No Contact Motorcycle Accidents

Motorcycles get a bad rap among road vehicles partly because they’re small and easy for other drivers to miss. Too often, motorcyclists must swerve drastically to avoid being hit by an inattentive driver. Motorcyclists who crash under such circumstances understandably feel frustrated. Sure, they didn’t actually collide with the car, but shouldn’t the driver be held responsible for causing an accident?

As it turns out, drivers actually can be liable for the motorcyclist’s injuries and property damage. In these scenarios, known as “no-contact” accidents, the question of negligence is key to determining whether the driver of the car was at fault. Legally, negligence is based on the “reasonable person” standard—that is, would a reasonable person have taken or refused to take a certain action in the given situation?

Driver responsibility

All drivers of motor vehicles have basic duties, like obeying traffic laws and to maintaining an awareness of their surroundings. Drivers must keep a look out for obstacles on and near the road, including other road users such as pedestrians, bicycles, and other vehicles. As a general rule, if a driver fails to notice something plainly visible and respond appropriately (as a “reasonable person” would), he or she will likely to be found negligent.

Scenario 1:

Let’s go back to our no-contact motorcycle accident scenario. Picture a car that fails to see the motorcycle passing alongside and abruptly switches lanes without signaling or otherwise giving notice to the motorcyclist. The motorcyclist swerves to avoid being hit by the car, loses control, and ends up in the ditch. In this situation, a “reasonable person” probably would have checked their mirrors before changing lanes. A “reasonable person” also would have abided by traffic laws and used the turn signal to indicate an intention to change lanes.

The driver in this scenario could therefore be found negligent for any of the following reasons:

• Switching lanes without first signaling their intention
• Failure to check side and rear view mirrors before switching lanes
• Failure to notice the motorcycle, which would have been in plain view if the driver had bothered to look
  
  

Scenario 2:

Imagine a motorcycle driving a reasonable distance behind a car in the same lane, approaching an intersection. Anticipating a red light, the car begins to slow down just before the light turns yellow, but the motorcyclist does not. At the last moment, the motorcyclist realizes the car has slowed, and in a bid to avoid a collision he swerves and crashes into the curb.

Like the car driver in the previous scenario, the motorcyclist in this scenario failed in his responsibility to be aware of his surroundings. The accident happened primarily because the motorcyclist failed to notice the car slowing down. Here, the motorcyclist would mostly likely be found negligent and fully responsible for his injuries.

Not all no-contact accidents are as straightforward as the two scenarios we’ve just discussed. A lawyer experienced in these sorts of cases can give you a better idea of who will likely be found at-fault, and what you can expect when filing a claim with the insurance company. If you are searching for motorcycle personal injury lawyer seek out a law firm of professionals.

If you are searching for personal injury attorney Anchorage, the author recommends the Crowson Law Group.