As a motorcyclist in Kentucky, summer is your favorite season. You finally get to take your bike back out of the garage. You get to hit the open road. Things warm up and start moving when you have some great riding weather.
Unfortunately, summer is also one of the most dangerous seasons for motorcyclists. Drivers do not remember how to drive around bikes. They’re not used to them. They don’t look for them. This leads to a lot of accidents caused by simple mistakes.
To help you avoid a crash, here are some of the biggest dangers you face on the road:
- Drivers who want to turn left and have to wait. These drivers feel impatient and rushed. They wait for a gap in the oncoming traffic so they can dart across the lane. If they’re not looking for your motorcycle in the gap, they may never see it. They can turn right in front of you.
- Distracted drivers coming toward you. These drivers think they can manage with two fingers on the wheel, driving with just their peripheral vision. They keep looking down at their phones and drifting into the oncoming lanes. Your small, fast bike won’t show up in their vision as they look at the phones, and, even if it does, they may not react quickly enough to avoid you.
- People getting out of parked cars who never bother to check the mirror. These people only think about what they’re doing and where they’re going. They don’t look behind them to see you coming down the small city street. They just pull up to the curb and jump out, swinging the door right into your path.
- Drivers who need to merge into your lane. Blind spots are real. These drivers often do not check them and do not use their blinkers. They just hear the GPS tell them to merge right or left to make the next exit, and they respond instantly. If your bike is in that lane, they hit you.
- Drunk drivers. These intoxicated drivers pose a threat to everyone else on the road. Other drivers. Motorcyclists. Pedestrians. Bicyclists. They make plenty of minor mistakes just trying to get home. On a motorcycle with limited protection, though, even one small mistake is far too much and it can put you in the emergency room.
Remember these dangerous drivers this summer, and stay safe while you ride. If you do get hit, be sure you know exactly what rights you may have to financial compensation for your medical bills and other costs by contacting a Northern Kentucky motorcycle accident lawyer from TLF today.