Georgia Injury Law Blog
Even as the numbers of people killed in auto accidents in the United States have declined over the past few years, the numbers of people being killed in motorcycle accidents has remained more or less steady.In 2010, federal auto safety agencies recorded the first drop in motorcycle accident fatalities in more than eleven years.The decline was slight, but was encouraging to Atlanta motorcycle accident lawyers who have been very concerned about the fact that motorcycle fatalities have remained high over the past decade.However, the decline in fatalities was too low to mean any major change in the attitude towards motorcycle safety in the country.
In 1981, the groundbreaking Hurt Report was published, and outlined the major factors involved in motorcycle accidents in the United States.The study had been sponsored by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.The Hurt Report was published during a time of high accident fatality numbers involving motorcyclists. One of the findings of the Hurt Report was that most motorcycle accidents are caused by motorists who fail to yield right-of-way to a motorcyclist.
Those findings are just as true in 2011, as they were back in 1981.Many motorcycle accidents every year are caused by motorists who fail to respect the rights of motorcyclists.Motorists need to look out for motorcyclists.Failure to do so can have devastating consequences for motorcyclists, because these people have very little protection during an accident.
Motorcyclists are at risk of serious injuries like brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, and other injuries that increases the risk of death.Wearing a motorcycle helmet can protect a motorcyclist to some degree against serious traumatic brain injury.However, wearing a motorcycle helmet may be no guarantee of safety.Every year, hundreds of motorcyclists are killed even though they were wearing helmets at the time of the accident.Even so, wearing a motorcycle helmet is one of the first pieces of advice that Atlanta motorcycle accident lawyers would offer motorcyclists, because while it is not foolproof, it does offer some degree of protection against a serious or fatal traumatic brain injury.
Motorcycle accident rates could be reduced further if more motorists accepted the increasing number of motorcyclists on Atlanta’s streets, and respected the rights of these people to be there.
The Atlanta motorcycle accident attorneys at the Katz Personal Injury Lawyers represent persons injured in bicycle accidents in the metro Atlanta region and across Georgia.