Spring Is Here: So Too Are Renewed Challenges for Motorcyclists

An authoritative South Carolina personal injury legal source duly stresses the importance of every accident victim receiving dedicated and proven representation “no matter how small or large their claim may be.”

That is a key imperative in any roadway injury matter. And it is logically supplemented by the need to ensure that diligent advocacy extends to victims regardless of how small or large their vehicles might be.

Because the demographic comprising traffic-linked accidents and injuries is notably vast and diverse. The “vehicular collisions” underscored by the above-cited South Carolina personal injury legal overview recurrently feature vehicles of many types and descriptions. Those range at the extremes from trucks like behemoth-sized tractor trailers and other assorted 18-wheel big rigs down to bicycles.

And they include motorcycles as well, with their riders being instantly vulnerable in motor vehicle crashes in an outsized way.

Motorcyclists’ reality: freedom interspersed with roadway risks

Adverse crash outcomes involving bikers and motorists in passenger vehicles often sound a similar narrative. Drivers of cars and trucks often say that they simply didn’t see a motorcyclist until the point of collision. And irrebuttable evidence in many such accidents spotlights driver negligence spanning many behaviors, such as these:

• Speeding

• Excessive lane weaving and tailgating

• Dangerous engagement with on-board distractions (e.g., pets, kids and cellphones)

• Alcohol and/or drug impairment

• Drowsy driving, and even sleeping

• Behind-the-wheel eating and grooming activities

Those behaviors – either singly or in any linked fashion – both predictably and literally drive catastrophic accident/injury outcomes for motorcyclists and their passengers.

Sobering and sad statistics re South Carolina motorcycle accidents

Here are a couple compelling takeaways provided by government safety regulators concerning adverse motorcycle crash outcomes in South Carolina relevant to 2019:

• 153 of the 1,001 fatal accident victims spanning the state were motorcycle operators or their passengers (comprising 15% of all fatal crash victims)

• Deadly accidents occurred across virtually every driving environment (e.g., in both urban and rural landscapes, and on roadways ranging from streets to interstates)

The injuries suffered by motorcycle crash victims are often catastrophic, of course, and lead in many instances to life-upending outcomes (e.g., traumatic brain injury, broken bones, disfigurement, neck/back complications, spinal cord injuries and more).

Motorcyclists command full driving rights and privileges while engaged in traffic. When those are violated through the behind-the-wheel negligence of another party, an injured victim can ally with a proven and empathetic personal injury attorney and seek a meaningful legal recovery marked by accountability and maximum accountability.