A motorcycle offers an experience that you can’t find anywhere else, freedom and pure exhilaration. Being able to experience the open road with the wind on your face and extreme speeds is magical, but it also comes with its own share of unique risks.
A motorcycle accident is typically much more catastrophic when it comes to injuries when compared to a normal car accident. As a rider, you are left far more unprotected on a motorcycle with there being no airbags, and no doors or walls to protect you from other vehicles.
Here at LifeLaw, our Salt Lake City motorcycle accident lawyers have seen countless crashes that could have been avoided. As a motorist, understanding the most common causes of motorcycle accidents can help keep you and other drivers safe on the road.
Distracted Drivers
A plague that is affecting motorcyclists and drivers alike is distracted driving. Distracted driving is quickly becoming one of the leading causes of car and motorcycle accidents, and in 2023 resulted in the deaths of 3,275 drivers according to the NHTSA. A motorcycle is a much smaller vehicle than even the smallest cars on the road, which makes you less visible than other vehicles. A lack of visibility combined with common distractions such as texting, eating, or a driver adjusting their GPS can culminate in a driver not noticing you and causing an accident.
How You Can Avoid This
- Increase Visibility: Being seen makes a huge difference when it comes to your safety. Do everything you can to ensure that you are seen by other drivers on the road. Consider wearing brighter clothes or adding reflective strips to your gear, use your headlights (even during the day), and try to make eye contact with drivers to ensure that they know you exist.
- Ride Defensively: As a motorcycle driver consider driving defensively to help yourself avoid an accident. This means to drive carefully with plenty of time to react to any external factors, such as: adverse weather conditions, other drivers on the road, pedestrians, and any other hazards that may occur. You can practice defensive driving by assuming that other drivers may not be able to see you, so act accordingly. Try to stay out of their blind spots and be cautious at intersections or turns as they may cut into your lane.
- Use Signals: Indicating your plans to make a turn or change a lane can alert drivers to your intentions allowing them to adjust their driving for you to make safe lane changes and turns.
Unsafe Lane Changes:
Another common cause of motorcycle accidents occurs when another driver changes lanes without checking for motorcycles. Other drivers may experience difficulty judging a rider’s speed or they may just simply fail to see them. This lack of awareness can lead to serious accidents for motorcyclists or it can force a rider off the road.
How To Avoid It:
- Stay Alert: Try to watch for any signs that a car may be making a lane change. These indications can include a turn signal or if a vehicle looks like it is drifting into your lane.
- Position Strategically: The position of where you are driving is paramount to your safety. Try to ride in a place that maximizes your visibility to other drivers so that you are always seen. The safest place to ride is typically in the left or right third of a lane.
- Slow Down: If you have a feeling that a driver may not be aware of you, consider slowing down. Driving slower allows you to create a buffer zone between you and another vehicle giving you plenty of time to react to any sudden changes.
Road Hazards
Road hazards can refer to all sorts of things like potholes, gravel, wet roads, or debris. While most of these hazards may be a minor inconvenience for a car they can pose major threats to a motorcyclist. Wet roads and gravel can cause loss of control, and potholes or debris can send you flying off your bike, especially at high speeds. Maneuvering and avoiding roads with hazards can be instrumental in keeping you safe while riding.
How To Avoid It:
- Scan the Road: As you are riding try to get into the habit of scanning the road for any potential hazards, especially in unfamiliar areas. You can do this by getting used to moving your eyes from the far left side of the road to the far right while you are driving.
- Adjust Speed: You should always travel at a speed in which you feel you can comfortably control your motorcycle. However, if the road is poorly maintained or there are adverse weather conditions, slow down.
- Maintain Your Bike: Try to ensure that your motorcycle is always in its best condition. That means you should make sure that your tires, brakes, and suspension are in top condition that way they can handle any potential hazards.
Speeding and Reckless Riding
Speeding is one of the most common causes for motor vehicle accidents, and it is one of the deadliest causes as well. In fact, here in Utah, 29% of fatal accidents were caused due to speeding. It is incredibly easy to speed or drive aggressively on a motorcycle as you have the ability to weave through traffic, but this can significantly increase your chances of getting into an accident. When you speed your reaction time and ability to make decisions is significantly affected causing more accidents.
How to Avoid It:
- Follow Speed Limits: A speed limit is meant to keep you safe, not to just prevent you from getting to your destination as fast as possible. Speed limits are created with the specific road in mind and are designed to keep you safe while driving.
- Ride Within Your Skill Level: If you are not comfortable on your motorbike do not attempt any maneuvers that may push your experience or your bike’s capabilities.
- Take Training Courses: Enrolling in courses to improve your handling and decision making skills will allow you better control and reaction time to avoid motorcycle accidents.
Left-Turn Collisions
Another common cause of motorcycle accidents involves a car or truck making a left turn in front of an oncoming motorcycle. Drivers tend to cause these left turn accidents due to misjudging the rider’s speed or how far away the motorcycle is. These crashes occur frequently in intersections and can result in some of the most severe motorcycle injuries.
How to Avoid It:
- Approach Intersections Cautiously: Even if the light is green, it is better to air on the side of caution and slow down if a vehicle appears that it might be turning.
- Make Eye Contact: Making eye contact with a driver helps to ensure that the other vehicle is aware of your presence, making it safer to proceed through an intersection.
- Use Horns or Lights: If you notice a driver is beginning to make a left turn and you have the right of way, consider a quick flash of your headlights or a honk of your horn. This small gesture can grab a driver’s attention and save you from a potential collision.
Legal Considerations After an Accident
Even if you take every precaution possible, accidents can still happen. If these precautions do fail and you are injured in a motorcycle crash due to another’s negligence, you may be entitled to compensation for your medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, and any future medical costs that you may incur.
After an accident, remember to document the scene, seek medical attention as soon as possible, and call LifeLaw Personal Injury to contact a Salt Lake City motorcycle accident lawyer. Our attorneys will gladly help you navigate the complexities of your case, fight an insurance company for any biases against a motorcyclist, and help you secure the compensation that you deserve.
By understanding the five most common causes of motorcycle accidents and adopting safer riding practices, you will be able to reduce their risk of accidents. If you are planning on taking your motorcycle on a ride, stay vigilant, prioritize safety, and know your rights to protect yourself on the road.
If you were injured and it was not your fault, give us a call today for a free consultation and to discuss your next steps.