Suppose that you were crossing a road that was located in Alberta province, and you got hit by another vehicle. Suppose, too, that you took the responsible driver to court and won a judgment. Could you hope to win your award, even if the responsible driver had failed to purchase a car insurance policy? Yes, you could, owning to the existence of the Motor Vehicle Claims Fund.
Note that in the imagined situation above, the responsible vehicle relied on the presence of a motor, in order to travel down the road. The situation would have been much different, if the same pedestrian got hit by a bicycle rider. The Motor Vehicle Claims Fund cannot be used to pay bicycle riders. However, you always have the option of filing a claim after assistance from a personal injury lawyer in St. Albert & Spruce Grove.
Possible sources of funds for a cyclist that has been targeted by a judgment
If that same cyclist was also a homeowner, then he or she could hope to get funds through a homeowner’s policy. Still, such a policy would have to have a unique provision.
Another source of money might come from the National Insurance Program. That includes a provision that allows a policy holder to claim 3rd party liability. Still, such insurance is only available to those that have become members of a cycling-focused organization.
Are there plans for establishment of any other monetary source?
At one time, some of those concerned about matters of traffic safety did give thought to the registration and licensing of cyclists. That was a time when no one could foresee the extent to which families would seek ownership of a four-wheeled vehicle. Eventually though, that particular thought got labeled as unrealistic. Cost assessments had shown that it would be prohibitively expensive.
At the present time, any driver of a motored vehicle must go to a specific department (DMV), in order to obtain a license. There is no such department for cyclists. In order to license bicycle drivers, such a department would have to be created. Obviously, the new department’s offices would have to be manned by paid members of the departmental staff.
Those staff members would need to complete lots of paperwork. The completion of such paperwork would ensure the awarding of licenses to those cyclists that had met an established list of qualifications. Still, it might be hard to form a company that was able to insure such bike riders. The frequency with which a rider on a bicycle might hit a pedestrian falls far below the frequency with which two cars might collide. At the same time, it is lower than the frequency with which a driver might hit a pedestrian. Hence, it would be hard to persuade a cyclist to spend money on such an insurance policy.