Leading Causes of Motorcycle Crashes

Vehicle safety technology has advanced by leaps and bounds over the past century. But today’s motorcycles aren’t much safer than they were in 1935, when Lawrence of Arabia was killed in a controversial motorcycle crash. Today’s cars and trucks are also infinitely bigger and faster than they were in 1935. So, motorcycle riders face higher risks than ever.

That wreck is controversial because, to this day, no one is sure what happened. Lawrence died in the crash, so we’ll never know his side of the story.

Transportation technology has gone through mind-boggling changes. But the people behind the wheel aren’t much different. Then as now, hurried motorists often take shortcuts behind the wheel, or they aren’t fit to drive in some way. If driver error is negligence, or a lack of care, a Sugar Land motorcycle accident lawyer can obtain the compensation motorcycle crash victims need and deserve.

Defective Products

Poorly-designed or manufactured products cause some motorcycle crashes. Defective tires are a good example.

If a vehicle tire suddenly fails, the resulting loss-of-control wreck could easily injure or kill a motorcycle rider. The same thing could happen if a motorcycle’s tire suddenly and unexpectedly fails. In fact, serious injury is more likely in these cases. Two-wheel motorcycles are much harder to control than four-wheel vehicles.

Driver Impairment

Tires and other vehicle parts are usually defective long before a motorcycle accident occurs. Likewise, many drivers are impaired before they get behind the wheel. Some common kinds of driver impairment include:

• Moderate Medical Condition: Colds, flus, and other moderate medical conditions reduce driving ability by up to 50 percent. Drivers simply can’t concentrate on the road and adequately control their vehicles when their eyes are watery and they have other symptoms. Furthermore, these drivers often take drugs that make them drowsy.
• Serious Medical Condition: Heart disease, epilepsy, and several other serious medical conditions could cause a sudden and unexpected loss of consciousness. When motorists pass out behind the wheel, there’s simply no telling what might happen next.
• Alcohol/Drug Use: ALcohol, like most drugs, is a depressant that impair motor skills and judgment ability. WHen motorists can’t judge the distance between themselves and other vehicles or react quickly to changing situations, these drivers are a menace to motorcycle riders.

Other kinds of driver impairment include distraction and fatigue. Hand-held cell phones, which are normally legal to use in Texas while driving, combine all three forms of distraction (cognitive, manual, and visual). Drowsy drivers are essentially drunk drivers. Driving after eighteen consecutive awake hours is like driving with a .05 BAC level.

Aggressive Driving

As mentioned, today’s motor vehicles are larger than ever. Some drivers cannot see around large pickup trucks and SUVs. Or, more particularly, they don’t make a sufficient effort to see around these vehicles. That’s the very definition of negligence, or a lack of care.

As a result, inattentive drivers often crash into small motorcycles. Most riders who have gone down probably said the other driver says something like “I never even saw you” or “You came out of nowhere.” In court, a Missouri personal injury lawyer can successfully remake these statements into admissions of liability.

Other kinds of motorcycle crash-causing aggressive driving include speeding and turning unsafely. Speed reduces reaction time and SMIDSY (sorry, mate, I didn’t see you) left-turn crashes are one of the leading causes of motorcycle accident fatalities.

Connect With a Hard-Working Harris County Lawyer

Injury victims are entitled to significant compensation. For a free consultation with an experienced personal injury lawyer in Missouri City, contact the Henrietta Ezeoke Law Firm. We do not charge upfront legal fees in these matters.