the man would have done better to talk to the OP and other parents and requested that they tell the kids not to hit the car.

castie

Fittle wrote: »

We all park at the footpaths outside our homes.

Yawns wrote: »

The guy moved in and should park on a footpath where people would walk, when there is parking spaces for parking cars in????

Who gives a flying **** if the kids can't play there. The places are for parking cars. The footpaths are for walking on, not parking cars, especially when there's parking spots opposite.

Why did you mention speeding? I don't recall speeding being an issue here in any way. Am I mistaken?

Firstly I did not mention speeding.
I said at any speed at all. Meaning I wouldnt even park near them at a crawl.
Kids will be kids so you cant exactly blame them for that but sure go ahead anyway.

Secondly no one said on the footpath, OP said at the footpath. Completely different thing.

So please go back and read the thread before spouting absolute rubbish at people.

Yawns

castie wrote: »

Firstly I did not mention speeding.
I said at any speed at all. Meaning I wouldnt even park near them at a crawl.

No one mentioned anything about speed or driving at speed until you did. There was no reason for it to be mentioned but all the same you did. Unfortunately we have to drive past people at some point or another, I drive carefully as I hope anyone else would regardless if kids or adults.

Kids will be kids so you cant exactly blame them for that but sure go ahead anyway.

Now who's talking rubbish. I hardly blamed the kids. In fact I blame the parents for poor parking and allowing the kids to be placed in more danger than they need to be. I understand 6 year olds wouldn't think to look before dashing out to play with their friends. However I think adults should think of these things before reducing a motorists view of the footpath.

Secondly no one said on the footpath, OP said at the footpath. Completely different thing.

So please go back and read the thread before spouting absolute rubbish at people.

Oh dear a difference of maybe 2 foot but still vastly reduces the motorist's view of the footpath which was my main point about parking at/on footpaths. People driving by would not be able to see small kids running between cars very easily. But of course it's a completely different thing! Kids don't run out between cars parked at footpaths at all which was what I referred to earlier except I said on footpaths.

Would you not agree that it would be entirely avoidable if the parents parked their cars in the parking spots?