Archive for the ‘Motorcycle Accidents’ Category

Each spring, as the buds burst into bloom and the air warms, we all want to get outdoors. This is a time when motorcyclists itch to get out and ride.  The excitement is unmatched and, if the bike has been in the garage all winter, worth the wait.

So it is a time for a spring warning from Hausmann-McNally, S.C. personal injury attorneys who are bikers themselves.

The laws of physics and human nature still apply.

• Solid objects traveling at high speeds are more damaged in a crash than those traveling at lesser speeds.
• Solid objects hurtling into stationary objects cause damage both to themselves and humans who are attached to them.
• Rubber spheres are more likely to skid a vehicle out of control if the pavement is wet, freshly gravelled or the tires are worn.
• People’s attention tends to wander.
• People with alcohol in their systems have impaired attention and response times to dangers.
• Individuals in enclosed solid objects [cars and trucks]—especially with radio, noisy passengers or cell phones active–are less likely to hear and see motorcycles.

All the warnings we give to bikers go double for auto and truck drivers. It has been proven that other drivers often do not see motorcycles on the road. We urge drivers to be aware that they share the road with motorcycles and scooters, just as you need to be aware of children playing in the streets in good weather.

We would rather not see our biker friends in casts or wheelchairs or hospital beds. We want to see you on the road. Bikers—like Robins and tulips and asparagus—are signs of spring.

We understand that, if we are in cars, motorcycles can be behind us, passing us, coming towards us around a blind corner or quietly creeping up next to us at a stop sign.

And, if you are so unfortunate as to have an accident while riding your motorcycle, you know you can call Hausmann-McNally, S.C. at 800-227-6699. We will send a representative to your office, home or hospital room. Our special understanding of this area of the law spans over 35 years. We want to help preserve your rights in the matter.

I don’t usually find public annual reports fascinating, but the State of Ohio has produced one of the most thorough and readable documents on highway safety that I have ever seen.

If you want to know anything about traffic safety statistics in Ohio in 2008, take a look at Ohio’s “2008 Crash Facts”.  It is not available in print and when you see the size, you will know why.

As I scanned the document, it occurred to me that traffic accidents are such a significant part of our modern human drama they merit a huge volume to document the damage and loss.  We all know someone who was injured or killed in a motor vehicle accident. Many of us have been in accidents ourselves. Automobile, motorcycle and truck accidents take an enormous toll on individuals, families and communities. The State of Ohio has taken much trouble to document many details to help fill in the details. As a personal injury attorney, my calling is to help repair the lives of the victims…by helping get them the financial settlements that address the loss and pain suffered as the result of someone else’s misdeeds.

A cover letter from the Henry Guzman, Director of the Ohio Department of Public Safety, reports both good news and bad news in crash statistics:

“In 2008, Ohio continued to make improvements in highway safety. The traffic crash fatality rate continued to go down, to a near-historic low of 1,191 fatalities. Alcohol related fatalities and the number of people who died unbelted on Ohio’s roads also declined.

“One of our biggest concerns is a continuing increase in motorcycle fatalities. Motorcycle fatalities have increased on Ohio’s roads by 35 percent over the past three years. In the past year they jumped dramatically, from 190 in 2007 to 213 in 2008.”

The detailed report highlights many factors that cause and contribute to motor vehicle accidents and goes into granular detail. It even lists which stationary objects were most often hit by cars. (Trees are #1on the list!)
As an attorney who has spent his professional life defending the rights of accident victims, I find the statistics chilling. For Ohio in 2008, they report:

• Approximately 3.0 fatal crashes each day.
• Approximately 3.3 persons were killed each day.
• One person was killed every 7.4 hours.
• There were 307.1 persons injured every day.
• One person was injured every 4.7 minutes.
• Of drivers involved in crashes, 53.7 % are males, 42.2 % are females, and 4.1 % are gender not stated.
• Alcohol impaired drivers were involved in 4.45 % of all crashes.
• Alcohol impaired drivers were involved in 37.70 % of all fatalities.
• 75.9 % of all alcohol impaired drivers involved in crashes were males.
• 63.8 % of all crashes occurred during the daylight.
• Motor vehicle crashes killed 48.0 children and injured 9,025.

This tells me that number of lives lost through wrongful death on the highway is still far too prevalent. Preventative measures like improved highway condition and design, better law enforcement, consistently good driver education and tough drunk driving laws all demand our attention. Motorcycle accidents are now a major concern. One is that in a distressed economy, more people may be riding their motorcycles  for economical reasons. Training and safety programs are sometimes cut when budgets are tight. And, highway drivers need to be constantly reminded to be on the lookout for motorcycles, which can seem to come from nowhere.

The answers for people injured or who have lost loved ones in a highway wrongful death often lie in getting competent legal assistance in order to receive compensation for the pain and loss. While the accidents are a personal tragedy, the personal injury attorney is the person you want in your corner if you were injured in a automobile, truck or motorcycle accident or if you are the survivor of someone who died in a highway-related wrongful death.

Older motorcyclists now account for half of all motorcyclist fatalities. Recent National Highway Traffic Safety Administration data show that in 2007, 49 percent of motorcyclists killed in crashes were age 40 or over, compared with 33 percent 10 years earlier. In contrast, fatalities among young motorcyclists have declined in the past 10 years, relative to other age groups. In 2007 fatalities in the under 30-year-old group dropped to 31 percent of total motorcyclists killed in crashes from 41 percent in 1997. Fatalities among motorcyclists in the 30-to 39-year-old group fell to 20 percent in 2007 from 26 percent ten years earlier. Insurance Information Institute.

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