Bicycle accident liability: What now?

Questioner

Hello, I crashed into a car with my bike today. The car was parked on a bike path, am I liable? It was daytime and the car was parked just after a bend on the cycle path. Thank you in advance!

Lawyer

In principle, you are liable, but the driver of the car will be partly at fault. He is not allowed to park there. You can bring that as evidence and witnesses if this is disputed. If you cannot reach an agreement, I would be happy to look at your case.

Lawyer

The car was parked on a cycle path and was therefore, in my opinion, not safely removed from traffic. The car must therefore be seen as a 'moving' vehicle. For that reason, article 185 WVW applies. If you are held liable, I advise you to invoke article 185 WVW. Since you, as a non-motorised person, are seen as a weaker road user, you enjoy protection compared to the motorised road user. You can make use of the reflex effect of article 185 WVW. This means that you have to compensate a maximum of 50% of the damage to the vehicle.