In what circumstances will a motorcyclist be held liable for injuries sustained in a collision with a car at a busy intersection?

In Bond v. Mingo, supra the plaintiff’s motorcycle collided with the defendant’s car. The defendant had stopped to make a left hand turn and was waiting for a vehicle to complete a right turn before completing the left turn when the plaintiff struck defendant's vehicle from the opposite direction. O’Leary J. held the plaintiff and defendant equally negligent, finding that the excessive rate of speed contributed to the plaintiff's injuries. O’Leary J. found that the plaintiff must have known that visibility of left turners at the intersection was poor, and had he been travelling at a reasonable rate of speed in the circumstances he would have been able to stop or otherwise avoid the collision by turning.

In Wittmeier v. Scholes, supra the plaintiff hit the defendant, who was attempting a left turn. The road was slippery and the defendant attempted to clear the intersection when he saw the plaintiff’s vehicle but was unable to get any traction. The defendant submitted that the plaintiff was inattentive and was travelling too fast given the road conditions. Perras J. apportioned liability 64 per cent to the defendant and 36 per cent to the plaintiff, finding that the plaintiff was contributorily negligent because his attention was distracted, and his speed was excessive given the road conditions.

Heller v. Martens, supra was a case where the plaintiff was injured when the defendant ran a stop sign and hit him. The only issue at trial was whether the plaintiff was contributorily negligent for failing to wear a seatbelt. The majority on appeal, after considering the proper approach to apportionment, held that the plaintiff bore no burden to prove that he would have suffered injury had he worn a seatbelt. The majority dismissed the defendant’s appeal, finding that the trial judge properly concluded that both the failure to stop at the stop sign (75% liability) and the failure to wear a seatbelt (25% liability) materially contributed to the injuries. Analysis Speed