When a car driver hits a motorcycle in Texas, the first job is to name the traffic rule the driver broke and to find a record that shows it. The right-of-way sections of the Transportation Code (§§ 545.151 to 545.155) and the safe-turning rule in § 545.103 bear on many of these crashes. Texas gives an injured rider two years to sue in most cases.
The short version
- Fault starts with a named rule. A left turn across an oncoming rider falls under § 545.152, and a pull-out from a driveway or alley under § 545.155.
- “I never saw him” is not an exception in the statute. Section 545.103 asks whether a turn could be made safely, not whether the driver noticed the rider.
- Records decide disputes. The officer’s crash report, a car’s recording device, nearby video and witnesses each answer a different question.
- Up to four sources can pay. The driver’s liability policy, the rider’s own uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage and personal injury protection, and the rider’s health plan.
- The state counted 585 motorcyclists killed in 2024 (TxDOT), and the two-year filing deadline in § 16.003(a) applies to injured riders and, after a death, to the family’s claim.
How do you prove a car driver caused a motorcycle crash?
Show which specific traffic rule the driver broke and that the violation caused the collision. “The driver was careless” is a weak claim; a left turn through a rider’s path or a pull-out from a parking lot points to a numbered section of the Transportation Code, and each section has its own facts to prove.
The right-of-way and turning rules below reach left turns, pull-outs, lane changes and following distance. TxDOT’s figures for 2024 list 585 motorcycle riders and passengers among the people who died on Texas roads, 37 percent of them without a helmet, and 1,050 deaths of all kinds in crashes at or tied to intersections ( TxDOT crash facts, calendar year 2024). These totals say nothing about fault in one crash; our review of the most dangerous Houston intersections gives the local picture.
Our article on a rider’s rights against insurer bias covers helmets, lanes and the way adjusters frame a rider’s conduct, so this article stays on the driver’s side. The firm’s Houston motorcycle accident page describes how a case starts.
The rider’s own conduct is the other half of the proof. Responsibility is divided by percentage, a claimant found more than half responsible gets nothing (the 50 percent bar in § 33.001), and anyone at 50 percent or less sees damages cut by that same percentage (§ 33.012(a)). Evidence therefore has two jobs: prove the violation and keep the rider’s share low. We explain the arithmetic in how comparative negligence is answered in Texas.
Which right-of-way rules apply when a car turns or pulls out in front of a rider?
Mainly § 545.152 for left turns, § 545.153 for stop and yield signs, § 545.155 for driveways and private roads, and § 545.103, which allows a turn or lateral move only when it can be made safely. Each speaks of an operator and a vehicle.
Under the left-turn rule, the protected vehicle is one coming from the other direction and either inside the intersection or close enough to count as an “immediate hazard.” Whether a rider was close enough is often the real argument. See also side-impact crashes at intersections.
| Movement | What the section requires | Section |
|---|---|---|
| Car turns left across an oncoming rider | Give way to an oncoming vehicle already inside the intersection, or close enough to count as an immediate hazard | § 545.152 |
| Car leaves a driveway, alley or private road | Give way to traffic approaching on the highway being entered | § 545.155 |
| Car stopped at a stop sign enters the rider’s road | Having stopped, give way to a vehicle already in the intersection or approaching so closely that it is an immediate hazard to the move | § 545.153(b) |
| Car on a one- or two-lane street reaches an uncontrolled intersection on a divided highway or a street with three or more marked lanes | Stop and give way to vehicles on the other roadway that are inside the intersection or close enough to be a hazard | § 545.151(b) |
| Car on a feeder road of a limited- or controlled-access highway | Yield to vehicles entering the feeder road from the highway or leaving it for the highway | § 545.154 |
| Any turn or lateral move | Make it only when it can be made safely | § 545.103 |
Source: Texas Transportation Code, Chapter 545, read October 16, 2026. The table paraphrases; the statute controls.
What if the driver says they never saw the motorcycle?
The right-of-way sections above contain no exception for a driver who did not see the rider. Section 545.103 asks whether the turn could be made safely, and § 545.062(a) requires a following driver to keep enough distance to stop without hitting the vehicle ahead. A missing lookout explains how a crash happened; whether it was careless is a question of fact.
Houston coverage shows how the sentence appears in real crashes. ABC13 reported on March 24, 2024 that a driver turning into a gas station in the 2100 block of Cullen Boulevard struck a motorcyclist, who was pronounced dead at the scene, and that Houston police said the driver did not see him ( ABC13, March 24, 2024). The report added that witnesses told police the rider had been revving his engine and attempting stunts before he lost control as the driver turned in.
One story holds two accounts, one pointing at the driver’s lookout and one at the rider’s conduct, which is why a claim is built from records. A distracted driver is a common reason a rider goes unseen, and the proof is covered in our distracted driving article. Where a rider was lawfully in a lane in clear view, the lookout argument can carry real weight; where speed or lane position is disputed, expect the other side to push the rider’s share up. The causes most often blamed for rider crashes are listed in a separate article.
Which evidence should a rider keep after a crash with a car?
Anything that records what each vehicle was doing before impact: the officer’s crash report, names of witnesses, photographs of the road and both vehicles, nearby video, and the helmet, clothing and motorcycle in the condition the crash left them. Texas also limits who may pull data from a car’s recording device.
The crash report comes first. When an officer investigates a crash that injured or killed someone, or did $1,000 or more in apparent damage to one person’s property, the officer must write it up and file the report electronically by the tenth day after the crash ( Transportation Code § 550.062). A person involved in the crash, or that person’s authorized representative, can obtain it by written request and payment of any required fee under § 550.065(c)(4). TxDOT sells the Texas Peace Officer’s Crash Report, known as the CR-3, for $6 as a regular copy or $8 certified, and the online system adds a small surcharge ( TxDOT crash reports page, read October 16, 2026). Ordering steps are in our guide to obtaining the accident report.
Event data is the second record, and it is not free for the taking. Under § 547.615(c) of the Transportation Code, information held in a manufacturer-installed recording device may be retrieved by someone other than the vehicle’s owner only on court order, with the owner’s consent, for certain safety research without identifying anyone, or to arrange emergency medical response.
The third record is human and visual. Read why witnesses matter and which photographs help. For a motorcycle, add gouge and skid marks, the point of contact on the car, and where the bike came to rest.
Which insurance policies can pay a rider’s bills after a car crash?
Up to four sources may apply: the at-fault driver’s liability coverage, the rider’s uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage, the rider’s personal injury protection, and the rider’s health plan. Each follows its own rules, and the declarations page of the rider’s policy shows which coverages were actually bought.
The driver’s liability coverage is the main source when the driver is at fault. Texas minimums are known as 30/60/25, meaning $30,000 toward one person’s injuries, $60,000 toward everyone’s injuries in a single crash, and $25,000 toward damaged property ( TDI consumer guide to auto insurance). A serious motorcycle injury can pass $30,000 quickly, which is why a rider’s own coverages matter. The car accident page describes the liability claim itself.
| Coverage | Whose policy | What the law says |
|---|---|---|
| Liability | The at-fault driver | Texas minimum limits of 30/60/25 (Texas Department of Insurance) |
| Uninsured/underinsured motorist | The rider | Included with an auto liability policy unless any insured named in the policy rejects it in writing (Insurance Code § 1952.101); underinsured coverage is capped by the policy limit and reduced by what the other vehicle’s insurer pays or owes (§ 1952.106) |
| Personal injury protection | The rider | Medical and certain income-replacement expenses incurred within three years of the accident, payable whatever the fault (§§ 1952.151, 1952.155); insurers need not provide more than $2,500 per person (§ 1952.153) |
| Health plan | The rider | Plan terms control; a plan covering motorcycle collision injuries is one of two ways a rider 21 or older qualifies to ride without a helmet (Transportation Code § 661.003(c)) |
Sources: Texas Insurance Code, Chapter 1952 and Transportation Code, Chapter 661, read October 16, 2026.
A caution on wording: Chapter 1952 speaks of an “automobile liability insurance policy.” Whether a given motorcycle policy carries uninsured/underinsured coverage or personal injury protection, and at what amounts, is answered by that policy and any written rejection in the file.
How does a rider’s own coverage help when the driver has too little insurance?
Underinsured motorist coverage pays the damages the rider is legally entitled to recover from the driver, up to the policy limit, minus whatever the driver’s insurer paid or owes. Uninsured motorist coverage answers the same gap when the driver had no insurance at all.
A vehicle is underinsured when its collectible liability limits are lower than the limit of the rider’s underinsured coverage, or have been reduced below it by other claims from the same accident (§ 1952.103). Because the payment is reduced by what comes from the driver’s insurer, the two claims are linked; read the policy before you sign a release. For how these claims run in practice, see our UM and UIM explainer; a driver who flees is a separate problem handled on the hit-and-run page.
Your own insurer is still an insurer, so think about what you give an adjuster, when you give a recorded statement and the tactics insurers use, including with your own carrier. If payment stalls, see what to do when an insurer drags its feet.
What can a rider recover from the driver?
Economic damages, meaning actual out-of-pocket loss such as medical bills and lost earnings, and noneconomic damages such as pain, mental anguish, disfigurement and impairment. Medical expenses are recoverable only up to the amount actually paid or incurred by or on behalf of the claimant.
The categories are defined in Civil Practice and Remedies Code § 41.001 and the medical-expense limit is § 41.0105. Our plain-language guide to the types of damages in a car accident claim goes through each, and the inputs that set value are in the piece on what a Houston claim is worth.
Motorcycle injuries heal slowly, and settling early can leave future care unpaid; see how long a personal injury case can take. If a rider died, the family’s rights are on the wrongful death page, and who may file after a fatal crash is covered separately.
How long does a rider have to file suit after a crash with a car?
Generally two years. The state’s limitations chapter counts two years from the day a personal injury claim accrues, and for an injury that ends in death it counts two years from the death, with listed exceptions that can change the date for a particular crash.
Section 16.003 opens by pointing to exceptions in Sections 16.010, 16.0031 and 16.0045, so the period can be changed by other rules ( Civil Practice and Remedies Code Chapter 16). Confirm the date for your crash with an attorney rather than assume it. If the driver left the scene, our steps after a hit-and-run in Houston apply as well, and the first-steps checklist applies to any crash.
A rider who wants a second set of eyes on the date can send the crash details through the contact page; the personal injury overview lists the other claim types, and the Bellaire motorcycle article covers helmet and lane rules.
Frequently asked questions
How do I start a motorcycle accident injury claim?
Get medical care and make sure police are notified, because Texas requires immediate notice of a collision that injures someone (Transportation Code § 550.026). Keep the bike and gear unrepaired, collect the other driver’s name and insurer, photograph the scene, and talk with a lawyer before any insurer records your statement.
How long will my motorcycle accident lawsuit take?
The law fixes a filing deadline of two years in most cases (§ 16.003(a)), not a length for the case; the pace follows the rider’s treatment and the negotiation.
What is the average settlement for a motorcycle accident?
We found no official Texas figure to quote, and an average would hide what moves a claim: the injuries, medical bills actually paid or incurred, lost income, the insurance available, and the rider’s percentage of responsibility (§ 33.012(a)).
How much is my motorcycle accident claim worth?
Value is built from economic damages such as medical expenses and lost earnings and from noneconomic damages such as pain and impairment (Civil Practice and Remedies Code § 41.001), capped in practice by the insurance available and reduced by any share of fault placed on the rider.
Will my health insurance cover me in a motorcycle accident?
The plan’s own terms decide, so read the plan. Texas law only treats a health plan that provides benefits for motorcycle collision injuries as one of two ways a rider 21 or older qualifies to ride without a helmet (Transportation Code § 661.003(c)); it does not require any plan to pay a particular claim.
What does personal injury protection pay for a rider?
Where the policy includes it, personal injury protection pays reasonable expenses that arise from the accident and are incurred within three years, for necessary medical and similar services and for replacement of lost income (Insurance Code § 1952.151). Benefits are payable without regard to fault (§ 1952.155(a)), and insurers need not provide more than $2,500 per person (§ 1952.153).
Who is at fault when a car and a motorcycle collide?
Each person whose conduct played a part receives a percentage of the responsibility. A rider at 50 percent or less recovers damages reduced by that share; above 50 percent, recovery is barred (§§ 33.001 and 33.012).
About the authors
Sam A. Maida, Jr.
Owner and Managing Attorney
Sam A. Maida, Jr. has represented injured Texans in the greater Houston area since the firm opened in 1993.
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Bernard G. Johnson III
Litigation Managing Attorney
Bernard G. Johnson III is a board certified trial lawyer licensed in Texas since 1996 and a graduate of South Texas College of Law.