Motorcycle Accident Lawyer in Utah

Yes — Utah Code § 41-6a-704.5, enacted in 2019, authorizes lane filtering under specific conditions: (1) the road has two or more lanes traveling in the same direction; (2) the posted speed limit is 45 mph or less; (3) the motorcycle speed does not exceed 15 mph; and (4) the adjacent vehicles in all lanes being filtered are completely stopped. If all four conditions were met at the time of your crash, filtering was legal and the defense cannot use the filtering maneuver itself as evidence of negligence. If any condition was not met — you were moving through slow-moving but not fully stopped traffic, or the road speed limit was 50 mph — the filtering was not authorized under § 41-6a-704.5 and the defense may argue you were negligent per se. Compliance with each statutory element is a factual question that requires immediate evidence gathering: traffic camera footage, witness accounts, and road geometry documentation.

Utah requires helmets only for riders under 21 under § 41-6a-1505. Adult riders are not required to wear helmets. Critically, the same statute prohibits evidence of helmet non-use in civil litigation: failure to wear a helmet "may not be admitted as evidence in any civil action." This means that even if you suffered a traumatic brain injury while riding without a helmet, the defense cannot argue to the jury that your lack of helmet constitutes contributory negligence or that you assumed the risk. This civil evidence protection is a significant rider right in Utah that does not exist in states where helmet non-use can reduce recovery. However, the protection specifically covers helmet use — other safety equipment choices may still be raised in a comparative fault argument depending on the circumstances.

Utah Code § 78B-5-818 provides that a plaintiff who is 50% or more at fault is completely barred from recovery — zero dollars regardless of how severe the injuries or how clear the defendant's contribution. If the plaintiff is less than 50% at fault, damages are reduced by the plaintiff's fault percentage. In motorcycle cases, defense attorneys use Utah's 50% bar aggressively: a rider found exactly 50% at fault recovers nothing. This means the difference between a 49% and 50% fault finding is the difference between partial recovery and complete elimination of the claim. In lane-filtering cases, the defense's theory is often that the filtering rider assumed the risk and was primarily at fault. Evidence of the at-fault driver's conduct — distracted driving, failure to yield, illegal lane change — must be built early to ensure the fault allocation stays below 50%.

Utah Code § 31A-22-304 requires liability insurance of either $25,000 per person/$50,000 per accident/$15,000 property damage, or a $65,000 combined single limit policy. PIP (personal injury protection) is not required for motorcycles in Utah. These minimums are typically insufficient for serious motorcycle injuries — a single hospitalization for traumatic brain injury or spinal injury can exceed $250,000 in the first week. Uninsured/underinsured motorist (UM/UIM) coverage is the critical protection: if the at-fault driver carries minimum coverage ($25K), and your injuries total $500,000, UM/UIM coverage on your own policy covers the gap. Utah law does not mandate UM/UIM for motorcycle policies, making it an option many riders forgo — and then discover the consequence after a catastrophic crash. An attorney who analyzes all available coverage sources — at-fault driver, your UM/UIM, any commercial umbrella — maximizes the recovery available.

First: get medical attention immediately and document every injury in the ER record — motorcycle crash injuries are often more severe than initially apparent, and a documented medical record from the day of the crash is evidence of causation. Second: photograph the crash scene, road conditions, skid marks, debris, and vehicle positions before anything is moved or cleaned. Third: identify all witnesses and get their contact information — witness availability decreases rapidly in Utah's dispersed communities. Fourth: do not provide a recorded statement to the at-fault driver's insurer before consulting an attorney — Utah's 50% bar means the insurer is building a case that you were at least 50% at fault from the first phone call. Fifth: if the crash involved a government vehicle or road defect, remember that Utah's Governmental Immunity Act (§ 63G-7-402) requires a notice of claim within one year — shorter than the two-year general PI SOL — and missing it bars the government entity claim.