Find a bicycle accident lawyer in Fort Worth: passing law, trails and who pays
Fort Worth drivers must pass a cyclist by at least 3 feet, or 6 feet for most large trucks and commercial vehicles, when road conditions allow. A Fort Worth Police crash report comes from TxDOT's CRIS site for $6. You generally have 2 years to sue, but only 180 days to notify the city over a road defect.
Last checked November 9, 2026 · Official sources (39)
Does Fort Worth have a safe passing law for bikes?
Yes. City code calls people on bicycles vulnerable road users. Where a street has two or more marked lanes going your way, a driver passing you must move out of the lane nearest you. Where it does not, the driver must leave a safe distance when road conditions allow.
| Vehicle passing you | Minimum distance |
|---|---|
| Passenger car or light truck | 3 feet |
| Other truck or commercial motor vehicle | 6 feet |
A broken passing rule does not decide your case by itself, but it is strong proof of how the crash happened. Tell the officer the driver's distance and ask that it be written down.
State law gives you the same rights and duties as a driver, with some exceptions. You generally ride near the right side, but Texas makes room for turns, hazards and lanes too narrow to share, including outside lanes under 14 feet with no bike lane.
How many bike crashes happen in Fort Worth?
The city's Active Transportation Plan counted 50 bicycle crashes in 2010 and 74 in 2018. Federal highway officials have named Fort Worth a pedestrian and bicycle safety focus city. Across Tarrant County from 2018 to 2022 there were 16 fatal bike crashes and 648 that were not fatal.
The plan lists the top causes as driver inattention, cyclists failing to yield, and drivers failing to control their speed. Insurers will look for that second one, so write down what the signal or sign was showing.
The city's High Injury Network was analyzed separately for bicycles, and Fort Worth adopted a Vision Zero plan on September 30, 2025. If you were hit on one of those streets, a lawyer can use that public data.
What if I crash on the Trinity Trails in Fort Worth?
Call 911 and give the code on the nearest green and white sign. The Tarrant Regional Water District put those signs about 1,000 feet apart so crews can find you. Trail hours are 6 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Fault on a trail is harder to sort out. Maintenance is shared between the water district and the City of Fort Worth, so find out who controls that stretch. Both are government bodies.
Notice to the city is due in 180 days, and notice to another public body is generally due in six months. Texas law also often limits what an owner owes to people using land for recreation.
Who pays when a car hits a cyclist in Fort Worth?
- The driver's insurer. Texas requires at least $30,000 per person and $60,000 per crash.
- Your own auto policy, even though you were on a bike. Personal injury protection pays the named insured and household members.
- Your uninsured motorist coverage, unless someone rejected it in writing.
- A hit-and-run needs actual contact to use that coverage, so save any paint or damage on your bike.
- The City of Fort Worth, in limited cases such as a road defect, after notice. Written notice goes to Risk Management at 200 Texas Street.
Your share of blame matters. Texas bars your claim if you are more than 50 percent at fault.
What if a driver opens a door into me in Fort Worth?
Texas says a door on the traffic side may be opened only when it can be done in reasonable safety. Photograph the car, the door and the street, and ask for the driver's insurance before the car leaves.
What should I ask a bicycle accident lawyer in Fort Worth?
- Have you handled claims under the city's passing rule?
- Does my auto policy cover me on a bike?
- If this was on a trail or street, who controls it, and what is my notice deadline?
Questions
How far must a car stay from a bike in Fort Worth?
At least 3 feet for a car or light truck, and 6 feet for other trucks and commercial vehicles, when road conditions allow.
Do adults have to wear a helmet on a bike in Fort Worth?
City code requires helmets for anyone under 18. Adults are not covered by that rule, but a helmet can still protect you.
How long do I have after a bike crash in Fort Worth?
Generally 2 years to sue. A claim against the city needs written notice within 180 days, unless you show good cause.
Bicycle accident in Fort Worth? See if you are owed money.
A free case review. $0 upfront. No fee unless you win.
See if I’m owed moneySources (39)
- Fort Worth City Code § 22-95, checked 2026-11-09. “Three feet from the vulnerable road user if the operator’s vehicle is a passenger car or light truck”
- Fort Worth City Code § 22-95, checked 2026-11-09. “Six feet from the vulnerable road user if the operator’s vehicle is a truck, other than a light truck, or a commercial motor vehicle”
- Fort Worth Police, Get a Copy of My Accident Report, checked 2026-11-08. “Effective December 15, 2024, requestors should use the website below to request an accident report(s)”
- Fort Worth Police, FAQs, checked 2026-11-08. “for $6.00. If your search for a report returns no results, the report has not been approved.”
- Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 16.003, checked 2026-11-08. “not later than two years after the day the cause of action accrues”
- Fort Worth City Charter, Chapter XXVII, Section 25, checked 2026-11-08. “within one hundred eighty (180) days after the same has been sustained, unless good cause is shown”
- Tarrant Regional Water District, 911 Signs Enhance Trail-User Safety, checked 2026-11-09. “We put them approximately 1000 feet apart”
- Fort Worth City Code § 22-245, checked 2026-11-09. “It is unlawful for any child to operate or ride upon a bicycle”
- Fort Worth City Code § 22-245, checked 2026-11-09. “CHILD. Any individual under 18 years of age.”
- Fort Worth City Code § 22-95, checked 2026-11-09. “A person operating equipment other than a motor vehicle, including, but not limited to, a bicycle, handcycle”
- Fort Worth City Code § 22-95, checked 2026-11-09. “Vacate the lane nearest to or in which the vulnerable road user is located if the highway or street has two or more marked lanes running in the same direction”
- Tex. Transp. Code § 551.101(a), checked 2026-11-08. “A person operating a bicycle has the rights and duties applicable to a driver operating a vehicle under this subtitle”
- Tex. Transp. Code § 551.103(a), checked 2026-11-08. “a person operating a bicycle on a roadway who is moving slower than the other traffic on the roadway shall ride as near as practicable to the right curb or edge of the roadway, unless:”
- Texas Transportation Code 551.103, checked 2026-11-09. “less than 14 feet in width and does not have a designated bicycle lane adjacent to that lane”
- City of Fort Worth, Active Transportation Plan, Executive Summary, checked 2026-11-09. “with 50 crashes in 2010 and 74 in 2018”
- City of Fort Worth, Active Transportation Plan, Executive Summary, checked 2026-11-09. “Fort Worth has been named a pedestrian and bicycle safety focus city by the Federal Highway Administration”
- NCTCOG, 2018-2022 Bicycle and Pedestrian Crashes by County, checked 2026-11-08. “Tarrant 16 245 648 1,686 2,595”
- City of Fort Worth, Active Transportation Plan, Executive Summary, checked 2026-11-09. “The top factors leading to bicycle crashes were driver inattention, bicyclist failure to yield to traffic controls or pedestrians, and failure of drivers to control their speed.”
- City of Fort Worth, Pedestrian HIN layer, checked 2026-11-08. “by-mode for vehicle-only, pedestrians, and bicycles”
- City of Fort Worth, Informal Report 26-0064, checked 2026-11-08. “serves as the safety component of the MTP and was adopted on September 30, 2025”
- Tarrant Regional Water District, Recreation FAQ, checked 2026-11-09. “TRWD Trail Hours are 6am to 10pm.”
- Tarrant Regional Water District, Recreation FAQ, checked 2026-11-09. “Trail maintenance is a shared responsibility between TRWD and the City of Fort Worth.”
- Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code 101.101, checked 2026-11-09. “not later than six months after the day that the incident giving rise to the claim occurred”
- Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 75.002(c), checked 2026-11-08. “If an owner, lessee, or occupant of real property other than agricultural land gives permission to another to enter the premises for recreation, the owner, lessee, or occupant, by giving the permission, does not: (1) assure that the premises are safe for that purpose; (2) owe to the person to whom permission is granted a greater degree of care than is owed to a trespasser on the premises;”
- Trinity Metro Bikes, checked 2026-11-09. “62 Stations, 400 Bikes 360 E-Assist Bikes and 40 Pedal Bikes”
- Trinity Metro Bikes, Terms and Conditions, checked 2026-11-09. “they must immediately report an accident, or a stolen or lost Bike to TMB and FW Police”
- Texas Medical Board, Consumer page, checked 2026-11-09. “Call (512) 305-7030 to reach a member of the TMB Call Center”
- Trinity Metro Bikes, Terms and Conditions, checked 2026-11-09. “related to the sole or partial negligence of Released Parties”
- Dresser Industries v. Page Petroleum (Tex. 1993), checked 2026-11-09. “we hold that the fair notice requirements of conspicuousness and the express negligence doctrine apply to both indemnity agreements and to releases in the circumstances before us”
- Tex. Transp. Code § 601.072(a-1), checked 2026-11-08. “(1) $30,000 for bodily injury to or death of one person in one collision; (2) $60,000 for bodily injury to or death of two or more persons in one collision, subject to the amount provided by Subdivision (1) for bodily injury to or death of one of the persons; and (3) $25,000 for damage to or destruction of property of others in one collision.”
- Texas Insurance Code 1952.151, checked 2026-11-09. “provide for payment to the named insured in the policy, members of the insured's household”
- Tex. Ins. Code § 1952.101(b)-(c), checked 2026-11-08. “unless the insurer provides uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage in the policy or supplemental to the policy. (c) The coverage required by this subchapter does not apply if any insured named in the insurance policy rejects the coverage in writing.”
- Texas Department of Insurance, checked 2026-11-09. “If you don't want it, you have to turn it down in writing.”
- Tex. Ins. Code § 1952.104(3), checked 2026-11-08. “require that, for the insured to recover under the uninsured motorist coverage if the owner or operator of any motor vehicle that causes bodily injury or property damage to the insured is unknown, actual physical contact must have occurred between the motor vehicle owned or operated by the unknown person and the person or property of the insured.”
- Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code 101.022, checked 2026-11-09. “the governmental unit owes to the claimant only the duty that a private person owes to a licensee on private property”
- Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code 101.022, checked 2026-11-09. “special defects such as excavations or obstructions on highways, roads, or streets”
- City of Fort Worth, Notice of Claim Form, checked 2026-11-08. “HR/Risk Management 200 Texas Street Fort Worth, Texas 76102”
- Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 33.001, checked 2026-11-08. “a claimant may not recover damages if his percentage of responsibility is greater than 50 percent”
- Texas Transportation Code 545.418, checked 2026-11-09. “open the door of a motor vehicle on the side available to moving traffic, unless the door may be opened in reasonable safety”