Motorcycle Accidents Caused by Distracted Drivers in California
Distracted driving can create serious risks for motorcyclists throughout California. Because motorcycles are smaller than passenger vehicles, a driver who looks away from traffic for even a short time may fail to notice a rider traveling nearby.
A distracted driver may miss a motorcycle before changing lanes, making a left turn, entering traffic, slowing suddenly, or approaching an intersection. When a collision happens, the rider may suffer serious injuries because there is little physical protection between the motorcycle and the surrounding vehicles or roadway.
After a serious crash, one of the main questions may be whether the other driver was using a phone, looking at navigation, talking with a passenger, reaching for something, or otherwise failing to give full attention to driving. Witness statements, photos, video, police information, vehicle data, and legally obtained electronic records may help explain what happened.
DAG Law Firm, APC represents riders injured in qualifying motorcycle accidents throughout California. You do not pay attorney fees unless we win your case. There are no upfront attorney fees for qualifying motorcycle accident matters handled on a contingency-fee basis. Call (323) 930-2020 or contact DAG Law Firm today for a free consultation.
What Distracted Driving Can Look Like
Distracted driving can involve anything that takes a driver’s eyes, hands, or attention away from safely operating the vehicle. Some distractions last only a few seconds, but that can still be enough time for traffic conditions to change.
Phone use is one common example. A driver may be texting, reading a message, using social media, making a call, looking at a navigation app, or taking a photo or video.
Distraction can also involve eating, adjusting vehicle controls, talking with passengers, reaching for an object, looking at a business or address, or focusing on something outside the vehicle.
The important issue after a motorcycle crash is not simply whether the driver was distracted in a general sense. The investigation may need to determine whether the distraction affected the driver’s ability to see the motorcycle, respond to traffic, or avoid the collision.
Why Distracted Driving Is Especially Dangerous For Motorcyclists
Motorcycles have a smaller visual profile than most passenger vehicles. A driver who is not paying full attention may fail to notice a motorcycle traveling in an adjacent lane, approaching an intersection, or slowing ahead.
Motorcyclists also have much less protection during impact. There is no vehicle frame, airbag, or seat belt surrounding the rider.
A collision that causes relatively minor vehicle damage can still throw a motorcyclist onto the pavement or into another vehicle. The rider may suffer multiple impacts before coming to a stop.
This difference in physical protection is one reason distracted-driving motorcycle crashes can cause serious injuries even when the collision does not appear severe from the damage to the other vehicle.
Left-Turn And Intersection Motorcycle Accidents
Left-turn collisions are especially dangerous for motorcycle riders. A driver may look toward oncoming traffic but fail to recognize an approaching motorcycle before turning across its path.
Distraction can make that problem worse. A driver looking at a phone, navigation screen, passenger, address, or another object may begin turning without fully checking for an approaching rider.
Intersections can create similar risks because drivers must monitor traffic lights, stop signs, pedestrians, bicyclists, motorcycles, and vehicles moving from several directions.
A distracted driver may enter an intersection without enough clearance, fail to yield, roll through a stop, run a traffic signal, or turn into the rider’s path.
Photos of the intersection, traffic signals, roadway markings, vehicle damage, witnesses, and available video may help explain how the collision occurred.
Unsafe Lane Changes, Blind Spots And Lane Splitting
Lane-change crashes can happen when a driver fails to check mirrors or blind spots before moving into another lane. For a nearby motorcyclist, that movement can leave very little space or time to avoid impact.
Distraction can increase the risk because the driver may not complete the normal visual checks before changing lanes. A person looking at a phone, navigation system, passenger, or another distraction may move directly into the motorcycle’s path.
These crashes can also happen while a rider is traveling between lanes of traffic. The fact that a motorcycle was lane splitting does not automatically answer who was responsible for the collision.
Vehicle speed, lane position, traffic conditions, signaling, visibility, and the movements of both the rider and driver should be considered together.
Learn more about lane splitting motorcycle accidents in California.
Rear-End Motorcycle Crashes Caused By Distraction
A distracted driver may also strike a motorcycle from behind after failing to notice traffic slowing or stopping.
A phone or other distraction can cause a driver to miss brake lights, a red traffic signal, congestion, or a motorcycle stopped ahead.
Rear-end impacts can be especially dangerous for riders because the force may push the motorcycle forward or throw the rider from the bike.
The motorcycle may also be pushed into another vehicle, barrier, or object, increasing the risk of additional injuries.
Vehicle damage, skid marks, dash-camera footage, witness accounts, and other records may help determine how quickly the driver reacted and what happened immediately before impact.
Evidence That May Help Show A Driver Was Distracted
Distracted driving is not always obvious after a motorcycle crash. A driver may deny using a phone or may not admit that attention was focused somewhere else before the collision.
Witness statements can be important when another person saw the driver looking down, holding a device, talking on a phone, or engaging in another distracting activity.
Dash-camera footage, helmet-camera video, surveillance recordings, traffic-camera footage when available, photographs, police information, and vehicle data may also help explain what happened.
Electronic information can become relevant in some cases. Cell phone records, app activity, or other data may sometimes help show whether a device was being used around the time of the collision, but obtaining that information generally requires appropriate legal procedures.
Phone records alone may not prove exactly what the driver was doing at the moment of impact. They are usually considered together with the rest of the available information.
Who May Be Responsible For A Distracted Driving Motorcycle Crash?
A driver whose lack of attention contributes to a motorcycle collision may be responsible for the resulting injuries and losses. The specific analysis depends on what the driver did and how that conduct affected the crash.
Examples can include texting before an unsafe lane change, failing to yield while looking at navigation, rear-ending a motorcycle after looking away from traffic, or turning across a rider’s path while distracted.
Some crashes can involve more than one potentially responsible person or business. If the distracted driver was working at the time, an employer or another business connected to the vehicle may become relevant depending on the circumstances.
Delivery drivers, service technicians, commercial drivers, sales employees, and others operating vehicles for work can present additional insurance and responsibility questions.
Learn more about who may be liable in a California motorcycle accident.
Rider Conduct, Helmets And Partial Responsibility
Insurance companies may argue that the motorcyclist also contributed to the collision. Allegations may involve speed, lane splitting, following distance, lane position, or another riding decision.
Those issues do not automatically establish that the rider caused the crash. Photos, video, witness statements, vehicle damage, road conditions, and the movements of both vehicles should be evaluated together.
Helmet use can also become part of an injury claim, especially when the rider suffered a head injury. That issue is separate from determining whether another driver’s distraction caused the collision.
California has motorcycle-specific rules involving helmets, lane splitting, equipment, passengers, and other riding issues. The effect of any particular rule depends on the facts of the crash.
Read California Motorcycle Laws Every Rider Should Know and California Helmet Laws and Motorcycle Accident Claims for additional information.
Injuries, Case Value And What To Do After The Crash
Distracted-driving motorcycle collisions can cause traumatic brain injuries, broken bones, spinal injuries, neck and back injuries, internal injuries, leg or shoulder injuries, road rash, nerve damage, scarring, and other serious conditions.
Some riders require surgery, hospitalization, physical therapy, rehabilitation, or long-term medical care. Injuries can also affect the rider’s ability to work, exercise, drive, sleep, or handle ordinary activities at home.
There is no standard settlement amount for a distracted-driving motorcycle accident. Medical treatment, future care, lost income, long-term physical limitations, available insurance, responsibility, and the strength of the available records can all affect how a claim is evaluated.
After a crash, preserving photos, witness information, helmet-camera footage, dash-camera recordings, the motorcycle, riding equipment, medical records, and insurance communications can be helpful. Relevant photos or electronic files should generally not be deleted while the accident is being investigated.
Read What to Do After a Motorcycle Accident in California, common injuries in California motorcycle accident cases, and how much a California motorcycle accident case may be worth for additional information.
California Motorcycle Accident Resources And How DAG Law Firm Can Help
Distracted-driving motorcycle accidents can involve disputed responsibility and information that may become harder to obtain as time passes. Video may be overwritten, witnesses can become difficult to locate, vehicles may be repaired, and electronic information may require formal procedures to preserve or obtain.
DAG Law Firm’s California motorcycle accident resources explain what to do after a motorcycle accident, California motorcycle laws, who may be responsible, and common motorcycle accident injuries.
Additional resources address motorcycle accident case value, lane splitting motorcycle accidents, California helmet laws, and California motorcycle accident filing deadlines.
DAG Law Firm, APC represents people injured in qualifying motorcycle accidents caused by distracted drivers throughout California. You do not pay attorney fees unless we win your case. There are no upfront attorney fees for qualifying motorcycle accident matters handled on a contingency-fee basis.
Learn more about our California motorcycle accident representation, call (323) 930-2020, or contact DAG Law Firm today for a free consultation.
