Motorcycle Accident

A motorcycle wreck on Glenwood, on the beltline, or on a two-lane road in Wake County is still a North Carolina crash file, with the three-year injury window and the same contributory-negligence rule that applies to a car case. G.S. 20-140.4 also requires the operator and every passenger to wear a helmet meeting FMVSS 218, with the retention strap secured, on a highway or public vehicular area, subject to the autocycle exception in that section.

A violation of that section is not treated as negligence per se, or as contributory negligence per se, in a civil action. The helmet statute answers that narrow question. It does not answer the filing window, the coverage questions, or other fault arguments that have nothing to do with the helmet. The motorcycle-helmet guide and the first-week guide on this site walk through the statute and the practical steps after the wreck.