Orem Bicycle Accident Lawyer

Bikes are part of everyday traffic in Orem. Utah Valley University students pedal between apartments, the Orem Central FrontRunner and UVX stop, and campus, and recreational riders use the paved Murdock Canal Trail along the east bench. In between sit state highways doing local-street work: University Parkway (SR-265), State Street (US-89) and 800 North (SR-52), each lined with driveways and turn lanes.

When a driver hits a cyclist here, the first explanation offered is often that the rider shot off a sidewalk or out of a campus lot without warning. That says as much about the driver’s attention as the rider’s conduct, and Utah treats a person on a bicycle as a vehicle operator with the same rights on the road (§ 41-6a-1102). Our office is in Draper, and the Orem personal injury page covers other injuries in the city.

Utah Bike Law on Orem Streets

The three-foot buffer. Under § 41-6a-706.5 a motorist may not knowingly, intentionally or recklessly come within three feet of a bicyclist, or try to push one off the roadway. When that close pass injures the rider, the offense rises to a class C misdemeanor, and any citation becomes part of the evidence in the civil claim.

Leaving the edge of the lane. Section 41-6a-1105 keeps slower riders near the right edge only as far as practicable. They may move left to pass, to turn left, to avoid a right-turn-only lane when going straight, and to get around hazards such as parked cars, pedestrians or a lane too narrow to share. The same section requires riding with traffic and limits riders to two abreast on the roadway.

Coverage After an Orem Bike Crash

More than one policy can be involved:

• The at-fault motorist’s liability insurance, which pays for injuries that driver caused, up to its limits.
• Your family’s own auto coverage. Personal injury protection reaches the named insured and resident relatives injured in an accident involving any motor vehicle (§ 31A-22-308), and UM and UIM coverage can fill the gap if the motorist fled or had too little insurance. Read our no-fault overview.

Policies issued or renewed since January 1, 2025 need only $30,000 per person for bodily injury (§ 31A-22-304). A trauma admission can exceed that, so identifying every applicable policy early matters. Our bicycle accident guide goes further.

Fault, Helmets and Time Limits

Utah’s comparative fault statute (§ 78B-5-818) reduces your recovery by your percentage of blame and bars it if you are found at least as much at fault as those you are suing combined. A helmet is required only for riders under 21 on e-bikes (§ 41-6a-1505), and that statute keeps a bare head out of the fault analysis. Most injury claims carry a four-year filing limit, with a one-year notice for claims against Orem City, UVU, UTA or UDOT; see the deadlines page.

Orem Roads and Paths Where Riders Get Hurt

University Parkway, a state highway with dozens of driveways, where motorists cut across lanes to reach University Place and campus lots. The UVU area on the west side, where riders mix with commuter traffic arriving on a class schedule. State Street, with older signals and long blocks. 800 North, the route toward US-189 and Provo Canyon, where vehicles towing trailers need longer stopping distances. The Murdock Canal Trail, where road crossings and trailheads bring bikes and cars back together.

Trail and sidewalk crashes follow different rules. There a cyclist yields to pedestrians and sounds a warning before passing, keeps to a speed that is reasonable for the conditions, and may not ride negligently into a pedestrian or another cyclist (§ 41-6a-1106). A collision with another rider on the canal trail can support a claim just as a car crash can.

Common Causes of Orem Bike Crashes

Motorists pulling out of University Parkway and State Street driveways while watching only for cars (a driver entering a road from a driveway must yield to traffic on it, § 41-6a-903), right hooks at campus and shopping-center entrances, left turns across an oncoming rider, doors flung open beside parked cars (§ 41-6a-1704), and vehicles reversing without a look (§ 41-6a-1701). Our dooring guide explains door-zone claims.

Injuries in Orem Bicycle Cases

Fractured collarbones, elbows and pelvises, concussions and other traumatic brain injuries, spinal injuries, dental and facial injuries, and severe road rash. For anyone who has or must carry PIP, a fracture is one of the listed conditions in § 31A-22-309 that allows a pain-and-suffering claim. Timpanogos Regional Hospital at 750 West 800 North is a Level III trauma center, and Utah Valley Hospital in Provo is a Level II center.

Damages in an Orem Bike Case

• Economic losses: emergency care, surgery, therapy, lost income and earning capacity, and replacement of the bike and gear.
• Personal losses: pain, sleep and mood problems, and the riding, school or work the injury interrupted.
• Future needs: continued care and support for injuries that leave lasting limits.

Insurer Tactics After a Bike Crash

Adjusters point to a sidewalk, a missing light, a helmet, or a rider supposedly moving too fast, then offer to close the file early. Scene photos, the Orem Police report (UVU Police for a campus crash, the Highway Patrol on I-15), business cameras along University Parkway, and the damage to the bike and helmet answer those points. If you were in a car, see our Orem car accident page.