Colorado Motorcycle Crashes: Overcoming Bias and Getting Fair Treatment

If you ride a motorcycle in Colorado, you already know the risks. You know about sudden weather changes, mountain pass switchbacks, and distracted drivers who “just didn’t see you.”

But the biggest risk often comes after the crash: The Biker Bias.

When a car hits a motorcycle, there is an almost automatic assumption—by witnesses, sometimes by police, and always by insurance companies—that the biker must have been speeding or weaving through traffic.

If you’ve just been hit, you are likely seriously injured. You don’t have the energy to fight this bias alone. You need to know how to protect yourself right now.

The “I Didn’t See Him” Excuse

This is the phrase used by drivers who hit motorcyclists. In many cases, they didn’t see you because they weren’t looking, or they were on their phone.

Do not let this become the official narrative. If you are able to speak at the scene, make sure the police officer knows exactly what you were doing: “I was traveling at the speed limit in my designated lane when the driver turned left directly in front of me.”

Urgent: Colorado Helmet Laws & Your Insurance Claim

Colorado law DOES NOT require riders over the age of 18 to wear a helmet. You were within your legal rights if you were riding without one.

HOWEVER: Insurance companies will try to use this against you. If you suffered a head or neck injury and weren’t wearing a helmet, they will argue that you failed to “mitigate your damages,” even though the crash wasn’t your fault. You need a legal strategy to fight this specific defense immediately.

Immediate Steps for Downed Riders

Bikes are often totaled in even minor crashes, and injuries are rarely “minor.”

1. Get to a Trauma Specialist: ERs are great for immediate stabilization, but you may have “road rash” (which is actually a severe friction burn requiring specialized care) or complex orthopedic injuries that need a specialist right away.
2. Preserve Your Gear: Do NOT throw away your ruined helmet, torn leathers, or damaged boots. These are critical pieces of evidence that show the point of impact and the severity of the crash. They are also expensive, and you deserve to be reimbursed for them.
3. Don’t Accept the “Quick Check”: Insurers know motorcyclists often face massive medical bills. They might race to offer you a quick $5,000 or $10,000 settlement before you know if you need surgery. Signing that release ends your claim forever.

Overcoming the Bias

You need an advocate who knows how to ride and knows how to fight. You need someone who can prove that “I didn’t see him” is an admission of negligence by the driver, not an excuse.

Don’t let them blame you for getting hit.

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Frequently Asked Questions

1. Is “Lane Splitting” legal in Colorado now? NOT exactly. “Lane Splitting” (riding between lanes at high speed) is illegal. However, as of late 2024, Colorado now allows “Lane Filtering.” This means you can slowly pass stopped vehicles in the same lane if traffic is at a standstill. If you were hit while legally filtering, you are NOT automatically at fault.

2. I wasn’t wearing a helmet. Do I still have a case? YES. Your failure to wear a helmet did not cause the car to hit you. While they may try to reduce the payout for your specific head injuries, they are still 100% liable for the crash, your bike, and other bodily injuries.

3. The police report says I was speeding, but I wasn’t. What can I do? Police reports often get things wrong, especially if the officer only got the car driver’s side of the story because you were being loaded into an ambulance. Accident reconstruction experts can often use skid mark analysis and bike damage to prove your true speed and overturn the police’s initial guess.

4. Who pays my medical bills right now? If you have “Medical Payments” (MedPay) on your motorcycle policy, that is the first line of defense. After that, you may need to use your regular health insurance until the final settlement is reached with the at-fault driver.