Awareness of Causes Can Help Keep You Safer on the Road
If you love to ride a motorcycle, there’s good news and bad news. The good news—the number of fatalities tied to motorcycle accidents went down in 2017—approximately 300 fewer deaths resulted from bike crashes. The bad news—it’s still pretty dangerous out there, as nearly 5,000 people lost their lives while riding motorcycles last year.
But there are ways that you can improve the odds and keep yourself safe on the roads. One of them is knowing the most common causes of motorcycle accidents:
- Head-on collisions—This is the single most frequent cause of a car-motorcycle collision. In fact, head-on collisions account for almost 80% of all car-bike wrecks. Compare that with 5%–the percentage of accidents caused when a motorist strikes a biker from behind. The message? Always keep your eyes on the road ahead of you and always be prepared to take evasive action if a motorist improperly fails to yield.
- Motorists making left turns—The left turn from another motorist is also a significant cause of bike accidents. It can happen in a number of situations—where you intend to drive through an intersection and the other motorist turns in front of you; where a motorist turns left without a turn signal while you are passing; or where a motorist turns left as you attempt to overtake. To avoid these types of accidents, be careful not to pass or overtake another vehicle near an intersection, and always pay attention to oncoming cars at an intersection.
- Accidents involving lane splitting—When you drive between lanes in slow traffic, there’s also an increased risk of collision.
- Road hazards—On a motorcycle, there’s much greater risk of loss of control if you hit a pothole or loose gravel.
Contact the Experienced Attorneys at Weber & Nierenberg
At Weber & Nierenberg, we have fought to protect the rights of injured bikers in California for more than three decades. We know that every accident is different, so we’ll take the time to carefully learn the details of your case, so that we tailor our representation to get the outcome you want. Contact our office by e-mail or call 1-866-288-6010 to arrange a free initial consultation with an experienced California motorcycle accident attorney.
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