Hit by a Car While Riding a Bike in Kansas

Get medical care for your injuries, even if you were able to ride home after a driver hit you on your bike.

This page covers your rights on Kansas roads, who may pay your medical bills, traffic rules that can matter in a bicycle crash, and deadlines. Your policies and the facts of your crash matter.

Your rights and duties on the road

Kansas generally gives a person riding a bicycle on a roadway the rights and duties of a driver, subject to bicycle-specific rules and provisions that cannot apply to bicycles. K.S.A. 8-1587.

An electric-assisted bicycle that meets Kansas’s statutory definition generally has the same roadway rights and duties as a bicycle. Among other requirements, it must have working pedals, a motor of less than 750 watts, and fit one of three specified classes. If you were using an electric-powered bike, keep its model information and classification label so we can check which rules apply. K.S.A. 8-1489; K.S.A. 8-1592b.

Who may pay your medical bills

Personal injury protection, or PIP, may help pay covered medical bills and some lost wages after a motor vehicle hits a bicyclist, regardless of fault. Coverage is not automatic. Depending on the circumstances, a policy on your own vehicle, a resident relative’s vehicle, or the vehicle that hit you may apply. Kansas law includes conditions about vehicle ownership, residency and physical contact. Owning a vehicle that was required to be insured can affect eligibility even if you did not insure it. We need to review the available policies before saying which insurer should pay. K.S.A. 40-3107; K.S.A. 40-3109.

Physical contact matters. The PIP rules for people outside a vehicle address injuries caused by physical contact with a motor vehicle. If a driver cut you off and you went down without being touched, tell your lawyer exactly that. It changes the coverage analysis. K.S.A. 40-3109.

Kansas has a separate threshold for recovering pain-and-suffering damages in a motor-vehicle injury lawsuit. The injury must require qualifying medical treatment with a reasonable value of at least $2,000, or fall within one of the injury categories listed in the statute. Meeting that threshold does not by itself establish the driver’s liability. It is not a requirement for receiving PIP benefits. K.S.A. 40-3117.

Rules drivers have to follow around bikes

Passing: at least three feet. A driver passing a bicycle going the same way must pass on the left with at least three feet of space and cannot move back over until safely clear. In a no-passing zone, the driver may pass a bicycle only when it is safe. K.S.A. 8-1516.

Turning left across you. A driver turning left must yield to oncoming traffic that is in the intersection or close enough to be an immediate hazard. That includes a bicycle approaching on the roadway. K.S.A. 8-1527; K.S.A. 8-1587.

Turning right across you. A driver must make the turn with reasonable safety and signal continuously for at least the last 100 feet before turning. The approach and turn generally must be as close as practicable to the right curb or edge, unless traffic-control devices direct a different course. K.S.A. 8-1548; K.S.A. 8-1545.

Changing lanes. A driver must first determine that a lane change can be made safely. K.S.A. 8-1522.

Pulling out. A driver entering or crossing a road from a driveway, parking lot or another place that is not a roadway must yield to vehicles approaching on that road. K.S.A. 8-1529.

Car doors. A driver or passenger may open a door on the traffic side only when reasonably safe and without interfering with other traffic. The door cannot stay open longer than necessary to load or unload passengers. K.S.A. 8-1577.

Backing up. A driver may back up only when it can be done safely and without interfering with other traffic. K.S.A. 8-1574.

Rules that apply to riders

• Where you ride. When you are slower than traffic, ride as near the right side as practicable. Exceptions allow moving left to pass, prepare for a left turn, or avoid hazards, including a lane too narrow to share safely with a vehicle. On a one-way road with two or more marked traffic lanes, you may ride near the left side. K.S.A. 8-1590.
• Riding side by side. No more than two abreast, except on paths or road sections set aside for bicycles. K.S.A. 8-1590.
• Bike paths. Where a usable bicycle path runs next to the roadway, the statute requires riders to use it. Whether the path was usable depends on the facts. K.S.A. 8-1590.
• Lights at night. Between sunset and sunrise, a bicycle needs a white front lamp visible from at least 500 feet. At the rear, the law allows a red reflector visible from 100 to 600 feet in a motor vehicle’s lawful low-beam headlights, a red rear lamp visible from 500 feet, or a device worn by the rider that emits red or amber light visible from 500 feet behind. The bicycle also needs brakes meeting the statute’s braking requirement. K.S.A. 8-1592.
• Hands and seats. Ride upon or astride the attached seat, carry only as many people as the bicycle is designed and equipped for, and do not carry anything that prevents keeping at least one hand on the handlebars. Do not attach yourself or your bicycle to another vehicle on the roadway. K.S.A. 8-1588; K.S.A. 8-1589; K.S.A. 8-1591.
• Class 3 e-bikes. No one under 16 may operate one. K.S.A. 8-1592b.

Local rules can also matter. Kansas law permits local regulation of bicycle operation and separately allows certain restrictions on electric-assisted bicycles and where they may be ridden. Tell us exactly where the crash happened. K.S.A. 8-2002; K.S.A. 8-1592b.

Red lights that do not change. A cyclist cannot proceed just because a red light is taking a long time. Kansas has a limited exception when the signal fails to turn green within a reasonable period because it malfunctions or fails to detect the bicycle’s size or weight. After stopping, the rider must yield to vehicles in or near the intersection, vehicles approaching closely enough to be an immediate hazard, pedestrians lawfully in an adjacent crosswalk, and other traffic lawfully using the intersection. K.S.A. 8-1508.

What if they say you were partly at fault?

Kansas compares fault. You can generally recover on a negligence claim if your share of fault is less than the combined fault of the parties you are claiming against, with damages reduced by your percentage. If your share is 50% or more, you generally cannot recover damages from the other parties on that negligence claim. PIP is a separate coverage question. K.S.A. 60-258a.

A claimed rule violation does not, by itself, settle who caused the crash. The evidence must show whether the rider’s conduct contributed to the collision or injury. The driver’s conduct matters too.

If the driver had no insurance, not enough, or drove off

Kansas auto policies generally must include uninsured motorist coverage with an underinsured motorist provision. Whether that coverage applies while you are riding a bicycle depends on your insured status, the policy terms, and Kansas law. Get the complete policy, not just the insurance card. K.S.A. 40-284.

For hit-and-run claims, Kansas permits a policy exclusion or limitation when there is neither evidence of physical contact with the uninsured vehicle nor reliable, competent evidence from a disinterested witness who is not making a claim under the policy. Save witness names and contact information. K.S.A. 40-284.

Deadlines

• Injury lawsuit: generally two years. The start date and exceptions depend on the claim and facts. K.S.A. 60-513.
• PIP claim: the statute requires the claim within two years of the injury. K.S.A. 40-3110.

Do not wait until those dates to report the crash or ask for help. A PIP insurer may require written notice as soon as practicable. Different claims and circumstances can involve additional timing rules. We can review the dates that apply to your situation. K.S.A. 40-3110.

If the crash happened in Missouri, tell us where it happened. This page focuses on Kansas; the applicable rules need a separate review.

What to save

• The bicycle in its post-crash condition, without repairs or alterations if reasonably possible. Do not ride damaged equipment.
• Your helmet, lights and the clothes you wore.
• Photos of the road, lane, any bicycle path, signals and vehicle.
• Ride-tracking app data from that ride.
• Witness names, the police agency and report number.
• Your medical records and bills.

Talk with Caleb or Dustin

Biesterveld & Crook handles roadway injury cases in Kansas and Missouri, including bicyclists hit by vehicles. If you were hurt on your bike, Caleb or Dustin can go over what happened, your injuries and the insurance that may apply in a free consultation. Request a free consultation.

This page is general information, not legal advice for your situation. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship.