With spring just around the corner, motorcycle enthusiasts are gearing up to get back out on the road. For anyone that loves to ride, there is nothing like getting back on your bike after a long winter spent waiting for the weather to break. Of course, if you are lucky enough to live somewhere where the weather cooperates year around, then maybe you haven’t had to wait, but the majority of us aren’t that lucky. Even in California, the torrential winter rains this year have prevented year around riding for many motorcycle enthusiasts so many have had to wait it out until spring decided to pop her head out of the clouds. For some, riding is a way of life, for others just a week-end hobby. Regardless of whether your bike is your primary form of transportation or a week-end luxury, remember that it can be dangerous.
Recent statistics report that in any given year, about 5,000 people are killed in motorcycle accidents and thousands more are injured, according to motorcycle accident attorney Emery Ledger of Ledger & Associates in California. The cause of the majority (almost three-fourths) of motorcycle accident is a collision with another vehicle. Of the remaining 25% of the accidents, rider error was the most common reason for the accident. Roadway defects and weather conditions account for less than 5% of all motorcycle accidents. Of the accidents that involved a motorcycle colliding with another vehicle, the other vehicle was at fault more than two-thirds of the time. What these statistics tell us is what most riders already know – that cars don’t watch for motorcycles on the roadways. Despite efforts by motorcycle groups to educate the general car driving public of the importance of being aware of motorcycles, the statistics tell us that car drivers still don’t watch for motorcycles. Part of the reason for this is that we are trained from the moment we begin driving to be alert to visual cues from other drivers – drivers of automobiles. We are trained to look for traditional vehicles. We are also accustomed to watching for a pair of headlights to tell us that a vehicle is approaching or is in our path. The human brain can only take in so much information at a time and it tends to dismiss excess information if it feels it is not critical at that point and time. When we are driving, we are taking in a lot of information at one time – information that is critical to our ability to drive. If a single headlight enters our field of vision, we sometimes dismiss it as not critical because we are not trained to recognize it as a vehicle. Additionally, something smaller than a traditional car – like a motorcycle – sometimes gets filtered out when we are driving. For this reason, it is even more important that car drivers conscientiously make an effort to look for and beware of motorcycle riders.
For more information motorcycle safety, please feel free to contact motorcycle accident attorney Emery Ledger of Ledger & Associates on his website at www.ledgerlaw.com or at his toll-free number – 1-800-300-0001.
