Occupants in passenger cars – and certainly in larger commercial conveyances – are shielded from injury-causing catalysts that might strike their vehicles. In fact, they are cocooned in layers of protective steel.
Not so motorcyclists.
A negligent motorist’s claim to have not seen another vehicle he or she rammed into is a relatively rare assertion.
Except in post-crash reports focused on accidents involving motorcycles. Injured bikers are often forced to respond to statements from drivers lamenting that they “never saw” the motorcyclist whose life they materially upended by driving inattentively.
The bottom line: The motorcycling public in Georgia and nationally is instantly and prominently vulnerable when out in traffic. Not only are riders and their passengers comparatively unprotected when behind the wheel; they also suffer outsized risks posed by drivers whose on-the-road performance is often tragically deficient.
Instantly alarming data underscoring risks for bikers
There is no dearth of sobering information concerning crashes involving motorcycles and resulting biker injuries. Government safety groups and police agencies spanning the country steadily supply statistics that underscore both the frequency and gravity of motorcycle-linked crash outcomes.
The national organization Insurance Institute for Highway Safety is one entity that consistently and closely focuses on motorcycle-posed road risks and injuries. Here are a few central IIHS takeaways relevant to a recent year:
- Motorcyclist fatality rate “nearly 27 times the number” of fatal accident victims in crashes featuring other types of vehicles
- 5,000-plus biker deaths (extrapolated, more than a dozen fatalities on an “average” day – every single day throughout the year)
- Ominous upward death trend; fatality rate for motorcyclists “more than double the number of deaths” that occurred two decades earlier
- Bikers’ deaths comprising 14% of all crash fatalities, despite motorcycles accounting to a very small percentage of vehicles overall on American roadways
Securing proven legal help following a motorcycle crash
An injured biker might feel powerless in the wake of a crash, but the truth is that he or she commands strong legal rights, especially in accidents literally driven by third-party negligence.
An experienced personal injury legal team can be a strong ally helping a crash victim fully spotlight accountability and accurately preserve evidence pursuant to methodical investigation of an accident scene.
A meaningful remedy can secure maximum compensation for an injury victim and loved ones that is broadly applicable to wide-ranging needs.