Know Where You Can Ride Your Bike in Virginia Beach

You know that a driver who hits and injures a bike rider can be held liable for paying the crash victim’s medical bills and providing compensation for pain and suffering. You most likely also understand that a pedestrian can have grounds for filing insurance claims after a bike rider crashes into them.

What may come as a surprise is that the ability to secure an insurance settlement following a crash involving a bicyclist depends greatly on where and how the bicycle was being ridden. The rules on this are based on state law, but they also vary from city to city. Here, I’ll focus specifically on scenarios in Virginia Beach. My personal injury law firm colleagues and I advise and represent bike accident victims all across Virginia, so we can answer specific questions from those in Norfolk, Chesapeake, Suffolk, Portsmouth, Hampton, Newport News and elsewhere during a free consultation.

The Underlying Problem of Contributory Negligence

Virginia (and its neighbor to south, North Carolina) is one of the few states that still follows the outdated and unjust rule of contributory negligence. In its most basic formulation, the rule states that a person who does anything to cause harm to themselves has no legal right to hold anyone else accountable for harming them.

LEARN MORE

• Laws Virginia Drivers Must Know About to Share the Road With Bike Riders
• Tips on Riding a Bicycle Safely From a Virginia Beach Personal Injury Lawyer
• Pedestrians Hit and Injured by Bike Riders Can File Insurance Claims

Applied to a crash involving a bicycle, the contributory negligence rule makes it impossible for a rider to file and collect on an auto insurance claim if the rider was violating a local ordinance regarding where bikes can be ridden. Similarly, a pedestrian who steps into the path of a bicyclist forfeits their right to seek compensation if the pedestrian violated the bicyclist’s right of way.

State law does carve out one major exception to the contributory negligence rule for bike riders. While section 46.2-906.1 of the Virginia Code calls on bicyclists of all ages to wear helmets and requires use of the protective equipment for riders younger than 14 years of age, the statute also stipulates that “violation of any such ordinance shall not constitute negligence, or assumption of risk, be considered in mitigation of damages of whatever nature, be admissible in evidence, or be the subject of comment by counsel in any action for the recovery of damages arising out of the operation of any bicycle.”

Roadways, Bike Lanes and Sidewalks

General Rules for Riding Bikes in the City of Virginia Beach

In neighborhoods and most business districts, bicyclists can use sidewalks. Bike riders should stick to bike lanes and bike paths where those are available. Lacking those options, riders should stay on the road and keep as far to the right as possible. But, when safety and traffic conditions make riding on the road dangerous, the sidewalk is a legal route for a bicyclist.

However—and this is a big “but” —bike riders must always yield to pedestrians on sidewalks and at crosswalks. Section 7.59(c) of the city ordinances further specifies that any bicyclist who rides on a sidewalk “shall give an audible signal before overtaking and passing such pedestrian, and shall dismount and walk the bicycle … when necessary to avoid physical contact with any person.”

Violating this ordinance and striking a pedestrian makes a bike rider subject to a fine. It also creates potential civil liability for compensating the crash victim.

Rules for Riding Bikes at the Oceanfront and on the Boardwalk

Bicyclist must stay off the beach, off the Boardwalk proper, off the sidewalks, and off Atlantic Boulevard during the months between Memorial Day and Labor Day. The city created bike lanes throughout the resort area. A bicyclists who rides outside a marked lane can be fined and be found to have been negligent even if a driver hits them while committing a moving violation.

Town Center Bike Rules

Stay off the sidewalks and out of the plazas when riding a bicycle around Town Center. Section 7-59.4 of the Virginia Beach Ordinances define “Town Center” as “the area bounded by and including the sidewalk on the south side of Virginia Beach Boulevard, the Norfolk Southern Corporation property line, the sidewalk on the east side of Independence Boulevard, and the sidewalk on the west side of Constitution Drive.”

One Final Note

Virginia Beach prohibits the use of earphones wile riding a bicycle. The relevant city ordinance, Section 7-64, defines “earphones” as meaning “any device worn on or in both ears that converts electrical energy to sound waves or which impairs or hinders the person’s ability to hear, but shall not include any prosthetic device that aids the hard of hearing.”

EJL