Tiger Tales 26: Biker Ignorance Causes Crashes

By The Law Tigers
America’s Injury Lawyers Who Ride

We Are Killing Ourselves – Biker Ignorance Challenges Driver Distraction as Top Crash Cause

In a position paper recently submitted to the NTSB Motorcycle Safety Forum, it was stated that “… the greatest single problem in the motorcycle safety arena today is the negligence, distraction and inattentional blindness of automobile drivers.” While it continues to be a valid assertion, we regret to report that the same may not be true about one statistic used to support it. Specifically, recent empirical observations as well as motorcycle crash and fatality statistics released by Colorado, Florida, Massachusetts, North Carolina, South Carolina, Washington state and others indicate that it may no longer be true that “… 50% of all motorcycle accidents are caused by the inattentional blindness of automobile drivers.”

In short, although careless, clueless and cell phone-impaired cagers may continue to be the leading cause of motorcycle crashes and fatalities, responsibility for the majority of those accidents and deaths may now fall squarely on our saddles.

Young crotch rocketeers craving adrenaline and attention are adding nitrous boosters to production sport bikes already capable of 200 mph, and racing through busy streets begging for the inevitable.

Meanwhile, over-forty empty nesters – including many naive newbies with little training and more dollars than sense – are getting liquored up, revving up, and roaring right off the road, taking out themselves and everyone in their path.