You don’t have to be a personal injury attorney to have heard the most common excuse for motorcycle accidents: “I didn’t see the motorcycle.” This reasoning tends not to satisfy those who have been seriously injured or lost a close friend or family member in a motorcycle crash.
Motorcyclists are put at an even bigger disadvantage when overall visibility is low. Fog, stormy weather and sun glare all create problems for drivers of any vehicle, which means we need to be extra careful when making turns and lane changes under these conditions. Taking chances or simply assuming we aren’t obstructing anyone else’s path isn’t worth the risk of a car accident that injures or kills us or someone else.
A recent collision in Bethlehem Township, Pennsylvania, may have been the result of poor visibility. A man in his early 20s was riding a motorcycle when he collided with an SUV late last week. The SUV was heading toward the motorcyclist before making a turn directly in front of him, which caused the motorcycle to crash into the side of the SUV. The rider was rushed to a hospital, unconscious and suffering from head injuries and large cuts to his abdomen.
A neighbor who heard the crash and called 911 to report it said the sun was “at a bad angle,” suggesting that an inability to see oncoming traffic clearly may have contributed to the crash. Sun glare is a common cause of collisions like these, which is why it’s important for all drivers to be absolutely sure no vehicles are coming in the opposite direction when it’s difficult to see them. That risk you take is one you could regret for a lifetime. If you’re the motorist who gets hit, you won’t be savoring that day, either. Instead, you’ll need to find a way to cover all of your medical expenses, lost wages and other costs that come with a serious accident.
Motorcycles may not be as large as cars and trucks, but they aren’t invisible, either. And the people who ride them have just as much right to safety as other motorists.
Source : LehighValleyLive.com, “Motorcyclist injured in Bethelem Township, Pa., crash,” Pamela Sroka-Holzmann, Aug. 30, 2012
· Our law firm handles cases similar to the one described in this post. To learn more about our practice, please visit our Harrisburg motorcycle accident page.