So I'm riding at a fairly good pace coming back from the library at around 10 pm tonight. I'm in the road with my headlight and taillight on. All of a sudden from behind this bush, a girl appears in front of me. I have no time to react and hit her dead on. I go flying but get up right afterwards. Luckily, I didn't hit my head or break my laptop. But my left side is a little banged up and a couple of fingers are bleeding.

If I were to have damaged my bike in this scenario, what should I do? Do I call the police or just exchange information with her?

Btw, she was perfectly fine.

Ryan

Sorry to hear about your crash, I just had one recently myself. There is no way you will get money out of a pedestrian for damage to a bike. It is the responsibility of vehicles to watch for pedestrians. If you call the police in that situation, it is likely that you will have to pay if she has any aches or pains later on.

More importantly
Was She Cute?

So, did you hit it?

Pics or it didn't happen

No she wasn't cute.

That's why they call it an am-Bush!

Dude, you got bushwhacked.

I'd check the laws in his state first. For example, in Vermont, pedestrians can't just run out in front of traffic, especially if they're not in a crosswalk. Even if they are in a crosswalk, they need to make sure traffic can (and will) stop safely for them. This is contrary to popular belief but plainly spelled out in the motor vehicle statutes...

That's what the letter of the law may say, but in reality you will never get a pedestrian to pay for damages to a vehicle (including a bike). I've just never heard of, or seen it happen in the real world. Now if the pedestrian is killed, it's possible that the driver may get off the hook, but still no one will pay for the damage to his vehicle.

Wonder what possesed her to leap out of a bush into the road at 10:00 pm. People do wierd stuff. A guy almost got me opening his car door in the bike lane this morning. Not that thats wierd, just throwing it out there.

A woman tried to door me this PM! I was out of range tho.

If you were to have damaged the bike, then you probably also hurt the pedestrian so it would be good to call the police to report a collision. Its possible, though unlikely, that the pedestrian may admit to fault / be apologetic / offer to pay for your bike. If not I think your only recourse would be to sue (and for that you obviously need to identify the pedestrian). Is it worth it to sue? Obviously depends on the extent of your injury, but if you've just taco'ed your wheel I think you are SOL. And since the pedestrian doesn't carry insurance actually getting the money you successfully sue for may be another story!

Remember also that no matter where a pedestrian jumped from, its often assumed that hitting a pedestrian is the fault of the person that hit them (and probably particularly since cyclists seem to be lowest on the police totem pole), so that by calling the police you risk also being found partially at fault.

Always a good idea to look at your route when cycling at night, maybe there's a less bush-infested way to go? Try to hedge your bets next time...

First thing to do is contact a local taxidermist to check prices for preparation. You'll also want to check the load-strength of suitable walls in your den.

I saw a pedestrian run into a cyclist the other night. He was probably at fault because he was crossing in a busy crosswalk, but it's somewhat difficult to predict that a pedestrian will start running from a dead stop. I was just glad I had waited.

You realize that you're absolutely wrong here, right?

If a pedestrian steps out into a street without looking right in front of a moving vehicle then the accident is the PEDESTRIAN'S fault... and very well could be liable for any damages resulting.

Was the cyclist on the street or on a sidewalk? The bit about the pedestrian stepping out from behind a bush sounds like this might have gone down on a sidewalk.

I was on the street as was stated in my initial post. I was leaving campus and there are a row of bushes to my left. On the otherside of those bushes is a parking lot. I have no idea what she was doing in there. She was with some friends so I'm guessing she was just talking and having a good time, and didn't realize she was in the middle of the road.

Ryan

Just b/c you haven't seen or heard of it happening in the real world doesn't mean that it does not in fact occur

Well after something like that you just gotta shrub it off.