Lane Split Accident

Does anyone have experience on how the insurance company will rule an accident involving a bike lane splitting hitting a car?

This is what happened to me today...

I was lane splitting down park presidio while I was going thru the park (I was going around 20-25mph). The car from the right lane all a sudden decided to change lane, and my front wheel hit the corner of her car. All this happened VERY quickly, I squeezed my breaks and I'm already at her bumper.

I got throw over the bike (probably from breaking and the forward momentum). The cops came, but they didn't take any statments since no one was hurt (I got throw over, but no scratches or anything, just sore right now as i type this). We exchanged insurance and got 2 witness, and I had already filed a claim to the cager's insurance company.

Please let me know if any of you guys have similar experience and let me know how it turned out regarding insurance, thanks.

a) Don't post about this in public anymore.
b) Call a lawyer. (http://twowheellaw.com/)
c) I know you say you aren't hurt, but get checked out just in case.

-jim

p.s..

breaks = Brakes
throw = thrown

Glad you're ok.

This happened to me 3 weeks ago. Very similar scenario.
they usualy going to blame the motorcyclist, based on unsafe speed. Most if if not all the time most of these claims are proccesed out of state, where lane splitting is illegal. Just make sure you tell them you're in CA.

The CHP report cited me as the cause of the accident, due to unsafe speed. Despite this, the driver's insurance company decided to cut a "50%" payout. Legaly, the driver was found at fault for making and "unsafe lane change" without a signal. Realistically, it falls on the rider to use more common sense and slow down.

This my scenario and is not indicative of what will be assesed in your case.

go here, there is some sagely riding advice towards the bottom of the thread.
http://www.bayarearidersforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=220766

Good luck

It's in situations like this where you need to flow with the intruding car into the next "split", if at all possible, shedding speed in the process (but careful not to exceed available traction).

No harm, no foul, no police report?

The best motorcycle accidents are the ones with no injuries.

You your bike are ok?

If we ever lose the privilege of splitting lanes in California, I think the most likely reason will be an increasing number of crashes involving inexperienced riders who fail to understand the danger. Your crash—along with others posted on BARF recently--are good examples of that lack of understanding.

The situation in your crash—a car crossing the motorcycle’s path into a gap in the opposite lane—is the most common lane-splitting crash (I’d guess well over half occur this way). If there is one small contribution BARF could make to keeping lane-splitting legal, it would be to inform prospective splitters of this danger and offer suggestions for preventing this kind of crash.

So in the spirit of prevention, I wonder if you would mind answering a few questions:

• Do I understand the situation correctly: you were splitting between two lanes moving in the same direction when a car in one lane crossed into an open space in the other lane as you approached.
  
  
• You say you were going 20-25mph. What was the speed of the car that hit you?
  
  
• Were you aware of the danger of a car crossing into an open space?
  
  
• How long have you been splitting lanes?
  
  
• What rules do you try to follow when splitting?
  
  
• Have you ever read BARF posts on lane-splitting technique?
  
  
• What do you think would be a good way to persuade/cajole/harass novice lane-splitters about the dangers and to suggest safe splitting techniques to them?

I apologize if this comes off as flaming you after an unfortunate accident, but I’ve read about too many lane-splitting crashes recently. I’ve also encountered attitudes in some riders (not you) who expect drivers to make the road safe for lane-splitting, and I've read comments by some who seem to lack an understanding of where the danger is and how to reduce it. I would hope that BARF can find a way to communicate both the attitudes and precautions to prospective lane-splitters before they become statistics.

I was in a an accident when I was lane splitting on 101. The car insurance took liability because it was a lane change (whereas I was staying in my shared lane). I was splitting in lane #1. The car that hit me was in 2.

lamkee said:

...I was lane splitting down park presidio while I was going thru the park...

Click to expand...

It's your life & all, but that's a really stupid place to be splitting. Narrow lanes, crap pavement, a couple of sharp corners and lots of people changing lanes.

regardless of what the insurance rules...for or against you....

you need to be aware that when cars change lanes they NEVER look for lane splitting bikes.

bikes are small and hard to notice splitting lanes.

you as the bike need to be super careful. watch the cars and the drivers in their mirrors... look for lane changing behavior.....its there....just gotta feel it....


and keep your hand on the brake at all times if you are lane splitting.

make sure you note if the car changing lanes that hit you had his blinker on or off btw....that will decide for you whether or not you are responsible. problem is most drivers turn on the turn signal AFTER they start changing lanes.

moral of story is if you choose to split lanes you take your life and risk of at fault accident into your own hands.

you have to be a super alert driver with instant reflexes if you lane split. car drivers feel safe and drive without worry. you however can die at a moments notice by lane splitting.

it may be legal and i do it myself but you need to be on the ball. if not do not lane split. cars ALWAYS change lanes without signalling. we all know this so we all need to be safe about lane splitting.

sorry for the negative lane split post but i have been lane splitting for 23 years and have avoided hundreds of accidents by doing it VERY VERY SLOWLY and watching the faces of the drivers.

who is at fault??? tough question. if you lane split by staying in one lane and not moving ...its the cars fault. unless you are in the same cars lane as hit you...man ....its a hard choice ....all i can say is if you choose to do it...be super good at it. and realize you are taking a risk at getting run over.

I find this reply interesting, let me try answering some of the questions.

[*]You say you were going 20-25mph. What was the speed of the car that hit you?

The car didn't hit me, I hit the car, car's probably going at 10-15mph.

[*]Were you aware of the danger of a car crossing into an open space?

When i saw the opening in the middle lane, i thought to myself to be carefu cuz the car might take that open spot. And it did, right when my front wheel was 1 ft away from the rear bumper of the car.

[*]How long have you been splitting lanes?

like how long was i on the road today before the accident? 10 minutes
or how much riding experience i have riding? little over 1 year

[*]What rules do you try to follow when splitting?

don't do it when the space is really narrow, don't have too much speed relative to the traffic, don't do it when the road is turning, stay away from big trucks, check for openings as car might want to pull into it, peripheral vison as i get near the car and see if it's making sudden lane change, and sometimes even look for eye contact from the car's side mirror

also, try to stay on lower gears, so hopefully engin noise can make me more visible, high beam on

[*]Have you ever read BARF posts on lane-splitting technique?

no

[*]What do you think would be a good way to persuade/cajole/harass novice lane-splitters about the dangers and to suggest safe splitting techniques to them?

it's a risk, i think you can be careful, but never 100% safe. i just try my best on the look out, and don't do it when i don't have to.

DataDan said:

If we ever lose the privilege of splitting lanes in California, I think the most likely reason will be an increasing number of crashes involving inexperienced riders who fail to understand the danger. Your crash—along with others posted on BARF recently--are good examples of that lack of understanding.

The situation in your crash—a car crossing the motorcycle’s path into a gap in the opposite lane—is the most common lane-splitting crash (I’d guess well over half occur this way). If there is one small contribution BARF could make to keeping lane-splitting legal, it would be to inform prospective splitters of this danger and offer suggestions for preventing this kind of crash.

So in the spirit of prevention, I wonder if you would mind answering a few questions:

• Do I understand the situation correctly: you were splitting between two lanes moving in the same direction when a car in one lane crossed into an open space in the other lane as you approached.
  
  
• You say you were going 20-25mph. What was the speed of the car that hit you?
  
  
• Were you aware of the danger of a car crossing into an open space?
  
  
• How long have you been splitting lanes?
  
  
• What rules do you try to follow when splitting?
  
  
• Have you ever read BARF posts on lane-splitting technique?
  
  
• What do you think would be a good way to persuade/cajole/harass novice lane-splitters about the dangers and to suggest safe splitting techniques to them?

I apologize if this comes off as flaming you after an unfortunate accident, but I’ve read about too many lane-splitting crashes recently. I’ve also encountered attitudes in some riders (not you) who expect drivers to make the road safe for lane-splitting, and I've read comments by some who seem to lack an understanding of where the danger is and how to reduce it. I would hope that BARF can find a way to communicate both the attitudes and precautions to prospective lane-splitters before they become statistics.

Click to expand...

agree, i'm lane splitting at my own risk, and I do it because I'm ok with the risk. i wasn't speeding, and i was splitting legally. i'm thankful that i'm not hurt (besides body ache from bracing the fall) but i would be more happy if the car's insurance can pick up the bill of the bike damage (or not being MY fault and having to pay for the car's damage).

oh yeh, i think it's safer if you go slow, but that doesn't mean you won't get hit. you can still get sandwiched between 2 cars if the driver doesn't see you or bother to check blind spot.

if i was going faster, i'm sure i would be in the hospital by now. by the fact that i'm very much ok, and the bike only sustained cosmetic damage, i think it says something about my speed.

Highway9Rider said:

regardless of what the insurance rules...for or against you....

you need to be aware that when cars change lanes they NEVER look for lane splitting bikes.

bikes are small and hard to notice splitting lanes.

you as the bike need to be super careful. watch the cars and the drivers in their mirrors... look for lane changing behavior.....its there....just gotta feel it....


and keep your hand on the brake at all times if you are lane splitting.

make sure you note if the car changing lanes that hit you had his blinker on or off btw....that will decide for you whether or not you are responsible. problem is most drivers turn on the turn signal AFTER they start changing lanes.

moral of story is if you choose to split lanes you take your life and risk of at fault accident into your own hands.

you have to be a super alert driver with instant reflexes if you lane split. car drivers feel safe and drive without worry. you however can die at a moments notice by lane splitting.

it may be legal and i do it myself but you need to be on the ball. if not do not lane split. cars ALWAYS change lanes without signalling. we all know this so we all need to be safe about lane splitting.

sorry for the negative lane split post but i have been lane splitting for 23 years and have avoided hundreds of accidents by doing it VERY VERY SLOWLY and watching the faces of the drivers.

who is at fault??? tough question. if you lane split by staying in one lane and not moving ...its the cars fault. unless you are in the same cars lane as hit you...man ....its a hard choice ....all i can say is if you choose to do it...be super good at it. and realize you are taking a risk at getting run over.

Click to expand...

When I lane split, I usually revved my engine or stay at a lower gear so the RPMS are higher. So the engine noise is louder. I have a 2007 bike so I have a "pass" button which I will use as well to flicker my highbeams into the side mirrors of the cars I'm approaching. If absolutely necessary (though I haven't yet) I'd probably honk short honks to alert the cars in front that there's a motorcyclist approaching.

Park Presidio or Golden Gate Park? Because GGP's ride through isn't everr really straight.. .It has a right hand turn followed by a left as you approach one of the lights, and then a right, left right as you reach MLK and 19th avenue. The lanes there are quite tight as well, I would've never lane splitted there.

If it was through the Presidio out of the GG-Bridge, I wouldn't have done any lane splitting either since most cars would be switching from lane to lane to get to their turn offs...

I'm sorry to hear about your accident, hope you and your bike is alright... I will assume you're not very new to riding but if you're like me, with about 6 months (give or take a few months), I wouldn't really lanesplit unless traffic is at a stop light and you know the light/intersection (meaning you know it won't change on you while you ride to the front of the line). Lane splitting is just like learning to control the throttle, doing it once doesn't mean you'll be alright doing it whenever traffic isn't going at the speed you want it to go.

I'm still new and one day, I was lanesplitting and as I was reaching the front of the traffic light, two cars were quite close but I went anyways when I really should have stopped... I nearly clipped a car's mirror but as I passed them and reached the front of the line, the light turned green and I went... I checked my mirrors on those cars to see if they were angry, or in any flagging down manner to see if I hit, knicked, or bumped their mirror in any way. I should've stopped right before them had I been more careful.

yes, i wouldn't split during turns either, rather it be wide or narrow lanes.

but the section i got hit was straight (right after the first right turn). the car that hit me was initially rolling slowly if not a dead stop when i first spotted it, it started to pick up speed as i got closer cuz the traffic's moving again.

fms1day said:

Park Presidio or Golden Gate Park? Because GGP's ride through isn't everr really straight.. .It has a right hand turn followed by a left as you approach one of the lights, and then a right, left right as you reach MLK and 19th avenue. The lanes there are quite tight as well, I would've never lane splitted there.

QUOTE]

Click to expand...

exactly fms1day....when i was new riding and lanesplitting it was 1985. I had a new 900 ninja... i hit a couple car mirrors lanesplitting in fremont on mission blvd.... i was too new to be lanesplitting. now of course im 23 yrs older. i would never hit a car lanesplitting. but i need to watch the cars changing lanes. i only pass when safe with another car on one side or another. if there is an open space where a car can cross over and smash me i either wait or watch for eye contact on them. i wont just shoot out into the open while lane splitting. open areas are landing zones for cars. they zoom into them to lane change

You know what it could've been then?

The motorist you saw (the one that eventually made contact with you) was probably slowing down to let the vehicle to her left pass so she can squeeze in right behind him/her in the lane to the left. Probably at the last glance in her side mirror, you were in her blind spot and the fact that she was really only caring about whether there was room behind this car so was slowing down for, so she can get in right behind... And once that car gave her room, she moved without taking another look at the mirror to double check on any other vehicles and yes, she most likely wasn't expecting a motorcyclist. Sucks... Hope everything works out for you man!

fms1day: thanks.

Highway9Rider said:

exactly fms1day....when i was new riding and lanesplitting it was 1985. I had a new 900 ninja... i hit a couple car mirrors lanesplitting in fremont on mission blvd.... i was too new to be lanesplitting. now of course im 23 yrs older. i would never hit a car lanesplitting. but i need to watch the cars changing lanes. i only pass when safe with another car on one side or another. if there is an open space where a car can cross over and smash me i either wait or watch for eye contact on them. i wont just shoot out into the open while lane splitting. open areas are landing zones for cars. they zoom into them to lane change

Click to expand...

Thanks. I heard you went on Tee's ride today, I was supposed to go.. Maybe next week! I'll meet you.

lamkee said:

[*]Were you aware of the danger of a car crossing into an open space?

When i saw the opening in the middle lane, i thought to myself to be carefu cuz the car might take that open spot. And it did, right when my front wheel was 1 ft away from the rear bumper of the car.

Click to expand...

I have to stop and get on my soapbox and point something out here:

You made it farther than most people do, in that you recognized the possible risk and dangerous situation developing around you. Where you stopped short is taking action to mitigate that risk. For example, you could have sheltered yourself next to the car behind the one that cut you off and waited to see if the person was looking to switch lanes, or you could have moved into the empty space and tried to get through it quickly, or whatever you thought was appropriate.

What I am uncomfortable with in your response is your lack of thoughts about how to do it differently next time, or the things you could have done to keep control of the situation. Even if the car is 100% at fault, there is still something that you could have done. Figure out what that something was, and then figure out whether it's reasonable to do it in the future. It is possible that the only thing you could have done would have been ridiculous or unreasonable. Even so, by figuring it out at least you are thinking about what you could have done differently Otherwise, you are just blaming external factors and leaving your own safety in the hands of the (inattentive) drivers around you.

That being said, be careful not to concede anything on a public forum. You never know when things you say can come back and haunt you, especially in the midst of a legal tangle, no matter how small.

thanks, and i like how you point out the legal matter that might be going on here. i'll shut up more, lol.

and thanks to everyone who took the time to read this and commented.

rritterson said:

I have to stop and get on my soapbox and point something out here:

You made it farther than most people do, in that you recognized the possible risk and dangerous situation developing around you. Where you stopped short is taking action to mitigate that risk. For example, you could have sheltered yourself next to the car behind the one that cut you off and waited to see if the person was looking to switch lanes, or you could have moved into the empty space and tried to get through it quickly, or whatever you thought was appropriate.

What I am uncomfortable with in your response is your lack of thoughts about how to do it differently next time, or the things you could have done to keep control of the situation. Even if the car is 100% at fault, there is still something that you could have done. Figure out what that something was, and then figure out whether it's reasonable to do it in the future. It is possible that the only thing you could have done would have been ridiculous or unreasonable. Even so, by figuring it out at least you are thinking about what you could have done differently Otherwise, you are just blaming external factors and leaving your own safety in the hands of the (inattentive) drivers around you.

That being said, be careful not to concede anything on a public forum. You never know when things you say can come back and haunt you, especially in the midst of a legal tangle, no matter how small.

Click to expand...

I have one question....

Were you past the vehicle you were sharing with at the point that the vehicle changed lanes in front of you, or still in the process of passing the shared-lane vehicle?

Here's why I ask:

If you were already past the vehicle you were sharing with (in the left lane), and in that "open space," I would find the vehicle you struck at fault for making an unsafe lane change as you had already effectively occupied that spot.

On the other hand:

If you were still in the process of passing the vehicle in the left lane (and thus, sharing its lane) when the vehicle in the right lane crossed over, I'd find you at fault for the collision. Why? Well the vehicle changing lanes didn't hit the VEHICLE that you were also sharing with, which means it was otherwise safe for them to change lanes. The fact that you ran into the vehicle would mean that you were traveling at an unsafe speed for the condition, causing you to strike a vehicle that at the time of the movement, was clear to change lanes.

I'm no expert on this stuff, I'm just saying how I'd look at it from two angles if I had shown up on scene.

The important thing here is that no one got hurt. Use this as a lesson -- one that you learned relatively cheaply, most people aren't given such lessons on motorcycling with as little of consequences.