Motorcycles make up more than three percent—over six and a half million—of all registered vehicles in the United States. Per vehicle mile traveled, motorcyclists are about 37 times more likely than passenger car occupants to die in a motor vehicle crash and 8 times more likely to be injured. Across the nation, each year over 5,000 motorcycle riders are killed and more than 100,000 are injured in various types of accidents. Nationally, motorcyclist deaths increased by 6.6 percent in 2007, accounting for nearly one in every eight motor vehicle deaths. Since hitting an all-time low in 1997, motorcycle-related deaths have increased by over 125 percent. There are almost twice as many motorcycles registered today than ten years ago.
Approximately three-fourths of motorcycle accidents involve a collision with another vehicle, usually a passenger car. In two-thirds of such accidents, the passenger car driver violated the motorcycle’s right of way. The most frequent passenger car-motorcycle collisions involve the motorcycle proceeding straight and the passenger car making a left turn in front of the oncoming motorcycle. Intersections are the most likely places for motorcycle accidents, with the other vehicle violating the motorcyclist’s right- of-way.
In motorcycle accidents involving another vehicle, some 80 percent of the motorcycles involved were hit in the front, which is consistent with a passenger car failing to yield the right-of-way and making an unsafe left turn in front of the motorcyclist. Only five percent of motorcycle-vehicle collisions involved the motorcycle being struck from the rear. Roughly 25 percent of motorcycles involved in a fatal crash collided with fixed objects, compared to 18 percent for passenger cars. In 2007, 36 percent of all motorcycle accidents resulting in fatalities involved speeding by the motorcyclist, compared with 23 percent for passenger car drivers.
In a significant number of cases, both the motorcycle and the passenger car or other vehicle were going in the same direction at the time of the collision. One of the most common scenarios in this type of case is the passenger car makes an unsafe lane change, colliding with the unsuspecting motorcyclist. Suppose you are operating a motorcycle at rush hour, and traffic is “stop and go.” You decide to ride in the space between cars, and while so doing, a car makes an abrupt lane change, crashing into you or causing you to lose control and go down, suffering serious injuries. Can the driver of the car claim that you were at fault for “lane splitting” or “lane sharing”?
In California, a motorcyclist may drive between cars, whether they are stopped or moving, as long as it is safe to do so. Whether it was “safe” to drive between cars is determined on a case-by-case basis. There are no hard and fast rules. However, the driver of the car may be negligent in failing to signal an upcoming lane change to warn lane-splitting motorcyclists of the impending danger. The car driver may also be negligent in failing to look in his or her rear-view and side mirrors to see whether any motorcycles were approaching from behind before changing lanes.
A significant number of motorcycle accidents are single vehicle accidents in which the motorcyclist collides with the roadway or a fixed object. In accidents involving only the motorcycle, operator error is the main factor in approximately two-thirds of such accidents, with the typical error being a slideout and fall due to overbraking or running wide on a curve due to excess speed or under-cornering. While such accidents are usually operator-caused, preventing the motorcycle operator from suing anyone for his or her injuries (unless there was a faulty design of the road or other condition of the road that caused or contributed to the accident) a passenger on the motorcycle generally may seek monetary damages for his or her injuries from the errant operator.
Equipment failure accounts for three percent of injuries resulting from a motorcycle accident. The most common type of equipment failure is a punctured tire that causes the tire to go flat, resulting in the motorcycle operator losing control of the bike. Roadway defects, such as uneven pavement or potholes, were the cause of the motorcycle accident in two percent of the accidents, and animals caused or contributed to one percent of all motorcycle accidents.
The highest number of motorcycle fatalities occurs in the 20-29 group, many of whom ride the “supersports” type of motorcycles: sleek and powerful machines that can reach speeds of 190 mph. Speeding is a main or contributing factor in many cases involving fatalities and injuries among this sector of the motorcycle riding population. The percentage of riders 40 and over getting injured or killed in a motorcycle accident has been increasing significantly in the last 10 years, and the number of deaths among this group is catching up to the 20-29 age group. Motorcycle accidents involving larger motorcycles with bigger engines have also been increasing significantly. One reason for this is the increase in over-40 men buying large cruisers—many of them Harley-Davidsons—for recreational riding on weekends and holidays.
In motorcycle accidents involving another vehicle, 27 percent of all fatally injured motorcycle operators had blood alcohol contents (BAC) of .08 percent (the Federal and California definition for drunk driving) or more, the legal limit to be considered drunk. 41 percent of motorcycle drivers who died in single-vehicle crashes had BAC levels of .08 percent or higher. Motorcycle drivers killed in traffic collisions at night were more than three times more likely to have BAC levels of .08 percent or higher than those killed during the day. 72 percent of the fatalities in the operator age group of 40-49 involved alcohol. Almost half of all fatal motorcycle-involved accidents show alcohol involvement.
Because of their vulnerability and lack of safety features, motorcycle drivers and their passengers are at higher risk for more serious injuries than occupants of a passenger car. A motorcyclist is more likely to break bones, suffer head injuries, and sustain severe friction burn injuries in an accident, particularly if he or she was not wearing protective clothing. Fuel system leaks and spills are present in about 60 percent of motorcycle accidents, posing an undue hazard for fire and thermal burns.
As for protective gear that you should wear while riding a motorcycle on public and private roadways, you should wear a sturdy jacket made of denim, nylon, corduroy, or leather. Pants should be made of thick material, such as leather, to resist abrasion and friction burns. Gloves should be worn at all times to prevent injury to the hands or fingers. You should wear over-the-ankle boots made of strong leather to protect your ankles and rubber soles and a good tread design for easy gripping. You should wear high-visibility gear, and if riding at night wear clothing that reflects light.
California law requires the operator/driver of a motorcycle on public streets to be properly licensed and insured. Statistics put out by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reveal that 26 percent of motorcycle riders were riding without a valid motorcycle license in 2007. Without a valid motorcycle license, a person may not be able to obtain insurance for operating a motorcycle. Proof of insurance is required to be submitted to the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) when registering a motorcycle.
According to the NHTSA, wearing a helmet reduces the chance of being killed in a motorcycle accident by some 30 percent, and reduces the risk of suffering a traumatic brain injury by approximately 65 percent. California law requires the motorcycle operator and his or her passenger, if any, to be wearing an approved helmet. In 2007, 439 motorcyclists who were killed in California in a traffic accident were wearing helmets, while only 68 were unhelmeted. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) estimates that helmets saved the lives of approximately 1,650 motorcyclists in 2006, and if all motorcyclists had been wearing helmets, an additional 750 lives could have been saved.
Helmets are estimated to be 30 percent effective in preventing fatal injuries in motorcyclists. This means that for every 100 motorcyclists killed in crashes while not wearing a helmet, 37 of them could have been saved had all 100 been wearing helmets. All motorcycle helmets sold in the United States are required to meet Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 218, Motorcycle Helmets, the performance standard that establishes the minimum level of protection helmets must afford each user. In California, an approved helmet must carry the seal of the federal Department of Transportation (DOT).
If you were not wearing an approved helmet or not wearing any helmet at all when you are involved in a motorcycle accident, the person who was responsible for the accident can use this fact against you to reduce the amount of monetary damages for your injuries. For instance, if a helmet would have prevented 45 percent of your injuries, your failure to be helmeted at the time of the accident will be reduced by that percent. This is known as the doctrine of “comparative negligence.” Similarly, if you were speeding at the time of the accident and the speeding contributed to the accident, your monetary award will be reduced by the percent that the speeding contributed to the accident. If your speeding was the sole cause of the accident, then you would not be entitled to any recover from the other party, and may indeed be held legally responsible (“liable”) for the other party’s injuries and damage to his or her vehicle.
Added to the inherent dangers of riding a motorcycle, the motorcyclist operator must often deal with less than ideal road surfaces and obstructions, such as uneven asphalt, potholes, poor surface conditions, bad road design and hazards, such as blind corners, placement of light standards, speed bumps, low curbing, ruts, debris, uncovered drainage pits, and other hazards. Where a defective design or condition of the roadway causes the motorcyclist to lose control of his or her bike and go down, suffering injuries, it may be possible to seek compensation from the city, county, or state that owns and/or maintains the road. You need to be aware, however, that if you wish to hold a state, county, or city liable for your injuries, a claim for damages must be made with the appropriate government agency within six months or less, or your right to sue the public entity may be forever lost.
If you have been injured while operating or while a passenger on a motorcycle that is involved in an accident that was not your fault, you should contact an experienced personal injury attorney as soon as possible, preferably before the motorcycle is repaired if it was not totaled in the accident. The lawyer will want to visit the scene of the accident (or send his investigator to do so) as soon after the accident as possible to see the road and weather conditions that existed at the time of the accident.
If there was a hazardous condition on the road that caused or contributed to the accident, your lawyer will want the investigator to examine the scene and take pictures of any hazard, before the city, county, or state has a chance to correct the hazard. Also, if the motorcyclist was struck by a vehicle, the lawyer will want to have his or her investigator inspect the car and take pictures of the damage to it before it is repaired, as the point of damage to the car may be extremely important in proving how and where the accident happened.
Even if the impact was relatively slight but you still had to lay your bike down, you should contact an attorney as soon as possible. Some serious injuries do not show up right away and may take a couple of weeks or months to appear. The experienced personal injury lawyer can usually help ensure that you get a proper and thorough medical examination to ensure that potentially serious injuries are not overlooked before the case is settled. Once you settle the case, you are usually barred from seeking monetary damages for injuries that appear after the settlement. The insurance adjuster will try to settle your claim as quickly as possible, often before the full extent of your injuries may be known.
