Motorcycle Accident Law

Why Knowing the Facts—and Identifying the Fiction—About Motorcycle Accidents Is Essential to Your Case

At the heart of a great many motorcycle collision cases is an unfortunate irony: some of the most common accident scenarios result from driver negligence, yet injured motorcyclists must contend with pervasive myths and misunderstandings that put them at fault for the accident. Motorcycle accident victims and their attorneys often face an uphill battle in convincing judges, juries and insurance companies to distinguish fact from fiction. This is a battle that is best fought by an experienced motorcycle accident attorney.

First, the facts

By far the most common type of collision between a motorcycle and car is what is often referred to as the “left turn.” A car is about to make a left turn, maybe on a green light through an intersection, or maybe on a two-lane road without traffic lights or a stop sign. Checking for oncoming traffic, the driver sees an approaching motorcycle. However, the motorcycle appears far enough away to give the driver sufficient time to make the left turn. Within a split second, the driver realizes that the motorcyclist was much closer than it seemed. Not expecting the car to suddenly turn, the motorcyclist fails to stop in time or swerve out of the way. For experienced motorcycle accident attorneys, this scenario is all too familiar.

And now for the fiction

Then these cases enter the personal injury process, the driver—in an effort to apportion at least some of the blame on the motorcyclist—typically claims that the rider was speeding and “came out of nowhere.” It is almost guaranteed that the defense will make this claim, regardless of how fast the motorcyclist was actually traveling. The driver’s attorney—motivated to achieve the best possible outcome for the client—knows that this is one of the best shots of getting the driver at least partly off the hook. The effectiveness of this tactic rests on a stereotype that people so commonly apply to motorcyclists: the thrill-seeking, reckless, adrenaline junkie, with no regard for the rules of the road. It is certainly the case that motorcyclists, like the rest of the population, do occasionally exceed the posted speed limit. But this stereotype is just as fictitious as it is harmful to the victim’s case.

Why are fact and fiction often so starkly opposed in these cases?

The answer has to do with the way drivers unconsciously judge distance and speed. The fact that motorcycles are smaller than cars, at first glance, doesn’t seem terribly significant. But consider that our perception of the distance between ourselves and another object is based, at least in part, on how small that object appears to us in relation to how large we expect it to be in reality. What’s more, this misperception can be amplified when split-second decisions are involved—like whether it is safe to make a left turn. In these instances, drivers are likely to automatically judge the distance to the motorcycle as if it were a car. The result? The driver “sees” the motorcycle as being farther away than it actually is.

If, after the accident, the driver clings to the accuracy of this mistaken judgment, the only rational explanation for the collision would be that the motorcyclist was speeding. The stereotype of the reckless motorcyclist only serves to confirm this version of the accident. The injured motorcyclist, meanwhile, is facing hospital bills, lost work and pain and suffering—the result of an accident for which he or she was not responsible. Fortunately, a skilled, experienced, knowledgeable attorney—one who understands the dynamics that underlie most motorcycle accidents—can help ensure that the injured rider has the financial resources to heal, and to get back on the road.