A walker or a cyclist hurt near Nob Hill still has an Oregon injury claim, and the Vehicle Code duties that apply at the corner often become the heart of the fault debate. Drivers generally must come to a stop, and stay stopped, for a person on foot in the locations section 811.028 names. Drivers who overtake a bicycle generally must pass at a safe distance, meaning a distance sufficient to prevent contact if the rider fell into the driver’s lane, under section 811.065, with the exceptions that section spells out. Those duties are evidence. They are not automatic verdicts.
Section 811.005 also says that none of the provisions of the Vehicle Code relieve a pedestrian from the duty to exercise due care, or relieve a driver from the duty to exercise due care concerning pedestrians. Fault can be shared. Comparative fault under section 31.600 can reduce an award, or cut it off if your share is larger than the combined share of the people the statute brings into the comparison.
When a driver has to stop for a pedestrian
Section 811.028 makes it an offense for a driver not to come to a stop, and stay stopped, for a person on foot who is proceeding in accordance with a traffic control device as provided in 814.010, or crossing the roadway in a crosswalk, and who is in one of the locations that subsection names. Those locations include the lane in which the driver’s vehicle is traveling, a lane adjacent to that lane, the lane into which the driver is turning, a lane adjacent to the turn lane at an intersection that does not have a traffic control device under which a pedestrian may proceed, and, at an intersection that does have such a device, a position less than six feet from the lane into which the driver is turning.
For this section, a bicycle lane, or the part of a roadway where a vehicle stops, stands or parks that is adjacent to a lane of travel, is considered part of that adjacent lane of travel. A pedestrian is crossing in a crosswalk when any part or extension of the pedestrian, including a part of the body, a wheelchair, a cane, a crutch or a bicycle, moves onto the roadway in a crosswalk with the intent to proceed. The statute does not require a stop when the roadway has a safety island and the driver is proceeding along the far side of that island from the pedestrian, or where a tunnel or an overpass has been built for walkers at or near a crosswalk. The offense is a Class B traffic violation.
Pedestrians have duties of their own. Section 814.040 makes it an offense for a pedestrian to step off a curb or another safe spot and walk into a vehicle’s path when that vehicle is already so near that it poses an immediate danger, or to fail to yield when crossing a roadway at a point that is not a painted crosswalk, or the unmarked crossing at a corner, with the other details that section provides. A citation, or the absence of one, is not the end of the civil analysis.
Passing a bicycle, and yielding on a bike lane or sidewalk
Section 811.065 requires a driver, with the exceptions it names, to pass a person operating a bicycle by driving to the left of the bicycle at a safe distance and to return to the lane once the motor vehicle is safely clear. A safe distance means a distance sufficient to prevent contact if the person were to fall into the driver’s lane of traffic. That passing paragraph does not apply when the driver is in a lane that is separate from and adjacent to a designated bicycle lane, when the driver is traveling at a speed not greater than 35 miles per hour, or when the driver is passing on the person’s right side and the person operating the bicycle is turning left.
A driver may go left of center to pass a bicycle only if the roadway to the left is unobstructed for a sufficient distance to pass safely and avoid interference with oncoming traffic, and not when left-of-center driving is otherwise prohibited. The driver must return to an authorized lane as soon as practicable. Passing a bicycle in a no-passing zone in violation of 811.420 is prima facie evidence of this offense if the passing results in injury or death. The offense is a Class B traffic violation.
Two nearby rules also come up on Portland streets. Section 811.050 requires a motor vehicle operator to yield to a person operating a bicycle, electric assisted bicycle, electric personal assistive mobility device, moped, motor assisted scooter or motorized wheelchair upon a bicycle lane, with a narrow moped exception. Section 811.055 requires a driver to yield to a bicyclist on a sidewalk, except that the driver is not in violation of that section when the bicyclist is operating in violation of 814.410, and even then the driver is not relieved from the duty to exercise due care.
Insurance, reports and the clocks
A pedestrian struck by an insured private passenger vehicle is among the people section 742.520 covers for personal injury protection. A cyclist who was a pedestrian at the moment of impact, or who has household coverage, should still ask which PIP policies might apply. Medical benefits under 742.524 can reach $15,000 for reasonable and necessary expenses incurred within two years. Uninsured and underinsured coverage under section 742.502 is the usual next place to look if the driver has no insurance, or not enough. Our PIP guide and our UM guide explain those claims.
A regular Portland crash cannot be filed through the City’s ordinary online tool. Call 503-823-3333, or 911 if it is an emergency. Photograph the crosswalk, the signal, the bike lane and any clothing or lights that were in use. Our report guide walks through how to request a copy and to ask the City for the current fee. The two-year period in section 12.110 is already running. If a public body may have a role, the 180-day notice in section 30.275 is a separate writing. Before you hire a lawyer, look up whether that person’s Oregon license is still active, and get the fee terms down in a writing you both sign.