Ask most drivers who they’d blame if a motorcycle and a car collided, and a lot of them would point to the rider without hesitation. It’s a bias that runs deep. Motorcyclists get labeled reckless almost by default — too fast, too aggressive, too unpredictable. That assumption shapes how people think about these crashes before a single fact has been examined.
The problem is that the data doesn’t support it. And when that assumption follows an injured rider into a claims process or a courtroom, the consequences can be serious.
Every motorcycle accident is its own situation. The conditions, the vehicles, the behavior of every driver involved, and the sequence of events leading up to impact are unique to that moment. There’s no universal answer to who caused a specific crash. What we can do is look at what the research actually shows about fault, about injury risk, and about what riders are up against when they try to recover compensation after a serious collision.
If you or a loved one has been injured in a crash, it’s important to speak to a Virginia Beach motorcycle lawyer from Shapiro, Washburn & Sharp to find out what legal recourse you may have.
What the Numbers Say About Motorcycle Accident Risk
The most current federal data paints a stark picture. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 6,335 motorcyclists were killed in traffic crashes in 2023. That’s the highest number recorded since at least 1975. Another 82,564 motorcyclists were injured that same year.
Per 100 million vehicle miles traveled, the fatality rate for motorcyclists in 2023 was nearly 28 times higher than for passenger car occupants. That’s not a rounding error. That’s an enormous gap, and it reflects a fundamental difference in how much protection a rider has compared to someone sitting inside an enclosed vehicle with airbags, a steel frame, and seat belts absorbing the energy of impact.
You can review the full NHTSA motorcycle safety data on the NHTSA motorcycle safety page.
A few things the data makes clear:
- Motorcyclists accounted for 15 percent of all traffic fatalities in 2023, despite representing a far smaller share of registered vehicles
- Even at low speeds, motorcycle crashes frequently result in serious injury because there’s nothing between the rider and the road
- Older riders aren’t immune from this risk — delayed reaction times in riders over 40 contribute to significantly higher injury and fatality rates for that age group, despite the common assumption that younger, more reckless riders are most at risk
Who Is Actually at Fault
So much for the myth that motorcyclists are automatically responsible. When you look at multi-vehicle crashes — collisions between motorcycles and passenger vehicles — the fault picture shifts considerably.
Research consistently shows that in the majority of motorcycle-versus-passenger-vehicle collisions, the driver of the larger vehicle is found at fault, not the rider. Roughly 60 percent of these crashes are attributed to the car or truck driver, not the motorcyclist.
Think about why that is. Drivers in enclosed vehicles frequently don’t register motorcycles the same way they register other cars. They misjudge distance and speed. They fail to check blind spots before changing lanes. They turn left in front of oncoming riders at intersections, one of the most common and deadly crash scenarios. And in some cases, they don’t even make physical contact — a driver who makes an illegal or abrupt lane change can force a rider to lay the bike down to avoid a collision, and the motorcyclist ends up seriously injured without the vehicles ever touching.
These no-contact crashes matter because they can complicate a claim. If there’s no physical evidence of the other driver’s vehicle on the motorcycle, establishing what happened requires solid witness accounts, traffic camera footage, or other documentation. This is one of many reasons why getting legal help quickly after a motorcycle crash protects your ability to recover compensation.
The Types of Injuries Riders Face
Motorcycle accidents don’t follow the same injury patterns as car accidents. The absence of physical protection changes everything. Even a relatively low-speed crash can produce broken bones, road rash, and head injuries that require extended medical care. At higher speeds, the injury profile gets much more serious.
Spinal cord injuries, traumatic brain injuries, and avulsion injuries — where skin and tissue separate from the body on impact — are all documented outcomes in high-speed motorcycle crashes. These aren’t injuries people recover from in a few weeks. They can require surgeries, extended hospitalization, rehabilitation, and in some cases, lifelong adaptive care.
That kind of injury changes a person’s life in ways that go far beyond medical bills. Many riders are left unable to return to the jobs they held before the accident. Some never regain their prior level of physical function. The financial and personal costs compound over time.
What Compensation May Be Available
Virginia law entitles injured people to pursue compensation when another party’s negligence caused the crash. For motorcycle accident victims, the damages that may be recoverable include:
- Medical expenses, including emergency treatment, hospital stays, surgeries, diagnostic testing, ongoing care, and projected future medical needs
- Lost wages for time missed from work during recovery
- Future lost income if the injuries affect your long-term ability to work or return to your prior occupation
- Physical pain and emotional suffering related to the accident and its aftermath
- In cases involving gross misconduct on the part of the at-fault driver, punitive damages may also be available
- Wrongful death damages, including funeral and burial costs, loss of income, and loss of companionship, if the accident resulted in a fatality
One thing riders should know before assuming their insurance will cover it: even with both health insurance and auto insurance, the full scope of damages in a serious motorcycle accident can far exceed what insurance policies pay out without a legal claim.
Virginia also applies a contributory negligence standard, which means that if you’re found to bear any portion of the fault for the crash, your ability to recover can be affected. That makes the initial investigation and how fault gets documented especially important. It’s not a system designed to give injured riders the benefit of the doubt.
Why These Cases Require Experienced Legal Help
The Virginia Beach motorcycle accident lawyers at Shapiro, Washburn & Sharp have handled these cases for decades. We know the arguments insurance companies make and how to push back on them. When an insurer tries to argue that the rider was speeding, wasn’t wearing the right gear, or contributed to the crash in some other way, having attorneys who’ve seen those arguments before makes a difference.
Motorcycle accident cases can also involve complex liability questions — whether another driver’s employer is responsible for their conduct, whether a road defect contributed to the crash, whether a vehicle defect played a role. Not every case is just rider versus driver.
The goal is always to build the most complete picture of what happened and why, and to make sure an injured rider isn’t walking away with less than they’re entitled to simply because the other side had more resources and more time to prepare.
Don’t Wait to Talk to Someone
If you were hurt in a motorcycle accident in Virginia, time matters. Evidence disappears. Witnesses’ memories fade. Insurance adjusters begin building their version of events quickly, often before an injured rider has had a chance to get out of the hospital and figure out what to do next.
The Virginia Beach motorcycle accident lawyers at Shapiro, Washburn & Sharp are ready to help. We offer a free consultation with a Virginia Beach motorcycle accident lawyer, and you won’t owe any legal fees unless we recover compensation for you, like the $1 million settlement we obtained from one client who became permanently disabled after a negligent driver forced her motorcycle off a four-lane highway.
Call Shapiro, Washburn & Sharp at (833) 997-1774 or fill out our online contact form to schedule your free case review.