Michigan Bicycle Accident Law: PIP, Priority & the 3-Foot Rule (2026)

By Attorney Manny Chahal · Updated May 2026 · Reading time: ~9 min

A Michigan bicyclist struck by a car is treated as a no-fault claimant — not a pedestrian footnote. That single classification controls who pays the hospital bill, who covers lost wages, and how long the rider has to file. This guide walks through the priority chain under MCL 500.3115, the auto tort overlay under MCL 500.3135, the 3-foot safe-passing rule that drivers routinely ignore, and the deadlines that quietly bar otherwise solid cases.

Why a Bicycle Crash Is a No-Fault Claim

Michigan’s no-fault act applies whenever a motor vehicle is “involved” in the accident — the bicyclist does not need to own a car, hold a policy, or be insured. MCL 500.3105(1) entitles any person who suffers accidental bodily injury “arising out of the ownership, operation, maintenance or use” of a motor vehicle as a motor vehicle to personal protection insurance (PIP) benefits. A bicycle struck by a sedan in a crosswalk, a rider doored by a parked truck, a cyclist clipped at an intersection — each triggers PIP entitlement.

What confuses riders and even some attorneys is that the bicyclist is a non-occupant, so the priority rules in MCL 500.3114 do not control directly. Section 3115 controls when no occupancy exists. The interplay decides which insurer cuts the first check.

The MCL 500.3115 Priority Chain for Non-Occupants

Section 3115 spells out the order in which insurers are tapped when an injured person was not occupying a motor vehicle at the time of the crash. The statute reads in pertinent part that a non-occupant injured person “shall claim personal protection insurance benefits from insurers in the following order of priority: (a) Insurers of owners or registrants of motor vehicles involved in the accident. (b) Insurers of operators of motor vehicles involved in the accident.”

That is not the whole story. MCL 500.3114(1) gives a personal no-fault insurance policy priority over the 3115 cascade. So the practical chain looks like this:

A cyclist with no auto policy, no spouse, and no resident relative on a Michigan no-fault policy still recovers — the at-fault driver’s carrier pays, or, failing that, the Assigned Claims Plan steps in. Indigent uninsured cyclists routinely access PIP through MACP for the same medical and wage benefits a policyholder would receive, subject to MACP’s $250,000 default coverage cap unless the involved vehicle’s owner carried higher PIP limits.

What PIP Pays a Bicyclist

The 2019 no-fault reforms changed the menu of PIP limits available to a policy buyer (unlimited, $500,000, $250,000, $250,000 with exclusions, $50,000 for Medicaid enrollees, opt-out for Medicare). A bicyclist’s recovery is bounded by whichever level of PIP attaches under the priority chain. The benefit categories themselves are unchanged.

Allowable Expenses (MCL 500.3107(1)(a))

Reasonable charges incurred for reasonably necessary products, services, and accommodations for the cyclist’s care, recovery, or rehabilitation. That covers ambulance transport, ER and trauma center charges, surgery, hospitalization, follow-up imaging, physical and occupational therapy, prescriptions, durable medical equipment, prosthetics, mileage to medical appointments, and reasonable accommodations such as wheelchair-accessible modifications. Provider fees are capped by the Michigan no-fault fee schedule under MCL 500.3157.

Work Loss (MCL 500.3107(1)(b))

Up to 85% of gross wages the cyclist would have earned during the three years following the crash, subject to the inflation-adjusted monthly cap. The 2026 monthly cap is $7,201 — see our deeper guide at Michigan No-Fault Wage Loss Benefits: The 2026 $7,201 Cap.

Replacement Services (MCL 500.3107(1)(c))

Up to $20 per day for three years for ordinary and necessary services the cyclist used to perform for themselves and family — cooking, cleaning, mowing, child transport. The $20 figure has not been indexed and remains low, but it adds up.

Attendant Care

Family-member attendant care is now capped at 56 hours per week for nonprofessional in-home aides under MCL 500.3157(10). For full treatment of the cap and the reasonable-rate question see Michigan Family Attendant Care: The 56-Hour Cap & Reasonable Rate.

The Auto Tort Claim Against the Driver

PIP is no-fault — paid without regard to who caused the crash. To recover noneconomic damages (pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment, scarring) from the at-fault driver, the bicyclist must clear the threshold in MCL 500.3135. The cyclist must have suffered death, permanent serious disfigurement, or serious impairment of an important body function. The Michigan Supreme Court’s reframing of the threshold standard in McCormick v. Carrier, 487 Mich. 180 (2010), still controls — see Michigan Serious Impairment Threshold After McCormick.

The 3-Foot Safe Passing Rule (MCL 257.636)

Effective June 29, 2018, Public Act 280 amended MCL 257.636 to require a motor vehicle overtaking a bicycle in the same direction to pass “at a safe distance of at least 3 feet to the left of that bicycle.” When 3 feet is impracticable, the driver must pass at a safe distance at a safe speed. Violation is a civil infraction carrying three points on the driver’s license. Several Michigan municipalities — Ann Arbor, Dearborn, Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo, Portage among them — have enacted local ordinances requiring 5 feet of clearance, which control inside their jurisdictions.

In an auto tort case, a passing violation supplies powerful negligence-per-se evidence. The same record that proves the civil infraction tends to defeat a comparative-fault defense premised on the cyclist’s lane position. MCL 257.657 reminds both sides that a bicyclist on a roadway has the same rights and duties as a motor vehicle driver, which means a cyclist following the rules of the road is not a trespasser on the asphalt.

E-Bikes and the Three-Class System

Michigan classifies electric bicycles into three categories under MCL 257.13e and related sections:

• Class 1. Pedal-assist only, motor cuts out at 20 mph. Treated like a traditional bicycle for most purposes.
• Class 2. Throttle-assisted, motor cuts out at 20 mph. Same general treatment.
• Class 3. Pedal-assist, motor cuts out at 28 mph. Helmet required if rider is under 18, and operators must be at least 14.

None of the three classes is a “motor vehicle” for no-fault purposes if the motor is 750 watts or less and the bike has functional pedals. That keeps an e-bike rider struck by a car squarely inside the bicyclist priority chain in MCL 500.3115 rather than the operator priority chain in MCL 500.3114. Riders of higher-powered electric devices (mopeds, low-speed vehicles, electric scooters above the e-bike thresholds) may face a different statutory treatment and should not assume bicycle rules apply.

Deadlines That Quietly Kill Bicycle Cases

The 120-day notice provision catches an unusual number of cyclists. A pothole that throws a rider over the handlebars, a sidewalk lifted by tree roots, a roadway design defect on a county route — each implicates a governmental defendant. Strict compliance with the 120-day notice is required under Rowland v. Washtenaw County Road Commission, 477 Mich. 197 (2007). For the deeper analysis see Michigan Governmental Immunity: The 120-Day Notice Trap.

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