Bicycle Accidents Caused by Distracted Drivers in California
A distracted driver may need only a few seconds of inattention to miss a cyclist traveling through an intersection, riding in a bicycle lane, or approaching alongside a vehicle. For cyclists, the consequences can be serious because bicycle riders have very little physical protection when struck by a car, SUV, truck, rideshare vehicle, delivery vehicle, or another motor vehicle.
Distracted driving includes much more than texting. A driver can lose attention while using a phone, checking navigation, interacting with a rideshare or delivery app, eating, adjusting vehicle controls, talking with passengers, or looking away from traffic. Some distractions take a driver’s eyes off the road, while others affect the driver’s hands, attention, or ability to respond quickly.
Bicycle crashes involving distraction can happen in bike lanes, intersections, driveways, parking areas, and other places where motorists and cyclists cross paths. Photos, video, witnesses, vehicle movements, electronic information, and other records may help determine whether distraction contributed to the collision.
DAG Law Firm, APC represents cyclists injured in serious bicycle and e-bike accidents throughout California. You do not pay attorney fees unless we win your case, and there are no upfront attorney fees for qualifying bicycle accident matters handled on a contingency-fee basis. Call (323) 930-2020 or contact DAG Law Firm today to discuss your bicycle accident.
Why Distracted Driving Is Especially Dangerous For Cyclists
Drivers must constantly watch for changing traffic conditions and smaller roadway users. That includes cyclists traveling in bicycle lanes, approaching intersections, riding beside vehicles, moving near driveways, and approaching from behind before a driver turns. A driver who looks away at the wrong moment may not recognize a cyclist until there is little time to react.
Cyclists can also be more difficult to notice than larger vehicles, particularly in busy traffic. A motorist may be watching cars ahead while failing to check the bicycle lane, side mirror, or area beside the vehicle before turning or changing lanes. Distraction can make those problems worse.
A distracted motorist may fail to brake, drift toward a bicycle lane, pass too closely, enter an intersection, or turn across the cyclist’s path. Some crashes happen without direct contact when a cyclist is forced toward a curb, parked vehicle, or another traffic lane while trying to avoid the distracted driver.
The fact that a driver says they never saw the bicycle does not automatically explain why the cyclist was missed. Driver attention, visibility, bicycle position, lighting, traffic, road design, speed, and available video may all need to be considered.
Distracted Driving Includes Phones, Navigation And Other Activities
Cell phone use is one of the most recognized forms of distracted driving, but it is not the only one. Drivers may become distracted while reading or sending messages, making calls, looking at social media, entering an address, checking navigation, changing music, eating, drinking, reaching for something, or interacting with passengers.
Navigation systems can be especially important in crashes involving drivers who are unfamiliar with an area or making repeated stops. A driver looking for an address, checking the next turn, or changing a destination may take attention away from cyclists traveling alongside the vehicle.
California restricts handheld cell phone use while driving. Adult drivers generally must use phones in a lawful hands-free manner, and the state’s driving guidance continues to warn motorists against reading or sending messages while operating a vehicle.
A distracted-driving bicycle accident does not necessarily require proof that the driver was texting. The issue is whether an activity diverted the driver’s attention from safely operating the vehicle and recognizing the cyclist.
Bike Lanes, Turns, Intersections And Other Distracted-Driver Crashes
Distracted driving can cause several types of bicycle collisions. A motorist looking at a phone, navigation system, or another distraction may drift toward the right side of the road and enter a bicycle lane. The vehicle may sideswipe the cyclist, strike the bicycle with a mirror, force the rider toward a curb, or push the cyclist into another traffic lane.
Right turns create another major conflict point. A distracted driver may pass a cyclist and then turn across the rider’s path without checking the bike lane or surrounding traffic. Other crashes happen when a motorist begins moving toward the curb while the cyclist is traveling beside or slightly behind the vehicle.
Left turns and intersections can create similar problems. A driver may focus on oncoming cars while failing to notice an approaching cyclist, or distraction may cause someone to run a signal, fail to yield, or enter an intersection without seeing the bicycle. Traffic cameras, nearby surveillance, witnesses, signal information, and vehicle positions can become particularly important in these crashes.
Driveways and parking areas can also create risks because motorists may be looking for an address, parking space, passenger, or destination while crossing a cyclist’s path. Distraction can continue after a vehicle stops as well. Someone focused on a phone may open a car door without checking for an approaching cyclist, causing a serious dooring bicycle accident.
Rideshare, Delivery And Commercial Driver Distraction
Rideshare drivers regularly use navigation and platform information while traveling through busy areas. A bicycle accident involving an Uber or Lyft driver may happen during a passenger pickup, drop-off, turn, lane change, or movement toward the curb. A passenger may also open a door into a cyclist’s path during a pickup or drop-off.
The driver’s activity through the rideshare platform can matter for more than determining how the collision occurred. It may also affect which insurance applies to the accident. Learn more about Uber and Lyft accident claims.
Delivery drivers can face similar distractions while searching for addresses, checking instructions, following navigation, finding parking, and making repeated stops. If a delivery driver hits a cyclist while working, the driver’s employer or another business may also become relevant depending on the circumstances.
Commercial truck and bus drivers may interact with navigation, dispatch systems, radios, or other equipment while operating much larger vehicles. A distracted truck or bus driver can create serious risks when turning, merging, changing lanes, leaving a stop, or moving near a bicycle lane. Learn more about truck accident claims and bus accident claims.
Evidence That May Help Show A Driver Was Distracted
A distracted-driving bicycle accident is not always proven by finding a text message. Different types of information may help explain what the driver was doing before the collision and whether attention was diverted from the road.
Witnesses may have seen the driver holding a phone, looking downward, looking away from traffic, drifting within a lane, or failing to react before impact. Independent witness information can become particularly useful when the driver and cyclist provide different accounts.
Video can also help. Traffic cameras, businesses, restaurants, homes, apartment properties, parking facilities, buses, dashcams, and other vehicles may have recorded the seconds before the crash. Footage may show the vehicle drifting, failing to brake, making a sudden turn, crossing a bicycle lane, or entering an intersection.
Phone information, rideshare or delivery records, vehicle data, driver statements, and police reports may also become relevant depending on the circumstances and what information can legally be obtained. No single record automatically proves distraction, so the available information should generally be considered together.
Because some surveillance systems overwrite footage and witnesses can become harder to locate, identifying potential sources early may help preserve a clearer picture of what happened.
No Citation Or Driver Denial Does Not Automatically Resolve The Issue
A distracted driver may tell police that they never saw the cyclist. Another driver may deny using a phone or claim that the cyclist appeared suddenly. Those statements should be considered along with the physical evidence and other available information.
Police may not always have enough information at the scene to determine whether distraction played a role. A driver may therefore receive no distracted-driving citation even when later video, witness information, electronic records, or other evidence raises additional questions about driver attention.
The opposite is also true. A bicycle accident should not be labeled a distracted-driving crash simply because the driver had a phone in the vehicle. There should be information supporting the claim that distraction actually contributed to what happened.
A driver or insurance company may also argue that the cyclist contributed to the collision because of lane position, visibility, speed, direction of travel, bicycle lighting, or a traffic signal. The driver’s conduct and the cyclist’s conduct should both be evaluated based on the available evidence.
Learn more about who may be liable in a California bicycle accident and California bicycle laws every cyclist should know.
Common Injuries After A Distracted-Driver Bicycle Accident
A distracted driver may have little or no time to brake before hitting a cyclist. The rider can experience the initial impact with the vehicle followed by another impact with the pavement, curb, parked car, or other object.
Possible injuries include concussions, traumatic brain injuries, facial fractures, dental injuries, neck and back injuries, spinal trauma, shoulder injuries, broken wrists and arms, hip injuries, knee injuries, leg fractures, internal injuries, road rash, and permanent scarring.
Head and brain injuries can be especially serious. A cyclist thrown onto the roadway may experience symptoms involving memory, concentration, balance, vision, sleep, mood, or other functions. People dealing with significant head trauma can learn more about DAG Law Firm’s brain injury practice.
Some cyclists require surgery, physical therapy, rehabilitation, dental reconstruction, scar treatment, or continuing specialist care. Serious injuries may also affect work, mobility, independence, home responsibilities, and the ability to return to cycling.
Learn more about common injuries in California bicycle accident cases.
Liability, Insurance And Bicycle Accident Case Value
Evidence that a driver was distracted can become important when determining responsibility for a bicycle accident, but distraction alone does not create a fixed settlement amount. The entire crash and its effects still need to be evaluated.
Potential case value can depend on the seriousness of the injuries, medical treatment, future care, missed work, permanent limitations, scarring, available insurance, strength of the evidence, and whether the cyclist is also accused of contributing to the collision.
The parties involved can also affect the claim. An accident may involve the individual driver, vehicle owner, employer, rideshare company, delivery company, commercial transportation business, or another organization. Identifying each potentially responsible party can affect which records and insurance policies may need to be reviewed.
A hit-and-run can create additional issues if the distracted driver leaves before being identified. Video, witness information, vehicle descriptions, license plate information, debris, dashcam footage, and police investigation may help identify the vehicle. Learn more about hit-and-run bicycle accidents in California.
There is no standard value for a distracted-driving bicycle accident. Learn more about how much a California bicycle accident case may be worth.
What To Do After A Distracted-Driving Bicycle Accident
Immediate medical needs and personal safety generally come first after a serious bicycle crash. When circumstances make it safe, identifying the driver and vehicle, obtaining insurance information, and reporting the collision may help preserve basic information about what happened.
Photos can help document the bicycle, vehicle, road, bike lane, intersection, traffic signals, vehicle damage, bicycle damage, visible injuries, and surrounding businesses. Witness contact information can be especially important if someone saw the driver holding a phone, looking away from traffic, or otherwise appearing distracted.
Nearby cameras should also be considered. Stores, restaurants, homes, apartment buildings, parking facilities, traffic systems, buses, and other vehicles may have recorded the crash or the driver’s movements immediately beforehand.
The bicycle, helmet, damaged cycling equipment, GPS or cycling-app information, medical records, work records, and accident-related expenses may also become relevant. Preserving this information can help create a more complete record of both the collision and its effects.
Read DAG Law Firm’s complete guide about what to do after a bicycle accident in California.
California Bicycle Accident Resources And How DAG Law Firm Can Help
Distracted-driving bicycle accidents can involve much more than texting. Phone use, navigation systems, rideshare applications, delivery apps, passengers, food, vehicle controls, and other activities can divert a motorist’s attention at the moment a cyclist is nearby.
DAG Law Firm’s California bicycle accident resources provide additional information about what to do after a bicycle accident, who may be liable, how much a bicycle accident case may be worth, common bicycle accident injuries, California bicycle laws, dooring accidents, hit-and-run bicycle accidents, and bicycle accident filing deadlines.
DAG Law Firm, APC represents cyclists injured in qualifying bicycle and e-bike accidents throughout California. Whether a collision involved phone use, navigation, a rideshare or delivery app, an unsafe turn, bike-lane drift, rear-end impact, commercial driver, or another form of distraction, the driver conduct, injuries, insurance, and available records matter.
Learn more about California bicycle accident claims and the types of cases DAG Law Firm handles. You do not pay attorney fees unless we win your case, and there are no upfront attorney fees for qualifying bicycle accident matters handled on a contingency-fee basis. Call (323) 930-2020 or contact DAG Law Firm today to discuss your bicycle accident.
