Florida Motorcycle Accident Causes
No matter how cautious a rider may be, motorcycle accidents can happen to anyone. Many passenger vehicle and large truck drivers either don’t know how to drive safely around motorcycles or simply don’t see them, either of which can result in catastrophic accidents for riders.
Insurance companies often assume that, in an accident between a motorcycle rider and a passenger car or truck, the reckless motorcycle rider must have been at fault. But any motorcycle rider can tell you about the countless occasions where they have had to maneuver quickly to avoid getting hit by careless drivers.
Florida motorcycle accident attorneys who will fight for you
Motorcycle riders deserve the same respect as other drivers and are often entitled to money damages after an accident caused by a negligent or reckless passenger vehicle driver. If you’ve been hurt in a Florida motorcycle accident, don’t let the insurance company bully you into abandoning your claim or settling for far less than you deserve.
The aggressive motorcycle accident attorneys at Meldon Law will make sure that your right to damages isn’t ignored simply because you’re on two wheels. Contact the Florida motorcycle rider attorneys at Meldon Law to get a free evaluation of your motorcycle accident case.
Why do motorcycle accidents happen?
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), there are approximately 80,000 motorcycle accidents across the US each year. Roughly 5,000 riders suffer fatal injuries in these accidents. The NHTSA has found that, based on the number of vehicle miles traveled, motorcycle riders are about 29 times more likely to die in a collision and four times as likely to be injured as other motor vehicle occupants.
Here are some of the most common reasons for motorcycle collisions:
Intersection crashes: Passenger vehicle drivers are often bad at estimating the speed of oncoming motorcycles. Because motorcycles are much smaller objects in a driver’s field of vision, it requires more time and attention to accurately estimate their speed than it does that of a car or truck. As a result, many car drivers underestimate the speed of an oncoming motorcycle and turn left in front of—or into—motorcycles that are traveling straight through an intersection. When motorcycles don’t have enough time to slow down before encountering a turning driver, they might have to swerve suddenly, causing them to lose control or lay down their bike. In some cases, the driver might T-bone the motorcyclist, striking the rider directly. Both types of accidents can have deadly consequences for the rider.
Blind spots: Motorcycles are much smaller than passenger vehicles and can easily disappear into a car or truck’s blind spot. If drivers don’t carefully check these blind spots and signal their intentions before changing lanes, they could strike a motorcycle in the neighboring lane.
Following too closely: Many passenger vehicle drivers don’t understand how dangerous a rear-end crash can be to a motorcycle. When cars follow motorcycles too closely, they can cause deadly injuries to those riders if the motorcycle has to stop abruptly based on activity in the road ahead.
Distracted driving: Many safety experts assert that the increase in recent years of pedestrian and motorcyclist fatalities on the road is one of the scariest consequences of distracted driving. When drivers of passenger vehicles are trying to text or use social media while driving, they may glance up at the road before them only for brief moments before returning to their phones. This brief glance may be enough to catch large vehicles in front of them, but it is not enough time or attention to notice smaller objects such as motorcycles. As a result, more motorcyclists are suffering the consequences of cell phone use by drivers.
Aggressive driving: Aggressive driving by passenger vehicles, such as knowingly cutting off motorcycles in traffic, speeding up or slowing down in front of bikes as a way to aggravate riders, or deliberately turning in front of them at intersections or in parking lots, can all cause riders to lose control of their bikes while trying to avoid a crash.
Drunk drivers: Driving drunk isn’t a good idea for motorcyclists or passenger vehicle drivers. Motorcycles are already more difficult to see than passenger vehicles. If a driver has dulled their senses with alcohol, motorcycles can become even harder to identify, and riders are at even greater risk of serious or fatal injury from an unaware driver.
Help Is Available From A Florida Motorcycle Accident Attorney
Motorcycle riders who get hurt in a crash caused by a reckless driver are no less entitled to justice than other drivers. Get help seeking the money you may be owed after a Florida motorcycle accident by contacting the effective and dedicated personal injury and motorcycle crash attorneys at Meldon Law for a free consultation on your case.
