So a dog made me crash today

[radsmd]

I am not a lawyer, just my opinion.

There are laws regarding negligent dog owners who allow their dogs to run free or off leash. If the dogs cause an accident while not under the control of the owner, then the owner is indeed liable. The harder question is did the dogs cause you to fall? Based on your description, I would say yes. The owner would be liable.

How do you know the dogs are not dangerous? What if next time they run after a toddler or kid and injures or kill? Is that ok?

[Jad]

Sorry you fell/glad you're ok. The dogs shouldn't be out running at anybody period, friendly or not.

If you were to try to communicate, I agree that it would best be done framed as concern for future cyclists and for the dogs themselves. If you do that and the owners are contrite, good. If not, at least they know. In any event, be careful.

[Tony]

Originally Posted by radsmd

I am not a lawyer, just my opinion.

There are laws regarding negligent dog owners who allow their dogs to run free or off leash. If the dogs cause an accident while not under the control of the owner, then the owner is indeed liable. The harder question is did the dogs cause you to fall? Based on your description, I would say yes. The owner would be liable.

How do you know the dogs are not dangerous? What if next time they run after a toddler or kid and injures or kill? Is that ok?

This. The owner/owners are liable.

[johnniecakes]

The dogs came towards you but did they leave their property? If you reacted to them running but they did not contact you and leave their property I would say just chalk it up and glad it was not worse.

[John H.]

It also may be difficult to go back and address this with the owner since you are home, cleaned up, etc..
It would have carried more weight to go right to the owners door after the crash- all scraped up and whatnot-

[msl819]

While that is true that there are leash laws, the irritation and disdain that you may cause in the homeowner for people on bikes moving forward would be a bigger concern for me. One more drivier trying to prove their disgust for Cyclists isn't worth the cost of fixing parts that likely still work but are cosmetically damaged. They obviously don't care about the leash law, the welfare of anyone injured by their dogs, or their dog being hit by a car. Pointing fingers or filing police reports now likely goes nowhere but down.

[PepeM]

Originally Posted by radsmd

What if next time they run after a toddler or kid and injures or kill? Is that ok?

Bit of a leap there mate.

[tuscanyswe]

Originally Posted by msl819

While that is true that there are leash laws, the irritation and disdain that you may cause in the homeowner for people on bikes moving forward would be a bigger concern for me. One more drivier trying to prove their disgust for Cyclists isn't worth the cost of fixing parts that likely still work but are cosmetically damaged. They obviously don't care about the leash law, the welfare of anyone injured by their dogs, or their dog being hit by a car. Pointing fingers or filing police reports now likely goes nowhere but down.

What about the next guy who gets chased or bitten or worse?
I will always understand ppl who dont bother filing reports i just dont understand how one can advice not to do it tbh .)

[Ken Robb]

We have a 10 pound dog and a 13 pound dog. The dogs and I were in a HUGE off-leash area on Fiesta Island in Mission Bay. A man on a mountain bike rode by within 3 feet of us and the 13 pounder took off after him barking like crazy. He, like many dogs, loves to chase fast-moving things. The cyclist stopped with the bike between him and my dog who also stopped and stood there wagging his tail. When he figured the chase game was over he came trotting back to me.
Our 10 pound female has no interest in chasing bikes, skateboards, etc. so I can walk her on a leash along the boardwalk which has MANY riders, boarders, skaters mixed in with pedestrians and it's all fine but the boy wants to bark/chase most things that are not pedestrians. Obviously we keep them on leashes except at dog parks.

I have been chased a few times by bigger dogs. Sometimes I stopped them by yelling "NO!" and sometimes I just kept pedaling until they lost interest. I wasn't really worried that they would bite me but I was concerned that they might get under my wheel and cause a crash that would hurt us both.

It's hard to predict canine behavior but if dogs have been minding their own business while cars and pedestrians passed by they might lose all interest in chasing a cyclist who stopped and became a pedestrian/human being like all the people they ignored as a matter of course.

[rwsaunders]

Why is filing a report by the OP a bad thing? If the dogs were off the leash and the OP was being chased, whether he fell or not via contact has nothing to do with it.

I had a dog chase me last week because a woman couldn't hold onto the leash. "Don't worry he doesn't bite, he just chases wheels." That was reassuring. I came to a halt, got off of the bike, placed it between me and the dog and gave a yell. It turned around and ran off and she told me that I was a mean person. No thought on her part that it was a 50# Boxer mix with a leash in tow chasing down a stranger. Arse.

As a parent of a kid who was bitten by "friendly" dog when she was four years old...file the report as it'll happen again.

[makoti]

Originally Posted by stephenmarklay

It is strictly illegal to allow your dog to be off your property unleashed in this county. It is the responsibility of the owner to abide by the law.

Then I'd bring it up with the owner first. I hate going anywhere near animal control. Always worried that something will happen that will cause the dog to be taken or, worse, put down.
If the dog leaves the property, it's on the owner. Simple.

[Matthew]

So don't do anything about it because it may piss off the dogs owner and cast a negative light on cyclists? Really? You can't be serious. I can see not pushing for a resolution financially in this particular case since he left the scene but informing the owner that his dogs chased a cyclist and caused a crash would be a bad thing? The OP taking a bunch of heat in this thread, and blame from a few here is mind boggling to me. And the belief that the dogs could not potentially hurt or kill someone in the future is just dumb. Just check the news every week.

[FlashUNC]

If they're chasing you every time up the hill, yeah, its a problem. But people leave a gate open, they dig a hole under the fence. Whatever, it happens.

Bring it up with the owners, but not in the "you owe me something" way. As others mentioned the "hey, your dogs could get hurt" way will get you a lot more mileage.

And next time use a frame pump or a squirt from the water bottle. Don't go waving your leg at something with teeth.

[572cv]

Originally Posted by Tony

This. The owner/owners are liable.

I appreciate the OP's courage in asking opinions on this. There are many passionate dog companions (AKA 'owners') out and about. If the dogs caused your accident, and if there are leash laws in your area, then I would consider it a courtesy to tell the owner what happened. If it were to happen again, with more serious outcomes, that owner might be liable for at least a struggle in court, which would take time and money just for defense. If that could be avoided by better dog management, well, everyone wins.

[Bruce K]

The one thing I have not been able to figure out is if the dogs actually left the property or not (did I muss that?).

I also don't know whether the leash law in that area allows for free run as long as they don't leave the property (electric fences?).

That might have some impact on the situation.

If they didn't leave the actual property, then a chat regarding the safety of the Luis might work. But, as others have said, it might just create more problems.

Thus us a tough one.

BK