Motorcycle Accident Lawyer Blog

Luc Bourdon, a rookie defenseman who played for the Vancouver Canucks, was killed when his motorcycle hit a tractor-trailer between the towns of Sippagan and Lemeque, New Brunswick, Canada on Thursday, May 29. Bourdon, who was 21-years-old, was the first round draft pick of the Canucks in 2005.

While Bourdon's family declined commenting to the press about the accident, the Canucks organization stated he will be missed, he was a talented player, and other quotes that will wind up as sound bites on various sports pages, and ESPN.

Here is the point: The accident occurred around 12:30 pm during clear weather. Unfortunately, motorcycle accidents, like all accidents, can occur during any time and any type of weather. The difference with motorcycles is their size, the rate of speed many young riders statistically travel at, and the fact that if a helmet is not being worn and the rider is involved in an accident, the chances of serious injury or death are very high.

A byproduct of accidents that claim the lives of sports figures, musicians, and actors is that ways to avoid or survive these accidents will invariably make it into the news. While this is good on one hand, because being reminded of the limitations or safety regulations while riding a motorcycle should periodically be stressed, on the other hand it is sad that it takes the death of a celebrity to make people take stock of their own riding habits.

If you or a loved one has been injured in a motorcycle accident, please contact the Motorcycle Accident Lawyer site to find an experienced attorney in your area.

This winter seemed especially rough for most states across the country. And, now that it is finally warming up, people are ready to spend more time outdoors. Another trend that comes along with the rise in number of people outside is the number of motorcycles on the road. Motorcycles might be one of the trendy things to own these days, and with rising gas prices, many people see motorcycles as the mode of transportation that will help alleviate some of the financial pain at the gas pump. For example, motorcycle registration grew by nearly 5,000 from the previous year in Kansas.

The Kansas Department of Transportation is not alone in noting the rise in injuries and fatalities of motorcyclists. Though numbers dipped in 2007, the overall rise of these statistics matches those of other states – that is, they keep going up. KDOT states there were 1,171 accidents last year, which is a little higher than the 1,103 reported in 2006. However, this is almost double the numbers from 1998 when KDOT began keeping track. There were 586 injuries and 19 fatalities that year; last year there were 49 fatalities and 1,087 injuries.

Though motorcyclists are told to wear a helmet, jacket, and gloves to avoid serious injury or death, many riders seem to ignore this advice. Of those involved in accidents in Kansas in 1998, only 21.2 percent were wearing a helmet. Last year only 31.5 were wearing a helmet when they were involved in an accident.

Though motorcyclists are not usually to blame when they are involved in an accident with another vehicle, they are the ones most often injured or killed. It is hoped that by continuing to educate motorcyclists in safety classes and about safety gear that eventually most will be wearing helmets and more aware of what happens on the road.

If you have been injured in a motorcycle accident, please contact the Motorcycle Accident Lawyer site to find an experienced injury lawyer in your area.

A Myrtle Beach, South Carolina restaurateur was charged with felony DUI for a crash that killed one person and sent another to the hospital. Michael Hilton, majority owner of the Barefoot Landing Wild Wing Café Inc., was charged with two felony DUIs, including bodily injury and fatality, as well as failure to yield right of way Saturday night. Hilton had a BAC of .15 when given the test.

Hilton allegedly attempted to make a left turn late Saturday night after attending a party. Angelo Gonzalez was killed when his motorcycle hit the rear panel of Hilton's pickup truck. His passenger and girlfriend, Susan Reader, was injured. Both were thrown from the motorcycle. Gonzalez died of multiple traumas and was not wearing a helmet. Reader has a broken pelvis, a broken leg, fractured wrist, two broken fingers and may have to have her foot amputated.

Hilton posted $75,000 bail and was released on Sunday. His lawyer contends that Hilton was not intoxicated and has several friends from the party who state he "had hardly anything to drink" and didn't appear intoxicated.

The Myrtle Beach motorcycle rally lasts for ten days and draws around 200,000 people. It stretches 60 miles from Georgetown, South Carolina to the North Carolina state line.

If you were injured or lost a loved one in a motorcycle accident caused by a drunk driver, please contact the Motorcycle Accident Lawyer site to find and experienced injury lawyer in your area.

Perhaps because May is Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month, it has been announced that in the National Transportation Safety Board's September 2007 meeting, they came up with several recommendations with regard to motorcycle helmets.

• Three states (Illinois, Iowa, and New Hampshire) still have no helmet laws. To these states the NTSB recommends that motorcyclists wear a Department of Transportation Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 218-compliant helmet while driving or riding as a passenger.
  
• 27 states and one territory with partial helmet laws. To these states and territory, the NTSB recommends again that all riders and passengers wear a helmet while on a motorcycle.
  
• To the eight states, the District of Columbia, and the four territories with universal helmet laws, the NTSB recommends that the laws be amended to specify that all riders and passengers of motorcycles wear an FMVSS 218-compliant helmet.
  

Their point, which hardly needs stressing, is that helmets save lives. The NTSB also brings up that since 1997, motorcycle fatalities have increased 217 percent. The number of motorcyclists killed annually is more than double the number killed in all pipeline, marine, rail and aviation accidents combined. In 2006, nearly 5,000 people were killed in motorcycle accidents. Just over 40 percent of those killed were not wearing helmets.

If you or a loved one has been injured in a motorcycle accident, please contact the Motorcycle Accident Lawyer site to find an experienced motorcycle accident injury lawyer in your area.