A car accident could involve any other vehicle that happens to be on the road at the same time including motorcycles. Since May is National Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month, this is good time to revisit some of the things that all drivers can do to try to keep motorcyclists safe on the road.
The first thing applies to all motorists. Regardless of the type of vehicle you are in charge of, you should never get behind the wheel in an impaired state. Similarly you should not engage in behavior that is distracting and pulls your eyes from the road. Doing so for even a couple of seconds could result in you failing to see the much smaller motorcycle.
Because a motorcycle is so much smaller than the average car it shares the road with, those driving cars and trucks need to proactively look for motorcycles in their blind spots and mirrors. Allowing more distance between your vehicle and a motorcycle is also a good idea. This is true not only from behind, but alongside as well.
Be aware that just because a motorcycle’s turn signal is on doesn’t mean that the rider is actually planning on making a turn. It is possible that a rider may have forgotten it was on and since they are often non-cancelling it may not have automatically stopped. Likewise, be sure to always use your signal to let motorcyclists know when you are merging with traffic or changing lanes.
For a variety of reasons–including the size and weight difference between motorcycles and cars–when the two collide, motorcyclists often suffer serious injuries. Depending on the specific circumstances surrounding the incident, working with a lawyer to try to recover damages from the party to blame could be beneficial.
