Motorcycle Accident Lawyer Blog

Thailand is known as the Land of Smiles but in recent years smiling has declined because of social and political conditions. There are roving mobs, government changes, and the two Bangkok airports were shut down for over for a week at one point. Many people are angry.

In December, 2008 a polling agency did a large study, questioning over 2,000 people about the Thai Smile and found that on a scale of one to ten, people gave Thailand only a little over five points for smiles.

The new prime minister, Abhisit Vejjajiva, was elected on December 15 2008, and is already dealing with protesters. To help the general mood of the country, and to help the Thai tourist industry improve, his government has begun a new program with the Thai motorcyle police.

Smiley Cloth Masks

These highway police will be wearing cloth masks which cover the mouth and nose. They have a red cartoon smile painted on them and hide any possible scowls that might be on the police officer's face. They also protect the police officer from air pollution.

When these motorcycle police approach a motorist their mask smile is meant to reduce stress for the drivers. Supporting this goal, there are 200 police booths distributing mints, chewing gum and bottles of holy water.

If you are a motorcycle rider, why not reduce your own stress related to U.S. highway police officers by riding safely? The Motorcycle Safety Foundation offers excellent courses and on their website you can click on your state in their map to find all the local locations where you can take a riding course.

The U.S. Marine Corps needed dual-purpose motorcycles for convoy control, messenger services, military police work and scouting. Regular bikes, both off-road and on, use gasoline. But for good supply logistics the Marines needed a machine that runs on JP-8. This is fuel used by jet planes that is similar to kerosene and diesel fuel.

A Modified Kawasaki KLR650

So the word was put out and many contractors responded with impractical suggestions and finally a small company in California won the contract. In 2008, the Marines acquired a new bike called the HDT M103M1. It uses parts of the Kawasaki KLR650 -- the chassis, internal transmission parts, and some engine components.

But it has new engine parts designed to use JP-8. At a steady 55 mph it gets 96 miles to the gallon which is about twice the mileage a gasoline engine would give. It starts up a little more slowly than a conventional bike, but as you shift through its five-speed gearbox, it achieves 90 mph and will keep that speed through any harsh environment you test it in.

It has special lights and tougher tires and suspension. When you ride it, the handlebars and foot pegs vibrate because the Kawasaki KLR650 counterbalancer that would control this has been omitted. This is to make the bike lighter-weight and less complex.

These fast machines are not available for street or off-road use unless perhaps you go to your local Marine recruiter.

High speed riding is one of the contributing causes to motorcycle accidents on our highways. On an empty road it is safer but our roads are fuller each year with big rigs and SUVs and other large family trucks. They may not see you, or may not be able to stop or change lanes quickly enough to avoid an accident.

If you are in Ohio and need some guidance and support from an experienced motorcycle accident attorney, please email the law firm of Robert W. Kerpsack today for a free consultation.

In August, 2009, the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) will hold its fifth International Women and Motorcycling Conference. It will be held in Colorado, at the resort town of Keystone, a picturesque mountain area about 90 miles west of Denver.

This conference focuses on the encouragement and education of women in the motorcycling lifestyle. There will be many activities as well as classes and seminars teaching riding skills and knowledge.

The Motorcycle Industry Council reports that women now make up 12.6 percent of motorcycle and scooter riders. The last women’s conference was held in Georgia in 2006, drawing more than 1,100 participants. The AMA expects twice that number at this upcoming 2009 conference.

Extra-Curricular Activities

Part of the 2009 conference will consist of booths offering new bikes, new gear, and the latest in gadgets. You will be able to ride the new bikes and test them out. There will also be social events and opportunities, and let's note that this is not an all-women event. All partners or spouses are welcome and can participate in the social side of things even if they are not taking any classes or seminars.

The Keystone area offers some incredible riding opportunities including some well-known two-lane, off-road and dual-sport experiences. There are top-notch restaurants, breathtaking views and friendly local people.

The 2009 International Women and Motorcycling Conference will be held August 19-22, 2009 and you can make lodging reservations already by calling 800-258-0437.

Better riding skills and expanded knowledge of biker safety are always excellent offerings. When there are motorcycle accidents it is always the biker who suffers the most. Because a motorcycle is a more exposed way of traveling than inside a passenger vehicle, the risk of injury is always higher. By being very familiar with your bike, with road rules, and with safety precautions while riding, you can increase your chance of never being in an accident.

If you have been injured in a motorcycle accident, or if you have a loved one who has, you should consult an experienced motorcycle attorney to learn more about your rights and legal options. The law firm of Burg Simpson serves the entire Colorado and Wyoming areas.

In the 2008 fiscal year, 25 Marines were killed in motorcycle accidents on bases, 22 of them on sports bikes. This is according to the Naval Safety Center which gathers yearly statistics. It was the worst year for the bike-riding Marines so far and the first year in which more deaths occurred in bike crashes than in car crashes.

New Sanctions Allowed

Further, each of the past four years has been the deadliest so far. This is a trend. In response, the Corps has given more authority to non-commissioned officers over their junior enlisted Marines. Officers will now be able to deny requests for leave on the basis of any reckless behavior. There will be tougher penalties for traffic violations and a Marine's on-base driving privilege will be revocable. Riders will be required to wear helmets and reflective vests

More Training

Safety training is be mandatory at both basic and experienced-rider levels and there is a new safety course for sports bike riders. This was offered at Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort this past summer. It teaches braking and cornering skills for riders of high-speed motorcycles. It is mandatory for all active-duty Marines if they want to keep their bike's base access sticker. There are three hours of class time plus five hours of ride time.

In motorcycle accident research studies, speed consistently comes up as a factor in fatal crashes. As documented in the November 7 blog in this space, Supersports motorcycles are far more often involved in motorcycle deaths than standards or cruisers.

Yet speed and the accompanying sense of freedom is a big part of the attractiveness of motorcycle riding. Hopefully a more educated type of speeding will reduce the loss of our Marines.

If you have lost a loved one in a motorcycle accident and would like to consult an experienced bike accident attorney, please contact the law firm of Pomerantz Perlberger & Lewis. They serve the Philadelphia area.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to reducing highway accident losses – injuries, deaths and property damage. It works with a related organization, the Highway Loss Data Institute, which studies insurance data. Both are wholly supported by automobile insurers.

The IIHS has compiled 2005 statistics on motorcycle injuries and fatalities and classified them according to which type of bike was involved.

Supersports Motorcycles

These are racing bikes modified for street use, and are light weight with aerodynamic styling. They have more horsepower than other types, being able to travel as fast as 190 mph.

They are most popular with riders younger than 30.

• Riders of Supersports bikes sustain deaths nearly four times as often as riders of other types of bike.
• They made up nine percent of bike registrations in 2005.
• There were 22.5 rider deaths per 10,000 registered bikes.
• In contrast, there were only 10.7 deaths per 10,000 registered bikes for other sports models.
• Riders of supersports models sustained fatal injuries at the youngest average age (27 years) of all motorcycle types. In contrast, riders of other sports models were 34 years old on average.
• Speed was a factor in 57 percent of fatal accidents. In contrast speed was a factor in only 46 percent of fatal crashes involving other sports models.

Standards and Cruisers

These bikes with upright handlebars appear to be safer on the roads. In 2005 they constituted 51 percent of bike registrations.

• Standards tallied 5.7 rider deaths per 10,000 registered bikes
• Cruisers tallied 6.5 such deaths
• The average age of fatally injured riders was 44 years
• Speed was a factor in 27 percent of fatal crashes

Touring Bikes

Touring bikes appear to be the safest type and attract the oldest group of riders. The average age for accident deaths was 51 years in 2005. In those fatal crashes, speed was a factor in 22 percent.

Statistics like these are not necessarily predictive, but they are suggestive. If you recognize yourself in one of these categories, perhaps you could take some safety measures to try and lower your likelihood of being injured.

If you need an experienced motorcycle accident attorney and are in the Oklahoma City area, please contact Stipe Injury Law.

Near Centerville, Utah last month a woman was driving her Mazda northbound one evening and tossed her cigarette butt out the window. A motorcyclist was riding along behind the Mazda and became enraged, pulling up alongside the Mazda to yell at the driver. To do that he had to ride in the left-turn-only-lane. He had his young son as a passenger and had placed his own helmet on his son. His wife was riding her bike along behind.

There was minor contact between the Mazda and bike as evidenced by marks on the Mazda’s rear panel and tire. Markings on the road showed that the motorcycle was within a few inches of the line between the turn lane and the northbound lane.

The motorcyclist’s wife claimed that the Mazda swerved and hit her husband, although the driver stated that she was afraid for her safety and did not swerve. No evidence suggests the Mazda swerved.

The rider crashed his bike, sustained severe head injury and died at the nearby University Hospital. His son sustained only minor injuries. The Davis County Attorney’s office is investigating any possible charges.

Many people dislike cigarette smoke and littering, but is the issue of littering something to lose your life over? Road rage is self-destructive. If you are a bike rider who enjoys the freedom and joy of riding, why not look after yourself first and let others deal with littering and people’s smoking habits at more appropriate times.

If you are in Florida and need to consult with a motorcycle attorney, please contact Hardesty Tudy Green & Ashton, P.A. in Jacksonville, who have a great deal of experience in fighting for the rights of motorcyle riders.

The controversy over whether motorcycle helmets should be mandatory or not illustrates a deep division within American society. The trend now is away from helmet laws, ever since 1985 when the federal government stopped making helmet laws a condition for funding. Now just 20 states have a helmet law. Some of those laws require helmets only for riders younger than 18.

Freedom Fighters

On one side of this controversy are most of the bike riders themselves who treasure the freedom of choosing whether or not they will wear a helmet. They regard it as a personal choice. Riding a motorcycle is an exhilarating experience and even more so when you can feel the wind and sunshine on you and glory in your speed and control. Helmets and heavy riding clothes interfere with that joy. Riders and their supporters feel that each person is responsible for his or her own safety and no government has any right to mandate what they should wear while riding. They will accept any increased safety risk as the price life demands for their freedom.

Law Makers

On the other side of the controversy are those who don’t necessarily ride a motorcycle but who think that riders should be required to wear protective gear including helmets at all times while riding. They consider increased motorcycle accident injuries or deaths to be unacceptable. They view government regulations and laws as being the correct way to control accident statistics among motorcycle riders. They also get upset about the “mixed messages” of what is safe practice and what is unacceptable practice. They would rather see federal laws imposing uniformity on all bike riders in the nation.

Federal vs. State Government

There is a “state government vs. federal government” issue in all this. Quite apart from helmet laws, some people wish to have federal government laws override state laws on many issues and others feel that is overstepping on the part of the federal government.

Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell (D) repealed his state’s helmet law in July 2003 for riders over 21 with at least two years’ riding experience. A spokesman for the Alliance of Bikers Aimed Toward Education (ABATE), a 7,000-member anti-helmet-law group, applauded the Governor’s act – the more so in that the U.S. was founded in Pennsylvania to defend liberty. ABATE maintains that it is every American’s right to be safe, or not safe.

Those who would like more government control point to European countries, where all riders are required to wear head-to-toe safety attire. Opponents respond that Americans are not obliged to copy what is done in Europe.

Motorcycle Education Groups

Rider safety and education are done by many motorcycle organizations, such as ABATE mentioned above, the American Motorcyclist Association, the National Motorcycle Safety Foundation, and the international Hells Angels Motorcycle Club. Local groups also abound where new riders can learn from those more experienced.

As far as injuries are concerned, it is well established that when an accident involves a passenger vehicle and a motorcycle, it is the rider who is typically hurt or killed, not the vehicle driver or passengers. Motorcycles do not pose a great risk to other vehicles on the highways, being smaller than all the others.

The controversy may never be permanently resolved, but may drift to one side and then back to the other as society changes over the years. If you have been badly hurt in a motorcycle accident, learning about your legal rights and options would be a good move. If you are in the Chicago, IL area, the Law Offices of Barry G. Doyle is an excellent place to get reliable answers and aggressive representation.