Motorcycle crashes happen for various reasons, but taking the time to get to know your motorcycle and improve your riding skills can help you stay safe. What are some other things you should know, though? Are there certain areas that are more dangerous or actions that could result in a crash?
A study looking at 100 motorcyclists’ data can help people understand why they’re more likely to crash. The volunteers, all between the ages of 21 and 79, had various equipment installed to track their movements. The people had various levels of training and riding experience, and they were both male and female.
What the study found was that 30 of the 100 riders crashed during the year-long program. The reasons for those crashes included riding too slowly (17 of the crashes), getting rear-ended (1 crash) and leaving the road in three instances. Other causes for crashes included negotiating curves poorly and hitting vehicles that crossed into the riders’ paths.
On top of these 30 crashes, the study also recorded near-misses. The total number of near misses was 122, just over one per rider.
Intersections were found to be dangerous, because drivers often did not double-check the area before proceeding. The speed of a motorcycle is also easy to misinterpret, which puts motorcyclists at a higher risk of getting hit. Drivers should look twice before pulling out into traffic to make sure they see and account for motorcyclists on the roads, even in the winter months.
If a rider is hit by a driver who didn’t see him or her, he or she still has a right to seek a claim. Drivers have a responsibility to monitor the roads and be aware of those around them.
Source: Motorcyclist Online, “This Is Why You Crash Your Motorcycle—According to Science,” Ken Condon, accessed Jan. 31, 2018