You were riding legally. A driver turned left across your lane, or drifted into you while you were splitting traffic. Now their insurer is hinting that the crash was your fault because you were on a motorcycle.
Straight answer: riding a motorcycle does not make you at fault, and lane splitting is legal in California. Fault comes from evidence and the Vehicle Code, not from stereotypes about riders. Below, we cover the common causes of motorcycle crashes, how fault is decided, and what a motorcycle personal injury lawyer watches for when an insurer leans on bias instead of facts.
Is the rider automatically at fault in a California motorcycle crash?
No. No California rule puts the rider at fault by default.
Fault is decided the same way as in any other collision. Who had the right-of-way? Who broke a traffic law? Who failed to act with reasonable care?
California also uses pure comparative fault, a rule the state Supreme Court adopted in 1975. Your compensation is reduced by your share of fault. It is never wiped out by it. If you were found 20% responsible, you can still recover the other 80%.
That rule is the first thing a motorcycle personal injury lawyer explains to a worried rider. Insurers know the law won’t let them zero out your claim, so they try to inflate your percentage instead. More on that below.
What causes most motorcycle crashes in California?
Most serious motorcycle crashes involve another vehicle. The pattern holds year after year. According to NHTSA’s 2023 motorcycle crash data, in 46% of fatal two-vehicle crashes involving a motorcycle, the other vehicle was turning left while the rider was going straight, passing, or overtaking.
California’s numbers point the same way. UC Berkeley’s SafeTREC studied 2023 state crash records. It found that improper turning and right-of-way violations by drivers were among the top causes of fatal and serious motorcycle crashes.
The causes we see most often:
- Drivers turning left across a rider’s path at intersections and driveways
- Unsafe lane changes into a rider who is splitting or in the next lane
- Car doors opened into a rider’s path
- Rear-end crashes at red lights and in stop-and-go traffic
- Potholes, debris, and poorly maintained pavement
- Distracted, impaired, or speeding drivers
Lane splits, left turns, unsafe drivers. Those three show up again and again in the cases a motorcycle personal injury lawyer handles in Los Angeles. Each one has its own fault rules.
How is fault determined after a motorcycle crash?
Fault turns on specific Vehicle Code duties. Here is how the three most common scenarios work.
Left-turn crashes
Under California Vehicle Code 21801, a driver turning left must yield to oncoming vehicles close enough to be a hazard. That duty doesn’t end when the turn starts. It lasts until the turn can be finished safely.
So when a driver says “I never saw the motorcycle,” that isn’t a defense. It is usually an admission that they didn’t look carefully enough before crossing your lane. That’s why 21801 is one of the first statutes a motorcycle personal injury lawyer pulls in an intersection case.
Lane-splitting crashes
Vehicle Code 21658.1 defines lane splitting as riding a two-wheeled motorcycle between rows of stopped or moving vehicles in the same lane. California wrote lane splitting into its code, and the California Highway Patrol’s motorcyclist safety guidance states plainly that it is legal.
Legal doesn’t mean anything goes. Riders still have to split in a safe and prudent way. The CHP’s tips warn that danger rises as the speed gap between the bike and traffic grows.
But drivers have duties too. Vehicle Code 21658 requires a driver to stay in their lane until a lane change can be made safely.
The CHP’s guidance also says it’s illegal to block a lane-splitting rider in a way that could hurt them. Opening a door to stop one is illegal too.
A driver who swerves into a splitting rider without checking has broken a rule of their own, and a motorcycle personal injury lawyer will build the claim around that violation.
Helmet questions
Vehicle Code 27803 requires every rider and passenger in California to wear a DOT-compliant helmet. Most do. NHTSA’s 2023 data shows that 94% of California motorcyclists killed in crashes were wearing one, where helmet use was known.
If you weren’t wearing a helmet, that doesn’t make you responsible for the crash itself. At most, an insurer may argue it made a head injury worse.
A motorcycle personal injury lawyer can answer that with medical evidence about what a helmet would or wouldn’t have changed. The argument generally has nothing to do with a broken wrist or a shattered knee.
What the insurance company does, and how a motorcycle personal injury lawyer responds
Eli Rezvani spent the early part of his career on the insurance defense side. He’s seen how carriers value motorcycle claims from the inside.
The bias isn’t random. It’s a negotiating strategy.
Here is what the adjuster is often doing, and the counter-move for each.
The “reckless rider” frame. The adjuster calls lane splitting dangerous or illegal, hoping you’ll believe it. The motive is simple: if you think you broke the law, you’ll accept less.
The counter is the statute and the CHP’s own guidance. Lane splitting is legal. The real question is whether the driver who hit you acted safely.
The speeding assumption. Insurers often assume a rider was speeding, with no data behind it. The counter is evidence: dashcam and security video, the car’s event data recorder, scene measurements, and witnesses.
A motorcycle personal injury lawyer locks this evidence down early, before footage gets recorded over.
“He came out of nowhere.” Turning drivers say this constantly. The adjuster repeats it as if it proves the rider was going too fast. Under Vehicle Code 21801, it usually proves the opposite: the driver failed to see what was there to be seen.
Percentage creep. Pure comparative fault keeps your claim alive, so the carrier opens by giving you 30% or 40% of the blame. Every point of fault is money off your recovery. That’s why a motorcycle personal injury lawyer contests that percentage line by line.
Your fault share feeds straight into the formula behind how much a personal injury case is worth, so it’s worth fighting point by point.
The jury card. Adjusters sometimes argue that juries don’t like riders, so you should take the offer now. Some jurors do carry assumptions about motorcyclists.
Evidence is how those assumptions get beaten. Carriers know that a motorcycle personal injury lawyer with a well-built case changes the math.
What should you do after a motorcycle crash?
If you’re reading this in the days after a crash, these steps protect both your health and your claim.
- Get medical care right away. Some injuries, including brain injuries, don’t show symptoms for hours or days. Insurers use gaps in treatment against you.
- Get the police report number. The report records statements, citations, and the officer’s view of who violated what.
- Photograph everything. Your bike, the other vehicle, skid marks, the intersection, and your injuries.
- Keep your helmet and gear. Don’t throw away a damaged helmet, jacket, or boots. They are physical evidence of how the crash happened.
- Find the cameras. Note nearby businesses, traffic cameras, and any witnesses with dashcams. Video is often erased within days.
- Don’t give the other driver’s insurer a recorded statement until you’ve talked with a motorcycle personal injury lawyer. The call is designed to collect admissions.
- Don’t repair or salvage the bike yet. Damage patterns can show speed, angle, and point of impact.
- Watch the deadlines. The general rule for injury claims in California is two years. Claims against a public entity, like a city that let a road fall apart, can run as short as six months. Your deadline depends on your facts.
Motorcycle crash FAQ
Is lane splitting legal in California?
Yes. Vehicle Code 21658.1 defines lane splitting, and the CHP confirms it is legal. Riders are still expected to do it in a safe and prudent manner.
Can I still recover money if I was lane splitting when I was hit?
Often, yes. It’s one of the most common questions a motorcycle personal injury lawyer hears. Lane splitting alone does not make you at fault.
If the driver changed lanes unsafely or blocked you, they may carry most or all of the blame. Even if fault is shared, your recovery is reduced, not erased.
What if I wasn’t wearing a helmet?
You can still bring a claim. A missing helmet doesn’t cause a crash. The insurer may argue it worsened a head injury, but that argument generally doesn’t touch other injuries.
Do I need a motorcycle personal injury lawyer, or will any lawyer for vehicle accident claims do?
Any lawyer for vehicle accident claims understands right-of-way. A firm that regularly handles rider cases also knows the bias insurers bring to them. It knows how to answer lane-splitting and speeding arguments with evidence.
How much does it cost to hire you?
Nothing up front. We work on contingency, so you pay $0 unless we win.
How The Accident Duo can help
If a driver turned into you, merged into you, or blocked you while you were splitting traffic, you shouldn’t have to argue with an adjuster about whether riders deserve to be paid. The Accident Duo takes that fight off your plate.
When you call, you reach Mathew or Eli Rezvani directly, not an intake screener. Eli knows the carrier playbook from the inside.
Our motorcycle accident attorneys start preserving evidence the same day. As your motorcycle personal injury lawyer team, we handle the insurers so you can focus on healing.
The consultation is free, any hour, and you pay $0 unless we win. Call (310) 694-9500 or request a free case review.
This article is not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Case outcomes described are representative examples; prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Every case depends on its own facts and the applicable law. For advice about your situation, contact The Accident Duo for a free consultation.
