Struck While Riding a Bicycle?

Kentucky Bicycle Accident Cases

A bicycle accident case starts with how the driver and the cyclist met on the road. Kentucky treats a bicycle on the road much like other traffic: under 601 KAR 14:020, a bicycle is operated in the same manner as a motor vehicle, with exceptions for shoulders, marked bicycle lanes, and lane position. The driver’s duties and the cyclist’s duties are read together.

Louisville cyclists share arterial streets, downtown intersections, and bike lanes with motor traffic. Nationally, 81% of pedalcyclist deaths in 2023 happened in urban areas, and 39% of bicyclist deaths in 2024 occurred at intersections, which leaves most of them elsewhere on the road.

Lane position, lighting, and helmet use are the points an insurer can raise about the cyclist, so the rules for both sides apply to the case.

Kentucky Rules for Drivers Passing Cyclists

KRS 189.340(2) sets what a driver must do when overtaking a bicycle, and it also limits how cyclists ride side by side. The statute reads:

The three-foot margin applies on a road with one lane in the direction of travel. On a road with more than one lane, the driver must move over when the lane is available and moving is safe. Video, mirror contact, and the cyclist’s position in the lane can test whether a pass met the statute.

Rules for Cyclists on Kentucky Roads

KRS 189.287 directs the Transportation Cabinet to set standards for bicycle equipment and safe operation, and those standards are in 601 KAR 14:020. A bicycle may use the shoulder unless a law or ordinance prohibits it. When a lane is marked for the exclusive use of bicycles, the cyclist must use it unless an exception applies, such as avoiding a hazard, avoiding the door zone of a parked vehicle, passing a slower vehicle, or approaching a driveway or intersection where vehicles turn right. In a shared lane, the cyclist keeps to the right unless a listed exception applies, including preparing for a left turn, avoiding a hazard, or approaching a place where right turns are permitted.

No more than two bicycles may ride abreast in a lane unless the roadway is marked exclusively for bicycles, and riders abreast may not impede traffic. The regulation also requires lights and reflectors in the hours that KRS 189.030(1) describes: from one-half hour after sunset to one-half hour before sunrise, and whenever atmospheric conditions make visibility as low as it is in that period. The regulation sets no helmet requirement.

Insurance Coverage Sources for Cyclists

More than one policy can apply to a bicycle accident. The striking driver’s liability policy is the first source. Kentucky’s no-fault law also applies, because a person who was not using a motor vehicle is treated as a pedestrian, and the no-fault benefits come from the insurance on the vehicle that struck the cyclist.

A cyclist can also have uninsured motorist or underinsured motorist coverage through an auto policy the cyclist owns or one in the same household, even though no car was involved on the cyclist’s side. Kentucky auto liability policies must include uninsured motorist coverage unless a named insured rejects it in writing, so each policy’s declarations show what exists. Kentucky’s statutes do not define an electric bicycle, so an e-bike rider’s coverage depends on how the bike is classified.

Evidence That Builds The Case

Video can show passing distance, signal use, and speed. Traffic cameras, doorbell cameras, business cameras, and dashcams each cover a different angle, and footage can be overwritten, which is why the source of traffic camera footage is needed early.

The roadway puts the accident in context: lane markings, bike-lane design, sight distance, traffic controls, and surface defects. The vehicle adds damage, mirror contact, tire marks, onboard data, and repair estimates that show how the bicycle and the vehicle met.

The bicycle is physical evidence. The frame, wheels, lights, reflectors, helmet, and clothing each answer a different question, and a bicycle that has been repaired, sold, or discarded can no longer be inspected. Medical records, including imaging, surgery notes, therapy, work restrictions, and injury photographs, document the injury and its consequences.

Losses Documented In A Bicycle Case

A cyclist has no vehicle frame for protection, so a bicycle accident can cause fractures, road rash, shoulder and wrist injuries, traumatic brain injuries, and spinal cord injuries. Emergency records establish the first findings. Imaging, provider notes, therapy records, and work restrictions show how the diagnosis developed, and they distinguish symptoms reported immediately from those documented later.

A bicycle injury case may seek payment for medical expenses, lost income, reduced earning capacity, pain, disability, scarring, and other losses recognized by Kentucky law. Damage to the bicycle, helmet, and gear may also be part of the case. A fatal accident can lead to a wrongful death case. Under KRS 411.130, the personal representative of the deceased brings that action, and the recovery goes to the family members the statute lists.

The amount depends on the evidence in that individual case. Medical billing and treatment records support past expenses. Provider opinions and a documented care plan may address future treatment. Payroll, tax, attendance, and vocational records can show lost work and changes in earning ability, and long-term damages need records that look forward as well as back.