As the days get longer and the weather warmer, bikers in northern California are getting more ride time. Anyone that loves motorcycles knows that the scenery along California’s Pacific Coast Highway in Sonoma County affords bikers one of the most beautiful rides in the country. With majestic mountains to ride through, the Pacific Ocean at your side and wine country all around you it just doesn’t get any better. Unfortunately, more time on your bike also means more chances to get into an accident.
Despite campaigns from both public and private organizations over the last few decades, motorists still aren’t as aware of motorcycles as they need to be. Motorcycle crash statistics tell us that of all crashes in the United States, a full three fourths of them involve a crash with another vehicle, according to Sonoma County personal injury attorney Emery Ledger of Ledger & Associates. Of those collisions, the driver of the other vehicle violated the right-of-way of the motorcyclist two-thirds of the time. These statistics tell us that automobile drivers are still not paying attention to bikers on the roadways. In Sonoma County alone, for the year 2008, there were 1,988 injury accidents according the California Highway Patrol. Of those injury accidents, 166 involved motorcycles and six resulted in fatalities. Considering that fact that motorcycles account for less than 1% of all traffic on the road, the number of accidents involving motorcycles is clearly disproportionate.
Bikers have been trying to educate the public for years about the safety issues involving motorcycles. Numerous campaigns have attempted to warn drivers to look for and respect motorcycles…for the most part to no avail. Exactly why these efforts continue to fail is somewhat of a mystery. Experts point to driver behavior and learned responses to try and explain the apparent inability to recognize bikers. Drivers are simply accustomed to looking for large moving objects on the roadway – not small two wheeled motorcycles. Drivers are easily distracted – even more so today with the advent of handheld communication devices. Drivers are busy watching the road, the road signs and other cars and trucks. Drivers that have been involved in accidents with motorcycles frequently state that they never even saw the bike until it was too late. Sadly, this means that bikers have to be even more vigilant about watching the traffic around them.
If you have had the misfortune to be involved in an accident with another vehicle, then the chances are good that the accident was not your fault. Motorcycle accidents can produce some very serious injuries for the person that was riding the bike as you may know. Whether the driver of the vehicle violated your space, simply did not see you or was otherwise at fault for the accident, they may be responsible for any injuries that you suffered as a result. Under the California laws of negligence, if the other driver was responsible for any physical injuries that you suffered, damage to your bike or pain and suffering that you went through, you may have a valid personal injury lawsuit.
If you would like a free detailed consultation with an experienced Sonoma County personal injury lawyer, please feel free to contact the law firm of Ledger & Associates. They can be reached at 1-800-300-0001 or online at www.ledgerlaw.com
