Too many children are injured and even killed in accidents involving bicycles and automobiles. Drivers must exercise even greater caution when passing or approaching children who are on bikes. Courts hold children on bicycles to a lower standard of care when they are in accidents with cars.

Drive With Extra Care When Children Are On the Road

Drivers are always expected to exercise reasonable care to avoid accidents and ensure safety when they are on the road. When a car/bicycle accident occurs, courts will examine negligence, looking for evidence of reckless driving on the parts of the driver and the bicyclist. When there are children in the vicinity, the drivers must exercise even greater care. Drivers need to anticipate, for instance, that a nearby child may run into the street or become frightened if the car is going too fast.

If you see children or if you are driving through an area frequented by children like a school zone, you must exercise increased care. The legal term for this is “unusual care.” The driver in this case needs to pay close attention and be prepared to stop immediately or turn quickly if the situation requires it. Children are generally present in and near schools, school bus stops, parks, residential neighborhoods, and trailer parks, so drivers should be extra vigilant when driving through those areas.

A driver is not automatically deemed negligent if he hits a child on a bicycle. If the driver can demonstrate that he was as cautious as can be expected and still could not avoid the accident, the driver should be found not negligent.

Children and Contributory Negligence in Bicycle Accidents

Through the years, many defendants in car/bicycle accidents have claimed that the negligence of the cyclist is what caused the accident. “Contributory negligence” and “comparative negligence” are legal terms often invoked in these cases. However, you should know that children on bicycles are often held to a lower standard of legal behavior when they are involved in a traffic accident with an adult driver.

Different states have different laws regarding children’s responsibility for traffic accidents. In many jurisdictions, a child four years old or younger cannot be found guilty of contributory negligence because she is not old enough to take care of herself or others. This “tender years” doctrine applies to car/bike accidents where children are involved. That means that the negligent adult driver in such cases cannot argue that the child contributed to the accident.

Many states go further, presuming that children between four and fourteen are also incapable of contributory negligence. In these cases, a defendant can rebut the assumption, but he or she must then prove that the child was capable of caring for his or her safety at the time and place of the accident.

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