liability traffic driving switzerland
Cyclist contacts overtaking car - who is at fault?
<p>Say a car narrowly overtakes a cyclist who at that moment starts to signal that they want to turn by extending their arm outwards toward the car. The car left so little room that the cyclist inadvertently contacts/scrapes the car. Depending on angle and what the cyclist was wearing (gloves, rings, wristwatches) there might be damage to the cyclist or the car (or both).</p>

<p>Who is liable for the damage? Or is blame shared somehow? Does someone get a  fine?</p>

<p>(one of the many things going through my head as a cyclist in dense adversarial city traffic. It never happened to me, but it could)</p>

<p>For a different jurisdiction, in Australia, motor vehicles are <a href="https://roadsafety.transport.nsw.gov.au/campaigns/go-together/faqs.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">required</a> to give cyclists 1m clear berth on roads with a speed limit of 60km/h (~ 35 mph) or less and 1.5m on roads with higher speed limits (and are required to pass any vehicle safely - which also applies to cyclists). The driver of the motor vehicle is at fault for the collision if the vehicle is passing the cyclist.</p>

<p>If a cyclist beats on a car, he is responsible for damage that he causes. If a car is in imminent danger of striking someone, the potential victim can take reasonable action to protect himself, but bashing a car is not a reasonable protective action. However, "punching" describes a deliberate action, whereas what you describe is an accident where the cyclist was lawfully signalling a turn (and accidentally contacted the car). Current Swiss law does not mandate a wide berth for vehicles when overtaking a bike, but there is discussion of a 1.5 meter space requirement.</p>
