Topołów, near Sochaczew. She got on a bike, a car hit her on a crosswalk. She has to pay 15 thousand.

Topołowa is a small town near Sochaczew, through which national road 92 runs. In the center of the town there is an intersection with traffic lights and a pedestrian crossing, in the middle of which there is an island closed to traffic. On June 6, 2021, the lights were not working, and a 16-year-old girl was hit by a passenger car there.

The woman says that she was riding her bike that day. “I knew I had the right of way. I entered the crossing and reached the island without any problems, looked around and entered the other part of the crossing. When I was already close to the edge of the road, I got on my bike to get to the other side faster. That's when I felt the impact,” she says.

The police and ambulance were called to the scene, she says. “I went to the hospital, I had leg injuries,” she says. The doctors said that nothing serious had happened. According to the regulations, because the injuries did not last more than seven days, the incident was classified as a road accident. Lidia: “My grandfather showed up at the scene. The police only listened to the Toyota driver's version. At that time, I thought the matter was obvious. My mother and I filed for compensation from her third-party liability insurance policy. However, I received a negative decision,” she says.

A 41-year-old woman was behind the wheel of the passenger car. – This girl was riding a bike, went onto the sidewalk, crossed one side of the crossing, then drove onto the island and hit my car from the side – she says. The documentation of the incident states that her car's windshield was smashed, the front left headlight and the fender were damaged. – Luckily, I slowed down a lot, because there was a truck at the intersection. If not for that, the consequences of this girl's mistake would have been much greater. At first, the cyclist did not want to call the police, she tried to get on the bike and ride away. Fortunately, the bike was so damaged that she could not – she says. She recalls that the police did appear on the scene. – There was a technician. The police officers eventually informed me that the case would be investigated. I did not get a ticket, nor did I have a final position on who caused the accident – she says. She had the car repaired by AC. – However, when a letter arrived that the cyclist was seeking compensation from my insurance policy, I contacted the police and demanded an explanation. I was told that because the girl was a minor at the time of the incident, the whole thing could take some time. I was informed that I could seek compensation through civil law. However, I dismissed it, she says.

We reached a witness to the incident, a driver who was driving behind the Toyota. He says that Lidia was riding her bike across the entire crossing. – She was riding towards Sochaczew. When she approached the crossing, she went onto the sidewalk and then onto the crossing. Then across the road, where the collision occurred. I remember that the sun was shining quite intensely that day, and the cars driving towards Warsaw, including the Toyota, had to slow down because a truck was turning left at the intersection. And it was probably her that the lady in the Toyota focused her attention on – says the witness (the police also have his contact). As he points out, in his opinion the situation “wasn't obvious”. – I wouldn't judge. On the one hand, you're not allowed to ride a bike on the crossing, on the other, you have to watch the pedestrian crossing carefully – he points out.

While the Toyota driver did not intend to pursue the matter any further, her insurer, who paid under the AC policy for the car to be repaired at an authorized service center, made a different decision. – In November 2022, a year and a half after the incident, we received a letter from the insurance company with which the woman who hit Lida had a policy – we hear from the girl's family. The letter states that Lidia should pay PLN 14,929, including over a thousand zlotys in interest. “According to the police note (…), the minor rode her bicycle onto a pedestrian crossing, causing a collision with a Toyota Yaris vehicle,” we read in the letter. We have obtained this letter. The police officers indeed ultimately assessed that the cyclist was at fault for the incident: “The minor riding the bicycle rode onto a pedestrian crossing, causing a collision with a Toyota vehicle,” the police write in response to a letter from the insurance company.

The insurer, because it did not receive payment, applied to the court to issue an electronic reminder procedure. This is a separate type of procedure that was introduced to call for payment in cases where the factual situation is not complicated and does not require evidentiary proceedings. In January 2024, the court issued a decision in favor of the company, but this decision was overturned because Ms. Lidia filed an objection. Now the parties face a full trial. At this stage, the cyclist's family reached out to a lawyer. The defendant's attorney informed the court that she did not agree with the insurer's perspective. In response to the lawsuit, we read that “Lidia Ledzion is not the perpetrator of the damage, so the claims filed should be considered completely devoid of legal basis.”

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We contacted the attorney for the insurance company handling Lidia Ledzion's case. We were told over the phone that she did not plan to comment on the case. Before the text was published, a spokesman for the insurance company called us asking to suspend publication. He indicated that the insurer would try to respond to our questions. Among other things, we asked about how the course of the June 2021 collision was recreated and what makes up the amount of the claim. We received a short, practically unexplaining position: “All decisions regarding the settlement of damages and the pursuit of recourse result from a meticulously documented course of the event. In cases where it is possible, such an analysis is based on documents from the Police, other institutions and the testimonies of people involved in the event. In this case, the information and documents collected confirm the validity of our decision.

Lidia's situation will be assessed by the court. Road traffic regulations do not allow riding on a pedestrian crossing, just as they do not allow riding a bike on a sidewalk, with only a few specific exceptions:

– when a cyclist takes care of a child up to 10 years of age who rides his/her own bike

– when a cyclist rides along a road where the speed limit is 50 km/h and the pavement is at least two metres wide and there is no designated cycle path

– when there is a “pedestrian route” sign on the sidewalk with a sign saying “does not apply to bicycles”

– when the weather is so unfavourable (snow, black ice, fog) that riding on the road could be dangerous for the cyclist

Arkadiusz Kuzio, head of the Road Safety Academy in Szczecin, when asked about Ms. Lidia's story, says that “it is ambiguous.” Of course, if it is true that she got on her bike at the crossing.

– In such a situation, we are not talking about the cyclist joining the traffic, but rather about her being a pedestrian on the crossing. And if so, drivers approaching the crossing were obliged to observe the crossing and maintain a speed that would allow them to take a defensive manoeuvre, for example, braking sharply – says the expert. He points out that if he were an expert appointed to assess such a case, he would indicate bilateral contribution – both on the part of Lidia (because she got on the bike) and the driver of the Toyota (because she did not react appropriately to what was happening on the crossing).

In July, on tvn24.pl we described the story of a cyclist whose insurer is demanding PLN 28,000 for causing damage to another car.. Aleksander Daszewski, legal adviser from the Financial Ombudsman's Office, pointed out that cyclists (and all other road users) bear all the consequences of not adhering to the rules of the road. The expert pointed out that in the case of similar stories, the issue related to mandatory insurance for cyclists returns.

– We have to say openly that at present I do not see any real chances of introducing such an obligation. Besides, there is no such obligation in other EU countries. This is due to several reasons, including the fact that bicycles are not registered, which means that there is no possibility of effectively enforcing the obligation to take out such insurance – emphasized Aleksander Daszewski. Therefore – as he says – the solution is special but voluntary policies for cyclists (where the main component is third party liability insurance for cyclists) or a more common solution, namely third party liability insurance in private life. – They are often sold in packages, for example together with home insurance – says Daszewski.