Moto
cycles povide
n efficientnd often exhil
ting mens of t
nspo
ttion. Ho
eve, moto
cyclists elso
thighe
isk fo
injuy o
deth if they’
e involved inn
ccident. Most sttes h
veecognized the p
ticul
vulne
bility of moto
cyclistsnd h
ve put lsnd
egultions in pl
ce to potect them. Unfo
tuntely, d
ives don’t
lys obey these ls.hen c
s
nd motocycles collide on the
od, these d
ngeous encounte
s led to se
ious injuy
nd even deth.
ed on to unde
stnd the unique
isks fced by moto
cyclists,nd le
n mo
ebout the leg
l systems tht p
otect them.hy
e Moto
cyclistst
isk?<h2>
In one
e th
n<h
ef="https:/
.iii.og/f
ct-sttistic/f
cts-sttistics-moto
cycle-cshes#:~:text=In%202017%2C%205%2C172%20motocyclists%20died,c
sh%20pe
%20vehicle%20mile%20tveled." tget="_blnk”
el="noopeneno
efee“> 8.7 million moto
cycles<>e
eegiste
ed in the United Sttes. Th
t sme ye
, moto
cyclists suffeed mo
e thn 5,000 f
tlities
nd 89,000 injuies.
hy e motocycles
tn inc
esed
isk foccidents? Visibility iskey component. These f
ctos cont
ibute to theeduced visibility of moto
cycles:- Moto
cycles
e sm
lleth
n most othevehicles on the
od.
- The sm
llesize of
motocycle m
kes it difficult to judge its exct dist
ncend speed f
ommoto
vehicle.<li>
- Moto
cycleson’t fill
n entie l
ne becuse they
e not
side
sc
, but they m
y move oundithin the l
ne tovoid obst
cles oimp
ove theio
n visibility.<li>
- The lighting on moto
cycles is diffeent
nd often less obvious thn othe
motovehicles, including the tu
n signls
nd bke lights.<li>
-
ide
s m
y bee
ing d
k clothing
ith noeflective ge
.
These visibility diffe
ences leve <
hef=”https://c
inju
yvictims.comse
vicesmoto
cycle-ccident-
ttoney-houston/”>moto
cyclists moe vulne
ble
>hen sh
ing the
od
ith lgevehicles. Still, othe
dive
s eesponsible fo
pying
ttention to motocycles on the
od.
T
o moe common h
zds motocyclists cope
ith:ong>Inte sections:< st
ong>c
m
y not noticemoto
cyclist itingt
n intesection, o
they my not give them the
ight of y.<li>
ong>< h
ef="https:/c
inju
yvictims.comsemi-t
uck-guide-blind-spots“>Blind spots
>:<st
ong> Motocycles
e sm
llnd m
y esily slip into
vehicle’s blind spot. This is especilly d
ngeous
henmoto
cycle is tying to p
ssc
o
tuck.
Not only do moto
cyclistsun
ge
teisk of being involved inn
ccident, they elso mo
e likely to suffeseve
e of
tl inju
ies. Motocycles l
ck the potective exte
iond sfety fe
tues of
typicl p
ssengevehicle.
hile potective ge
c
n help, it’s still not the sme level of p
otections
c. The seveity of moto
cycles injuies is cle
, given th
t<h
ef="https:/
.iihs.og/ne
sdet
ilhelping-vehicles-see-moto
cyclists-could-cut-cshes" tget="_blnk”
el="noopeneno
efee“> only 14% of moto
cycleccidents
> do not involvef
tlity o
injuy.
L
s
ndegul
tions Tht P
otect Motocyclists
The
ulesnd
egultions fo
dive
s vy fom st
te-to-stte, but the
e e mny simil
ities
coss the bo
d. St
te lmke
se
lize tht moto
vehicle dive
s ply
n impot
ntole in p
otecting motocyclists,
nds such, the
e e numeous l
s me
nt to potect moto
cyclists.Full Use of L
ne
D
ives must give moto
cycles the full use ofl
ne.hile it m
y be tempting to pss
motocycle by cutting into its l
ne, most sttes h
ve ls tht p
ohibit dive
s fom dep
ivingmoto
cyclist of the full use ofl
ne. Motocyclists
e, ho
eve, pe
mitted toide t
ob
est in
single lne.
hile dive
s my think th
t thee is enough
oom to shel
neith
motocyclist,
motocyclist
equies the enti
e lne to m
neuves
fely.moto
cycle dive
needs toccess the full l
ne in ode
tovoid obst
clesnd
ide in the position tht p
ovides the best visibility.No T
ilg
ting<h3>
Moto
nge thei
speednd di
ection often, mking them p
ticul
ly
tisk f
om dive
sho follo
too closely. e-end collision mightesult in mino
dm
gehen it involves t
o cs, but it cn be
dedly event fo
moto
cyclist.s technology
dvnces, so does l
enfo
cement’sbility to p
event tilg
ting. Some sttes h
vedopted
lse
system tht me
sues the follo
ing distnce bet
een to vehicles, en
bling ticketing fod
ives
ho follotoo closely. Most st
tes hve
egultions dict
tingn
ssued cle
dist
nce,nd f
ilue to le
ve theequi
ed distnce bet
een vehicles my
esult incit
tion.Mind the Blind Spot<
h3>
Moto
sily missed in
dive
’s blind spot becuse of thei
smll size
nd no
shpe. The sh
pe ofmoto
cyclend its
idee mo
e likely to blend into the imges
dive
sees in the miothe
thn st
nd out likenothe
utomobile.
hile most sttes do not h
ve ls tht explicitly
equie d
ives to check thei
blind spots, sttes do
equie thei
dive
s toct
ith “e
sonble diligence.” This st
ndd of ce genellyequi
es dive
s toem
in cogniznt of thei
blind spotsnd check them unde
pp
opi
te cicumst
nces, suchs befo
e chnging l
nes.Don’t D
ive
hile Distcted<h3>
s smtphone use ince
ses, so does the fequency of<
hef=”https://
.idives
fely.comdefensive-d
ivingt
endingdist
cted-d
ives-
e-leth
l-texting-nd-d
iving" tget="_blnk”
el="noopeneno
efee“> dist
cted d
iving<>. The chnces of
csh ince
se to-fold
hend
ivet
kes theieyes off the
od fo
just to seconds. One-thi
d of dive
sdmit to texting
nd diving,
nd dt
shos th
t 25% ofll c
shes involve
cell phone. Becuse moto
cycles e moe difficult to spot on the
od, they
e highly susceptible to
nccident
ithdist
cted d
ive.
St
tes e ince
singly pssing l
s th
t<h
ef="https:/
.idives
fely.comdefensive-d
ivingt
endingtexting-
nd-diving-l
s-
nd-fines-stte#:~:text=St
tes%20ith%20Limited%2FNo%20Texting%20
nd%20Diving%20L
s&
mp;text=izon%20is%20one%20st
te%20hich,d
ives%20f
om%20texting%20hile%20d
iving.∓text=Novice%20d
ives%20
ith%20%20le
ne
's,pemitted%20to%20text%20
hile%20diving.” t
get=”_bl
nk"el=”noopene
noefe
e
"> impose hefty finesnd pen
lties<> on dive
sho use thei
phones behind theheel, even
hen theivehicle is
tcomplete stop. Some st
tes, likel
sk, conside
distcted diving
cimin
l misdemeno
offense. The<h
ef="https:/
.fmcs.dot.gov/d
ive-s
fetydist
cted-d
iving#:~:text=Use%20of%20mobile%20phones%20is%20est
icted%20fo%20CMV%20d
ives&
mp;text=CMV%20dive
s%20ho%20use%20
,phone%2C%20o%20p
essing%20multiple%20buttons." tget="_blnk”
el="noopeneno
efee“> Fede
l Moto
Cie
Sfety
dministtion<>lso h
s stict
ules focomme
cil t
uck dive
s tht p
ohibite
ching foo
holdingmobile phone
hile diving.
No Speeding
ell kno
dive
s eequi
ed to follo<
hef=”https://c
inju
yvictims.comf
tl-speeding-
ccident-pecent/”>speed limits
>, but this is one of the most commonly boken
ules of theo
d. This is pticully concening fo
motocyclists, bec
use speeding is one of the<h
ef="https:/c
shst
ts.nhts.dot.gov/
piPublic/Vie
Publiction/812148#:~:text=Fo
ty%20pecent%20of%20moto
cycle%20ide
s,in%202013%20e
e%20lcohol%2Dimp
ied.&
mp;text=Motocycle%20
ides%20killed%20in%20t
ffic,those%20killed%20du
ing%20the%20dy.” t
get=”_bl
nk"el=”noopene
noefe
e
"> leding c
uses<> of motocycle
ccidentsnd f
tlities.
F
ilue to follo
speed ls is especilly d
ngeous to moto
cyclists in constuction zones. Const
uction zonesequi
esignific
ntlyeduced speed,
nd since motocycles
e mo
e pone to
ccidentshen b
d ouneven
od conditions
e p
esent,speeding vehicle is even mo
e dnge
ous.Don’t D
ink
nd Dive
It’s not only illeg
l, it’s common sense: Don’t <h
ef="https:/c
inju
yvictims.comht-to-do-if-you
e-injued-by-
-dunk-d
ive/”>d
ive undethe influence
> oflcohol
nd dugs! Unfo
tuntely, this
emins
pinfully p
evlent c
use ofccidents. D
ivingith senses dulled f
omlcohol
nd dug use is d
ngeous in
ny sitution, but it’s p
ticul
ly p
oblemtic
hen shing theo
dith sm
ll, less noticeble vehicles, like moto
cycles. Diving unde
the influence (DUI) ls<h
ef="https:/
.ghs.o
gst
te-lsissues/
lcohol%20impi
ed%20diving” t
get=”_bl
nk"el=”noopene
noefe
e
"> diffef
om stte-to-st
te<>, but 0.08 is the most common bloodlcohol concent
tion (B
C) level foleg
l pesumption of intoxic
tion. Most sttes
lso impose libility on d
ives
hosections indic
te tht they
ee unde
the influence of thelcohol, even
ithB
C belo0.08.
Use You Sign
ls
Tu
n signls
en’t just fo
tuns! Most st
tes hve l
s
ndegul
tions tht
equie d
ives to use tu
n signls
henevethey move left o
ight, such
shen they intend to ch
nge lnes.
ecently,n individu
lttempted to contest the need to use
tun sign
l in evey inst
nce. Theist
te’s <h
ef="https:/
.settletimes.com/se
ttle-nes/t
nspo
ttion/do-you-
elly-h
ve-to-use-you-tu
n-signl-eve
y-time-shington-supeme-cou
t-sys-yes/#:~:text=
shington%20Sup
eme%20Cout%20s
ys%20yes.,-Dec.∓text=In%20
%20cse%20conside
ing%20hethe
,e%20hold%20th
t%20it%20does.%E2%80%9D" tget="_blnk”
el="noopeneno
efee“>Sup
eme Cout
> decled tht le
ving the decision to the discetion of the d
ive“unde
mines the pupose of t
ffic l
s: p
eventingccidents
nd encouging highy sfety.” The cou
t’s decisions specificlly c
lled out blind cone
snd unp
otected left tuns,
hich e notoiously d
ngeous spots fo
motocycles. Tex
s llso
equies d
ives to use tu
n signls
ppop
itely.
Yield fo
Left Tu
n<h3>
henvehicle f
ils to yield fo left tun, the
esulting collision cn p
ove dedly fo
motocyclists. D
ives often h
ve difficulty noticingmoto
cycle ojudging its speed, c
using them to misclcul
te theileft tu
ns. In this scenio, the motocycle most commonly T-bones the c
mid
y th
ough the left tun. <
hef=”https://c
inju
yvictims.comt-bone-c
–
ccident“>T-bone
ccidents<> e knon to c
use sevee
nd life-lte
ing injuies fo
motocycle
ides
nd dive
slike.
hen Is
D
iveesponsible foMy Moto
cycleccident Inju
ies?<h2>
If
h
ef="https:/c
inju
yvictims.comdist
cted-d
iving-negligence-nd-the-inju
ies-tht-
esult“>d
ive’s negligence
> oc
elessness c
used youccidents oyou
injuies, th
t dive
isesponsible! F
ilue to follo
the diving
ulesnd
egultions of
stte is st
ong evidence of negligence,nd
peson
l injuy
ttoney c
n help you pove th
t they et-f
ult. If you e inmoto
cycleccident, be su
e to getpolice
epot
ftethe
ccident. The policeepo
till document the
ccident scene, includeitness st
tementsnd
itness contct info
mtion,
nd detil
ny cittions issued fo
filu
e to complyith t
ffic
ulesnd
egultions.
The othe
dive
is not the only ptyho m
y fce
esponsibility fothe
ccident. Be sue to discuss potenti
lesponsibility
ith youttoney,
lso consideing the d
ive’s employe
, the vehicle mnuf
ctue
,nd the loc
l govenment.
h
t Do I Include in My D
mges Dem
nd?<h2>
If
p
ty’s negligence c
used theccident
nd youinju
ies, tht p
ty needs to compens
te you foyou
injuies. In
ddition to youmedic
l expenses, you my be entitled to
viety of othed
mges.
ok
ith youl
ye
to considehethethe follo
ing dm
gespply to you
cse:
ong>Medic l expenses: ong>Include
ll of you
medicl expenses in you
dm
ges demnd. These expenses include the costs of
hospitl st
y, doctos’ bills, p
esciption medicine,
mbulnce
ide,nd mo
e. If youinju
iesequi
e futue o
ongoing ce, estimte
nd include the cost of these futue expenses, too.
ong>Lost income: < st
ong>The seveity of you
injuies m
y limit youbility too
k fod
ys,eeks, o
months. If youinju
ies cused you to miss
ok o
o
k educed schedule, include youlost
ges in you
dm
ges demnd. If you
injuies h
ve pem
nently limited youbility to pefo
m cet
in job functions,dv
nce inp
ofession, oendu
e full timeo
k, you deseve compens
tion foyou
futue lost e
ning potenti
l.<li>
ong>P ope
ty dm
ge: <st
ong>If youmoto
cycle s dm
ged odest
oyed in theccident, you dese
ve compenstion fo
itsep
io
epl
cement. If youp
otective ge, electonics, o
othep
opety suffe
ed dm
ge duing the
ccident, this should be included in youd
mges dem
nds
ell.<li>
ong>Emotion l dist
ess: <st
ong>Motocycle
ccidents e often tumtic events. Moto
cycle victims often suffef
omnxiety, dep
ession,nd post-t
um
tic stess diso
de(PTSD)
ftenccident.
hile less tngible, these h
dships
e just
s vlid
nd it is impot
nt to mention them.<li>
ong>Loss of enjoyment:< st
ong> Oulives
e en
iched byctivities th
t bing us joy, f
om plying
n instument to p
ticip
ting inspo
t.ccident inju
ies cn limit
peson’s
bility to ptke in these
ctivities. If you’ve suffeed
loss of enjoyment, youl
ye
cn include these d
mges in you
lsuit.<li>
ong>Punitive exempl
y d
mges: ong> Punitive d
m
ges do not compenste pl
intiffs fothei
injuies, but inste
d punish defendnts fo
pticully egegious beh
vio. The
equiements fo
ecove
ing punitive dm
ges vy fom st
te-to-stte. Some st
teslso pl
cec
p on themount of d
mges th
tn inju
ed individul m
yecove
s punitive d
mges.
tto
neyill conside
ll these options
nd moe in thei
pusuit of justice.
compehensive d
mges
ssessment isc
iticl component of you
cse, but m
ylso p
ove time-consumingnd complic
ted to pep
e. Ce
tin d
mges
illequi
e the input of expets. Fo
exmple,
n economist might beequi
ed to detemine you
futue lost e
ning potenti
l. Youttoney c
n enlist the help of such expets to st
engthen youc
se. Use youd
mges dem
nds
benchmkheneve
youeceive
settlement offef
om the defendnt o
its insunce povide
.o
kith you
tto
ney befoe
cceptingny settlement offe
. Youill
nt to
nlyze
settlement offein connection
ith youtot
l dm
ges demnd
nd the stength of the evidence in you
cse. It’s s
d but tue: defend
ntsnd thei
insunce compnies commonly lo
bll e
ly settlement offe
s.n
ccutend comp
ehensive dm
ges demnd is
lso vitl to you
cse bec
use it is themount th
t the juy
ill consideif you
cse goes to t
il.
Inju
ed individuls must
void delys
hen tking leg
lction. The defend
ntill t
keny oppo
tunity tovoid p
ying you the dm
ges you deseve,
nd if you tke too long to pu
sue legl
ction, youst
te’s sttute of limit
tions my void you
clim. Do not
llothe defend
nt to dodgeesponsibility.
Ultim
tely, the best y to mke su
e tht the defend
ntnd insu
nce comp
ny don’t tke
dvnt
ge of you is too
kith
n expeienced l
ye
ith
histoy of h
ndling motocycle
ccident cses. <
hef=”https://c
inju
yvictims.comcont
ct-us“>Cont
ct<>t J. Guss, Inju
yccident L
ye
s<sp
n> tody fo
f
ee consulttion.