On days when the weather is nice, motorcyclists will head out to enjoy spending time outside. These bikers don’t want to have to worry about being involved in an accident or suffering an injury. They count on other drivers to help them remain safe.
Unfortunately, some drivers don’t respect motorcycles and their riders like they should. Instead, they overlook them, fail to yield the right of way, and try to bully them on the road. This can lead to very unsafe conditions for the biker.
Core of the issue
The main issue with motorcycle crashes is that the bikers don’t have anything surrounding them that can protect their bodies from the vehicle when it strikes. People in cars have the frame of a car to lessen the impact on the human body, but motorcyclists act this essential safety apparatus.
Motorcycles have a much smaller profile than other vehicles. This makes them more difficult to see, especially at intersections or when there are obstacles along the road. They are also more unstable since the rider is balancing on two wheels instead of being stabilized by four.
A motorcyclist who is struck will likely be thrown from the motorcycle if the crash happened at a speed of more than a crawl. The impact with the ground and any objects around the victim can cause serious injuries.
Look at the facts
While it is true that some motorcycle crashes are the fault of the biker, there are many that aren’t. The number of fatalities for light truck and automobile occupants has decreased since 1999, but the rate for bikers has increased to more than double since that year.
The violation of the motorcycle’s right of way by another driver is the cause of two-thirds of crashes involving another vehicle. This is unacceptable because drivers are required to know the rules of the road to get a driver’s license. Many times, these drivers think of the motorcycle as a vehicle with inferior rights, which isn’t the case.
Motorcycle crashes can have very serious results. A person on a motorcycle is five times more likely to be injured and 26 times more likely to be killed in a wreck than people in other vehicles.
People who are injured in motorcycle crashes and those who lost a family member in one might decide to take legal action. A civil lawsuit can help to hold the liable driver accountable for his or her actions.