There’s a saying in town. If a car collide with a motorcycle, the motorcyclist is always right under the law, no matter what. Really?! A lorry driver says that’s true, even if the motorcyclist is clearly wrong, the law will say lorry is to be blamed because “you are a lorry, he is a motorcycle”. Ask around town and the aunty at morning market will say, “You don’t know? Everybody knows!”
Is that really true?
First, I wish to clarify that our Malaysian Law does not indicate that the motorcyclist is always right in an accident. The laws regarding road accident (for civil suit) are largely developed through the Courts’ decision rather than written law. Below is a list of reported cases in Malaysia that should be sufficient to proof that motorcyclist can be found wrong and liable even if it involves collision with a car or other type of vehicles.
Case Citation and Summary
(For easy reading, I use the word “Motor” to mean both Motorcycle and Motorcyclist; “Car” to mean motorcar and motorcar driver; “Van” to mean both the van and the van driver; and so forth)
[2017] 9 MLJ 721
Motor overtake Van from right. Van turn right without signal. Both collided.
High Court decided the Motor was overtaking dangerously on a road with junctions.
Motor bears 70% liability, Van bears 30% liability.
[2001] MLJU 374
Lorry going straight on left lane, turn right into a junction. Motor from the back overtaking Lorry at the same time. Both collided. High Court decided Motor is reckless to overtake at junctions and while Lorry is turning. Lorry is also negligent in cutting across to the right with flowing traffic.
Motor bears 70% liability, Lorry bears 30% liability.
[2010] 7 MLJ 478
Car driving on one-way road. While at a junction, Car about to turn right to main road, Motor came from opposite direction into the wrong side of the road.
High Court decided Motor is negligent, but Car also contributed to the accident for not taking steps to avoid accident after seeing the motor.
Motor bears 80% liability, Car bears 20% liability.
[2018] 1 LNS 911
Motor riding on double lane. Car from opposite direction collided with Motor in middle of the road.
High Court decided 50-50% liability.
[2008] 7 CLJ 741
Van and Motor travelling same direction. Motor at the back collided with Van. Motor says Van overtook Motor and stopped suddenly, causing collision. Van says Van driving straight and Motor suddenly hit the back of Van.
High Court held Motor 80% liable.
[1999] 3 CLJ 188
Motor overtake lorry on right side. Lorry turning right. Both collided. High Court decided Motor should have keep safe distance from Lorry and should overtake at left side.
Motor is 75% liable.
Going back to why the gossip of “motorcyclist is always right” remain around town, I will make some assumptions. I realise some common features in most road accident cases involving motorcycle and other vehicles which could explain the phenomena why everyone is pretty sure a motorcyclist will never be wrong. Based on past reported accident cases involving motorcycle, I found that:
In most cases, the motorcyclist is the Plaintiff. They sue the driver of other vehicle.
In most cases, motorcyclists suffer serious physical injuries or death while drivers of other vehicle suffer minor or no injuries. So the motorcyclists or his representatives are usually claiming a higher sum compared to the other party.
In most cases, Courts recognise the duty of all drivers/riders to be careful on the road, even if other users of the road is negligent or reckless. So more often than not, liability is shared between parties when an accident happen, although it could be a 90%-10% or 50%-50% sharing of liabilities.
Interestingly, there also seems to be a trend that police officers usually summoned the other driver rather than the motorcyclist, even in cases where the court later decide that the motorcyclist is also liable to the accident. However, the traffic police’s decision do not bind the courts, so it’s not the case that “if you are fined, you will lose in court.”
Based on the above, the existing situation could easily cause an assumption that other drivers will always end up paying. For drivers, the risk of colliding with a motorcycle is that although the driver may be safely protected behind wheels, it is more probable that the driver would be required to bear certain portion of the motorcyclist’s loss. Even a 20% liability can mean a huge sum due to the grave injuries commonly incurred by motorcyclists. If so, the driver do end up paying even if the accident is largely caused by the motorcyclist. For motorcyclists, the possible loss incurred due to losing a court case or getting a police summon is not as grave as the possible loss incurred due to physical injuries, incapability to work, or even death, not to mention the trouble and cost that comes together. So it’s not worth it for the motorcyclist anyway.
Moral of the story: be careful on the road. No matter who is right or wrong, it is the duty of all drivers and riders to drive safely and avoid an accident whenever possible, even if you have the right of way.
Motorcyclists or not, it is not worth to insist on a right of way and risk a collision. Love yourself, care for other road users, and everyone wins.
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