On behalf of Rooney Law Firm posted in Motorcycle Accidents on Monday, March 5, 2012.
We all know who loses in a motorcycle crash with a large vehicle. A biker’s body without the protection of the larger vehicle’s steel casing in a high speed collision with a car – let alone a truck – doesn’t have much of a chance of escaping injury.
Of course motorcyclists can decrease their chances of motorcycle accidents and increase their safety odds by wearing helmets, goggles and protective clothing; never drinking alcohol or ingesting drugs before biking; following the rules of the road; and taking dangerous conditions into account.
But car and truck drivers have the responsibility – legally and ethically – to handle themselves on the road in a manner more likely to keep bikers safe. Not only will there be legal consequences to harming a motorcyclist by negligent or illegal driving moves, but the personal anguish of severely harming or killing another person when it could have been avoided may be unbearable.
In fact, fatal car or truck collisions with motorcycles are more often the motorists’ fault than the riders’, according to the Motorcycle Safety Foundation.
Some solid safety suggestions for drivers when they meet motorcycles in traffic:
- Don’t follow a cycle as closely as you might a car or truck. Bikes can’t stop as quickly in wet conditions and the way bikers slow down may not always activate brake lights.
- Be aware that motorcycle turn signals need to be manually turned off, so it is more likely that a biker may leave a signal on unintentionally.
- Try to increase your awareness of the possible presence of motorcycles in the traffic flow. They can easily fall into blind spots or be hidden by other objects.
- Assume a motorcycle is closer than it looks, and that it is going faster than it appears to be.
A little bit of old-fashioned civility and courtesy on the road will go a long way toward increasing biker safety.
