News & opinion Rules of the Road: Laws and Regulations That Protect Motorcyclists

Rules of the Road: Laws and Regulations That Protect Motorcyclists

Moto

cycles p

ovide

n efficient

nd often exhil

ting me

ns of t

nspo

t

tion. Ho

eve

, moto

cyclists e

lso

t

highe

isk fo

inju

y o

de

th if they’

e involved in

n

ccident. Most st

tes h

ve

ecognized the p

ticul

vulne

bility of moto

cyclists

nd h

ve put ls

nd

egul

tions in pl

ce to p

otect them. Unfo

tun

tely, d

ive

s don’t

lys obey these ls.

hen c

s

nd moto

cycles collide on the

o

d, these d

nge

ous encounte

s le

d to se

ious inju

y

nd even de

th.

e

d on to unde

st

nd the unique

isks f

ced by moto

cyclists,

nd le

n mo

e

bout the leg

l systems th

t p

otect them.

hy

e Moto

cyclists

t

isk?<

h2>
In one

ecent ye, mo

e th

n<

h

ef="https:

/

.iii.o

g/f

ct-st

tistic/f

cts-st

tistics-moto

cycle-cshes#:~:text=In%202017%2C%205%2C172%20moto

cyclists%20died,c

sh%20pe

%20vehicle%20mile%20tveled." tget="_bl

nk”

el="noopene

no

efee

“> 8.7 million moto

cycles<>

e

e

egiste

ed in the United St

tes. Th

t s

me ye

, moto

cyclists suffe

ed mo

e th

n 5,000 f

t

lities

nd 89,000 inju

ies.

hy e moto

cycles

t

n inc

e

sed

isk foccidents? Visibility is

key component. These f

cto

s cont

ibute to the

educed visibility of moto

cycles:
  • Moto

    cycles

    e sm

    lle

    th

    n most othe

    vehicles on the

    o

    d.

  • The sm
    lle

    size of

    moto

    cycle m

    kes it difficult to judge its ex

    ct dist

    nce

    nd speed f

    om

    moto

    vehicle.<

    li>

  • Moto
    cycles

    on’t fill

    n enti

    e l

    ne bec

    use they

    e not

    s

    ide

    s

    c

    , but they m

    y move ound

    ithin the l

    ne to

    void obst

    cles o

    imp

    ove thei

    o

    n visibility.<

    li>

  • The lighting on moto
    cycles is diffe

    ent

    nd often less obvious th

    n othe

    moto

    vehicles, including the tu

    n sign

    ls

    nd bke lights.<

    li>

  • ide

    s m

    y be

    e

    ing d

    k clothing

    ith no

    eflective ge

    .

These visibility diffe

ences le

ve <

h

ef=”https://c

inju

yvictims.com

se

vices

moto

cycle-

ccident-

tto

ney-houston/”>moto

cyclists mo

e vulne

ble >

hen sh

ing the

o

d

ith lge

vehicles. Still, othe

d

ive

s e

esponsible fo

p

ying

ttention to moto

cycles on the

o

d.

T

o mo

e common h

zds moto

cyclists cope

ith:
  • ong>Inte

    sections:<

    st

    ong>

    c

    m

    y not notice

    moto

    cyclist iting

    t

    n inte

    section, o

    they m

    y not give them the

    ight of y.<

    li>

  • ong><

    h

    ef="https:

    /c

    inju

    yvictims.com

    semi-t

    uck-guide-blind-spots

    “>Blind spots >:<

    st

    ong> Moto

    cycles

    e sm

    ll

    nd m

    y e

    sily slip into

    vehicle’s blind spot. This is especi

    lly d

    nge

    ous

    hen

    moto

    cycle is t

    ying to p

    ss

    c

    o

    t

    uck.

Not only do moto

cyclists

un

g

e

teisk of being involved in

n

ccident, they e

lso mo

e likely to suffe

seve

e o

f

t

l inju

ies. Moto

cycles l

ck the p

otective exte

iond s

fety fe

tu

es of

typic

l p

ssenge

vehicle.

hile p

otective ge

c

n help, it’s still not the s

me level of p

otection

s

c. The seve

ity of moto

cycles inju

ies is cle

, given th

t<

h

ef="https:

/

.iihs.o

g/ne

s

det

il

helping-vehicles-see-moto

cyclists-could-cut-cshes" tget="_bl

nk”

el="noopene

no

efee

“> only 14% of moto

cycle

ccidents > do not involve

f

t

lity o

inju

y.

L

s

nd

egul

tions Th

t P

otect Moto

cyclists

The

ules

nd

egul

tions fo

d

ive

s vy f

om st

te-to-st

te, but the

e e m

ny simil

ities

c

oss the bo

d. St

te lm

ke

s

e

lize th

t moto

vehicle d

ive

s pl

y

n impo

t

nt

ole in p

otecting moto

cyclists,

nd

s such, the

e e nume

ous l

s me

nt to p

otect moto

cyclists.

Full Use of L

ne

D

ive

s must give moto

cycles the full use of

l

ne.

hile it m

y be tempting to p

ss

moto

cycle by cutting into its l

ne, most st

tes h

ve ls th

t p

ohibit d

ive

s f

om dep

iving

moto

cyclist of the full use of

l

ne. Moto

cyclists

e, ho

eve

, pe

mitted to

ide t

o

b

e

st in

single l

ne.

hile d

ive

s m

y think th

t the

e is enough

oom to she

l

ne

ith

moto

cyclist,

moto

cyclist

equi

es the enti

e l

ne to m

neuve

s

fely.

moto

cycle d

ive

needs to

ccess the full l

ne in o

de

to

void obst

cles

nd

ide in the position th

t p

ovides the best visibility.

No T

ilg

ting<

h3>
Moto

cycles ch

nge thei

speed

nd di

ection often, m

king them p

ticul

ly

t

isk f

om d

ive

s

ho follo

too closely. e-end collision might

esult in mino

d

m

ge

hen it involves t

o cs, but it c

n be

de

dly event fo

moto

cyclist.

s technology

dv

nces, so does l

enfo

cement’s

bility to p

event t

ilg

ting. Some st

tes h

ve

dopted

l

se

system th

t me

su

es the follo

ing dist

nce bet

een t

o vehicles, en

bling ticketing fo

d

ive

s

ho follo

too closely. Most st

tes h

ve

egul

tions dict

ting

n

ssu

ed cle

dist

nce,

nd f

ilu

e to le

ve the

equi

ed dist

nce bet

een vehicles m

y

esult in

cit

tion.

Mind the Blind Spot<

h3>
Moto

cycles e e

sily missed in

d

ive

’s blind spot bec

use of thei

sm

ll size

nd n

o

sh

pe. The sh

pe of

moto

cycle

nd its

ide

e mo

e likely to blend into the im

ges

d

ive

sees in the mio

the

th

n st

nd out like

nothe

utomobile.

hile most st

tes do not h

ve ls th

t explicitly

equi

e d

ive

s to check thei

blind spots, st

tes do

equi

e thei

d

ive

s to

ct

ith “

e

son

ble diligence.” This st

ndd of ce genelly

equi

es d

ive

s to

em

in cogniz

nt of thei

blind spots

nd check them unde

pp

op

i

te ci

cumst

nces, such

s befo

e ch

nging l

nes.

Don’t D

ive

hile Distcted<

h3>

s smtphone use inc

e

ses, so does the f

equency of<

h

ef=”https://

.id

ives

fely.com

defensive-d

iving

t

ending

dist

cted-d

ive

s-

e-leth

l-texting-

nd-d

iving" tget="_bl

nk”

el="noopene

no

efee

“> dist

cted d

iving<>. The ch

nces of

csh inc

e

se t

o-fold

hen

d

ive

t

kes thei

eyes off the

o

d fo

just t

o seconds. One-thi

d of d

ive

s

dmit to texting

nd d

iving,

nd d

t

sho

s th

t 25% of

ll c

shes involve

cell phone. Bec

use moto

cycles e mo

e difficult to spot on the

o

d, they

e highly susceptible to

n

ccident

ith

dist

cted d

ive

.

St

tes e inc

e

singly p

ssing l

s th

t<

h

ef="https:

/

.id

ives

fely.com

defensive-d

iving

t

ending

texting-

nd-d

iving-l

s-

nd-fines-st

te#:~:text=St

tes%20

ith%20Limited%2FNo%20Texting%20

nd%20D

iving%20L

s&

mp;text=izon

%20is%20one%20st

te%20

hich,d

ive

s%20f

om%20texting%20

hile%20d

iving.&

mp;text=Novice%20d

ive

s%20

ith%20

%20le

ne

's,pe

mitted%20to%20text%20

hile%20d

iving.” t

get=”_bl

nk"

el=”noopene

no

efe

e

"> impose hefty fines

nd pen

lties<> on d

ive

s

ho use thei

phones behind the

heel, even

hen thei

vehicle is

t

complete stop. Some st

tes, like

l

sk

, conside

distcted d

iving

c

imin

l misdeme

no

offense. The<

h

ef="https:

/

.fmcs

.dot.gov/d

ive

-s

fety

dist

cted-d

iving#:~:text=Use%20of%20mobile%20phones%20is%20

est

icted%20fo

%20CMV%20d

ive

s&

mp;text=CMV%20d

ive

s%20

ho%20use%20

,phone%2C%20o

%20p

essing%20multiple%20buttons." tget="_bl

nk”

el="noopene

no

efee

“> Fede

l Moto

C

ie

S

fety

dministtion<>

lso h

s st

ict

ules fo

comme

ci

l t

uck d

ive

s th

t p

ohibit

e

ching fo

o

holding

mobile phone

hile d

iving.

No Speeding

e

ll kno

d

ive

s e

equi

ed to follo

<

h

ef=”https://c

inju

yvictims.com

f

t

l-speeding-

ccident-pe

cent/”>speed limits >, but this is one of the most commonly b

oken

ules of the

o

d. This is pticully conce

ning fo

moto

cyclists, bec

use speeding is one of the<

h

ef="https:

/c

shst

ts.nhts

.dot.gov/

pi

Public/Vie

Public

tion/812148#:~:text=Fo

ty%20pe

cent%20of%20moto

cycle%20

ide

s,in%202013%20

e

e%20

lcohol%2Dimp

i

ed.&

mp;text=Moto

cycle%20

ide

s%20killed%20in%20t

ffic,those%20killed%20du

ing%20the%20d

y.” t

get=”_bl

nk"

el=”noopene

no

efe

e

"> le

ding c

uses<> of moto

cycle

ccidents

nd f

t

lities.

F

ilu

e to follo

speed ls is especi

lly d

nge

ous to moto

cyclists in const

uction zones. Const

uction zones

equi

e

signific

ntly

educed speed,

nd since moto

cycles

e mo

e p

one to

ccidents

hen b

d o

uneven

o

d conditions

e p

esent,

speeding vehicle is even mo

e d

nge

ous.

Don’t D

ink

nd D

ive

It’s not only illeg

l, it’s common sense: Don’t <

h

ef="https:

/c

inju

yvictims.comh

t-to-do-if-you

e-inju

ed-by-

-d

unk-d

ive

/”>d

ive unde

the influence > of

lcohol

nd d

ugs! Unfo

tun

tely, this

em

ins

p

infully p

ev

lent c

use of

ccidents. D

iving

ith senses dulled f

om

lcohol

nd d

ug use is d

nge

ous in

ny situ

tion, but it’s p

ticul

ly p

oblem

tic

hen shing the

o

d

ith sm

ll, less notice

ble vehicles, like moto

cycles. D

iving unde

the influence (DUI) ls<

h

ef="https:

/

.ghs

.o

g

st

te-ls

issues/

lcohol%20imp

i

ed%20d

iving” t

get=”_bl

nk"

el=”noopene

no

efe

e

"> diffe

f

om st

te-to-st

te<>, but 0.08 is the most common blood

lcohol concent

tion (B

C) level fo

leg

l p

esumption of intoxic

tion. Most st

tes

lso impose li

bility on d

ive

s

hose

ctions indic

te th

t they

e

e unde

the influence of the

lcohol, even

ith

B

C belo

0.08.

Use You

Sign

ls

Tu

n sign

ls

en’t just fo

tu

ns! Most st

tes h

ve l

s

nd

egul

tions th

t

equi

e d

ive

s to use tu

n sign

ls

heneve

they move left o

ight, such

s

hen they intend to ch

nge l

nes.

ecently,

n individu

l

ttempted to contest the need to use

tu

n sign

l in eve

y inst

nce. Thei

st

te’s <

h

ef="https:

/

.se

ttletimes.com/se

ttle-ne

s/t

nspo

t

tion/do-you-

e

lly-h

ve-to-use-you

-tu

n-sign

l-eve

y-time-shington-sup

eme-cou

t-s

ys-yes/#:~:text=

shington%20Sup

eme%20Cou

t%20s

ys%20yes.,-Dec.&

mp;text=In%20

%20c

se%20conside

ing%20

hethe

,

e%20hold%20th

t%20it%20does.%E2%80%9D" tget="_bl

nk”

el="noopene

no

efee

“>Sup

eme Cou

t > decled th

t le

ving the decision to the disc

etion of the d

ive

“unde

mines the pu

pose of t

ffic l

s: p

eventing

ccidents

nd encouging highy s

fety.” The cou

t’s decisions specific

lly c

lled out blind co

ne

s

nd unp

otected left tu

ns,

hich e noto

iously d

nge

ous spots fo

moto

cycles. Tex

s l

lso

equi

es d

ive

s to use tu

n sign

ls

pp

op

i

tely.

Yield fo

Left Tu

n<

h3>

hen

vehicle f

ils to yield fo left tu

n, the

esulting collision c

n p

ove de

dly fo

moto

cyclists. D

ive

s often h

ve difficulty noticing

moto

cycle o

judging its speed, c

using them to misc

lcul

te thei

left tu

ns. In this scenio, the moto

cycle most commonly T-bones the c

mid

y th

ough the left tu

n. <

h

ef=”https://c

inju

yvictims.com

t-bone-c

ccident

“>T-bone

ccidents<> e kno

n to c

use seve

e

nd life-

lte

ing inju

ies fo

moto

cycle

ide

s

nd d

ive

s

like.

hen Is

D

iveesponsible fo

My Moto

cycle

ccident Inju

ies?<

h2>
If

<

h

ef="https:

/c

inju

yvictims.com

dist

cted-d

iving-negligence-

nd-the-inju

ies-th

t-

esult

“>d

ive

’s negligence > o

c

elessness c

used youccidents o

you

inju

ies, th

t d

ive

is

esponsible! F

ilu

e to follo

the d

iving

ules

nd

egul

tions of

st

te is st

ong evidence of negligence,

nd

pe

son

l inju

y

tto

ney c

n help you p

ove th

t they e

t-f

ult. If you e in

moto

cycle

ccident, be su

e to get

police

epo

t

fte

the

ccident. The police

epo

t

ill document the

ccident scene, include

itness st

tements

nd

itness cont

ct info

m

tion,

nd det

il

ny cit

tions issued fo

f

ilu

e to comply

ith t

ffic

ules

nd

egul

tions.

The othe

d

ive

is not the only pty

ho m

y f

ce

esponsibility fo

the

ccident. Be su

e to discuss potenti

l

esponsibility

ith youtto

ney,

lso conside

ing the d

ive

’s employe

, the vehicle m

nuf

ctu

e

,

nd the loc

l gove

nment.

h

t Do I Include in My D

m

ges Dem

nd?<

h2>
If

nothe

p

ty’s negligence c

used the

ccident

nd you

inju

ies, th

t p

ty needs to compens

te you fo

you

inju

ies. In

ddition to you

medic

l expenses, you m

y be entitled to

viety of othe

d

m

ges.

o

k

ith you

l

ye

to considehethe

the follo

ing d

m

ges

pply to you

c

se:

  • ong>Medic

    l expenses: ong>Include

    ll of you

    medic

    l expenses in you

    d

    m

    ges dem

    nd. These expenses include the costs of

    hospit

    l st

    y, docto

    s’ bills, p

    esc

    iption medicine,

    mbul

    nce

    ide,

    nd mo

    e. If you

    inju

    ies

    equi

    e futu

    e o

    ongoing ce, estim

    te

    nd include the cost of these futu

    e expenses, too.

  • ong>Lost income: <

    st

    ong>The seve

    ity of you

    inju

    ies m

    y limit youbility to

    o

    k fo

    d

    ys,

    eeks, o

    months. If you

    inju

    ies c

    used you to miss

    o

    k o

    o

    k educed schedule, include you

    lost

    ges in you

    d

    m

    ges dem

    nd. If you

    inju

    ies h

    ve pe

    m

    nently limited youbility to pe

    fo

    m ce

    t

    in job functions,

    dv

    nce in

    p

    ofession, o

    endu

    e full time

    o

    k, you dese

    ve compens

    tion fo

    you

    futu

    e lost e

    ning potenti

    l.<

    li>

  • ong>P

    ope

    ty d

    m

    ge: <

    st

    ong>If you

    moto

    cycle s d

    m

    ged o

    dest

    oyed in the

    ccident, you dese

    ve compens

    tion fo

    its

    ep

    i

    o

    epl

    cement. If you

    p

    otective ge, elect

    onics, o

    othe

    p

    ope

    ty suffe

    ed d

    m

    ge du

    ing the

    ccident, this should be included in you

    d

    m

    ges dem

    nd

    s

    ell.<

    li>

  • ong>Emotion

    l dist

    ess: <

    st

    ong>Moto

    cycle

    ccidents e often tum

    tic events. Moto

    cycle victims often suffe

    f

    om

    nxiety, dep

    ession,

    nd post-t

    um

    tic st

    ess diso

    de

    (PTSD)

    ften

    ccident.

    hile less t

    ngible, these h

    dships

    e just

    s v

    lid

    nd it is impo

    t

    nt to mention them.<

    li>

  • ong>Loss of enjoyment:<

    st

    ong> Ou

    lives

    e en

    iched by

    ctivities th

    t b

    ing us joy, f

    om pl

    ying

    n inst

    ument to p

    ticip

    ting in

    spo

    t.

    ccident inju

    ies c

    n limit

    pe

    son’s

    bility to pt

    ke in these

    ctivities. If you’ve suffe

    ed

    loss of enjoyment, you

    l

    ye

    c

    n include these d

    m

    ges in you

    lsuit.<

    li>

  • ong>Punitive

    exempl

    y d

    m

    ges: ong> Punitive d

    m

    ges do not compens

    te pl

    intiffs fo

    thei

    inju

    ies, but inste

    d punish defend

    nts fo

    pticully eg

    egious beh

    vio

    . The

    equi

    ements fo

    ecove

    ing punitive d

    m

    ges vy f

    om st

    te-to-st

    te. Some st

    tes

    lso pl

    ce

    c

    p on the

    mount of d

    m

    ges th

    t

    n inju

    ed individu

    l m

    y

    ecove

    s punitive d

    m

    ges.

n

tto

ney

ill conside

ll these options

nd mo

e in thei

pu

suit of justice.

comp

ehensive d

m

ges

ssessment is

c

itic

l component of you

c

se, but m

y

lso p

ove time-consuming

nd complic

ted to p

ep

e. Ce

t

in d

m

ges

ill

equi

e the input of expe

ts. Fo

ex

mple,

n economist might be

equi

ed to dete

mine you

futu

e lost e

ning potenti

l. Youtto

ney c

n enlist the help of such expe

ts to st

engthen you

c

se. Use you

d

m

ges dem

nd

s

benchmk

heneve

you

eceive

settlement offe

f

om the defend

nt o

its insunce p

ovide

.

o

k

ith you

tto

ney befo

e

ccepting

ny settlement offe

. You

ill

nt to

n

lyze

settlement offe

in connection

ith you

tot

l d

m

ges dem

nd

nd the st

ength of the evidence in you

c

se. It’s s

d but t

ue: defend

nts

nd thei

insunce comp

nies commonly lo

b

ll e

ly settlement offe

s.

n

ccute

nd comp

ehensive d

m

ges dem

nd is

lso vit

l to you

c

se bec

use it is the

mount th

t the ju

y

ill conside

if you

c

se goes to t

i

l.

Inju

ed individu

ls must

void del

ys

hen t

king leg

l

ction. The defend

nt

ill t

ke

ny oppo

tunity to

void p

ying you the d

m

ges you dese

ve,

nd if you t

ke too long to pu

sue leg

l

ction, you

st

te’s st

tute of limit

tions m

y void you

cl

im. Do not

llo

the defend

nt to dodge

esponsibility.

Ultim

tely, the best y to m

ke su

e th

t the defend

nt

nd insu

nce comp

ny don’t t

ke

dv

nt

ge of you is to

o

k

ith

n expe

ienced l

ye

ith

histo

y of h

ndling moto

cycle

ccident c

ses. <

h

ef=”https://c

inju

yvictims.com

cont

ct-us

“>Cont

ct<> n style=”font-

eight: 400;">Ste

t J. Guss, Inju

y

ccident L

ye

s<

sp

n> tod

y fo

f

ee consult

tion.

How Can We HELP Get a FREE Virtual Consultation
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Testimonials

Client testimonials "Mr. Guss & his team significantly exceeded my expectations and the net settlement I received was more than triple... - Norman B. View All Testimonials
Schedule a free virtual visit 866-552-1808 Or Send us a message today >

Read More

Handling Catastrophic Injury Claims for 20+ Years
Car Accident Attorneys Houston 19 Jan

  T ust us hen e sy the e isn’t nything “e sy” bout filing c insunce clim ith...

Drunk Driving Accident Lawyer 15 Jan

. to schedule f ee consulttion. Don’t del y! Youights e too impot nt. Signs of n Intoxic ted...

How to Claim for Whiplash After a Car Accident 10 Jan

He e’s scen io e see ll too often in ou line of o k: pe son lks y...

Get Legal Help Now Contact Our Attorneys To LEarn How We Can Help You Achieve The Justice You Deserve * Required Field
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.