Virginia Motorcycle Accident Guide

Motorcycle crashes aren’t as frequent as passenger-vehicle crashes, but they tend to be more serious.

In 2017, motorcycles made up just 3% of all registered vehicles in the United States and accounted for 0.6% of all vehicle miles traveled. And yet, per vehicle miles traveled, motorcycle fatalities occurred nearly 28 times more frequently than passenger-vehicle-occupant fatalities.

The number of motorcyclists killed in crashes dropped to 4,985 in 2018 (a 5% decrease), but motorcycle riders are still overrepresented in traffic fatalities.

Source: Virginia Highway Safety Office

There is a perception among many people that motorcycles are always at fault for motorcycle crashes.

This is, of course, not true.

Common causes of motorcycle accidents that aren’t the fault of the motorcyclist include:

• Being struck by flying objects (such as cigarettes, pebbles, and insects)
• Windblast from larger vehicles
• Being struck by a vehicle following too closely
• Being struck by a vehicle’s extended mirror
• Being struck by a merging vehicle
• Being struck by a drunk driver
• Poor road conditions
• Mechanical failures

Of course, there are times when a motorcyclist does cause an accident. Common causes of accidents that are the fault of the motorcyclist include:

• Lane splitting
• Speeding
• Unsafe lane changes
• Sudden stopping
• Driving under the influence (DUI)

Source: Virginia Highway Safety Office

Section 46.2-910 of the Code of Virginia says that every motorcyclist and motorcycle passenger must wear a motorcycle helmet that meets or exceeds the standards and specifications of the Snell Memorial Foundation, the American National Standards Institute, or the Federal Department of Transportation.

In addition to being the law, wearing a motorcycle helmet is just common sense.

Lane splitting is when a motorcyclist rides between 2 lanes of cars heading in the same direction. Most motorcyclists split lanes on the highway when traffic slows, but some also split lanes in order to filter to the front of traffic at a stoplight.

Virginia law makes clear that lane splitting is illegal in Virginia. A person who is found lane splitting is guilty of reckless driving.

Yes! You need a license to ride a motorcycle, and a regular motor vehicle license is not sufficient.

To operate a motorcycle in Virginia, you need a valid Class M, M2, or M3 designation, or a motorcycle driver’s license.

You are NOT required to carry liability insurance in Virginia if you pay a $500 uninsured motor vehicle fee (UMVF) to the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles. Once this fee is paid, you are free to operate a motorcycle in the state uninsured for 12 months (at which point you’ll need to pay another fee).

However, if you cause an accident, you’ll be personally liable for whatever damages result.

Motorcyclists who prefer to carry liability insurance don’t have to pay the $500 fee so long as the liability insurance they purchase meets the following minimum coverage amounts:

• $25,000 for the bodily injury or death of 1 person in an accident
• $50,000 for total bodily injury or death in an accident (i.e., for all persons harmed in 1 accident)
• $20,000 for property damage per accident

As a motorcyclist in Virginia, you’re subject to the same laws as other motorists. In addition, you must comply with some motorcycle-specific laws. Most of these laws can be found in Article 8, Chapter 13 of the Code of Virginia.

Here are the highlights:

• In addition to wearing a helmet, motorcyclists must wear eye protection in the form of goggles, safety glasses, or a helmet shield. If your motorcycle has a windshield, no further eye protection is required.
• Motorcycles carrying a passenger must be equipped with a passenger seat and footrest.
• With a few very rare exceptions, motorcycles must be equipped with a headlight, horn, and rearview mirror.
• Motorcyclists are permitted to ride in high occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes.
• Motorcycles are permitted to ride 2 abreast.

In order to recover damages after a motorcycle crash in Virginia, you have to prove that someone else caused the accident. Usually, this “someone else” is another driver or motorcyclist.

Examples of actions that might result in a motorcyclist or motor vehicle driver being liable for an accident include:

In some cases, a motorcycle crash isn’t caused by a motor vehicle driver or motorcyclist, but is instead caused by:

• Poor road conditions. Property owners are generally required to keep their land free of dangerous conditions. If you crash because the road you were driving on was dangerous (for example, there was a large pothole or loose sewer grate), you might be able to sue the government (if the road is public) or the landowner (if the road is private).
• Mechanical failure or defective component. If you’re injured in a crash due to a mechanical failure or defective component (for example, the brakes on your motorcycle fail or one of the wheels suddenly locks), you may be able to sue the manufacturer for negligence. This type of negligence case is called a product liability claim.

Virginia is one of the few states where a plaintiff is prohibited from recovering any damages if they’re found even the slightest bit at fault. This law is known as the “pure contributory negligence law.”