Should I insist on full payment for damaged bike?

[BlackPanther]

There's always a reason why someone doesn't want to go to the insurance. Similarly it should have been reported to the police, drop into your local cop shop and chat to them about it, they may choose not to pursue it, but they can check that everything is in order with his licence and insurance.

I fully agree.

I wonder if the reason he didn't want to go through the insurance is because this has happened before. He could be a serial cyclist knocker offer? Maybe this was the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 100th person he's knocked off? I think that if I was knocked off by someone who 'failed to see' me despite me using lights, I'd want to get the police/insurance involved. Otherwise, the next person might not be as lucky to escape serious injury/death. Also, regarding insurance, a lot of mature drivers have guaranteed n.c.b. so I'm pretty suspicious of this chap.

My late Father once reversed off the drive and knocked a cyclist off (why the heck do people insist on driving onto their drives instead of the much safer option of reversing on? Sorry that's another thread) No harm to the cyclist and my Dad gave him some cash for repairs. I had the dreaded conversation with him about if he should actually be driving any more (And that's yet another thread!).......not pleasant, but necessary. Sometimes you have to be cruel to be kind.

 

[DrSquirrel]

[QUOTE 1342691"]
Or he may be a chancer. It's your call.
[/quote]

I think this is why a lot of old people just drive away from instances... they might get caught, but not so worried if they do - as there is a high chance they could get away with it.

 

[BentMikey]

Personally I'd have insisted on going via his insurance. Bummer for him, take more care next time.

 

[Nigeyy]

Yeah it's a tough one. You don't want to be a heartless b#$tard, but at the same time, remember he was at fault. As others have posted:

i. who knows if he doesn't want to go through insurance because he doesn't have any
ii. he may well have insurance, just doesn't want to increase his premiums with a claim (I understand that, but at the same time you have insurance for a reason, and if he doesn't want to go that route he must also be prepared to pay otherwise). Also have others have pointed out, he may have done this before and may well do it again.
iii. so he's strapped for cash. So are you. But I assume he has enough money to run a car, pay for petrol, maintenance, etc. He made a mistake, and why shouldn't he pay for it? Why should you pay for it?
iv. hopefully he's a decent sort -but again, as someone else pointed out -just because he's old doesn't preclude him from being sneaky or tight.

Interestingly, I had a situation where I was in an accident (not my fault) and the other party offered to pay for the damage. I was young and naive and went along with it up when I wasted my time and had to go to their address to ask for the money and they refused (to this day, don't know why as I -naively again -bought used parts and did the work myself as it wasn't a big deal and was only asking for 30 quid, this was 25 years ago though.) From then on I resolved that if that sort of thing happened again I would assume to go the insurance route but give any offending party a week to pay if they indicated they wanted to do that -no exceptions -and then take it up with their insurance company after that. You might want to consider that.

I'd recommend being honest. I'm assuming you've shown him the bills and aren't trying to rip him off -just tell him you really need the money and that if it is a problem, you understand but you need to go the insurance. Try to remember it isn't you at fault here and you shouldn't be financially penalized.

On the other hand, if you're OK with what you've got, and your heart says that's the right thing to do, do it but just make sure you're really OK with it. Sometimes you have to go with your gut, and we're all human.

 

[fossyant]

Wait and see what happens to you. I was in an accident December 2008... got away with it (mainly because of experience) but suffered a big impact on my shoulder, only just got up, exchanged details...etc. It was Xmas so was OK'ish. (beer no bike) went swimming with kids 2 weeks later...bingo....shoulder went.....

2.5 years later I've just had surgery to fix the damage.... it hurts more than getting run over by the car..... the case goes on.

So..just wait to see if you are in one piece ! CC folk here said wait, I'd bounced.... I know now as I don't bounce as well as when I was 20, now 40's....

I was a British Cycling Member at the time (still am) so then got their solicitors involved.....

Wait and see what injuries you get...Hopefully you'll be OK.

 

[Alembicbassman]

Injury accidents should always be an insurance matter.

If the chap didn't see you then he may not see very well at all. My dad gave up driving at 80 due to sight problems.

It's better for all road users and pedestrians that problems are addressed before something serious happens.

If he can't afford to pay himself his insurance company can, that's what insurance is for.

Find a good local personal injury solicitor (not a TV claims management company) and get some letters written.

 

[mark barker]

You can check if the vehicle is insured (obviously that doesn't mean he was insured) here

 

[400bhp]

I frequent a few car forums and hear this story concerning fault accidents the time.

Most of the time the driver doesn't want to go through insurance and then, surprise surprise, baulk when they are required to pay up.

If the guy is hard up then he should have gone through the insurance. He probably did a quick incorrect maths calc in his head and thought cost of fixing bike not through insurance was less than future increase in premiums.

 

[mickle]

I'm still suffering from injuries including chipped bones and deep tissue damage caused by collisions which I jumped up and walked away from twenty years ago.

Return his cheque - get his insurance details.

There should be no pity for drivers whose driving is below standard. Get them off the road.

 

[Night Train]

I would also say use his insurance, it is what it is there for.

If you found yourself to be in pain later on due to this then he isn't going to stump up the medical costs, time off work, loss of earnings, etc. that you may need.

I always go though my insurance with any incident, even as an 'information only' as you never know when something might come back to bite.

If the old chap hit you then his driving or observation is questionable, even if only in that instant. There should be no shame in 'encouraging' someone to stop driving if they are incapable and if that is by an insurance claim because of their negligence then so be it.

 

[upsidedown]

When my mum turned 75 her insurance retirned to the same level as when she was a teenager, prompting her to exchange a RAV 4 for an IQ.
That might have a bearing on his actions.

 

[MrHappyCyclist]

When a young chap scraped the side of my car by turning out of a traffic queue into the next lane without looking, his dad called me asking whether we could settle it without insurance companies and he would pay for the repairs. He had a sob story about his son's insurance premiums and he couldn't afford to pay more, so I agreed at first. Next thing he was saying he'd get his mate up the road to fix the car for me. At that point I went straight to my insurance company and got it done properly. It's all very well being charitable, but if people want to drive motor vehicles, they really have to accept the consequences.

 

[mickle]

....... It's all very well being charitable, but if people want to drive motor vehicles, they really have to accept the consequences.

Abso****inglutely.

 

[Rob3rt]

If he is 70 and driving with insurance, then chances are he didnt just get his liscence 3 months ago, so surely he would have built up at least some no claims (so his premium wont skyrocket, or in fact even increase at all because of this one off incident)........... unless he makes this a relativelly common occurance and doesnt have any no claims!

If the former, claiming from his insurance shouldnt upset his finances long term so you should insist to go down the insurance route. If the latter, then you still need to go down the insurance route and wring him for every drop of cash that you are out of pocket to make a point of it. He needs to learn, and his insurance company need to know of his level of liability - so they can make an informed decision to either refuse to further insure him, or raise his premium, which may force him off the road, and in the latter case, might be a bit sad but its for the greater good, if he is a liability, he shouldnt be on the road!

Old age doesnt excuse you from the law and/or responsibility!

 

[Cheule]

If he can afford to run a car he can afford to pay you. I'm in full time employment and do all the overtime I can and I still can't afford one.