When a bicycle car accident occurs, often both parties will immediately try to assign blame to the other person. A bicyclist may believe the driver was not watching and the driver may claim the bicyclist came out of nowhere in front of the vehicle.
Fortunately, determining fault in a bicycle vs. car accident involves more than the opinions of the people involved. Instead, fault is determined based on whether one or both parties acted in a negligent manner, which means they breached the duty of care expected of them under California law. Fault is not determined simply by who hit whom. In many cases, the key question is which party violated a traffic law, failed to yield the right-of-way, or otherwise acted without reasonable care.
In practice, determining liability typically involves reviewing evidence from the crash scene. Police reports, witness statements, photographs, surveillance footage, and physical evidence such as skid marks or vehicle damage patterns can all help investigators reconstruct what happened and identify which party failed to exercise reasonable care. Police reports may also note citations issued at the scene, which can become important evidence when insurers and attorneys evaluate fault. Investigators also review the final positions of the bicycle and vehicle, points of impact, and any available dashcam or traffic camera footage.
Duty of Care for California Drivers in Car Accidents
Drivers have the legal duty to operate their motor vehicles in a reasonably safe manner to avoid collisions and injuries to others on the road–including bicyclists. This includes staying aware of their surroundings and following all traffic laws. When a driver does not behave in a reasonably safe manner and causes injury, that driver can be held liable for such negligent actions. Many forms of negligence can lead drivers to collide with bicyclists, including the following:
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Driving under the influence
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Failing to obey traffic laws, signals, or right-of-way rules
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Not looking before opening car doors on the street
Car door incidents comprise 4.3% of the studied crash situations, indicating their significance in bicycle and passenger car collisions.
These are, of course, only some of the negligent acts that can lead a driver to hit a cyclist.
Drivers may also be found negligent if they fail to yield to cyclists in bike lanes, turn across a cyclist’s path, or fail to check blind spots before changing lanes. Violations such as unsafe right turns, speeding, or failing to maintain a safe following distance are common factors that investigators evaluate when determining liability in bicycle versus car collisions.
Bicyclists Also Have a Duty of Care to Prevent Bicycle Injuries
Bicyclists have the same responsibility and duty of care as drivers. When sharing the road, bicyclists must follow all traffic laws, obey traffic signals, and must be aware of their surroundings. In California, bicycles are generally treated like vehicles for traffic law purposes, so cyclists are expected to follow many of the same rules of the road as motorists. If bicyclists fail to follow the rules of the road, they can be held liable for a collision. Some examples of negligence on the part of bicyclists can include:
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Not following traffic signals
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Biking under the influence
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Not using designated bicycle lanes or staying to the right side of the road if they are traveling slowly
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Improper passing
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Not signaling on turns
It is important for cyclists to use a provided bike lane if available to ensure their safety and compliance with traffic laws.
Visibility can also play a role in determining fault. For example, California law generally requires bicyclists riding at night to use a front white light and rear reflectors or lights. If a cyclist is riding in low-light conditions without proper lighting or reflective equipment, investigators may consider whether limited visibility contributed to the crash.
Road positioning may also affect liability. A cyclist riding against the flow of traffic, weaving unpredictably between lanes, or leaving a designated bike lane without signaling could potentially share responsibility for a collision. A cyclist who runs a stop sign or red light may also be found at fault because those violations often determine who had the legal right-of-way at the time of the collision.
Who is at Fault When a Collision Occurred?
Since the legal concept of negligence can be complicated, it is important to seek assistance from a legal professional who can help identify fault in your bicycle vs. car accident case. A lawyer can examine the events of the accident and help determine whether one or both parties were at fault. Recognizing signs of serious injury after an accident is crucial, as some injuries may not be immediately apparent and require medical evaluation. When you’re ready to act, our California car accident attorneys file the paperwork and handle every negotiation.
Attorneys and insurance companies often analyze several common accident scenarios when determining fault. For example, in a “right hook” collision where a car passes a cyclist and then turns right across their path, the driver is often liable for failing to yield to the cyclist. In rear-end collisions, the trailing vehicle is typically at fault for failing to maintain a safe distance. In left-turn crashes, drivers usually must yield to oncoming cyclists traveling straight. Right-of-way is often one of the most important issues in these cases. In addition to right hook and left-turn crashes, fault frequently turns on whether the driver or cyclist had the legal right to proceed through an intersection, merge, or enter a lane. In a dooring crash, the driver or passenger who opened the door into traffic is often liable for failing to check for an approaching cyclist.
If only one person was at fault, that person should be held liable for all losses resulting from the accident. For example, if the bicyclist was following the rules of the road and the driver was intoxicated when the collision occurred, the driver should have to fully compensate the bicyclist. However, not all cases are this straightforward and, in many accidents, both parties somehow contributed to the accident. Even if you were partially at fault for the accident, you may still have the right to recovery under California’s comparative negligence laws. Because determining fault can be complex, the help of an experienced bicycle accident lawyer is imperative following a bicycle vs. car accident. An insurance company plays a significant role in handling claims related to personal injuries and property damages resulting from these collisions, and they collect data on such accidents to report crashes with cyclists.
California follows a pure comparative negligence rule. This means that even if a cyclist or driver is partially responsible for the crash, they may still recover damages. However, their compensation will be reduced by their percentage of fault. For example, if a cyclist is found to be 20% responsible for an accident and their damages total $100,000, they could still recover $80,000 after the reduction for their share of the blame. Under this rule, an injured person may still recover compensation even if they were mostly at fault, though the recovery is reduced by that percentage. This makes it especially important to gather strong evidence early, since even a small shift in fault can significantly affect the value of a claim.
