If you're wondering what happens if you hit a cyclist with your car, we've got you covered. Here's what to do after hitting someone on a bicycle, what your car insurance may cover, and when you may not need to pay.
While you might know what to do in a collision with another vehicle, you may wonder what to do if you hit a cyclist with your car. Although the vehicles are different, the process is similar—your car insurance
will likely cover the cyclist's property damage and bodily injury costs, as long as the driver is at fault. Here's everything you should know in the event that you do hit a cyclist with your car.
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What to do after hitting a cyclist
The first thing to do after any accident
is to check for injuries and call 911. Once you've made sure everyone is okay (or have called an ambulance) and have called the police, here's what to do: Exchange insurance information. This will make sure that anyone who needs to is able to file a claim as easily as possible.
File a police report. This will help your insurance provider get a clear idea of what happened, as well as who was at fault.
Take pictures of the accident. This gives your provider a clearer picture of what happened, and how to process any claim that you or the cyclist may make.
What your car insurance covers
If you hit someone on a bicycle while driving your car, your liability insurance
will cover any property damage
or bodily injury
done to the cyclist, as long as the driver was at fault. This means that as long as the driver is responsible for the crash, your car insurance will cover any damage done to the cyclist or to their bike, as it would with a car accident. When your insurance doesn't cover the cyclist
If the cyclist is at fault, your liability coverage will not cover their damages. For example, if you hit a cyclist wearing the required lighting at night, you will be expected to pay for any property damage or injury to them. However, if they are not wearing the required lighting, and you collide with them as a result of being unable to see them, you will likely not be considered at fault.
Some other instances where a cyclist can find themselves at fault
for an accident include: Failure to signal properly
Rolling through a stop sign
Riding the wrong way on a one-way street
Not riding in the bike lane
How adjusters determine who is at fault
When it comes to bikes and cars, fault is determined in percentages. For example, in some states, if adjusters find the bike rider more than 50% responsible for an accident, the cyclist might not have the ability to collect damages. If they are found to be significantly responsible, they might even have to pay for any damage to the car.
To figure out who was more or less responsible, adjusters will determine how negligent the cyclist and driver were. This does not apply if the cyclist was a child, however; many states presume that children aged 4-14 are incapable of negligence. While this doesn't mean that the driver is automatically at fault, it does mean that children are presumed to exercise less care on the road, so the driver is expected to exercise more.
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How adjusters determine negligence and award damages
Depending on the state, the insurance adjuster will assign negligence with one of two methods:
Contributory negligence: This method examines how much each person contributed to the collision. Examining the accident through a lens of contributory negligence also means that both parties may be assigned an amount of blame. This means that that the not-at-fault person might end up receiving partial or no damages from the at-fault party, if they both played a significant role in the accident. (Th
Comparative negligence: In comparative negligence, adjusters examine each party's part in the accident and compare, rather than assuming both parties contributed in some way.
The states that use comparative negligence will then dictate how damages are paid out in one of two ways:
Pure comparative negligence: In a pure comparative negligence case, the damages are totaled and divided according to the percentage of negligence each party was responsible for. Both parties then receive damages in accordance with the percentage of negligence they hold.
Modified comparative negligence: Using modified comparative negligence means that any compensation awarded to the not-at-fault party will be reduced by the percentage of negligence assigned to them. For example, if a not-at-fault party is found to be 30% responsible for an accident, their damages will be reduced by 30%. In addition, if the not-at-fault party was responsible for 50% or more of the accident, they will receive no damages.
The following table contains the negligence system for each state:
| |
|---|
| Pure Contributory Negligence |
| Pure Comparative Negligence |
| Pure Comparative Negligence |
| Modified Comparative Negligence – 50% Rule |
| Pure Comparative Negligence |
| Modified Comparative Negligence – 50% Rule |
| Modified Comparative Negligence – 51% Rule |
| Modified Comparative Negligence – 51% Rule |
| Pure Contributory Negligence |
| Pure Comparative Negligence |
| Modified Comparative Negligence – 50% Rule |
| Modified Comparative Negligence – 51% Rule |
| Modified Comparative Negligence – 50% Rule |
| Modified Comparative Negligence – 51% Rule |
| Modified Comparative Negligence – 51% Rule |
| Modified Comparative Negligence – 51% Rule |
| Modified Comparative Negligence – 50% Rule |
| Pure Comparative Negligence |
| Pure Comparative Negligence |
| Modified Comparative Negligence – 50% Rule |
| Pure Contributory Negligence |
| Modified Comparative Negligence – 51% Rule |
| Modified Comparative Negligence – 51% Rule |
| Modified Comparative Negligence – 51% Rule |
| Pure Comparative Negligence |
| Pure Comparative Negligence |
| Modified Comparative Negligence – 51% Rule |
| Modified Comparative Negligence – 50% Rule |
| Modified Comparative Negligence – 51% Rule |
| Modified Comparative Negligence – 51% Rule |
| Modified Comparative Negligence – 51% Rule |
| Pure Comparative Negligence |
| Pure Comparative Negligence |
| Pure Contributory Negligence |
| Modified Comparative Negligence – 50% Rule |
| Modified Comparative Negligence – 51% Rule |
| Modified Comparative Negligence – 50% Rule |
| Modified Comparative Negligence – 51% Rule |
| Modified Comparative Negligence – 51% Rule |
| Pure Comparative Negligence |
| Modified Comparative Negligence – 51% Rule |
| Pure Comparative Negligence |
| Modified Comparative Negligence – 50% Rule |
| Modified Comparative Negligence – 51% Rule |
| Modified Comparative Negligence – 50% Rule |
| Modified Comparative Negligence – 51% Rule |
| Pure Contributory Negligence |
| Pure Comparative Negligence |
| Modified Comparative Negligence – 50% Rule |
| Modified Comparative Negligence – 51% Rule |
| Modified Comparative Negligence – 51% Rule |
Although you will hopefully never hit anyone on a bike, it can still be useful to know what to do in the event of an accident. As long as you exercise care and caution out on the road, you should be able to keep yourself and your fellow travelers safe!
FAQs
What happens if you hit a parked car with your bike?
Hitting a parked car with your bike can be distressing, but is much easier to take care of than colliding with a vehicle in motion. Your first steps should be to contact the owner and, once they get an estimate for repairs, discuss payment. If the damages are relatively minor, you can offer to pay out of pocket. If not, check to see if your home
or renters
insurance covers the damage. As long as you have one of these options on your side, you should be all set! What happens if you hit a bicycle with your car in California?
California is known for its dedication to preserving the planet, so you may encounter more bikes on the road here than in other states! However, the process is the same as in other states. California is a pure comparative negligence state, meaning that if you are involved in a collision with a bike, an insurance adjuster will determine your role in the accident, and will divide damages accordingly between you and the cyclist.
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