Whether you are at a stop sign, a traffic light or just riding down the road, drivers in passenger cars might have trouble seeing you because of the small size of your vehicle. As a result, another driver might fail to yield the right-of-way to you. This is one of the primary causes of the numerous motorcycle accidents that happen here in Colorado and across the country.
The Department of Transportation National Highway Safety Administration conducted a study to either confirm or dispel the perception that motorcycle riders are more often at fault in crashes than those in passenger vehicles. The agency reviewed nearly 900 scenes of accidents between motorcycles and passenger vehicles. It found that, in approximately two-thirds of those cases, it was the automobile driver who was at fault.
Most of the time, the driver of the other vehicle failed to see the motorcycle, and thus, failed to yield the right-of-way to the motorcycle. Motorcycles involved in accidents with vehicles of four wheels or more tend to put the rider of the motorcycle at five times more risk of suffering serious injuries or death when compared to the other vehicle’s occupants. This is largely because the motorcyclist has much less protection from the impact.
Therefore, if you suffered injuries in a crash while riding a motorcycle, the odds are that your injuries were serious. Alternatively, you might have lost a loved one in this manner. You could turn to a Colorado attorney for help in exercising your rights to file either a personal injury or wrongful death claim, as applicable. Taking advantage of his or her knowledge of the law, regarding evidence that best proves negligence in motorcycle accidents and in calculating the damages you might receive from a successful claim, might prove invaluable.