19 Jun Progress Not Being Made in Motorcycle Deaths

The Governors Highway Safety Association and the National Highway Traffic Safety administration are both concerned about the amount of motorcycle deaths that occur every year. While statistics do show improvement in overall motor vehicle deaths, motorcycle deaths are still a huge problem for motorists.

The Study

A study conducted by Dr. James Hedlund that was detailed in a press release by the Governors Highway Safety Association details the problem. In some states, motorcycle fatalities actually did decrease. Those decreases were chalked up to better education given to motorists about watching for motorcycles, better engineering and better enforcement. Motorcyclists are being encouraged to exercise more caution, as well, including wearing brighter clothing when they’re on their bikes.

Unfortunately, in 26 states there was an increase in motorcyclist deaths. In Texas, there was a 26 percent increase in motorcyclist deaths. The recommendations for increasing the safety of the highways and freeways for motorcyclists include, using helmets, which is estimated by the national Highway traffic safety administration to have saved nearly 2000 lives in 2008. Helmets have been shown to be 30 percent effective in preventing fatal injuries to people riding bikes and to have been 41 percent effective in preventing fatalities among motorcycle passengers, according to the press release.

Motorcycle riding training, reducing speed and not using alcohol are also recommended as ways to bring down the number of motorcycle fatalities every year. Unfortunately, however, while 2011 motor vehicle fatalities were at their lowest level since 1949, motorcycle deaths exhibited no progress in terms of reducing the overall number.

The highway safety advocates are also recommending that passenger vehicle drivers be better educated about sharing the road with motorcycles. It is been demonstrated over and over again that people in cars and trucks can look straight at a motorcycle and, at the same time, not see it. Educating drivers to be on the lookout for motorcycles tends to reduce the number of fatal accidents in the states where the educational endeavors are undertaken.

If you’ve been injured in a motorcycle/passenger vehicle crash, contact a personal injury lawyer or motorcycle accident lawyer. Most of the time, you can get free attorney advice on what legal options you may have to get compensation from the driver who injured you. While there may be very little progress demonstrated in terms of reducing motorcycle fatalities every year, motorcyclists certainly do have as much right to the road as anyone else and, when other drivers fail to respect that, they may be held to have been negligent. Negligence is the most common reason why an accident happens, it is best to consult an expert motorcycle accidents personal injury attorney on what is your next legal step.