Motorcycle accident victims frequently suffer excruciating wounds, expensive medical expenses, and even lost pay. All it takes is one car to act recklessly, such as changing lanes without looking, for a motorcyclist to sustain injuries that could be fatal. Let Law Group handle the legal strain of handling a motorcycle accident case while you concentrate on healing if you or a loved one has suffered in a motorbike accident.
The Best Ways to Ride a Motorcycle Safely
Everyone is aware of the severe dangers associated with riding a motorcycle. Every rider should be aware of a few fundamental safety rules in order to ride their motorcycle without incident.
First off, wearing a helmet will help you avoid catastrophic injuries from motorcycle accidents and can even save your life. Helmets are approximately 37% effective in preventing motorcycle fatalities and 67% effective in preventing brain injuries, according to the IIHS.
There are several additional important parts south of the neck that can benefit from protective gear in addition to merely wearing a helmet. wearing gloves, boots, suits, and other protective clothing.
can significantly lower your chance of getting major motorcycle injuries like road rash. It is in your best interest to be ready because there is a good chance that you will fall off your bike at some point.
Spending time and money on a motorbike safety training is also a wise decision. The Motorcycle Safety Foundation offers programs around the nation, ranging from the fundamental starting classes needed to obtain a license to more advanced classes that show motorcyclists how to avoid collisions and make evasive maneuvers. A wonderful strategy to stay safe is to constantly exercise your body and mind while also educating yourself.
five of the Most Regular Motorcycle Mishaps
You should try to prevent bad bike crashes such head-on collisions, sports bike wrecks, low-speed street bike wrecks, and high-speed motorcycle wrecks. Unfortunately, it’s not always possible to avoid the most serious motorcycle accidents. The majority of motorcycle collisions are the fault of other motorists who are negligent and fail to see motorcycles in their path.
However, there are several precautions you may take to lessen your chance of being involved in a serious motorbike accident.
1. Motorcycle collisions brought on by left-turning vehicles
The most frequent motorbike collision occurs when a car turns left in front of you. Given that it causes 42% of all collisions between a motorcycle and a car, this is the single riskiest condition for motorcycle riders. Typically, the motorcycle is struck by the turning car when it is:
- crossing a street intersection without turning
- passing the vehicle
- attempting to pass the vehicle
Although this kind of collision occurs frequently between two ordinary cars as well, the size and lack of protection of motorbikes make these collisions extremely riskier for riders.
A car performing a left turn into another car will almost certainly be held accountable for the collision. That might not be the case, though, if the motorcycle rider was breaching the law or operating the vehicle recklessly.
How to Prevent a Left Turn Motorcycle Accident
You need to be able to predict what the other drivers will do next in order to avoid this accident, as is the case in the majority of circumstances. Apart from the typical cautious driving techniques and donning your safety gear, this is the greatest way to keep safe. Keep an eye out for any warning signs that someone may be turning in front of you, such as:
- A automobile is waiting to turn at a junction.
- While someone is waiting to proceed, there is a pause in the flow of traffic in front of you.
- They make a split-second decision to “look both ways.”
You should definitely keep an eye out for anything similar, and if you do, start slowing down. To prepare to brake or do an evasive maneuver, move to the outside lane and away from the oncoming vehicle. You should anticipate that a reasonable spacing in front of you will prompt another driver to pull out even if you cannot see a car waiting to turn.
Attempt to look the other motorist in the eye as well. There is a strong possibility that they will stay still if they notice you gazing at them and you seeing them looking at you. Additionally, look for obstructions in their line of sight, note which way their tires are pointed, and observe whether they are paying attention to the traffic around them or are gazing down at their phone.
2. Motorcycle accidents after lane changes
In this typical motorcycle accident scenario, a car is right next to you and starts to cross over into your lane. This occurs when you’re riding in an automobile that is not paying enough attention to you or cannot see you on a four-lane highway. Motorcycles are easily occluded in a driver’s car’s blind areas.
Avoiding a Lane-Switching-Related Motorcycle Accident
Have you ever noticed the bumper sticker that reads, “If you can’t see my mirrors, I can’t see you,” on a semi-truck? That is, in fact, how blind spots operate. You should be able to see the driver’s face in the mirrors of the car, which indicates that they can probably see you.
To escape a blind spot, either accelerate or decelerate. Look for indications that a car is changing lanes because you can’t always tell if you’re in a blind spot or if the other driver sees you.
- They turn on their turn signals.
- Their wheels start to move.
- The motorist starts to examine their mirrors
- The driver turns their head to the side as though to examine their blind zones.
Be proactive, alert, and a defensive driver as with all of these suggestions.
3. Motorcycle collision head-on crashes
56 percent of motorcycle accident fatalities are caused by collisions with other vehicles. These mishaps include a head-on collision between a car and a motorcycle 78 percent of the time. Unsurprisingly, the motorcyclist frequently dies in head-on incidents with automobiles.
The rider of a motorbike will either be crushed or launched through the air and perhaps onto some hard surface if the motorcycle comes to an abrupt stop in a split second, depending on the speed. The majority of fatalities in motorcycle accidents occur in this frequent crash. Usually, both the motorbike and the car are traveling at fairly high speeds when a car strikes a motorcycle head-on.
Unfortunately, this greatly increases the motorcyclist’s chances of dying or, at the very least, suffering serious injuries.
How to Prevent a Motorcycle Head-On Collision
The “Four Rs” are suggested by the National Safety Council (NSC) when attempting to prevent a head-on collision:
- Read the upcoming route
- Right-hand drive
- lower your speed
- Riding off-road
The proactive and defensive strategies we have been discussing involve reading the road ahead. Always be actively monitoring the road in front of you and keeping an eye out for potential motorcycle accident hazards.
Other actions you could take are as follows:
- Being in the right-hand lane is implied when driving to the right. Keep to the outside of the lane on a two-lane road so that you are on the right side of the lane and are protected from head-on crashes (and accidental lane changes).
- If you see the other automobile swerving or not paying attention, slow down. Even a small reduction in speed, such as by 10, 20, or 30 MPH, can mean the difference between life and death.
- In order to avoid a collision head-on, riding off the road entails slowing down and swerving into the grass or shoulder on your right. Another justification for moving to the right is this side can be so helpful.
*Either Attorney Matthew Dolman or another injury attorney at the Dolman Litigation Group Accident Injury Lawyers, PA, which has a combined 90+ years of experience practicing Florida personal injury law, wrote and evaluated the information above. For the past fifteen (15) years, Matthew Dolman has been a personal injury attorney in Clearwater and St. Petersburg. The data presented is the result of in-depth investigation and years of trial experience in Florida courts.