Cyclist crashes into my mums car

[waltolla]

i was in the car with my mum when she was passing through a junction on a green light. A cyclist coming from the opposite direction turned right across the box junction in front of my mums car (so he must have gone through a red light?), my mum braked but hit him. He slammed into her car leaving two dinted hand prints on the bonnet and scratches. we have a witness to the crash. The cyclist was ok. i took his details (although they are probably not real) and i have logged an incident with the police. he has left fingerprints on the bonnet though. do you think we should/can ask for these to be lifted?

Will she be able to claim for this damage?

will she have to go through the small claim courts? my mum said she doesn't want to go to court because he will find out where she lives (he did look very very rough, like he was on drugs in my opinion? and was very intimidating) would he be given my mums address?

at the time of the incident he did admit fault saying, 'i thought i could make it.'

but when i asked for his details he said, 'i'll pay for the damage but not any whip lash claim.'

and then when i took his details he started to run off.

very confused.

any help would be really appreciated.

[sailor sam]

We had a case recently when a cyclist ran into a parked car. It transpired that the cyclist was unemployed and had no money so the car owner wasn't able to get him to pay for the damage. To be frank annoying as it is, your best bet is to let your mom's insurance deal with it. Unfortunately untill the law on cycles is seriously modified, the poor old car owner will find himself financially out of pocket in these situations.

 

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[T.C.]

Normally, because cyclists are not required by law to have insurance, the only way you could claim against the cyclist is as mentioned through the small claims court, and then hope he has sufficient funds to cover the costs or some form of insurance, for example "All Risk" on a home contents policy, but then it probably does not need me to say it, don't hold your breath.

 

If it went to the small claims court, the cyclist would probably then plead poverty and be allowed to pay at say 50p per week which will take forever and that is if he continues to make his payments.

 

The Police will not lift the fingerprints for a road traffic crash unless it is the subject of a criminal offence, and a road crash is not a criminal offence.

 

As already mentioned, your best bet is to contact your insurers, expalin the situation and see what they can do to assist you. (probably not a lot, but at least speak to them)

[crem]

I would think the amount of damage is unlikely to warrant the risk of losing your NCD by claiming through your own insurance.

Edited July 27, 2011 by crem

[waltolla]

Thank you all for your advice. It is very much appreciated. I feel a lot more informed to make the right decision.

Many Thanks