Most riders will agree that riding a motorcycle is an experience that combines thrills, excitement, relaxation, and pleasure. It is a unique physical and mental pleasure, usually filled with anxiety and adrenaline. When riding a bike, you feel the wind in a way you have never felt before as it pushes you and your motorcycle around.

What Causes Motorcycle Accidents?

Many Americans spend their free time going for a nice sunny afternoon drive, but this can suddenly turn into horrible accidents that result in severe or fatal injuries. Some motorcycle crashes are caused by the rider’s negligence, while others result from the vehicle driver’s negligence.

Some of the common causes of motorcycle accidents include:

• Alcohol and Drug Use

Alcohol is one of the leading causes of reported motorcycle crashes globally. A motorcycle collision happens when the motorcycle rider is alcohol-impaired and loses control of their motorcycle and crashes into a motor vehicle. Or the car driver is drunk and unable to focus on driving, colliding with a motorcycle rider.

Everyone wants a good time, but drinking has been proven to impair crucial riding abilities. Many motorcycle riders overlook the fact that riding a motorcycle requires razor-sharp reflexes and that even one drink can significantly slow their reaction times.

• High Speeds

Every rider can attest to how thrilling acceleration can be, especially in curves and straight roads, but pushing your bike to its limits can quickly result in losing control. One of the leading causes of many of the reported motorcycle crashes results from over speeding.

Speeding can take the form of exceeding the posted speed restrictions or going too fast for the current weather conditions. The higher the speed, the greater the impact suffered, and the more one is likely to suffer severe injuries.

• Lane Splitting

Lane splitting is simply when a motorcycle drives between two lanes of traffic, usually where there are stopped or slowly moving vehicles in traffic. Since the motorcycle is so close to the other vehicles on the road, the rider has less space to maneuver around the other cars during lane splitting. In most cases, the biker will be held responsible if a motorcycle accident occurs when a motorcycle is lane-splitting.

• Left Turn Accidents

A high number of motorcycle collisions occur when motorcycle drivers or cars on the road are making a left turn. When a motorcycle turns left, some motorists fail to detect its turn signal.

On other occasions, vehicle drivers crash into motorcycles when making left-hand turns because it is difficult to notice motorcyclists or the rider was in the driver’s blind spot despite checking their mirrors before turning.

In many circumstances, the car making the left-hand turn will be deemed to blame for the accident, but it might also be the rider’s fault if they were speeding or in the wrong motorcycle lane.

• Dangerous Road Conditions

Motorcycles are smaller and less stable than cars and light trucks, making them more vulnerable to unsafe road conditions than other vehicles on the road. To mention a few, road hazards include:

• Poorly lit roads and intersections.
• Poorly designated bends or merging zones.
• Slippery surfaces.
• Uneven, grooved, resurfaced, and potholed surfaces.
• Uneven pavement.
• Dangerous bridge joints and train lines.
• Loose gravel, sand, or debris.
• A lack of surrounding protective structures such as separators, medians, or guardrails.

All these can contribute to fatal crashes.

• Head On Collisions

Countless motorcycle accidents are a result of head-on collisions with oncoming traffic. These collisions often occur when a motorcyclist switches into the wrong lane or is speeding recklessly to avoid stopping at a red light. Since head-on crashes tend to happen at high speeds, the rider has a significantly increased risk of serious injury or death.

This is because, depending on the circumstances of the accident, the motorcyclist can be crushed or flung into the air following a head-on collision, and neither of these scenarios ends well for the rider. The best way of increasing your chances of survival in such fatal accidents is by wearing a helmet.

• Distracted Driving

There are numerous causes of distraction today. Distraction manifests in food, music, making and receiving phone calls, general inattentiveness, responding to emails, and texting. These habits can adversely impact a driver’s ability to notice or react appropriately to a motorcycle on the road.

Inattentive driving can occur in both vehicle drivers and motorcycle drivers, contributing to motorcycle accidents. For example, a motorcyclist enjoying the freedom of the open road may fail to notice traffic slowing in front of them, or a vehicle driver may be texting and fail to notice a motorcyclist approaching. Maintaining a proper following distance, investing in collision avoidance technology, and wearing highly visible gear are all preventative measures that riders can take.

• Car Doors

While it may appear to be something out of a movie, such catastrophes occur in real life. They occur when a driver fails to look into the street before swinging his door open widely. It is more prevalent in parking lots along the route of an oncoming motorcycle. In most cases, the driver who slammed the motorcycle door is responsible for the collision.

What Should You Do When Injured in a Motorcycle Accident?

Motorcycle accidents are usually tragic & result in major personal injuries such as concussions, broken limbs, and internal and external bleeding. As a result, your priority following a motorcycle accident should be to ensure that you & those involved in the incident are safe.

If you, your passenger, or the vehicle driver is hurt and require immediate medical treatment, dial 911. You may assume you are not hurt because you are not in pain, but you must contact 911 nonetheless.

How can I get legal help after a motorcycle accident?

If you or a loved one has been in a hit-and-run accident or is a victim of motorcycle fatalities and needs help with filing a personal injury lawsuit, contact J.P. Ward & Associates.

You can visit any of their offices at 201 South Highland Ave., Suite 201, Pittsburgh, PA 15206 or at 500 Office Center Drive, Suite 400, Fort Washington, PA 19034. You can also call them at (412) 426-4878. We are a credible law firm that will help you get a fair settlement offer.