Bicycle collision with car at pedestrian crossing - who is at fault?

Okay, that makes morse sense now.

If it was a toucan crossing then you are in the clear I think, the driver should have been able to stop to avoid a collision. If it was an ordinary pedestrian crossing then she could argue that you were not meant to be there, but on the other hand if you'd been walking across and she hit you the case would be 100% cut and dry, pedestrians always have right of way.

You shouldn't have admitted fault, but if the other party did as well I don't think she'll be able to hold it against you.

IMO you should not pay, there simply isn't enough evidence and the burden of proof would be on the driver to show that you didn't give her enough time to react. And if she isn't reporting it to her insurer, that's even more dodgy, so best to keep clear of whatever she's up to.

she'll need to get some legal reason of my needing to pay for the repairs.

That would be you causing the damage.

The car must have been driving towards the crossing, or the accident could not have happened, and I am aware of only one bike, one car and one pedestrian. Let's go through this:

Car drives towards crossing, lights green.

Pedestrian leaps out and crosses (against red pedestrian lights). Driver alarmed and swears, possibly slows, Attention follows pedestrian.

Bike approaches crossing, overlapping with last step - does driver see it? With eyes naturally fixed on idiot pedestrian, I don't think so.

Bike crosses, not seeing car (or even looking for it). Driver still looking at pedestrian, probably until final millisecond.

Bike and car collide.

The very thing that the cyclist thinks meant it was safe for him to cross (the pedestrian ahead) made it more dangerous for him.

her simply telling me that I'll need to give her the money isnt enough when she's able to get the money back through her insurance.

I think my main plan of action now is too just not respond to her and see what happens. I'm not going to give her money just because she says its my fault - if she's adamant thats she's not going to claim it back through her insurance then she'll need to get some legal reason of my needing to pay for the repairs.

Car driver sees pedestrian run out at a crossing (which is followed by a blind bend), slams on brakes.

in which case the maximum the OP would be paying would be her excess.

If you do want to insure your bike then https://www.eta.co.uk/insurance/cycle/ have been excellent (and reasonably priced) in my experience (although you'll need a badass approved bike lock for the theft cover).

If you do want to insure your bike then https://www.eta.co.uk/insurance/cycle/ have been excellent (and reasonably priced) in my experience (although you'll need a badass approved bike lock for the theft cover).

She wasn't paying attention, she hasn't reported an accident to her insurance and she's trying to extort money out of the person she hit. If she was confident that she was faultless she would go to her insurer and get them to recover the costs from the OP...the fact that she admitted she wasn't paying attention to the road ahead and is trying to extor money privately is dodgy.

As I said if I was the OP I would call her bluff and go after her with a no win no fee claim company for the injury and force her to get her insurer involved - in which case the maximum the OP would be paying would be her excess.

Filing a claim when you know it's your fault is wrong.

I think my main plan of action now is too just not respond to her and see what happens. I'm not going to give her money just because she says its my fault - if she's adamant thats she's not going to claim it back through her insurance then she'll need to get some legal reason of my needing to pay for the repairs.

Good point! But we appear to have developed a culture that it is OK not to face up to your moral and financial obligations if you can a find a specious way around it.

It is a good thing nobody was seriously injured, unable to earn a living and with long-term medical bills to pay.

Presumably if the OP wasn't even aware of the car before the collision they were moving at a decent speed?

I'm with Good bloke and RogerOxon on this, from the description provided the OP is at fault and therefore liable for the damage to the car.

You know you are quite literally the reason motorists hate cyclists so much. You've shown flagrant disregard for the rules of the road, by your own admission causing an accident by crossing when you shouldn't have been. And then, rather than do the honourable thing and pay to repair the driver's car, you're trying to find a way to weasel out of it.

You know you are quite literally the reason motorists hate cyclists so much. You've shown flagrant disregard for the rules of the road, by your own admission causing an accident by crossing when you shouldn't have been. And then, rather than do the honourable thing and pay to repair the driver's car, you're trying to find a way to weasel out of it.

her telling me to pay her and then me just handing over the money is not the way to go unsurprisingly.

I accept that I was at fault, we both were and i'm happy to take responsibility for what happened...

Something to note: it sounds like she admitted fault at the scene, which may invalidate her insurance altogether. I know that if I was to have an accident and admit fault at the scene, my insurance is no longer valid. Unfortunately I have been in an accident, and that's one of the first things they ask over the phone!

I accept that I was at fault, we both were and i'm happy to take responsibility for what happened if it comes to it however the main reason for putting this thread up was to find out where I stand when some stranger messages me saying that she may be billing me for £500. I don't understand how insurance works and ultimately I don't care about pointing fingers towards who's to blame, all I really wanted to find out was what I do now and from what I can understand it's that her telling me to pay her and then me just handing over the money is not the way to go unsurprisingly.