The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has declared May Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month. The initiative was set in place to help make drivers more aware of the two-wheeled vehicles that they share the road with in order to prevent motorcycle accidents from occurring.
The NHTSA shared the terrifying statistic that motorcycle riders are 25 times more likely to be killed in an auto-collision then passengers of an average car or larger vehicle. The statistic is especially terrifying simply because it is based on actual accident data. It is not just a guess.
The initiative — like any other safety program — hopes to educate both auto-drivers as well as riders themselves. Both parties need to be equally aware of the fact that the rules of the road apply to everyone. As much as motorcycles need to drive as a car would in that they need to drive single file, signal turns and obey the speed limits, car drivers need to take care to understand that the same rules apply when driving with motorcycles. Car drivers need to check all of their blind spots to make sure that a smaller vehicle is not hiding in the shadows and signal turns well before making them. According to the NHTSA, if everyone works together, safety will follow.
While that is the ideal, we all know that not everyone acts with the same level of care for those around them. Where would that statistic have come from if no one was negligent? When someone is injured due to the careless actions of another, they have the right to civil recourse that will help compensate them for the damages that they suffered.
Source: Consumer Reports, “Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month reminds drivers, riders to share the road,” May 1, 2012
