Legal Question in Traffic Law in California

motorcycle accident, no insurance, under $750 (?!?)

In June I was involved in motorcycle accident (I'm the biker, at fault). As the police report confirms, the other car had a minor scratch on the rear bumper. At the time, I did not had insurance for the bike. I had insurance for my car, but not the recently acquired bike which was supposed to be covered for the first 30 days by my car insurance (but it was not). I got ticketted for insurance and I paid the fine. I insured the bike the second day after that. And since the accident was minor, I did not report it to DMV (under $750 in damages, no injuries). Three months after the accident, the other driver's insurance company sent me a bill for $1100 in repairs, detailing something that I did not caused (eg. headlights, interior mirror, hood ornaments and grille, front bumper damage, 2 gallons on paint(!) and a lot of expensive labor). Obviously, I refused to accept that and they reported it to DMV, which sent me a ''courtesy reminder'', saying I did not report it, asked for proof of insurance and said they might suspend it. My question is: will DMV just go by the insurance company bill? how can they suspend my car driving license when I had car insurance all the time? or will they just take the motorcycle permit I have? perfect record


Asked on 11/22/05, 5:07 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Norman Gregory Fernandez, Esq. The Law Offices of Norman Gregory Fernandez & Associates

Re: motorcycle accident, no insurance, under $750 (?!?)

First off I am a biker lawyer. You can see my website at www.bikerlawyer.net

The issue here is liability insurance. I always tell my clients to buy insurance for the bike before they pick up the bike. I just had a client who was run over on his motorcycle during a police chase, right after he got the bike.

With his insurance company (Progressive), all new motorcycles are covered under his insurance for 30 days, subject to showing proof of ownership of the new bike. We got policy limits under his UM/BI coverage on the other bike!!

In your case the problem is that your auto policy probably does not cover motorcycles and visa/versa. It is impossible to tell without reading the policy.

California law requires you to have 10/15/30 minimum liability coverage in order to legally drive. Some insurance companies only apply your liability to the car and driver you designate only. Most will cover rental cars as well. Bottom line, your liability coverage usually does not include any vehicle you are driving, but some insurance companies may offer this type of insurance.

With respect to losing your license, it does not matter if you were on a motorcycle or in a car, driving a motor vehicle which is required to have liability coverage effects your drivers license in total!

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Answered on 11/24/05, 12:05 am


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