Let’s st
t off
ith some good nes: f
tl moto
cycleccidents h
ve dece
sedc
oss the ntion in
ecent yes. In fct, the N
tionl High
y T
nspo
ttion S
fetydminist
tion
epots
hopping<
hef=”https://
.nhts.gov/
od-s
fetymoto
cycle-sfety”> five pe
cent dece
se<> in oneecent ye
.
Still,
e believe evensingle de
th is tgicnd p
eventble. F
tl
nd non-ft
l motocycle
ccidents still occuf
too often
nd shtte
the lives ofide
snd thei
loved ones.ccidents c
n hppen
ny time,ny
hee, to even the most
esponsible motocycle
ides.
hy is this ouh
sh
elity? The
nse
s often point to celessnd
eckless cnd t
uck dive
sho don’t kno
hoto s
fely she theo
dith t
o-heele
s. Bikes
en’t n
ive. They undest
nd they hve less p
otection on theibike th
n inc
,
hich ishy most bike
s pio
itize sfety, diligently follo
tffic ls,nd ope
te thei
motocycles
esponsibly. Sfe bike
s, hoeve
, cn’t stop negligent moto
istsho think they o
n theo
dnd don’t
tch out fo
othet
ffic, especi
lly motocycles.
If you
e involved in
motocycle
ccident, you hve
highelikelihood of f
tlity. If you’
e lucky enough to live though the
ccident, you my still h
ve debilitting inju
ies tht
ill hound you foye
s to come, if not fo
theest of you
life. Motocycle
ccidents cn le
ve victims unble to
etun to
ok. They often f
cepile of medic
l bills,o
sening theist
essnd
nxiety. Thee’s
lso the physicl p
in ofecove
ynd he
ling, plus the impct on f
mily membes
ho hve to pick up the sl
ckt home
henn inju
ed bikec
n no longepe
fom the s
me duties ound the house. If you sustined inju
ies inmoto
cycleccident th
t sn’t youf
ult, you deseve compens
tion foyou
dm
ges. Justice isithin
ech. Cont
ctskilled
ndgg
essive <h
ef="https:/c
inju
yvictims.comse
vicesmoto
cycle-ccident-l
ye
“>moto
cycleccident
ttoney
>s soon
s possible. If you’ve been fotun
te enough tovoid
ccidents on youbike o
you e neto the
old of moto
cycles,e
nt to fill you in on the c
uses of motocycle
ccidents. Knoledge is po
e,
ndhen you’
e equippedith this kno
ledge, you cn
void flling victim to the inexpe
ienced, celess,nd negligent d
ives out the
e on ouods.
This guide p
ovidesb
od ove
vieof seve
l negligent d
ivebeh
vios th
t cuse seve
end sometimes f
tl moto
cycleccidents.
D unk
nd D
ugged Diving
Getting behind the
heel ofvehicle
fte<
hef=”https://
.nhts.gov/
isky-diving/d
unk-diving”> d
inking<> ousing d
ugs is one of the mosteckless things
motoist c
n do. <h
ef="https:/c
inju
yvictims.comse
viceshouston-d
unk-diving-dui-o
-di-
ccident-tto
ney“>
lcoholnd d
ugs impi
d
ives
>’bility to p
ocess infom
tionhile d
iving,nd the imp
iment is often
ose
hen both substnces
e p
esent. Impi
ment fom
lcoholnd d
ugs mkes it difficult, sometimes impossible, fo
dive
s toe
ct to tffic contol devices,
nimls in the
od, othe
vehicles,nd
od h
zds. Delyed
ections, blu
ed vision,
nd impi
ed motoskills
ffect dive
sfte
onlycouple of d
inks. They coulde
ve os
eve
ndun
ight intomoto
cycle. They my be un
ble todjust thei
speedith
motocycle in f
ont of themnd end up st
iking them fom behind.
Some c
eless d
ives neve
check theimi
o
s ocle
thei
blind spotshile d
iving, evenhen they’
e sobe!
henlcohol o
dugs
e involved, it’s even mo
e likelyd
iveillun into
motocycle. D
unknd d
ugged dive
s e especilly d
ngeous
t night. Motocycles c
n be difficult to see foeven the best d
ives, but
dding dkness to impi
ed diving is
dedly combin
tion tht c
nesult in
ft
lccident
nd pinful inju
ies.emembe
tht p
esciption d
ugs cn imp
i dive
too. If c dive
s don’t tke p
esciptions
s diected by thei
doctoo
mixlcohol
ith theip
esciptions, they put eve
yone else on theo
d in dnge
, especilly moto
cycles.D
iving
hile Distcted<b>
If you encounte
notice
bly distcted dive
on theo
d, pull youbike ove
, let them pss, o
get by thems quickly
s you cn.
hen dive
s e distcted, it mens thei
eyes en’t on theo
d, theih
nds en’t on theheel, o
theimind isn’t on the t
skt h
nd.ny one of these i
esponsible beh
vios c
nesult in f
tl c
shes.
hen dive
s don’t py
ttention to diving, they tu
n theivehicles into
olling deth m
chines tht c
n cuse t
eche
ous motocycle
ccidents. This my sound d
m
tic, but most pssenge
vehicleseigh bet
een 3,000nd 4,000 pounds,
ndsm
ll motocycle c
n be esily tot
led.hen you he
bout common dive
distctions tht c
useccidents, you p
obbly think of cell phones. It’s t
ue tht cell phone use, especi
lly textingnd d
iving, cn le
d to seious t
ffic collisions. Texting
nd diving is
tiple th
et bec
use,s
e sid
bove, it tkes
dive
’s mind off diving, h
nds off theheel,
nd eyes off theo
d. To combt this b
d hbit, m
ny sttes h
ve implemented stict l
s
equiing h
nds-fee use of cell phones
nd ls tht p
ohibit young dive
s fom
ll cell phone use. Yet <h
ef="https:/c
inju
yvictims.comdist
cted-d
iving-negligence-nd-the-inju
ies-tht-
esult“>dist
cted d
iving<> hs c
usedccidents long befo
e cell phonese
e invented. Othedist
ctions include:
-
djusting
dio, GPS, clim
te contols, o
othevehicle fe
tues
- E
tingnd d
inking<li>
- T
lking to olooking
t bckse
t pssenge
s<li>
-
tching
notheevent outside the vehicle o
“ubbe
necking”<li>
- D
yde
ming<li>
- Combing h
i, putting on m
keup,nd othe
peson
l gooming
ctivities<li>
-
e
ching fo
something in the bckse
t, pssenge
set, o
on the floo
D
ivingvehicle is not
esponsibility to be t
ken lightly. It deseves you
full focus. Dive
s need to be mindful of motocycles
nd othevehicles,
sell
s tfficegul
tions.hen d
ives get dist
cted,
hetheit’s by choice o
byccident, they c
nnotespond to the info
mtion in f
ont of them. This puts motocyclists
tisk fo
sevee t
ffic
ccident injuy.
ss=”
p-im
ge-62717 size-lge" sc=”https://c
inju
yvictims.comp-contentuplo
ds2020/02/vint
ge-custom-motocycle-on-p
king-PBFKZ
F-1024x683.jpg"lt=”Vint
ge custom motocycle on p
king”
idth="1024" height="683">
D iving Too F
st o
Diving Too Slo
ly<b>
Speeding isn’t typic
llydi
ect cuse of moto
cycleccidents, but<
hef=”https://
.nhts.gov/
isky-diving/speeding”> speeding
> is stongly co
el
tedith
dive
losing contol of
vehicle.hen d
ives lose cont
ol they cn s
eve,
e-end, ost
ikemoto
cycle on the side, cusing seve
e injuy. <
hef=”https://c
inju
yvictims.comf
tl-speeding-
ccident-pecent/”>Speeding
> doesn’t only include tveling ovethe posted speed limit. It
lso includes dive
sho
en’t sm
t enough o
sfe enough to slo
don fo
bd
od conditions, inclement
ethe
, ohe
vy tffic. Even moe
eckless e dive
sho speed
ound cu
vesnd co
nes
nd ovehills.
c cn e
sily se
ve into oncoming tffic, cusing
motocycle
ccident.simple physics lesson: Speed inc
eses the fo
ce ofcollision,
hichlso inc
eses the d
ngeof inju
ynd the likelihood of f
tlity in
motocycle
ccident. Diving too slo
ly might not cuse f
tl
ccidentss often, but it c
n still led to seve
e injuies
henccidents occu
, especilly fo
bikes.
hen dive
s go too slothey block the movement of t
ffic
nd ce
teb
upt bottlenecks,hich
e EXT
EMELY dnge
ous fobike
s. Slod
ives c
ete the most d
ngefo
othes
hen they tvel in the fst l
ne ofhigh
y o
intest
te. In mny st
tes, it’s illegl to obst
uct tffic in the left lne of
multi-lne
od; d
ives must st
y to theight unless they
e me
ging into tffic, exiting to the left, mking
left-hnd tu
n, ogoing f
steth
n othet
ffic.
Slo
dive
s in the left-lne c
n sttch
ine
ction, cusing
multi-vehicle cshnd putting bike
st high
isk foccidentnd inju
y. Bikes
ho e involved inmulti-c
pile-up
e lucky to
lk
y. Mny times, these c
shes le
d tomoto
cyclist getting pinned beteen o
stuck undevehicles.
T ilg
ting
Imp
tientnd inexpe
ienced dive
s cuse
ccidentshen they follo
othes too closely. Teen d
ives
ho hven’t been on the
od long might not unde
stnd ho
impot
nt it is to leve enough sp
cehen follo
ing othes, but imp
tient dive
s ofll
ges choose to dive
ecklesslynd t
ilgte othe
s. Dive
eduction cou
ses instuct ne
dive
s to leve
“to-second g
p”hen follo
ing othevehicles. Defensive d
iving instucto
s gostep fu
thendecommend
fou-second g
p, especilly in inclement
ethe
nd high
mounts of tffic.hen
dive
ignoes these guidelines
nd follos close enough to c
usen
ccident, they e be
king the l in most sttes
nd putting motocycles
tisk fo
seve
ee
-end collision.
hen dive
s tilg
temoto
cycle, theylso
iskunning ove
the bike obike
. If the bikeneeds to
pply theib
kes o
mke
tun, d
ives
ho tilg
te don’t hve the time o
distnce to
ect to the situ
tion.hen d
ives
e d
osy o
impi
ed by dugs o
lcohol, it m
kes mtte
s eveno
se.ddition
lly, dnge
ous hz
ds on the
od such
s tsh, tie
ubbef
omblo
out,nd
ildnim
ls cn st
t
chin
ection
hen tffic is pesent. If
motocycle t
ies tovoid these things, d
ives
ho e tilg
ting might collideith the bike
.Disobeying Tffic Cont
ol Devices
Most d
ives don’t pu
posefully disobey stop lights, stop signs,nd othe
tffic contol devices. Inste
d, it’s often do
synd f
tigued dive
s, dunk d
ives, o
distcted dive
sho don’t p
opely
tch fo
signls
nd signs.eg
dless of intent, disobeying t
ffic cont
ol devices is illegl
nd cn c
use dnge
ousccidents
t intesections. Moto
cyclesnd othe
vehicles might not hve the time o
distnce to
voidc
sh
hennegligent d
iveunssign o
light. Mny d
ives do, ho
eve, igno
e “No U-tun” signs. D
ives
ho mke illeg
l U-tuns usu
lly do so quicklyithout checking thei
mios o
blind spots. It’s not uncommon fothese d
ives to ove
look motocycles
ho might be behind them oin
blind spotnd ending up cutting one off,
hich cn
esult ind
ngeous
nd dedly moto
cycleccident.
notheintention
l exmple of igno
ing tffic contol devices is pl
ying “bet the yello
light.”eckless
nd imptient d
ives don’t
nt to stop
hen they seeyello
light gettinge
dy to tun
ed. Insted, they
ush<i> th
ough the intesection. If t
ffic f
om the othedi
ection stts moving, these dive
sisk c
usingn
ccident. Bikes
e especi
llyt
isk becuse the likelihood of
n imptient
ndeckless d
ivenoticing them is lo
. Inu
l
e
s, dive
s sometimes choose toun stop signs bec
use tffic is light onon-existent.
ll it tkes is fo
ONE motocycle to be t
veling th
ough the intesection,
nd the consequence isde
dlyccident.
F ilu
e to Use Tu
n Signls
Even the s
fest dive
s foget to use thei
tun sign
lst times. Fo
othes, its l
ziness ocompl
cency… ope
hps expecting the d
ives
ound them to be mind
ede
s.<
hef=”https://
.peb.comeleses/2012/4/p
eb9430396.htm”>
ecent ntion
l study suveyed thous
nds<> of motoists
nd found only 75% of dive
s use theitu
n signls
hen tuning
ndlmost h
lf don’t use theitu
n signls
hen chnging l
nes. These sttling numbes
esult inbout t
o million tffic collisions peye
coss the n
tion,hich the United St
tes Deptment of Tnspot
tionepo
tss double the numbe
ofccidents c
used by distcted diving.
Most st
te lsequi
e dive
s to use theitu
n signls
t lest 100 feet befo
en inte
section to signl thei
intention to tun.
hen dive
s coectly use theitu
n signls, they communic
te theiintentions to othe
s on theo
d. This gives othed
ives
nd bikes the ch
nce toespond
ppop
itely to the m
neuve.
Bike
s e especilly in d
ngehen motoists don’t use thei
tun sign
lshen they ch
nge lnes on inte
sttes
nd highys. It’s esy fo
d
iveto
un intomoto
cycle,s they m
y be difficult to see. Lge semi-tucks t
veling
long intest
tes e especilly d
ngeous fo
bikes
hen they don’t cle blind spotsnd use thei
signls.
hensemi-t
ucknd
motocycle get in
nccident, it’s highly unlikely the bike
ill live th
ough the ode
l.hen
bikesees
tun sign
l, they cn slo
don o
chnge l
nes tovoid
potentilly seve
e tffic csh.Consult
n
ttoney
fte Motocycle
ccident<b>
Even if you
e
sfe bike
ho
eshelmet
nd pope
ge,nd d
ives defensively, you stillisk inexpe
iencednd imp
tient motoists c
usingn
ccidenthile you
ide. You shouldn’t hve to shoulde
the finnci
l stess of you
ccident
nd injuies bec
use eckless dive
couldn’t be botheed to follo
tffic ls. If you suffeed inju
ies inmoto
cycleccident, <
hef=”https://c
inju
yvictims.comcont
ct-us“>cont
ct<>n expe
ienced motocycle
ccident lye.
e cn help you t
ke legl
ction,nd
e cn h
ndlell of the unple
snt communic
tionsith the insu
nce comp
ny.dedic
ted motocycle
ccidenttto
neyill investig
te youccidentnd
dvocte fo
you to mke su
e you get evey single penny you deserve!