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Motorcycle accident deaths claimed the lives of 3,661 motorcyclists in 2003 alone. This is more than a twelve percent increase from the year before. In addition to these motorcycle accident deaths, at least 67,000 people are injured in motorcycle accidents every year in the United States. Eighty percent of all motorcycle accidents result in serious injury or motorcycle accident deaths. Motorcyclists are much more prone to accidents because they are less visible and less protected on the road.
The biggest cause of motorcycle accident deaths is driver negligence. Seventy-five percent of all motorcycle accident deaths involve collisions with other passenger cars. Of these cases, two-thirds are caused by passenger car driver negligence. Vehicle drivers often lack the know-how and consideration required to safely share the road with motorcyclists. Some drivers do not pay enough attention while driving to identify motorcyclists on the road before making lane changes and other vehicle maneuvers. Most motorcycle accident deaths are the result of another vehicle’s failure to yield the right of way to a motorcyclist.
Motorcycle accident deaths can also be attributed to motorcyclist negligence. Inexperienced and under-trained riders are more likely to be involved in motorcycle accidents, because they often lack the experience required to avoid accidents. Ninety two percent of all victims of motorcycle accident deaths have less than five months and five hundred miles of motorcycling experience.
The lack of helmet use and personal protective equipment is also a major cause of motorcycle accident deaths. Most motorcycle accident deaths are the result of traumatic brain and spinal cord injuries. Statistics show that helmets are sixty seven percent effective in preventing brain and spinal cord injuries and twenty nine percent effective in preventing motorcycle accident deaths. People who do not wear a helmet have a forty percent chance of suffering a fatal head injury in a motorcycle accident.
Currently nineteen states and the District of Columbia have mandatory helmet laws. Statistics show that these states have a helmet use rate of nearly one hundred percent or all motorcyclists, while states without these laws have a helmet use rate closer to fifty percent. Helmet use is probably the single key factor most likely to prevent motorcycle accident deaths.
Motorcycle accident deaths can also be the result of crashes caused by defective auto parts or hazardous road conditions. The HURT study, a comprehensive federal research project, found that three percent of all motorcycle accident deaths were attributable to defective auto parts due to design, manufacturing, or maintenance. Approximately one percent of all motorcycle accident deaths are attributable to hazardous road conditions. These sometimes involve inadequate traffic signals or roadway hazards. When motorcycle accident deaths occur, the family of the decedent has the legal right to seek compensation for their losses.
For more information on motorcycle accident deaths, you may wish to contact an experienced and competent attorney who can help.
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