Bicycles & Accidents — Are you covered?

The big issue most people have with cycling, before you start commuting by bike, is the fear of some driver not seeing you in time. I think I’m correct in saying that. And that fear is grounded. But the issue is more a lack of cycling infrastructure, a lack of bike lanes, than a lack of care by motorists. That is not what this post is about. But I think proper cycling infrastructure would greatly reduce all types of accidents.

What is this post about? It’s about how if you get in an accident on your bicycle and injure someone, depending on the circumstances you might have to compensate the injured party. I had never considered this a possibility before reading up a little on the topic.

I created the tags for Bits & Pieces before I had anything written for them. Just between you and me, I’ve kinda gone about this site redesign in a slightly arseways fashion. Transport and Making Plans are the last two empty tags. I wasn’t sure what to write about for Transport. So I asked a chatbot to give me some ideas. It came up with lots of interesting topics. But only one gave me an instant and looming sense of anxiety:

“Insurance and the Micromobility Gap — What actually happens if you hit a pedestrian on an e-scooter or e-bike? Does home insurance cover it? Most people have no idea, and the answer is messy.”

deepseek

What do you mean I could be sued?^*

^*No, I haven’t hit anyone. I just didn’t think this was a possibility as accidents are usually totally out of your control.

Honestly, until I looked into this, I had no idea that a cyclist could end up being sued when they have an accident. But they can be. And I also had absolutely no idea that some — not all — home insurance policies provide cover for some bike related stuff. I don’t know what — so I’ve put a link to some information in the More On This section.

This post is specifically about bicycles, as in push bikes and unmodified e-bikes (the ones that reach a max speed of 25 km/h). Modified e-bikes which exceed the legal limit are not allowed on public roads, so insurance won’t cover these. And even though adults can legally use e-scooters on public roads, most insurance policies explicitly exclude e-scooters from both contents cover (protection for the device itself) and liability cover (protection if you injure someone else). This is probably due to the damage e-scooters can do to the riders themselves as well as any third parties.

Are cyclists legally responsible for accidents?

Cyclists in Ireland owe the same duty of care to pedestrians and other road users as motorists do. If you breach that duty of care and cause injury or damage, you can be held liable. A collision between a cyclist and a pedestrian, damage to a parked car, or an accident involving another cyclist could potentially have serious financial consequences.

While motorists are required by law to have insurance, cyclists aren’t. And believe me, I’m not in any way saying we should be. But it’s important to understand the distinction between being legally required to have insurance and the possibility of your being legally liable if something goes wrong when cycling on Irish roads.

A cyclist getting sued may sound a little far-fetched. After all, how fast would you have to be going on a push-bike or a legal, unmodified e-bike to cause an actionable level of damage? Well, in 2024 the High Court approved a €90,000 settlement against a 17-year-old cyclist who knocked down a nine-year-old girl on a footpath in Dublin. The girl suffered a fractured leg. A settlement was reached because the bicycle was covered by a household insurance policy, and the judge agreed that the amount was reasonable compensation. Without insurance, if the case had been successful, the respondent could have had to pay €90,000 or more out of pocket.

Now you might say the moral of that story is never to cycle on footpaths. And yes, it is very important to obey the rules of the road. But I think it should be pointed out that in Dublin many cycle lanes are part of footpaths — they’re right beside them with no divider or separator between them. You can find cycle lanes that start off on the road, then join a footpath for a while, then rejoin the road, and then maybe disappear abruptly… The cycling infrastructure here is not really what it should be.

That wasn’t the issue in that High Court case, and that case seems unusual, but cycling in a city can be a bit messy, which means exactly who is liable for an accident could turn messy also.

An accident can happen very quickly, with several factors contributing to it. A cyclist isn’t going to intentionally cause an accident, but that doesn’t mean they can’t be liable. Just like with driving a car, if you’re not looking in the right direction at the right moment, something awful might happen. Usually that something awful could be a motorised vehicle headed towards you — which is why cyclists generally are especially vigilant. But what if it’s not a car you need to be looking out for? Also, the cyclist might not have been the only person at fault, and might even consider themselves the victim of someone else’s actions. But according to AI — and I think it may be right — depending on the circumstances, the cyclist’s actions could still expose them to a claim.

To prove the point, it gave the following examples:

• A pedestrian steps into a cycle lane. A cyclist swerves to avoid them and collides with another cyclist. The pedestrian’s actions may be a significant factor, but the conduct of the cyclist and the circumstances of the collision would also need to be examined.
• A car brakes suddenly. A cyclist riding behind it swerves and hits a pedestrian. The driver’s actions might have contributed, but the cyclist’s speed, distance and ability to react could also be relevant.
• Two cyclists collide at a junction. Both may have made mistakes, or one may have had the right of way. Liability would depend on the evidence rather than simply on who collided with whom.

Under section 34 of Ireland’s Civil Liability Act 1961, where negligence on the part of both the injured person and another party contributes to the damage, the court can apportion responsibility and reduce damages accordingly.

Well, that’s what AI said. Those examples may not have been from DeepSeek — I searched around and asked a few different chatbots some questions. Admittedly, I think it’s unlikely you would be sued in the first two cases, unless there were some highly unusual circumstances at play.

Look, I’m not a legal professional. So I’m not going to explore all the different sorts of cases that … AI can invent for me? But I wanted to share this issue with you because I cycle and I had no idea that this was even possible. And maybe it’s something we should all be aware of?

But what can one do?

Well, one can check their home insurance policy to see if it provides coverage for these types of accidents.

What if one doesn’t have a home insurance policy?

I imagine quite a lot of cyclists are in this situation. One option is to join Cycling Ireland. Cycling Ireland is the National Governing Body for cycling on the island of Ireland. They have a range of different memberships which include insurance and benefits. I am in no way affiliated with them — well, other than I did join yesterday to be sure and be insured in 2027. I chose the commuter membership and paid the extra €10 for some personal cover. Including fees, it all comes to less than €52 for a year of cover.

Worth it for some peace of mind? I think so. But you decide for yourself. An important thing to note is that this insurance does not cover theft and damage to your bicycle. It’s really to cover you in case of accidents involving a third party. And if you opt for it, you’ll have some cover for yourself too.

Maybe most people are aware of this already. But it certainly was news to me.