Intersection and right-of-way bicycle accidents happen when a cyclist is hit because a driver fails to yield, violates a traffic control, or turns across the cyclist’s lawful path.

From a legal standpoint, these cases usually turn on traffic statutes—not just “who was more careful.” Determining fault often depends on whether the cyclist had the legal right to proceed and whether the driver violated a duty to yield, stop, or check for cyclists before entering or crossing a lane of travel.

This page explains how intersection and right-of-way bicycle accidents are evaluated under motor vehicle accident and personal injury law, how fault is determined, and when these crashes become legally actionable.

An intersection or right-of-way bicycle accident is legally defined as a crash that occurs when a motorist fails to yield to a cyclist who has priority under applicable traffic laws while proceeding through an intersection, crossing, or turning conflict zone.

These cases are governed by statutes that assign right-of-way based on traffic signals, signage, lane designations, and direction of travel.

Liability analysis focuses on whether the driver breached a statutory duty to yield, stop, or proceed with caution, rather than on subjective judgments about visibility or reaction time.

Intersection and right-of-way bicycle accidents most often occur when drivers misinterpret or disregard the rules that govern turning and crossing movements.

Common behavioral contributors include when a driver:

• Turns across a cyclist’s path without checking bike lanes
• Underestimates a cyclist’s speed
• Proceeds through rolling stops
• Becomes distracted while approaching intersections
• Fails to account for obstructed sightlines

These patterns reflect how right-of-way violations typically happen in practice, even when traffic controls are clearly in place.

Liability in intersection and right-of-way bicycle accidents is typically determined by analyzing whether either party violated a traffic rule that governed who had priority at the intersection.

Key factors often include:

• Signal phases and timing (including protected turns)
• Stop sign placement and compliance
• Lane markings, bike lanes, and turn lanes
• Where the cyclist was positioned and how they were traveling
• Witness statements and video footage (dashcam, traffic cam, surveillance)
• Police reports and citations issued

In many cases, a driver’s failure to yield is strong evidence of fault. However, comparative negligence may apply if the cyclist’s position, movement, or compliance with traffic controls becomes a disputed issue.

Intersection and right-of-way bicycle accidents frequently result in serious injuries due to the direct impact between a vehicle and an unprotected rider.

Common injuries include:

• Head and traumatic brain injuries
• Broken bones and joint injuries
• Spinal and soft-tissue injuries
• Road rash and lacerations
• Internal injuries from impact or secondary collisions

Injury severity often affects the scope of damages, but it also impacts how aggressively insurers dispute fault—especially when high-value injuries make right-of-way questions more consequential.

Insurance disputes are common in right-of-way bicycle claims because insurers often treat these crashes as “visibility” or “positioning” arguments rather than straightforward yield violations.

Common insurance challenges include:

• Disputes about who had the right-of-way
• Allegations the cyclist was “hard to see” (lighting, clothing, blind spots)
• Claims the cyclist was outside a bike lane, riding too fast, or not following signals
• Attempts to assign partial fault to reduce payouts
• Conflicts between auto coverage, health insurance, and (sometimes) UM/UIM coverage

Because fault allocation drives coverage decisions, clear documentation of intersection control, lane position, and turning movements often makes the difference in how a claim is evaluated.

Involving a lawyer often becomes important when responsibility is disputed or when the facts of the crash require objective evidence that may not remain available for long.

This commonly occurs when:

• The driver denies fault or claims the cyclist violated traffic rules
• There is disagreement about who had the right-of-way
• The crash occurred at a complex intersection (multiple lanes, turn arrows, merging bike lanes)
• Video footage or witness accounts conflict or need to be preserved quickly
• Injuries are serious and fault allocation will materially affect recovery
• An insurer minimizes the claim or shifts blame to the cyclist

At this stage, legal involvement is typically focused on preserving evidence, clarifying how the right-of-way rules apply to the intersection, and preventing the claim from being framed around assumptions instead of facts.

Intersection and right-of-way bicycle accidents often overlap with other bicycle crash categories, including:

These categories can affect both liability analysis and the type of evidence that matters most.

The following resources explore different issues that commonly arise in bicycle accident claims:

Intersection and right-of-way bicycle accidents raise important legal questions because traffic laws define who must yield and when. These cases often turn on statutory duties, lane position, and turning behavior, especially when drivers claim they “didn’t see” the cyclist.

This page provides an educational overview of how intersection bicycle accidents are analyzed and how they fit within broader motor vehicle accident laws.