Over the years, educational and marketing campaigns have been launched to increase awareness of motorcycles on roads in Atlanta and all across the country. Drivers have been urged to “Start Seeing Motorcycles” and share the road responsibly with bikers. Unfortunately, these and other campaigns have not been able to prevent every accident involving a motorcycle.
Every year, thousands of people are killed or injured while riding a motorcycle and many of these accidents happen as a result of the unsafe actions of other drivers. According to this article on RideApart.com, there are basically three reasons why negligent, reckless drivers often cause or contribute to serious motorcycle crashes.
- They weren’t looking: Drivers can fail to see motorcycles because they aren’t always looking for them. They may only be focused on looking for other cars and trucks and can have a blind spot when a motorcycle is on the road. It is also possible that a driver simply fails to look both ways before entering the roadway, which can certainly lead to an accident.
- They weren’t driving safely in the first place: It should be well known that driving requires people to be alert and attentive, and we are all expected to drive cautiously and in accordance with traffic laws. Any driver who is drunk, distracted, speeding, following too closely or otherwise careless behind the wheel can put the lives and safety of motorcyclists in danger.
- They made a bad decision: Too many motorcycle crashes happen because a driver miscalculates the amount of time and space they have around bikes. They can pull out immediately in front of a motorcycle, giving the rider little or no time to avoid crashing into them, or misjudge how fast a biker is approaching and make a turn in front of the rider that leads to a crash. Further, they may follow a biker too closely and collide into the back of the bike if traffic comes to a stop or slows.
While not every motorcycle accident is caused by the negligent or reckless behavior of a driver, many of them are. In the event that a motorcycle accident was caused by the actions of another driver, it may be possible to take legal action and file a personal injury lawsuit to pursue damages.