Texas Bicycle Accident Lawyer: Passing Rules, City Ordinances, E-Bike Classes, the 51% Bar and Deadlines (Updated November 2026)

By the Beverly Law legal team. Updated November 2026.

What to do after a bike crash in Texas

1. Get medical care the same day. Keep every record and bill.
2. Report the crash to police. The Texas Department of Insurance warns that uninsured motorist coverage will not pay for a hit-and-run you did not report to police (TDI auto insurance guide). For an unknown driver, Texas law also requires actual physical contact between that driver’s vehicle and you or your property (Ins. Code § 1952.104).
3. Keep the bike, helmet and lights. Whether your front light and rear reflector were working is often the first fight in a night crash.
4. Collect video fast. Gas stations, stores and doorbell cameras overwrite footage within days.
5. Watch the government deadline. If a city bus, police car or road defect is involved, written notice may be due in six months or less.
6. Do not give a recorded statement to the driver’s insurer. In Texas, a share of fault over 50% ends the case.

Passing, lane position and dooring under Texas law

Your rights. A person riding a bicycle has the rights and duties of a driver, unless Chapter 551 says otherwise or the rule cannot apply to a bike (Transp. Code § 551.101).

Passing. A driver passing another vehicle must pass to the left “at a safe distance” and may not move back right until safely clear (Transp. Code § 545.053). The statute sets no number of feet. In 2025, House Bill 535 would have required at least three feet for cars and light trucks and six feet for commercial vehicles in cities of 100,000 or more (HB 535 text). It was left pending in committee on May 8, 2025 (bill history), and Chapter 545 still has no fixed distance.

City ordinances. Some cities fill the gap. San Antonio defines a safe passing distance as 3 feet for cars and 6 feet for commercial or large trucks, when road conditions allow, with a fine of up to $200 (City of San Antonio). Houston’s 2013 ordinance requires 3 feet from vulnerable road users, including cyclists, and 6 feet for commercial vehicles, with a fine of up to $500 (CultureMap Houston). Where you were hit decides which rule applies.

Lane position. A rider moving slower than traffic must ride as near as practicable to the right curb, except when passing, turning left, avoiding a hazard, or riding in an outside lane under 14 feet wide without a bike lane or too narrow to share safely. Two riders may ride side by side in one lane if they do not impede traffic (Transp. Code § 551.103).

Dooring. No person may open a door on the side of moving traffic unless it can be done in reasonable safety, or leave it open longer than needed to load or unload a passenger (Transp. Code § 545.418).

Crosswalks. A driver who, with criminal negligence, injures a person operating a bicycle within the area of a crosswalk commits a Class A misdemeanor, or a state jail felony if the injury is serious (Transp. Code § 545.428). More rules are in our Texas bicycle laws FAQ.

E-bikes in Texas

Texas defines an electric bicycle as one with working pedals, a motor of less than 750 watts, and a top assisted speed of 28 mph or less. Class 1 assists only while you pedal, up to 20 mph. Class 2 can move the bike without pedaling, up to 20 mph. Class 3 assists only while you pedal, at more than 20 but less than 28 mph (Transp. Code § 664.001). Sellers must put a permanent label on each e-bike showing its class, top assisted speed and wattage, and anyone who changes the motor’s speed must replace the label (§ 664.002).

The bicycle rules in this part of the Transportation Code apply to e-bikes unless a rule by its nature cannot (§ 551.002). The motor must cut out when the rider stops pedaling or brakes, and no one under 15 may operate a Class 3 e-bike (§ 551.107). The state and cities may not ban e-bikes from roads used mainly by motor vehicles or from places where regular bikes are allowed, except natural-surface trails closed to motor vehicles, but they may ban bikes on sidewalks and set speed limits on paths (§ 551.106).

In August 2026 a 17-year-old riding a small e-bike in Texarkana was seriously injured at West 15th and Mahaffey streets, and the 27-year-old driver was arrested at the scene on suspicion of DWI (Texarkana e-bike crash).

Helmets, lights and your share of fault

Texas has no statewide bicycle helmet law. The bicycle equipment section requires a working brake and, at night, a white front lamp visible from 500 feet and a red rear reflector or red lamp, and it says nothing about helmets (Transp. Code § 551.104). TxDOT still tells riders to always wear one (TxDOT).

Texas courts let juries hear about a plaintiff’s own safety choices. In Nabors Well Services, Ltd. v. Romero, 456 S.W.3d 553 (Tex. 2015), the Texas Supreme Court held that relevant evidence of using or not using a seat belt is admissible to apportion responsibility (opinion). The case is about seat belts, but its reasoning invites the same argument about helmets and lights. Combined with the 51% bar, that makes medical proof of which injuries a helmet would not have prevented important.

The two-year deadline and the 51% bar

At 50% fault you still recover half. At 51% you recover nothing. See comparative fault in CA, TX and WA. Families have two years from the death to bring a wrongful death or survival claim: Texas wrongful death deadline and Texas wrongful death and survival claims.

Texas cases are handled by the firm’s Texas-licensed attorneys, Joyce Ondich and John Efstathiou.

How a Texas bicycle claim gets paid

The driver’s liability policy, at least $30,000 per person (Transp. Code § 601.072). Texas is an at-fault state (is Texas a no-fault state?).

Your uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage. Every Texas auto policy must include UM/UIM unless a named insured rejects it in writing (Ins. Code § 1952.101). Whether it covers you on a bike depends on how your policy defines an “insured,” so we read the policy itself.

PIP and MedPay. Texas auto policies must include personal injury protection unless it is rejected in writing, but the law requires only $2,500 per person (Ins. Code § 1952.152; § 1952.153). PIP pays the named insured and members of the household, among others (§ 1952.151). TDI says medical payments coverage also pays if you are hurt “while walking or biking” (TDI).

Trucks and buses. Commercial vehicles carry larger policies (hit by a truck while walking or biking).

City vehicles, bad roads and the Texas Tort Claims Act

A Texas government unit is liable for injuries caused by an employee’s negligent operation of a motor vehicle, and for injuries caused by a condition or use of real property when a private person would be liable (CPRC § 101.021). The unit must receive notice within six months describing the injury, the time and place, and the incident. City charters may require notice sooner. The formal notice is excused if the unit had actual notice of the death or injury (CPRC § 101.101). Do not count on actual notice. Send written notice early. Transit claims are covered in our Texas public transit bus accident guide.

Bicycle deaths in Texas

• In 2024, 80 bicyclists died and 429 were seriously injured in 2,761 traffic crashes in Texas. TxDOT lists driver inattention, failure to yield the right of way and speeding as the top contributing factors (TxDOT).
• Federal data for 2023 count 106 bicyclist deaths in Texas, the third most of any state. Houston had 16, more than any other Texas city in NHTSA’s city table, followed by San Antonio with 8 (NHTSA).

Our news desk covered a bicyclist killed near Loyola Lane and Decker Lane in East Austin on October 29, 2026, where the driver stayed and cooperated (East Austin crash), and a 52-year-old cyclist killed in a collision with a Jeep Compass on Tulipan Street in Brownsville (Brownsville crash). For local help, see our Austin accident lawyer page.

Evidence that matters in Texas bike cases

• Your lights and reflectors, photographed and kept, to answer the “no one could see him” defense.
• Video from businesses and homes along the route.
• Ride data from a bike computer or app showing speed and position.
• The driver’s phone records and the car’s data.
• Lane width, measured, if the insurer says you should have been closer to the curb.

See how bicycle accident claims work.

Related pages

• San Antonio bicycle accident claims: local rules, city claims and Texas law
• California bicycle accident lawyer
• Washington bicycle accident lawyer
• Texas bicycle laws
• Texas car accident lawyer
• Texas pedestrian accident lawyer
• Texas truck accident lawyer

Common questions

Important: This page is general information, not legal or medical advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Every case is different; talk to a lawyer about yours. Texas cases are handled by the firm’s Texas-licensed attorneys, Joyce Ondich and John Efstathiou. Last reviewed: November 6, 2026.