Hit in the back by a cyclist!

jambo12

Hi Guys

Can anyone give me some advice please....this morning I was crawling along in a local traffic jam and I came to a stop to give way to a car pulling out of a car park to my left.

Suddenly there was a loud bang and a cyclist had managed to cycle straight into the back of me whilst I was stationary. She broke the casing to my back left light and there a few more light scratches/dents to the car. She wasn't injured herself though.

As I haven't had an accident before I didn't know what to do other than take her details down..how do I get her to pay for the damage she has caused without going via the insurance route as surely this will affect my ncb/premium if I make a claim?

Cheers!

bclark

Basically with a cyclist there is nothing you can do.

BenL

Cyclists sometimes have insurance too, especially if they are member of a cycling club or something. Did you get any details from the person?

jambo12

Yes I did get her contact details which appear to be legit. I'm just a bit freaked as it's not my car. My other half is saying its not worth an insurance claim as it's just the housing on the rear light that's broken but to go down the legal route instead which is surely going to be costly and a headache?

Funnily enough on the radio at the time was a discussion about this new change in law that they are trying to implement making it all the driver's fault!

dacouch

If she has Home Insurance of her immediate family she lives with have Home Insurance you may be able to claim under the Liability Section of the Policy alternatively as mentioned before if she is a member of a cyclist club she may had Liability Cover under this.

It might be worth getting a quote to replace the damage, then give them a call or write and ask how they are going to settle the repairs. They may want to pay it privately as they will almost certainly have an excess to pay and it could affect their renewal premiums

jambo12

Thanks for all your advice.

I have spoken to my mechanic and so in process of getting a rough quote which I doubt will be extortionate anyway as it is just the plastic casing of the tail light that has been broken as opposed to the light itself.

Scratches probably a t-cut job but there is a smaller dent which needs to be fixed.

Hopefully she will pick her phone when I ring her and be amenable to paying for the damage she caused!

Pew_Pew_Pew_Lasers!

You don't need a mechanic to fix this. The light will be accessible from the boot, just remove it, replace the cover, and reinstall.

jambo12

Cool - what's the 'official name' for the plastic casing around the tail light please? And do these DIY dent removal kits work?

Thanks.

Reggie_Rebel

I hope you ran over her bike

jambo12

Guys - chill! Yes it is very annoying but just one of those things in life. I am extremely glad that it was her hitting me rather than the other way around.

For now she is not answering her phone however my mechanic has informed me that the part I require is £40ish plus a bottle of t-cut and whatever the dent will cost to fix......I won't hold a grudge as long as she pays for the damage!

almillar

I hope you checked your mirror before braking to let that car out, and I hope you didn't stop suddenly or creep left whilst doing so. But I suspect that if you did any of these things you would've got a mouthful from the cyclist!