Which of the following is the leading cause of motorcycle accidents? This is a typical question that most people living in Houston Texas ask.
The Texas Department of Transportation reveals that about a third of the motorcycle accidents that were fatal occurred at an intersection. Therefore, they say that the evidence points to distracted driving as being the leading contributor to motorcycle crashes in Texas.
Main Causes of Motorcycle Accidents
Generally, the following are universally accepted as the main causes of motorcycle accidents in the country:
Distracted Driving
It is important to note that it is mandatory that drivers should be fully alert especially when operating cars and motorcycles on the same road. Interference greatly enhances the risk of an accident in motorcycles as opposed to cars due to their relatively small size and this makes them less conspicuous.
- Mobile Phone Use: Mobile phone use when driving is one of the most common types of distraction commonly referred to as distracted driving. Drivers using mobile devices for texting, operating social networks or GPS functions inevitably look away from road for longer periods of time which results in catastrophic crashes. It is just as if a split second lapse of concentration could lead to fatal results.
- Eating or Drinking: One more common interference is when the driver eats or drinks while behind the wheel. Holding food and drinks also demands a level of focus that diverts from the road. Riding a motorcycle, particularly with one hand, may reduce the ability to effectively control a motorcycle and cause the rider to suddenly lose balance or swerve into other lanes.
- Talking to Passengers: Talking to passengers is something that people do every day while car rides; it is a very risky tactic for motorcycle riders. By moving their head towards the passengers rather than having their eyes focused on the roads, they are a great danger since they lower their response time as well as their sense of the environment.
Impact on Motorcyclists
motorcyclists are prone to danger when facing distracted drivers since they have no protection in the form of cars. This means that even if a motorcyclist is fully protected by proper clothing and gear, they could easily become severely injured or even killed if they are involved in an accident with another vehicle.
And while the distracted driver may emerge from the crash without severe injuries, they may be held liable. By consulting an accident lawyer in Houston, they may end up having to deal with every injury or suffering which the accident might bring about.
Since distracted driving poses a significant risk to motorcycle accidents, both the motorcycle riders and car drivers should ensure that they follow the following preventive measures.
- Switch off gadgets and keep them out of reach before getting into a car.
- If you need your phone or GPS device to navigate or to call for help, then find a safe spot to stop until you accomplish your need.
- Always make sure that you are concentrating on driving the vehicle and do not participate in other activities that may cause distractions.
Lane Splitting and Filtering
Lane splitting is defined as riding a motorcycle between two lanes during slow-moving traffic, while lane filtering is the movement of a motorcycle through or alongside traffic that is stationary or moving slowly in or out of available spaces.
As much as these actions may seem efficient especially when traffic is congested, they also contribute to accidents involving motorcycles.
Here are some important points to consider when discussing lane splitting and filtering:
Limited Visibility: Motorcycles operating between lanes or adjacent to other vehicles could be obscure to motorists’ lines of vision due to blind zones particularly when veering from one lane.
Sudden Lane Changes: While a motorcycle is in motion, especially when switching between two lanes, the chances of an accident arising from other drivers maneuvering their vehicles without noticing the existence of motorcycles nearby are high.
Lack of Experience: Some novice riders who try to ride within congested traffic may not have adequate experience and good decision-making capabilities for safe lane splitting/filtering.
To avoid accidents related to lane splitting and filtering, both motorcyclists and vehicle drivers should adhere to the following guidelines:
- Riders should be very cautious before engaging in lane splitting/filtering activities.
- The driver should maintain a moderate speed whilst moving through traffic.
- Employ the use of indicators to increase visibility and discuss to other drivers regarding your next course of action.
- Motorists should always look at their mirrors while changing lanes or performing any maneuvers that may in any way endanger motorcycle riders nearby.
The overall motorcycle crashes due to improper lane splitting /filtering can be minimized if people are aware and follow the right etiquette on the roads.
Speeding
When attempting to answer the question of identifying which factor is a leading contributing factor to motorcycle accidents, speeding cannot go unnoticed.
Road accidents remain a worry especially those involving speeding in motorcycles. This is because, unlike cars, motorcycles cover a higher rate of speed and this makes speeding a vice for the riders.
Here’s why speeding is a leading cause of motorcycle accidents:
Reduced Reaction Time: The higher speeds also expose a rider to various risks such as responding inadequately to signals such as stops or obstacles that may be on the roads causing the rider to lose control over the motorcycle.
Increased Severity of Impact: During high speed impacts, the force exerted causes increased risks of harm to the motorcyclist depending on the extent of the crash, which could be very fatal.
Difficulty in Judging Speed: Motorcycle users may be difficult to see by car drivers because of their size, it may be hard for car drivers to estimate the speed at which the motorcycles are moving. This lack of judgment leads to dangerous situations where cars attempt to change lane or overtake other cars without sufficient room for the motorcyclist.
To avoid getting on the wrong side of the law, or being held liable for an accident, a good motorcycle accident lawyer would advise you to embrace these safety measures:
- It is always important to adhere to the posted speed limits and also vary your speed to what has been posted.
- Ensure that you keep a safe distance from other vehicles, give oneself enough time for necessary maneuvering and braking.
- Consider unfavorable terrain on road and traffic jam, which may hinder your movement.
Drunk Driving
Generally, drunk driving is a clear answer to the question what is the most common cause of motorcycle accidents? It is a real danger not only to the riders themselves but also to all other drivers and passengers on the road.
They also increase the risks associated with accidents due to the fact that driving under the influence considerably hinders an individual’s ability to safely operate any car.
This is why DUI is such a significant factor behind motorcycle mishaps:
Impaired Judgment and Reflexes: Alcohol has an effect on the nervous system which interferes with the rational thinking required to operate a vehicle safely. Moreover, reflexes become significantly impaired when under the influence thus increasing response times required while handling the bike.
Decreased Visibility: Alcohol negatively impacts vision by causing blurry vision and reduced night vision which means that those drunk and behind the wheel – motorcycle included – have little to no ability to clearly see their surroundings during those hours.
Increased Risk-Taking Behavior: Alcohol weakens the individuals’ ability to exercise self-control and self-discipline, and those who consume it are likely to act in ways that are risky and reckless if they were to abstain from it. These reckless behaviors significantly increase the risk of the occurrence of motorcycle accidents.
However, preventing drunk-driving related motorcycle accidents requires one to follow the following steps:
If you intend to consume alcohol, avoid driving, and arrange for a sober driver.
If you are unable to drive, take a cab or public transport to go back home safely.
But you should always be conscious about other cars and try to identify the cars that are being driven by drunken drivers, because they are reckless and tend to make dangerous movements like, switching from one lane to another, over speeding or suddenly swerving.
It is possible to save many motorcycle accidents from happening in the first place through a campaign that encourages people not to drink and drive while at the same time addressing the issue of road accountability.
Poor Road Conditions
Hazardous road conditions are largely responsible for motorcycle incidences. Although bikers must always be alert, there are some factors that make them become vulnerable to danger that causes accidents.
Here are some of the most frequent poor road conditions that contribute to motorcycle accidents;
Potholes and Uneven Surfaces: When roads are poorly maintained or contain big potholes the motorcyclist may easily lose balance when cycling through those roads. This is because two-wheel vehicles are generally more prone to accidents owing to their instability in such cases.
Limited Traction: Tire traction decreases where roads are wet because of poor weather conditions, oily substance, or stony gravel or sand on the road. This reduction in friction enhances the chances of slipping or losing control when making sharp turns or swerving.
Lack of Proper Signage: Both motorists and motorcyclists need proper signage that would direct them on the best route to follow. In areas where there is no sign or where signs are ambiguous on speeds allowed or potential threats such as sharp bends, merging lanes etc, this becomes risky for the riders.
In order to prevent cases of poor road conditions and related motorcycle mishaps, the following measures should be taken into consideration;
- Submitting any witnessed evils like potholes or other undesirable features on the road within the shortest time possible.
- Pay attention to suspicious areas where decreased grip may be found (e. g. , intersections after a rainy day).
- Making necessary alterations in riding strategies whenever there is contact with unfavorable road surfaces.
Inexperienced Riders
When analyzing the figures that are supposed to provide an answer to the query, what is the cause of motorcycle accidents, it is possible to establish that inexperience of motorcyclists is a primary reason for accidents. Inexperienced riders are not experienced enough in tackling some of the events that may occur when riding the motorcycle and may easily be involved in an accident.
That is why newbie riders are in a comparatively higher danger class to get into a motorcycle crash.
Lack of Defensive Riding Skills: Basic protective measures that motorcyclists should observe effectively assist them in avoiding risky situations and act adequately. Some of them may be inexperienced riders and may not have acquired these basic skills hence they may crash or even have an accident.
Difficulty Handling Unexpected Traffic Situations: This poses a challenge to new riders especially when they encounter things such as the sudden change of lanes by the neighboring vehicle or when approaching junctions hence cause an incident.
Overestimation of Abilities: Inexperienced riders tend to overemphasize their ability or, conversely, underestimate dangerous stances and motions, which new riders may encounter and steer themselves into unsafe conditions they cannot fully address.
To minimize motorcycle accidents as a result of in-experience and to minimize the burden of lawyers representing claimers after an accident.
- Take up rider training programs that include basic as well as advanced level training for new as well as experienced riders.
- Riding should commence gradually, and this can be achieved by practicing on roads that have little traffic intensity before moving to roads with more traffic intensity.
- Consult with those who have been riding for some time now as they can give tips on proper conduct on the road.
By ensuring the appropriate training approaches are followed and stressing on the need to gain the necessary experience, the instances of motorcycle accidents can be limited considerably.
Driver Inattention/Failure to See Motorcycles
There are so many causes of motorbike accidents but one of the leading causes is a driver of four-wheeled car not effectively perceiving a motorbike. The following are some of the reasons why this is the case:
Smaller vehicle profile: Motorcycles are lower in visual prominence than standard automobiles. They can either be hidden in the car blind zones or easily ignored in a glance due to their slim structure.
Lack of experience spotting bikes: Drivers are often not fully alert, looking out for motorcycles on the road they are driving in. Sightseeing for bikes is not part of standard driver training.
Assumptions about hazards: Drivers develop certain preconditions regarding the probability of meeting such a type of threat on roads. Motorcycles continue to be comparatively small in number, meaning many drivers never actively seek them out.
These tendencies increase the threats to motorbike users as their safety relies on other motor vehicle operators noticing them and reacting with appropriate attention to avoid accidents.
Dangerous/Careless Driving
Although driver inattention is a primary cause of motorcycle crashes, overaggressive driving is another primary cause of motorcycle accidents.
These behaviors make a four-wheeled vehicle extremely dangerous to a motorcycle rider performing one or the other. A bike does not afford the rider any stability, as well as the protection that is offered by a car.
Any slight deviation from proper driving may put the life of a motorcyclist passing by the car in extreme danger. In this case, riders rely on the safe and courteous behavior of the four-wheeled vehicles in their vicinity. Reckless driving puts not only other motorists at risk, but motorcyclists in particular.
Motorcycle Braking/Handling Inferiority
In normal conditions where there are conscious and skillful riders and drivers, motorcycles perform poorly in terms of braking and / or road holding than the regular four-wheelers. Key mechanical disadvantages that make the nature of motorcycles one of the main motorcycle accident causes include:
Longer stopping distances: Motorcycle braking systems do not offer the same level of stopping power as four-wheeled vehicle brakes because it has two small contact patches compared to the four large ones of a four-wheeled vehicle.
Reduced traction: Motorcycles lack the ability to maintain proper tire traction in the same situations as cars because they only have two thin tires while cars have four big ones.
Limited stability assist features: Current motorbikes do not possess traction control, anti-locking, and stability regulation that are found in today’s cars.
However, such control necessitates high-level rider skill in order to avoid crashes during the execution of emergency movements.
Vulnerability to road hazards: Small undulations such as grooves, potholes, any kinds of debris, rocks, and so on are likely to upset the balance of a motorcycle while they barely affect a car.
Crosswinds effects: Here one can observe that motorcycles are more susceptible to diversions in their path as compared to cars due to crosswind effect.
Although prior rider training reduces risks from deficiencies in the inherent characteristics of motorcycle braking and handling, Rider errors present threats in normal braking/turning. these limitations result to motorcyclists being at a darker side than other vehicles even when there is no rider or driver negligence.
Vulnerability to Larger Vehicles
Last but not the least, the disparity between motorcyclists and other large vehicles such as trucks and Sports Utility Vehicles stands accountable for many a rider fatality or life-threatening incidence.
Some of the reasons why this is also a common cause of motorcycle accidents include:
High ride height obstructs detection: The front ends of the oversized four-wheelers are usually higher than those of standard vehicles making it hard to observe motorcycles approaching in time to respond.
Massive weight disparity magnifies impact forces: Encounters with vehicles that are 10-80 times heavier than a motorcycle’s weight increases crash energy and jerk.
Blunt front profiles exacerbate trauma: Few large trucks and stationary wagons offer fairly rectangular, vertical front ends as opposed to cars’ blunted fronts. This shape provides more force acting directly on impact energy to the riders.
Higher bumpers align with critical body regions: As for large vehicles’ bumper elevation it is identical to motorcyclists’ chest, abdomen, and head areas which are the most critical zones for fatal injuries.
In a collision between a motorcycle and an SUV or any other large 4-wheeler, the riders suffer the most impact forces because of the inherent size disparity. Increased requirements for vehicle safety and design changes improving the motorcycle visibility are capable of increasing the level of protection for vulnerable riders.
FAQs
What Percentage of Motorcycle Riders Get in Accidents?
Bike mishaps are by no means rare occurrences given the type of the vehicle and the riding circumstances. Various studies show that nearly four out of every five motorcycle accidents lead to injury or death, compared to less than one in every five car accidents. Such a difference raises the question about the safety of motorcyclist on the roads during such activities.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) suggests that motorcycle riders are more prone to crashes in comparison with car drivers. Some data show that between 1% and 2% of motorcycle riders are involved in an accident annually. Despite this, it is very important to note that motorcyclists are relatively a small fraction of the total traffic on the roads compared to the car drivers.
Accounting for this difference, motorcyclists are roughly 27.9 times more likely to die in a crash per vehicle-miles travelled than occupants of passenger cars.
The following are some of the reasons as to why motorcyclists experience higher rates of accidents. Some of these are; they are relatively smaller in size and thus easily obscure from the other road users, they do not have the physical body work like cars and are more likely to topple over due to the two-wheel structure. Also, motorcyclists experience worse riding conditions compared to other automobiles, including weather conditions, obstacles or other road users that may endanger the lives of motorcyclists.
What State Has the Most Motorcycle Accidents?
Analyzing motorcycle accident data, some states stand out with higher numbers of accidents and fatality rates in the U.S. Some of the most popular states of destiny are California, Florida, and Texas. Of these, Florida often tops the charts in motorcycle accidents.
Florida has favorable and rather warm temperature most of the year, and has many beautiful roads for bike riders within the state and this may lead to many accidents. Based on statistics provided by NHTSA and FLHSMV, Florida has recorded more than 500 motorcycle-related deaths and thousands of injuries annually.
There are several reasons why Florida stands out as recording high motorcycle accident rates.
Year-Round Riding Conditions: Florida has favorable weather conditions for riding a motorcycle throughout the year and this leads to a higher density of motorcycle owners on the roads as compared to other climatic zones.
Tourism: The state is a popular tourist destination and so many outsiders are likely to be less experienced riders on unfamiliar roads.
Urban Traffic: Congestion on the streets raises the chances of an accident because of congestion, and this applies to cities such as Miami and Orlando.
Some of the states with high rates of motorcycle accidents are California, with congested traffic and beautiful though complex terrains, and Texas, expansive Highway States, and fluctuating weather patterns.
How Many Motorcycle Accidents Per Year?
Motorcycle accidents may occur throughout the year and at different frequencies, although it has remained rather high this past few decades. Data from the NHTSA reveals that there were about 5,014 motorcyclist deaths in the United States in 2019. Likewise, approximately 84,000 motorcyclists were injured in the same year.
Motorcycle related accidents form part of the general traffic accidents. Motorcycles contributed to 14% of traffic fatalities in the year 2019 even though only covered 3% of registered vehicle fleet. This disproportion shows why motorcycling is dangerous.
The occurrence of motorcycle accidents can be annual dependent on a number of factors
- Weather Conditions: Seasons with severe cold are likely to record fewer numbers of accident occurrence because of little riding while in warm seasons there are high possibilities of many accidents occurrences.
- Economic Factors: During periods of economic upturn, perhaps more people can afford motorcycles hence the congestion and possibility of incidence of accidents might equally rise.
- Legislation and Safety Measures: Modifications of the regulations concerning helmets, usage of safety promotion programs, and improvements in motorcycle safety features may influence the incidence of accidents and fatalities.
What Percentage of Motorcycle Accidents Are Fatal?
Motorcycle accidents are more fatal than other forms of vehicular accidents in terms of the fatality rate. As estimated by the NHTSA, 14 to 15 percent of motorcycle mishaps end in deaths. This percentage is higher than that of fatality in car accidents which stands at approximately 1% to 2%.
The motorcycle fatality rates are higher for several reasons
- Lack of Protection: This is in contrast with cars since motorcycles do not have a metal envelope that protects riders’ bodies from direct impact in the event of an accident.
- Higher Risk of Ejection: Since Motorcycle riders are likely to be ejected from the motorcycle during an accident, the risk of suffering from severe injuries or dying is high.
- Less Stability: Motorcycle is much less stable than a four-wheeled vehicle because of this, it is easier for them to have an accident, particularly if the conditions are bad.
Helmets and protective clothing and accessories help in minimizing the losses when involved in an accident. According to the NHTSA, helmets are found to be about 37% effective in preventing motorcycle deaths. However, most states do not have compulsory helmet wearing laws and those that do have such laws, are not strictly implemented.
Contact Us
If you have been involved in a motorcycle accident, you should seek the services of our professional and competent motorcycle accident lawyers. Sometimes, your accident is due to the negligence or reckless actions of another person and our attorneys may be able to recover compensation for all damages incurred.
To learn more about your options or to schedule a FREE consultation Call us today at (713) 804-8149. Let us assist you to receive what you are entitled to.
