Smashed into a stationary car and broke off wing mirror. Ouch,ouch,ouch

[screenman]

I thought you banged dents out of cars, not replaced mirrors...

I do not bang dents out, I massage them out, big difference. However I seldom come across a car that has had the mirror knocked off completely, scratched and marked yes but not full off often.

The other thing to remember is that door mirrors are like bikes not all the same price, maybe the OP picked on the wrong car and should choose maybe a Ford Focus next.

 

[theclaud]

"But in my view it's not reasonable to design unnecessarily expensive and vulnerable bicycles on public roads, and then get narked when the damage is expensive."

There are two points here. First, each of the three things that makes modern car mirrors expensive are safety features. Electrically-adjustable means people do actually adjust them properly. Heated means they continue to work well in weather conditions which would obscure cheap ones. And indicators in mirrors makes them more visible. It's not frippery.

Second, it's not for the victim to justify the cost of their possessions when someone else damages them. As others have said, if a car driver (or jogger, if you prefer) collides with a cyclist, are they entitled to complain that the cyclist should not have been wearing "unnecessarily expensive and vulnerable" Rapha clothing and riding an "unnecessarily expensive and vulnerable" bicycle when they should have been wearing Lidl clothes and riding a BSO bought from Tesco?

All the distractions notwithstanding, it's just property fetishism. I'm sorry but I don't buy the safety feature thing - perhaps I would if people with expensive modern cars appeared to use their absurdly expensive mirror units more effectively than people with cheap old clangers. You can't destroy someone's clothing while they are wearing it without effectively assaulting them. If you have damaged their clothing with a car, you are doing something seriously wrong. You can, on the other hand, damage a wing mirror without endangering the car occupant in any way. Which is why we shouldn't get excited about it.

 

[theclaud]

I do not bang dents out, I massage them out, big difference. However I seldom come across a car that has had the mirror knocked off completely, scratched and marked yes but not full off often.

The other thing to remember is that door mirrors are like bikes not all the same price, maybe the OP picked on the wrong car and should choose maybe a Ford Focus next.

It's possible that I knew that, and chose not to flatter your sense of professional importance.

Fair enough - I've not often seen one knocked off completely either - it doesn't much matter if someone is demanding an extortionate amount to replace it nevertheless.

 

[CopperBrompton]

All the distractions notwithstanding, it's just property fetishism.

You could equally argue that expensive bicycles are 'property fetishism'. The point is, people are free to spend their own money in whatever manner they choose, and if you carelessly damage their property, it's your responsibility to pay for it whether or not you agree with their choices.

You can't destroy someone's clothing while they are wearing it without effectively assaulting them.

Of course you can. If a pedestrian carelessly steps into the road in front of you and you fall from your bike as a result, your clothing is very likely to get ripped.

 

[theclaud]

You could equally argue that expensive bicycles are 'property fetishism'. The point is, people are free to spend their own money in whatever manner they choose, and if you carelessly damage their property, it's your responsibility to pay for it whether or not you agree with their choices.


Of course you can. If a pedestrian carelessly steps into the road in front of you and you fall from your bike as a result, your clothing is very likely to get ripped.

If you fall off your bike as a result of a pedestrian crossing the road, then you probably weren't riding with sufficient care and observation. Contrary to popular belief, they don't come out of nowhere.

 

[vickster]

If you fall off your bike as a result of a pedestrian crossing the road, then you probably weren't riding with sufficient care and observation. Contrary to popular belief, they don't come out of nowhere.

And ditto with knocking off a wing mirror while filtering...nor do wing mirrors in a stationary queue of traffic...

 

[CopperBrompton]

If you fall off your bike as a result of a pedestrian crossing the road, then you probably weren't riding with sufficient care and observation. Contrary to popular belief, they don't come out of nowhere.

You clearly don't cycle much in London ...

For the record, I have never collided with a pedestrian, but I have seen a great many pedlemmings in action. Contrary to your view, they can and do change direction instantly and step in front of vehicles without looking.

But this is irrelevant: the point is that people can spend their money as they choose, and if you damage their property through your carelessness, you pay. Whether the property you damage costs 50p of £5000 is immaterial.

 

[theclaud]

You clearly don't cycle much in London ...

For the record, I have never collided with a pedestrian, but I have seen a great many pedlemmings in action. Contrary to your view, they can and do change direction instantly and step in front of vehicles without looking.

But this is irrelevant: the point is that people can spend their money as they choose, and if you damage their property through your carelessness, you pay. Whether the property you damage costs 50p of £5000 is immaterial.

I cycle in London a lot. Sometimes quite drunk. I've never hit a pedestrian, although I concede there are times and places where pedestrian behaviour makes cycling progress difficult. There we are then, as we say down here. It may be irrelevant, but then you brought it up.

Where does our duty to safeguard the fragile and expensive property of others in public spaces end, just out of interest? If I set up a table on a pavement in a bustling street and someone knocks my crystal wine glass over in passing, are they being unduly careless? If I park a my Bentley outside a children's playground, can I go apesh1t when a football hits it?

 

[CopperBrompton]

Where does our duty to safeguard the fragile and expensive property of others in public spaces end, just out of interest? If I set up a table on a pavement in a bustling street and someone knocks my crystal wine glass over in passing, are they being unduly careless? If I park a my Bentley outside a children's playground, can I go apesh1t when a football hits it?

If you were legally entitled to set up your table on the pavement (unlikely unless you own a restaurant and have the necessary permit), and the car was legally parked, yes.

It's no different from using cheap lock to secure your expensive bicycle then leaving it there for two days. It would be extremely ill-advised, but the thief would still be responsible for their actions.

 

[theclaud]

And ditto with knocking off a wing mirror while filtering...nor do wing mirrors in a stationary queue of traffic...

I've willingly conceded the fault issue in the case of the OP. It's not about fault, it's about proportion, property, and the fitness of things for their purpose. Cars are clearly not designed to be suitable for mixing it in busy public spaces.

 

[Dan B]

If your Bentley had a fine crystal glass as a hood ornament, anyone who broke it should have to pray the full price plus interest. Anything not attached to a car though, it's your own stupid fault for leaving it outside

Hope that explains it

 

[jefmcg]

They really don't break off that easily: I think the OP will confirm that he hit the thing pretty hard to knock it off.

They would be a lot sturdier if they didn't break off so easily, but that's a safety feature. If the mirror was backed with a rod of steel, it would probably still be attached to the car, but the OP would be in hospital now, not rubbing his knee and stuck with a bill.

(two thumbs up for to @bonker for not being an a*rse and fleeing the scene, which would be easy to do with cars stuck in traffic)

 

[screenman]

Maybe theclaud wants everybody to work for a lot less than the minimum wage so that things can be cheaper.

 

[Dan B]

Nobody has yet addressed the question of why they don't make it easy/cheap to replace the bit that breaks. Like gear hangers. Or fuses.

 

[screenman]

Nobody has yet addressed the question of why they don't make it easy/cheap to replace the bit that breaks. Like gear hangers. Or fuses.

They do, the main part that gets damage is the cover, these can be very cheap to buy, some even come ready colour coded. A complete mirror is seldom needed as I pointed out earlier.