Motorist Crash with Wrong Way Cyclist in a Bike Lane

Question

John asked: If the operator of a motor vehicle should hit and injure a bicycle rider who is in the bike lane but riding the wrong direction, would the driver be held legally liable for the accident and or injury?

Answer

There is no way to determine any potential liability without knowing all the details of the incident, which would be determined in court. A cyclist is operating a vehicle and when in the roadway must ride in the same direction as other traffic. A bike lane is part of the roadway.

s. 316.081Driving on Right Side of Roadway; Exceptions

(1) Upon all roadways of sufficient width, a vehicle shall be driven upon the right half of the roadway.

A driver may also be at fault if crossing a sidewalk area and entering the roadway from a driveway without ensuring it will not interfere with traffic on the sidewalk or in the roadway, even a cyclist riding in the wrong direction.

s. 316.125Vehicle Entering Highway from Private Road or Driveway or Emerging from Alley, Driveway or Building

(1) The driver of a vehicle about to enter or cross a highway from an alley, building, private road or driveway shall yield the right-of-way to all vehicles approaching on the highway to be entered which are so close thereto as to constitute an immediate hazard.

(2) The driver of a vehicle emerging from an alley, building, private road or driveway within a business or residence district shall stop the vehicle immediately prior to driving onto a sidewalk or onto the sidewalk area extending across the alley, building entrance, road or driveway, or in the event there is no sidewalk area, shall stop at the point nearest the street to be entered where the driver has a view of approaching traffic thereon and shall yield to all vehicles and pedestrians which are so close thereto as to constitute an immediate hazard.

The motorist driving in a bike lane may also be violating the statute that requires driving within a single lane.

s. 316.089Driving on Roadways Laned for Traffic

(1) A vehicle shall be driven as nearly as practicable entirely within a single lane and shall not be moved from such lane until the driver has first ascertained that such movement can be made with safety.

Although a bike lane is described as “exclusive” in certain statutes, there are circumstances when a motorist will be in a bike lane, such as entering or leaving a roadway. Those instances are not specified in the statutes,

4 Comments on “Motorist Crash with Wrong Way Cyclist in a Bike Lane

  1. You need a lawyer with this one but just because he is going the wrong way does not give the car driver the right to hit a person, they still are responsible. Was there construction which would cause the person to be riding his bike the wrong way? Was it a divided highway? So many different things that can change the outcome. I would say that the cyclist could be given a ticket for going the wrong way but the rest has to be determined by the Police or in court.

    • Liability for the tort of negligence and violation of the law are two different things. Liability in a civil suit for negligence asks, “did one with a duty of care breach that duty, thereby proximately resulting in a measurable amount of damages that must be compensated.”

      Violation of a traffic law helps establish that there was an mandatory way that one should have acted (a duty of care), and that the operator violated that duty. However, like all evidence, it may or may not be relevant, and may be overcome by other facts or evidence.

      Florida is a comparative negligence state. If, after weighing the evidence, the jury concludes that Driver Dan was 40 percent negligent, that wrong-way Cyclist Sam was 40 percent negligent and the City of Utopia was 20 percent negligent (rough road), and that Sam suffered $100,000 in actual damages (with Dan and Utopia both unharmed), Dan will liable to Sam for $40,000.

      Helmets present a odd situation. Not wearing a helmet cannot contribute to the cause of an accident, so a driver cannot argue that they are part of comparative negligence. But there is an affirmative defense called “failure to mitigate.” That is: you did not take reasonable measures to prevent an accident from being as bad as it could have been, so I shouldn’t have to pay for the full amount of your damages. So far as I know, in Florida, “failure to mitigate” has mostly been allowed for things that happen AFTER the incident (i.e. failure to go to the hospital and get checked out), but it has been asserted often in bike cases, and it may have been allowed in, as I have been out of the litigation game for several years.

  2. ” …. you did not take reasonable measures to prevent an accident from being as bad as it could have been, so I shouldn’t have to pay for the full amount of your damages.”

    The same could be said for a driver of a motor vehicle (Motorcycle, car or truck) not wearing a helmet and suffering a head injury in a crash.

    • Depends on “reasonable measure,” and of course, proof that the measure would have actually mitigated the harm. There was a huge legal battle over seat belts and child seats, but I do not know how the precedent eventually ended up falling into place. Personal injury is a specialized area where the faint of heart do not tread.

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