May is Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month

This month of May is Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month. Motorcycles are vehicles with the same rights and privileges as any motor vehicle on the roadway. Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month is a national initiative aimed at getting motorists and motorcyclists to “share the road” with each other.

Several government agencies including the Los Angeles Police Department are attempting to get the message out to drivers and bikers to share the road.

The goal of the campaign is to lower the number of crashes involving motorcycles. In 2010, 361 bikers died and nearly 11,000 were injured in California.

It is important for motorists and motorcyclists to educate themselves, be alert and follow the rules of the road. One of the biggest safety tips for motorcyclists is knowing their bike’s capabilities, specifically its braking capability during a panic situation.

Also, the most dangerous spot on the road for motorcyclists isn’t the freeway, but at intersections, alley ways, and roadways to make a left hand turn. This is usually because drivers waiting to turn don’t see motorcyclists due to unintentional blindness.

The other aspect of the campaign involves bicycle awareness. Due to changes in culture and gas prices, bikes as a mode of transportation are becoming more common. As a result, they are also seeing more accidents involving biker riders. They say the best thing to do to avoid an accident is to ride with the flow of traffic, not against it, to be seen by other drivers.

The NHTSA reports that helmet use in States that require all motorcyclists to wear helmets significantly increased from 78 percent in 2008 to 86 percent in 2009. The helmet use in these States continued to be higher than in those States without universal helmet use law.

Our law firm handles motorcycle accident cases all over the state of California. You can read about these cases at www.makkabilaw.com. Our office gives free consultations over the phone 24 hours a day at 310-887-8000.