Question about accident, friend on a bicycle got hit by car.

[nka203]

Question about accident, friend on a bicycle got hit by car.
Hey fellas, just had a quick question for my lady friend who just got hit by a van while bicycling to class. She goes to UCSB where pretty much every kid bikes to class from their residences and they tend to bike on sidewalks since kids here drive pretty dangerously/retardedly. So she's on her way to class on a bicycle when some girl (doesn't have license or registration) pulling out of a parking lot in her van hits her from the side. The car clipped her leg pretty good and she has trouble walking since. Their side is arguing that since she was biking on a sidewalk (which is illegal?) they aren't responsible for anything pretty much, but I'm not sure what to make out of this.

If you could give us any info. on how to deal with this issue that'd be awesome. help out a friend plz. http://forum.e46fanatics.com/images/smilies/bluehappy.gif

[240bch]

I say fight it, the sidewalk is clearly 80% safer than the streets, theres many variables for her leg, how it effects her in the long run, what she can/cant do now etc, its more illegal for the chick wit no license vs her on a sidewalk riding, did she break anything or get surgery?

[phillofdfuture]

biking on sidewalks are illegal....bikes must follow the same laws as cars...

[soreballz]

I dunno about the laws here, but I wish her the best of luck. I got hit my a car on my bike when i was 9... that shit SUCKED.

90 pound kid with a 25 pound bike VS. a Toyota 4runner with a brush guard... Who do you think came out on top? :ughd:
Fucked up thing was, I was layed out in the street, barely conscious, and the bitch that was driving got out of the car, started yelling at me, and threatened to sue my parents for the SCRATCH on her brush guard.


Anywho... Good luck to her. She's probably gonna get that shaft. :-/

[KA-Kait]

Law in California states if you have no insurance, you are at fault (regardless of you causing it or not) . Sooo because this girl is a retard and doesn't have anything. you're friend should be okay.

EDIT: I would imagine this would carry over to Bicycle/vehicle accidents, but I can't be too sure.

[Sileighty_85]

Why would you post a legal question on a Car Fourm???
A lawer or even talking to the cops in your town will acturally know the laws better.

Shit i didnt even know biking on the sidewalk is illegal, (if that is true) but that'd be pretty fucking stupid

[undesiredshoe]

If she didnt get hit by a 240sx, it belongs in off-topic!

[deolio]

there are a lot of dumb drivers in isla vista, but i couldn't really blame the driver. backing out of driveways here is tuff shit. pedestrians everywhere, cars blocking your view, and you have to back out of a driveway that is 3mm wider than the car itself. shit happens. if she lives in isla vista, she should know better than to ride on the sidewalk or near a person who is backing out. it's a lot easier for a person on a bike to see a person in a huge van than it is for the person in the van to see a person on a bike. i'd say just drop it. you aren't going to get anything out of it since both people were in the wrong.

[nka203]

Hm okay, thank you for all the replies, she will most likely talk to her attorney and find out what to do. The girl who hit her is now offering to pay a couple hundred dollars to drop the case, but as of now nothing's certain.

Yes my bad, I realized this thread should be in off-topic section, but sorry I was in a hurry.

[Ghost240]

Question about accident, friend on a bicycle got hit by car.
Hey fellas, just had a quick question for my lady friend who just got hit by a van while bicycling to class. She goes to UCSB where pretty much every kid bikes to class from their residences and they tend to bike on sidewalks since kids here drive pretty dangerously/retardedly. So she's on her way to class on a bicycle when some girl (doesn't have license or registration) pulling out of a parking lot in her van hits her from the side. The car clipped her leg pretty good and she has trouble walking since. Their side is arguing that since she was biking on a sidewalk (which is illegal?) they aren't responsible for anything pretty much, but I'm not sure what to make out of this.

If you could give us any info. on how to deal with this issue that'd be awesome. help out a friend plz. http://forum.e46fanatics.com/images/smilies/bluehappy.gif

get a lawyer and their car insurance.

[Gnnr]

That's an easy case for a lawyer. Isn't it illegal for a car to be on the sidewalk as well? If it was at the intersection where the sidewalk goes into the street, that isn't considered sidewalk anymore. And cars are supposed to yield to bicycles and pedestrians. On top of that the lady didn't have insurance which is also illegal. Hope your friend gets better and that she has this mattered resolved. Tell her to speak to an attorney.

[Andrew Bohan]

cars can be on sidewalks where the driveway of some place is.
bicyclists can't ride on sidewalks unless it's posted as ok to do so. it annoys the fuck out of me when i'm walking and some fucktard on a bike comes by

anyway, maybe the van driver didn't expect there to be a bicycle coming at 10+ mph, since the only things that are supposed to be on sidewalks are people walking at 3mph and jogging around 6mph or so. but if bicycling on the sidewalks is so common in that area, maybe it should be expected.

of course the van driver should have been more attentive, and maybe the bicyclist should have been too.

they both fucked up. i think the van driver fucked up more though

[deolio]

Hm okay, thank you for all the replies, she will most likely talk to her attorney and find out what to do. The girl who hit her is now offering to pay a couple hundred dollars to drop the case, but as of now nothing's certain.

Yes my bad, I realized this thread should be in off-topic section, but sorry I was in a hurry.

you should give me her number so we can party tonight.

[mmdb]

When in doubt consult with a lawyer. They can possibly provide more help than you can imagine.

[aznpoopy]

Question about accident, friend on a bicycle got hit by car.
Hey fellas, just had a quick question for my lady friend who just got hit by a van while bicycling to class. She goes to UCSB where pretty much every kid bikes to class from their residences and they tend to bike on sidewalks since kids here drive pretty dangerously/retardedly. So she's on her way to class on a bicycle when some girl (doesn't have license or registration) pulling out of a parking lot in her van hits her from the side. The car clipped her leg pretty good and she has trouble walking since. Their side is arguing that since she was biking on a sidewalk (which is illegal?) they aren't responsible for anything pretty much, but I'm not sure what to make out of this.

If you could give us any info. on how to deal with this issue that'd be awesome. help out a friend plz. http://forum.e46fanatics.com/images/smilies/bluehappy.gif

i am an attorney. this is a rather classic law school hypothetical explaining a legal doctrine called "negligence per se." hypo goes like this.

A injures B. B sues A for negligence. A defends by stating that B was in violation of a law at the time they were hit. effectively A is asserting B was negligent as well.

the crux here is that A's argument is only valid if the law in question was designed to prevent the type of harm that occurred. the law here, according to you (i don't know CA law) makes it illegal to ride bicycles on the sidewalk. this will only work if the purpose of the law was to help prevent accidents between cars and bikes.

that seems highly unlikely to me, because (obviously) cars don't usually jump up onto sidewalks (LOL). my guess is the law was put into place to protect pedestrians from bikes; not protecting bikers from cars.

so it's my opinion that such an argument is entirely invalid and, based on the scant facts you've provided me, your friend should be successful on that issue.

but yeah, tell your friend to consult with an attorney and sue the fuck out of that driver.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Negligence_per_se

[iloveturbos]

Get a lawyer ........dumbest post ever...