California has 936,000 registered motorcycles, more than any other state, and its climate keeps them riding year-round. Over 520 motorcyclists are killed each year in California crashes.
Why Are Left-Turn Collisions the Most Dangerous Scenario for Motorcyclists?
Over a third of motorcycle crashes happen at intersections. The single most dangerous scenario for a motorcyclist is a car turning left across their path. A substantial portion of those involve a driver turning left, either in front of an approaching motorcycle or across a lane the biker is already in. Legally, left-turning drivers almost always bear the primary fault.
Have you been hurt from a motorcycle accident? Contact HHJ Trial Attorneys – named the best motorcycle accident in San Diego.
Is Lane Splitting Legal in California — and Who’s at Fault When It Goes Wrong?
California is the only state in the country where lane splitting is legal. Lane Splitting means driving a motorcycle between rows of stopped or moving vehicles in the same lane. Although the California Highway Patrol provides safety tips on lane splitting, it is not legal. Even though they are not the law, the legal system often uses the CHP safety tips as benchmarks to determine whether a rider acted reasonably.
These are some of the California Highway Patrol Safety tips:
- Consider the entire environment when you are lane splitting (including lane width, the size of surrounding vehicles, and current roadway, weather, and lighting conditions).
- Danger increases with speed acceleration.
- It is typically safer to split between the far left lanes than between the other lanes.
- Avoid lane splitting next to large vehicles (big rigs, buses, motorhomes, etc.).
- Riding on the shoulder is illegal; it is not considered lane splitting.
- Be visible—avoid remaining in other vehicles’ blind spots or lingering between vehicles.
- Help drivers see you by wearing brightly colored/reflective protective gear and using high beams during daylight.
CHP guidance has always warned against lane splitting when traffic is moving faster than about 30 mph and against exceeding the speed limit by more than 10 mph. Keep in mind that although these numbers are not speed limits, they are still referred to in legal proceedings.
Here’s a fact that most riders aren’t aware of. When lane-splitting is legal, drivers in other vehicles also have duties. Blocking a lane a motorcyclist is traveling in is unlawful; intentionally opening a car door to block a lane-splitting motorcyclist is illegal. Vehicle drivers changing lanes must check their mirrors and blind spots, signal, and change lanes only when it’s safe. When a driver swerves into a lane-splitting motorcyclist without checking, liability usually falls on the driver, not the rider. However, insurance companies regularly try to argue otherwise by invoking “biker bias.”
The practical reality is that lane-splitting cases are often heavily litigated because the facts are so important: speed of traffic flow, speed differentials, the lane the rider was splitting between, and whether the driver used a signal. Additionally, helmet cams, GoPro footage, and dashcam video have become increasingly influential in these cases.
How Can Minor Road Hazards Cause Catastrophic Motorcycle Crashes?
Minor inconveniences for a car can be catastrophic for a motorcycle. All of the following can have severe consequences for motorcycle drivers: potholes, uneven pavement at lane transitions, loose gravel and oil slicks. standing water, debris, railroad tracks and tools or construction materials left by construction crews.
A car’s four tires, weight, and suspension absorb most of these. A motorcycle’s two tires cannot. Hitting a massive road hazard at high speed can cause a crash with no other vehicle involved.
When road maintenance issues cause a crash, the administrative claim must be filed within 6 months. It’s important to note that this is not the same as the general 2-year statute of limitations. Missing that six-month closing date is one of the most common ways viable cases are lost.
How Do Impaired Drivers Impact Motorcycle Accident Claims?
Alcohol remains an important factor in fatal motorcycle crashes, for riders themselves and for the drivers who hit them. National data shows that 27% of motorcycle riders in fatal crashes have been alcohol-impaired in recent years, a higher percentage than drivers of any other vehicle type. On the other side of the equation, impaired drivers cause a substantial share of the collisions where motorcyclists are the victims.
When a DUI driver hits a rider, the civil case often includes a claim for punitive damages. Punitive damages are only available when the defendant’s conduct involves malice, fraud, or conscious disregard for the safety of others. Unlike most negligence cases, DUI conduct typically qualifies as conscious disregard for the safety of others.
Why Motorcyclists Are Especially Vulnerable
Injuries in motorcycle accidents are more severe than in other accidents. Some common injuries are as follows:
- Traumatic brain injury. TBI is the primary cause of death in motorcycle crashes. Helmets reduce the risk of fatal head injury by an estimated 37% and the risk of head injury generally by about 69%, according to CDC data. That’s why California’s universal helmet law keeps the motorcycle fatality rate lower than in states without comparable laws. Although helmets mitigate TBI, they don’t eliminate it. Concussion, diffuse axonal injury, and subdural hematoma are all common outcomes even in helmeted riders.
- Road rash. Sliding across asphalt at speed can graze the skin, and severe road rash can penetrate even multiple layers of skin into muscle. Such injuries require debridement surgery, skin grafts, and often, long-term wound care. The risk of infection is high, and scarring is often permanent.
- Broken bones. Motorcycle crashes result in fractures at rates that dwarf those of car accidents. Wrists, arms, and collarbones from attempting to break falls. Legs and feet from being crushed between the bike and the road. Ribs, vertebrae, pelvis. Compound fractures, where the bone breaks through the skin, are disproportionately common.
- Spinal cord injury. Because motorcyclists are ejected at impact, the axial loading and hyperflexion forces involved can produce spinal cord injuries at any vertebral level. The outcomes range from temporary nerve damage to permanent paraplegia or quadriplegia.
- Internal injuries and amputation. Solid organ damage, internal bleeding, and crush injuries are common in higher-speed crashes. Traumatic amputations, either at the scene or as a surgical consequence of unsalvageable limb damage, occur with some regularity in serious motorcycle collisions.
These injury patterns demonstrate why motorcycle cases usually yield large damage awards. The medical bills are high. The future medical costs are even higher. Lost earning capacity can extend over decades. Pain and suffering can be documented in ways that resonate with juries.
How Do Comparative Negligence and “Biker Bias” Affect Your Case?
California follows pure comparative negligence, meaning a rider can recover damages even if they’re partly at fault. This rule matters because insurance companies routinely attempt to shift blame onto the rider. They often lean on stereotypes about motorcyclists being reckless or speed-seeking. Research consistently shows these stereotypes are generally wrong; most motorcycle crashes involve another driver’s negligence, not the rider’s. However, the bias is real, and it affects settlement negotiations and jury pools.
Objective evidence counters bias. Helmet cam footage, telemetry from the bike’s ECU, if equipped and witness statements collected at the accident scene with photographs all support the biker’s case.
At HHJ Trial Attorneys, we routinely use accident reconstruction specialists to help us win cases for riders. Riders involved in serious crashes should assume someone will try to blame them for it and preserve evidence accordingly. With the support of a motorcycle accident specialist on our team, you will have the strongest case. You don’t pay unless we win your case, so you have nothing to lose by arranging a consultation.
