As you ride your motorcycle in Georgia, you know that there are a fair amount of risks stemming from other drivers. For example, drivers frequently don’t see motorcycles due to their small size, and so they cut them off, turn left in front of them and merge into lanes they already occupy.
On top of these traditional risks, you also have to consider the danger that an inattentive driver poses. As mobile devices — MP3 players, smartphones, GPS units and more — become more and more popular, studies have shown that this is becoming a greater problem. Drivers who use these devices while behind the wheel are often distracted, taking their eyes off of the road.
In fact, the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration did a joint study, and they found that inattention was the top reason for both accidents and close calls, or near misses.
For accidents, the study found that inattention played a role in an incredible 80 percent of the reported incidents. It also factored in at about 65 percent for near misses. For the purposes of the study, inattention was only considered in the three seconds leading up to the crash, so there is the chance that both of those numbers could be much higher if the time frame was expanded to look at the 10 seconds before the wreck, or even a full minute.
Motorcycle riders have the same rights to safety on the roads as any other drivers, bikers or even pedestrians, and inattention is one of the main reasons that these rights are violated day in and day out. To learn more about what you can do after a crash, please visit our site now.