shokhead

Riding home down a nice street about a mile and a half to go when i see a kid,about 12 coming down his drivway,head down,full speed and looks up when he gets to me as i am trying to get out of the way.He hits me square in the rear derailleur.He goes down but is ok.I stay up and my wheel wont turn,brake is all the way on one side and the der is snaped of with part of the arm of the frame still bolted in.Stays might be bent to.We cant pay he says.We dont have any money.I say i dont either and now i dont have a bike so we need to do something.Grandma was nice and gave me his dads name and number and said call after 5pm.Should they pay?

NZLcyclist

i think so and give the kid a lesson on safety

Brendon

lsd87

Bummer! I think they should pay!

Glad you and the kid aren't hurt. I'd definitely call the Dad with all the details. Not sure you can make them pay, so some personality might be your best plan.

Good luck...keep us posted.

supcom

Don't hold your breath awaiting payment. I'd start saving money toward a new bike. In the meantime, take the bike to your LBS and get an estimate of the damage. Maybe you can get it fixed well enough to get by until you can afford another bike.

You say that the rear der snapped off with part of the frame. Was that a replaceable der hanger? If so, you may have an easier repair.

bac

In a word - yes.

Kev

Definately YES!!! If dad is in local area take him to small claims court it will cost you next to nothing. I agree take it to your LBS and get estimate, turned it into a fixed gear! No rear derailleur needed.

Guest

Yep, the snot should pay.

And his father should do it and make the kid do extra chores for the rest of the summer to make up the money paid for your bike.

It's irresponsibe of the kid, and since it belongs to his dad, his dad is responsible for paying for the kid.

Get your money, stand firm, and take it to court if you have to.

Koffee

shokhead

Got off the phone with dad and said i ride at my own risk and he might consider paying half up to $100 bucks and i can take it or leave it.Said no one saw what happened and its his son's word against mine and some highschool kid isnt getting money out of him.I said mr -----------------,i'm 50 years old and live a mile from here with my wife of 27 years and two teenage daughters.What are you talking about.I'm going my what my mother said and saw as she talked to you.Your 50.Yes.Oh.Can i see the bike.Yes.He will come buy tomorrow.JERK

KleinMp99

Sue him for all he's worth, what a piece of ****.

Guest

Get his name, number and address, and then go to small claims court and drop paperwork on him and sue him for the cost of fixing the bike. He should be paying the FULL cost of fixing or replacing the bike- any judge (even the clueles ones) knows that the child was irresponsible and the parent is financially responsible for repaying the debt that the child created.

Get the estimate for the repair or to get it replaced, stop by state court small claims court and fill out the necessary paperwork and the complaint, then pay the sheriff to serve the paperwork on the dumb bastard.

Name the kid in the complaint as a co-defendant.

The United States IS a litigious society- but look at the dumb ***** we have to put up with over here.

Guest

When the guy comes over, btw, tell him if you'd been driving a car and hit the kid, is it the same stupid conclusion that if the kid gets hurt, killed, etc. that it's it's the kid's risk to be riding in his own neighborhood, and if no one saw you hit the kid, you're not responsible, take it or leave it?

Sometimes you have to use analogies as stupid as this for people as dumb as this guy obviously is.

Go outside right now and take as many pics of the bike as possible, and get a pic of the location of where you got hit when you were on your bike, and try to get as many different shots as possible. And if you have a camcorder, try to videotape the exchange between you and this stupid fool tomorrow (hide it someplace in the garage and have the dunce come to your garage to see the damage of the bike so you can get the reaction of the guy and any admission he may make).

Keep us updated.

K

shokhead

Took pics and called him to set up a time.Lfet a message but no return call.I'm taking it in tomorrow no matter what.

Guest

Cool. Check with the police too and see if you can file a report against the kid. It's a vehicular accident as far as I'm concerned. If you can get the police to file a report on the incident, it will only help your case even more.

Good luck.

Koffee

Kev

It costs virtualy nothing to file a claim against him in small claims court.. and to serve him you can actualy have a friend do it. Anyone that is not related to you or him (if I remember correctly).. and he will be out full cost of the repair plus the court costs.

If he does not return your call or come see you're bike definately take it to court, if he does show up have a written estimate to show him, or if you do get it reparied take before pictures and keep copy of the receipt so you can show that to him and the court.

BikerDawg

May not hurt to have two estimates. (Thinking I watch too much Judge Judy. )

AdrianB

I'm not juding your decision to sue or otherwise, however from a completely foreign perspective the reaction from most people here is simply amazing for me (which is not necessarily a bad thing).

If riding home I ran into a kid who was behaving irresponsibly and it resulted in damage to the bike I would be damned glad that neither person was seriously hurt and think about being more careful in the future wherever I went.

I'd certainly discuss the matter with the parents and the kid from a safety perspective and get serious, imagine if it was a car etc etc...

Maybe its my innocence and lack of being in your environment and particular circumstances but I would be very surprised that an amiable and reasonable agreement couldn't be arranged with respects to costs.

If you had been driving a motorvehicle within the legal speed limits; and the child on the bicycle collided with the car in the situation you described above was seriously injured resulting in dented panelwork would you sue for the repair costs?

Anyhow, I wish you the best of luck however you proceed.

Come down to Australia, lay down your arms, leave your doors unlocked and hug a tree

BikerDawg

Adrian, I think the best outcome for both parties is to reach an agreement without having to go any further. America is a sue-happy country, so it seems, but in this case, I believe if things can't be worked out amicably, court may be the way to go. This guy has already back-peddled ( ) when he found out Shokhead wasn't in High School, so I bet they come to a reasonable agreement. I just thought having two estimates might make the Father more likely to understand that ONE isn't a rip-off from your bike friend that owns the shop (probably his next arguement).

Jaimie65

Personally, I'd weigh up the cost of repairs v. the potential revengy factor, heartache and antagonism of suing the kid and his folks that could result. The old man seems an aggro type - I'm not much into aggravating aggro types that drive when I'm a humble little bike rider just doing my thing to and from work. The kid might need a smack behind the ear - maybe its worth letting his karma sort him out.

The Terminator

I don't understand the father's point of view. As a parent, I would feel obligated to pay for anything my son did. It is part of being a responsible parent. Like everyone is saying, if he can't be a responsible parent, let the courts make him be a responsible parent. Good luck.

jcivic00

i guess some people need it in simpler terms, I mean look at it this way, lets say you were both in cars? and the kid had just gotten his learner's permit. What then? I mean really now.

roadfix

If that was my kid, I would definitely feel responsible and obligated to take care of damages without being asked. Almost analogous to if my kid broke a neighbors window playing baseball. The parent needs to set a good example to the kid. What happened to personal responsibility.

Anyway, I'm in L.A..........so where exactly does this guy live???

shokhead

The bike is going into the shop today,where i bought it.I'll try talking to the guy but either way it has to be fixed.There is good news.My wife say no small claims,thats stupit.Get him to pay or forget it.Then she made a BIG mistake.Maybe you should go down and go ahead and get your new bike.Does that mean when i have a new one in the garage,she cant give me ,well you know that married look.Well i guess she still could.She really would if she saw the bill but i'll pay cash and she doesnt need to know.Either way i am still upset about my bike and not being able to ride.

Guest

The thing that makes me so outraged is that the kid is actually LYING about what happened, not taking responsibility for what he's done, and his parents are coddling him and not taking responsibility for the kid's actions.

First and foremost, the kid needs to be held accountable for what he did- and that includes the lying. If we let these snot nosed brats run around destroying property and lying at will, what kind of future society are we creating? These brats are our future, and if they're gonna be in charge someday, I'd hate to see what our world is going to evolve into!

Second, the parent needs to punish the child- parents these days have so little regard for the world around them, and they bring kids into this world but do nothing to guide them or teach them right from wrong. And the parent needs to set an example for the kid so the kid can learn something about MORALITY- the parent should pay for the bike after looking at the damage and receiving an estimate.

Finally, the parent should make that kid APOLOGIZE for what he did- and the kid needs to do some additional penance while he's at it- extra chores around the house, grounding, etc. Bring it home for the kid so that he understands that what he did was wrong, and perhaps in the future, the kid won't do something stupid like... say... drink and drive and maybe kill someone while driving under the influence? I know this is a bit of a stretch for an example, but when kids are continually allowed to get away with things, it could snowball into something worse and worse until the kid grows up and ends up doing something really bad because they weren't taught right from wrong or punished when they did something wrong.

Maybe in Australia they can hug a tree or something, but while they're hugging trees, we'll be disciplining kids so that they don't continue to repeat their mistakes.

Koffee

P.S. Get the old bike fixed anyway. I know I would be personally destroyed if my beater bike got banged up and was just sitting there, even if I got a shiny new racing bike. That bike is my baby!

The Toninator

be sure to tell his dad you could have been a car.

shokhead

The kid did say how sorry he was and so did the grandma so it seems the dad is the hard case.