US court rules four-year-old cyclist can be sued after colliding with pedestrian

Not the child's fault. But the parents whould be more aware of the environment within which their children play.

Just because the child is very young, this does resolve the parents from taking due care. An OAP (or fragile person) is not able to react quickly and has every right to expect the child to be properly controlled. The street is not a play area after all.

Having experience irresponsible parents, there are a lot of them out there. It is the parents who should be held responsible for their child's actions.

We'd all be fuming if it was a 25 year old on a bike running in to an old lady, or even a 15 year old, in this case it was a four year old… which is why we're not fuming, well most of us anyway. Sometimes accidents happen.

Be interesting to know what the pavement along which they had their race was like though, that would have a lot of bearing in my mind as to whether the two mothers were negligent.

Although, maybe you could also argue that kids playing on the street is an accepted hazard of the street, just the way traffic is and as we all know just because you get knocked down by a car that doesn't automatically make it the driver's fault.

In my experience as a step parent and grandparent and as a psychologist, children of four do not have the kind of linear, cause and effect reasoning which would lead to being able to think like this: 'if I ride my bike fast along here, I might hit someone, then they might be hurt, and if they're very old it might be really serious for them'. As far as I'm aware, the brain capacity of a four year old cannot physically produce that kind of predictive thinking. I believe that there is research evidence to back this up. Unless maybe it had been drilled into them daily by an obsessive, fearful parent, and their brain had been forced in that direction.

What is this judge thinking of? Does he just hate children? He is not living in any real world that I recognise. There really should be a higher court or authority which should overturn this absurd decision.

We shouldn't get too holier than thou about the US though when the DfT is playing the blame game with kids over here http://road.cc/content/news/26338

That probably is reasonable wild man, although they were probably telling them to be careful, I'd guess.

Bottom line is we don't know what happened and the judge didn't rule on whether there was any liability, just on whether a case could be brought against a child of that age for being negligent - which he ruled it can. The next stage is for it to go to court when the dead woman's estate sues her. I suppose in America someone's always got to be to blame and someone's always got to pay for that - even if they're four.

I think it's perfectly reasonable that the parents should be responsible for their children and not let them ride into an elderly woman.

And of course anyone saying this is madness is an "obama-socialist who hates freedom". or something

This more a sad reflection of the lack of universal health care in the US than anything to do with cycling. But that is the way that US citizens want to live, but is not the sort of freedom most people in civilised countries would want to live with (unless you are a Tory).

Just read the next story up "No charges against police officer following teenage cyclist's death"
The whole world must be on its head

Unbelievable, unbelievable – just wondering what affect it will have on me when I take my son (also 4)out on his bike – I suspect none what-so-ever

When America sneezes, Britain catches a cold. Some of our lawyers must be rubbing their greedy, grubby little hands in glee at the possibilities...

Americans just luurrrvve suing each other don't they, ludicrous even a six year old child isn't excluded of this. Madness.

i just had to check the date .... going too far or what !

You have to be joaking. Only in the "land of the free"!