Orlando Personal Injury Lawyer Who Understands Your Case
Three motorcyclists were injured in an Orlando, Florida wreck in April. The accident occurred when an SUV changed into the right lane and veered into the path of one of the motorcycle riders. The motorcyclist steered onto the shoulder of the road to avoid the SUV and then hit a construction trailer on the road shoulder. Two other motorcyclists had to drop their motorcycles in order to avoid striking the first victim.
Orlando, Florida Personal Injury Lawyer Who Understands
“Studies find that drivers who text generally take their eyes off the road for about 5 seconds. If you’re driving a car at 55 mph, you’re essentially driving the length of a football field blindfolded. Most people who spend any amount of time on the road might notice someone who is swerving from lane to lane. A decade ago you might have thought that the driver was drunk. Nowadays, it’s more likely that the person is distracted by a cellphone.”
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Preventing Motorcycle Crashes
In Florida, there was a seven percent decline in motorcyclist deaths in 2013, mirroring the national decline. In the first six months of 2012, 222 Floridians died in motorcycle collisions. In the same time period in 2013, just 207 motorcyclists died. In the first nine months of 2012, there were 326 deaths while the death toll was down to 303 in 2013.
According to Forbes, the reason for the nationwide decline in motorcycle deaths was because 2013 was a colder and wetter year throughout the United States than 2012 was. This resulted in fewer riders being on the roads.
Planning for bad weather is a terrible way to try to bring down the rate of fatal motorcycle collisions. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has provided some tips that can actually improve safety conditions. The tips were published in the start of May, because May is Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month. The NHTSA advises people to:
– Ensure a motorcycle rider has the full width of a lane at all times and not encroach on the rider’s space.
– Signal every time the driver merges or changes lanes.
– Avoid distracted and impaired driving.
motorcyclists are advised to:
– Wear helmets that are compliant with minimum Department of Transportation specifications.
– Obey all traffic safety laws.
– Avoid driving while impaired or distracted.
– Wear clothing that is brightly colored to increase the chance of a driver seeing you.
– Stay right in the middle of the lane where you are most visible.
If both motorcycle riders and people take the NHTSA tips to heart and follow the advice, hopefully there will be fewer motorcycle fatalities in the future.
While some drivers make the smart choice of either shutting off their cellphones or keeping their devices out of reach, many drivers just can’t resist reading an incoming message or sending a quick text. When they engage in this type of careless behavior, they are putting themselves and everyone else sharing the road at risk of serious injury or worse.
Motorcycle Accident Lawyer
