Is Lane Splitting Legal in Florida?

Lane splitting is riding a motorcycle between lanes or rows of slow-moving or halted traffic, all going in the same direction. If you are injured in a traffic accident caused by lane splitting, ask an Orlando car accident attorney to help you recover compensation.

Lane splitting is illegal in Florida.

Florida motorcyclists should know that if they cause a crash by lane splitting, the motorcyclist will be deemed at fault and will not be able to recover compensation from the other driver. No compensation will be available beyond what the motorcyclist’s own insurance will cover.

How Can You Avoid a Collision With a Motorcycle?

Auto, truck, and bus drivers can reduce the possibility of an accident with a motorcycle by following these safety guidelines:

• Look both ways at intersections, and always use turn signals.
• Give motorcycles adequate space. Motorcycling requires motorcyclists to watch for obstructions that automobile drivers don’t notice; trash, potholes, or objects in the road. Always leave enough space for a motorcyclist to maneuver.
• Leaving enough space includes not following motorcycles closely. Stopping distances for a motorcycle may vary with road conditions and even among different makes and models of motorcycles. Keep plenty of space in front of you.
• Watch for lane splitters. A court may find a motorcyclist at fault for lane splitting, but if an automobile driver was negligent or careless in an accident with a lane-splitting motorcyclist, a share of the liability for the accident may be assigned to that driver.
• If an Accident Happens

These tips can help, but motorcycle accidents cannot be entirely prevented. They happen every day. If you’ve suffered personal injuries in an accident that involved a motorcycle, seek medical treatment first, and then contact an Orlando motorcycle accident attorney at once.

Even if you feel perfectly healthy, have a medical exam within 24 hours of an accident. That exam will detect any latent injury you may have sustained, and it also protects you legally.

Without an immediate medical examination, it may be difficult to tie your injury directly to the accident, and the other party’s auto insurance company could claim that your injury happened elsewhere.

Under Florida’s “14-day rule,” you must have a medical exam within the first 14 days after a traffic accident, or you will be disqualified from recovering compensation for your injuries.

What Else Should You Know?

Motorcyclists have the same rights as every other driver on Florida’s streets and highways, but lane splitting is not one of those rights. It’s dangerous and against the law.

If you are injured because a motorcyclist was lane-splitting, and if you and your attorney can prove it, the law will be on your side. We can review the details of your case and help you win the monetary compensation you are entitled to by Florida law.

You may be awarded compensation for your current and future medical expenses, your current and projected future lost wages, personal pain and suffering, and related damages.

To learn more, or to begin the legal process, you can contact our offices in Orlando by calling 407-426-7222. You will pay no attorney’s fee until and unless we recover compensation on your behalf.