Hello,
my husband and I (both foreigners) got into a car accident today. He was driving, and made a left turn at an intersection with green light. We were driving pretty slowly because it was an area with lots of pedestrian traffic and we’d just let some pedestrians cross. We were crossing the intersection when an electric bicycle driven by a young woman crashed into the right side (driver side) of the car. We basically saw her at the very last moment, probably (i think) she came quite fast since it was an electric bike and my husband didn’t check one last time before crossing. She fell and we immediately stopped, got her off the road with the help of some other people, called police and ambulance… the usual procedure (very grateful to the passersby who helped since our Japanese is passable but not nearly good enough). We don-t know her condition yet, but the ambulance said she had nothing life threatening, and the most likely injury is to her leg (maybe something broken, we dont know). Both her bicycle and our car are unscathed, since the speed was relatively low and i think she hit the car with the front of her tire.
We have voluntary insurance as well. I have two questions: any tip about how to communicate with the insurance? The truth is, we didn’t see/remember everything (eg which direction the bike came from etc) so we’re worried we may say something that will put us in a bad position (obviously we acknowledge that most of the fault lies with us); second, what can we expect now in terms of the other person pressing charges? How bad can it get for my husband? Any good advice with dealing with this kind of situations? Thank you in advance.
7 comments
If she hit you then get her to insist it was all her fault…in writing.
If she won’t do that, accuse her of being atariya….an accident scammer.
Though the cops, courts and insurance company may let her slide, she is NOT supposed to be crossing on the pedestrian cross walk while riding on a bicycle.
Also, your claim will have more teeth if your car was stopped when she hit you, even if only a split second before impact….cause that is generally the way car accidents are worked…if you stopped its the other person’s fault.
As for the system, they ALWAYS blame the car driver no matter how insane the cyclist acts. You have a fight on your hands, but if its her fault then its the good fight. If its not her fault…well then meekly take your lumps.
Now I have to ask you time of day cause if it was dusk, dawn or night and she did not have her light on its even MORE her fault…though once again the system will expect your husband to be omnipotent and you will have to push them to see reason.
I suggest you be firm and persistent with logic on this one because the people in the system absolutely won’t be. I am pretty sure they will ignore fact after fact to just blame your husband and wash their hands of it and its NOT racism. Its their standard call. So like I say, first thing is to try and get to the cyclist. If you are sure its her fault, then convince her to take the blame and sign off on that.
You might also promise not to collect damages and just move on. If you can do that, I think you should feel lucky paying for any damages to the car yourself. Usually, these come out pretty bad for the driver.
Well… Youll likely have to cover her hospital bills if insurance finds you at fault.
As for criminal charges, youll likely just get a citation and a few points.
That being said, she hit your right side? If so, she was illegally riding on the wrong side of the street. Bicycles have to abide by the rules of the road as well. So she will also probably get a portion of the blame. Not to mention the crack down on bicycle riders breaking the rules, you MIGHT be lucky and have even less fault assigned to you.
As for pressing charges, Itll be civil and youll likely be fined the cost of her hospital bills and maybe for the time off work? But doubtful.
Someone from the insurance will contact you and ask for your version. Then they’ll take over and try their damndest to negotiate the percentage of blame. They’ll share counter-offers with you and so on. The insurance people will also try to make the slightest scratch on your car as damage – and find a way that repair for it will cost a fortune too on your behalf.
But I think bike riders are supposed to dismount before crossing at a pedestrian crossing. I never cycle, so someone can probably add to that. Don’t be too eager to take all the blame. I’ve seen plenty of near misses with cyclists going through pedestrian crossings just as a car is turning, and those electric ones can be very fast.
You didn’t mention police–an accident like this, or course call an ambulance, but the police should have been the immediate next step.
Fault is generally not determined by the police, they write up a description and then the insurance companies wrangle it out. And tho you don’t say where you are, insurance for cyclists is required in most prefectures.
Given that the cyclist has insurance, then it depends on what kind–e.g., I have coverage that includes ‘representation’ (lawyer/legal) so that they’ll pay more attention. Some policies are just a payout for an accident, and if you are deemed liable, a payout from the cyclist’s policy might lessen what you need to cover.
Bicycle are not allowed in crosswalk by law. Just a fyi. This isn’t a cute and dry case. So get a lawyer to review the police reports. They are all that will matter.
Does the car have a drive recorder? It could help if the accident was recorded. Either you or your insurance company should get a copy of the police report. Your insurance rate will go up after an accident like that. You may want to consult with a lawyer in case any complaint or charges are filed.
It doesn’t appear you were criminally negligent so I doubt you’d suffer in that sense.
The insurance company will likely contact you to get the story, request the police report and contact the other party’s insurance or lawyer.
For the victims compensation, that’s entirely up to them to fight it out. Worst case you would get an increase in your premium if you are found to be at fault.