I am wondering which party is liable in a bicycle/auto collision
Question Details: Who is liable in an auto/bicyclist collision in which the car was going left on a green light and could not see the bicyclist because they were wearing dark clothing and had no bike light or reflectors at night? (a bike light is required by law at night in the state where i live)
If a bike light is required by law at night in the state in which you live, the question becomes did that negligence lead to the accident?
More often than not, in an automobile/bicycle accident, just as in an automobile/pedestrian accident, the automobile does not have the right of way. When turning left, you must yield to all oncoming traffic. Any vehicle coming toward you, including a bicycle, has the right of way in Vermont.
Unlike pedestrians, the vehicle rules also apply to bicyclists. Read the Department of Motor Vehicles manual from Vermont and determine if the bicyclist was obeying the rules of the road. It may be that under the right circumstances the bicylist may be entirely at fault or you may share joint responsibility.
