Law In Regard To Giving Way To Riders On Footpaths

[Paradizzle]

Today i was leaving my driveway (going forwards, not reversing) and a kid out of no where plowed into the side of my car….. flying over the bonnet and in front of my car. The kid was fine, only a small graze on his arm and a bit shaken up.

The first i saw of him was on top of my bonnet, so thats when i first reacted and braked. I was going very slow as I was creeping out of my driveway. He hit the right front qtr panel and dinted it a lot, and then there is a small dint and a few small scratches on the bonnet. His bike must have scratched my front bar also (fairly deep).

Funny thing was that he was riding with his family, and his old man is one of the guys I work with. He looked at my car and said it was the kids fault and that he would pay for it, but I don’t think he realises it’s not just a ‘small’ dint and won’t be cheap to fix. He said something about his insurance would cover it, but I doubt he has insurance that would cover his son causing damage to my car….

The other thing is that I want to know who is in the wrong, as I cannot see much when I am coming out of my driveway (big security gates with trees etc). Was I meant to give way etc…

He hit the side of my car; I didn’t hit him with the front of mine.

Does anyone know the law when it comes to this issue, I read that people 12yrs and older are not allowed to ride on the footpath… the kid would be just under 12 or turned 12 (he is in yr 7).

Last thing I want is to slap a 2 grand bill in front of his face and for him to turn around and say I’m not paying this, or you can pay half.

Anyone with some info/help would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers.

[Russman]

Does anyone know the law when it comes to this issue, I read that people 12yrs and older are not allowed to ride on the footpath… the kid would be just under 12 or turned 12 (he is in yr 7).

Thats it. Over 12s need to ride on the road but I would think they are in the wrong. I used to ride to school on the footpath (I was over 12) and I knew that if I hit someone else I would be in the wrong because I should have been on the road. Just didn't want to get mowed down...

I think it will depend on his age.

Sorry to hear mate. One of those things that can 'just happen' but thankfully don't very often.

[Paradizzle]

Cheers, yes it was a shit thing.. your heart stops for a second when you see someone fly over your bonnet!

Hopefully when it comes to the bill, and fixing the car he will still be happy to pay it. Last thing i want is a difficult time in getting the payment.

[LiQuid IcE]

makes things more difficult/sensitive that u work with him...

[FLYSLY]

sorry to hear mate, hope it all works out. But yeah like the other guys have said its one of those complicated situations.

I know if had kids i wouldnt want them riding on the road unless they were 15 or older, they just dont have the road sense to be on the road any younger. Kids are just unaware of their surroundings at a young age.

[Paradizzle]

His old man even paid him out a little for not paying attention, thank god the boy was wearing a helmet aswell.. I think he was day dreaming, as he hit the side of my car hard enough to fling him over onto the bonnet. I was waiting for my electric security gate to open, it slides open towards the way he was coming so i thought he may have seen that. Or maybe even heard my car as i was waiting close to the gate.

[eron]

The old man has apologised, so he definitely has to pay for it. I hope you have called your insurance company on the spot and handed in that guys details.

Because if he decides to change his mind sometime later, with no evidence, it's all on you.

[Liquidity]

Theres an obscure little law here in SA that says when leaving a driveway with limited visibility, your required to sound your horn.

Not sure about vic.

[Meek34]

No doubt this kid has learnt his lesson by shock tactics and will be more cautious in the future. I don't think a 12yo has enough road sense to be riding on the road either (they dont have to pass a road rules test do they). I have a drive way that is difficult to see pedestrians too and with a primary school around the corner I am always so so careful of driving out, kids are unpredictable.

As for insurance and who should pay. If it is lotsa$$$ to fix and you have comprehensive insurance you could ask him to pay the excess (plus a bit$$$ for the inconvenience). Just a suggestion if you have to work with him and want to keep the peace.

[Paradizzle]

No doubt this kid has learnt his lesson by shock tactics and will be more cautious in the future. I don't think a 12yo has enough road sense to be riding on the road either (they dont have to pass a road rules test do they). I have a drive way that is difficult to see pedestrians too and with a primary school around the corner I am always so so careful of driving out, kids are unpredictable.

As for insurance and who should pay. If it is lotsa$$$ to fix and you have comprehensive insurance you could ask him to pay the excess (plus a bit$$$ for the inconvenience). Just a suggestion if you have to work with him and want to keep the peace.

I only have 3rd party.. so unfortunately that is not an option. Its only a part time job and i will not be there for the rest of my working life, but regardless he is a decent bloke and would not want him to be to much out of pocket.

I dont think a 12 yr old kid has enough road sense either, but i was just looking at the law to try and ascertain whos in the wrong.

I washed my car properly down at the car wash last night aswell, and it was looking so nice (and straight) after being dirty for so long. Dammit!!

if any body can PM me or post some recommended panel beaters in the Eastern Suburbs (im in Bulleen) that would be great. Ill start getting some quotes on tuesday i think. Cheers.

[Omurru]

Hey dude, really sucks when shit like this happens, similar thing have happened to me but not with the skyline thank god. If he has admited fault, lodge a claim with your insurance and say the father admited fault and go from there. Basically as I know, as long as he admits fault even if it is your fault he is responsible.

I think in this situation technically you are to blame as you didn't give way, I know it sucks ass, I had to foot the bill when someone (paper boy) drove into my mates driveway as I was reversing out, I was watching the side mirror to make sure i didn't run over the plants (curved driveway) and he drove in behind me and just stopped and i hit him, this was still on his property mind you and as the law sees it I was at fault cos apparantley I didn't give way he was stopped i hit him.....long shit fight over that one and I still came out worse off.

My advice, just be nice about it all, don't try and rip him off or anything as he has already admited fault and hopefully it should work out ok for you.

P.S: If this doesn't make sense it's cos i been out all night and i can't sleep now.....

[Helio]

There are some panel shops in the link below under cosmetic. Good luck mate, hope it all works out well for you.

Link

Cheers.

[Ruffels]

you can get a new guard for bout $150 - $200 then painting a guard and bonnet can be done as cheaply as $500 ... so minimum will see it cost ~$650 - $700

but if it went through insurance ...... i got a quotes to replace, paint (even blend down doors and sideskirt) and do the front bar also under an insurance claim) @ $1500

so its not gonna be a massive bill so long as its purly cosmetic and nothing else underneath was bent out of shape!

but still when you know the people it makes things a tad more difficult

Edited April 7, 2007 by Ruffels

[Russman]

There are some panel shops in the link below under cosmetic. Good luck mate, hope it all works out well for you.

Link

Cheers.

Not many panel shops anywhere near bulleen in that one. I'm just near bullen (Doncaster East) and I'm interested too coz I want my guards rolled. Anyone have experience from this area?

[ztuned]

hmm i know this might be cheating the insurance company and illegal and stuff,

but u could just tell him to tell his insurance company he reversed his car into urs (it might have make it look like it tho)

and he would just have to pay an excess of like $200, instead of $2000

[blind_elk]

Page 30 of the Road Rules handbook (Giving way to pedestrians):

When entering the road from a driveway or adjacent land, you must give way to pedestrians on any footpath, path or nature strip you cross to enter the road. You must also give way to bicycles or other vehicles on the footpath, path or nature strip.

[justin911]

i forget what its called, but theres a good one we used to goto in templestowe. Its like a few hundred metres from the templestowe pub on that same road just after the intersection.

Not many panel shops anywhere near bulleen in that one. I'm just near bullen (Doncaster East) and I'm interested too coz I want my guards rolled. Anyone have experience from this area?

[Paradizzle]

Not many panel shops anywhere near bulleen in that one. I'm just near bullen (Doncaster East) and I'm interested too coz I want my guards rolled. Anyone have experience from this area?

There is one down the road from me, he works some killer hours and works on many nice expensive cars. On cnr of Bulleen and Manningham Rd. Ive seen some show cars etc at his shop, so he must be doing something right. Its called F1SmashRepairs or something like that.

hmm i know this might be cheating the insurance company and illegal and stuff,

but u could just tell him to tell his insurance company he reversed his car into urs (it might have make it look like it tho)

and he would just have to pay an excess of like $200, instead of $2000

Haha yes, but even if i were to go down that path... The damage does not look like a another car has hit mine. The dint in the qtr panel could maybe look like from another car, but the dint on bonnet and scratch on the front bar would be hard to link into the story lol..

Page 30 of the Road Rules handbook (Giving way to pedestrians):

Ah yes, cheers... I did creep out slowly, so i did give way. But the kid was flying down the hill and hit the side of my car, so its a bit hard to give way when he is not paying attention and was going fast. Its a tough one haha.

cheers guys.

[Russman]

those panel shops sound good. People who work on good cars not just insurance jobs.

[Paradizzle]

those panel shops sound good. People who work on good cars not just insurance jobs.

i got a quote today from F1 smash repairs, same one i mentioned above and his price was the best suprisingly. He also took time to talk to me about it and mentioned some other things that other panel shops didnt even pick up!! So looks like ill be going there.