ANOTHER DEADLY MOTORCYCLE SEASON IS UPON MISSOURI

Price & Randle

ANOTHER DEADLY MOTORCYCLE SEASON IS UPON MISSOURI

Spring is quickly approaching.  Riders are getting anxious.  Now is the time of year when motorcyclists  across the state and country are dusting off their bikes and dreaming of shaking off the cold of winter with a warm tour of the road.  Bikes are polished, tuned up, chromed up and ready to go.  Unfortunately, the automobile drivers who are supposed to share the road with motorcycles are not thinking about motorcycle safety.

Of all accidents on the road, motorcycle accidents have the highest percentage of fatalities, both in Missouri and nationwide.  Over the past decade, fatalities in Missouri motorcycle accidents have averaged 92 deaths per year, with an average of 1,823 injuries, many of them severe.  As any rider knows, when you put a motorcycle and the human body up against a four-wheeled automobile, the rider is almost certain to lose.

According to the Missouri Statistical Analysis Center, in 2011:

  • 1.8% of all traffic crashes involved a motorcycle.  11.3% of all FATAL traffic crashes involved a motorcycle.  82 people died and 2,166 more people were hurt from motorcycle crashes.
  • One person was injured or killed in a Missouri motorcycle crash every 3.9 hours.
  • Of all motorcycle crashes, 52.6% occurred in urban areas of the State and 47.4% occurred in rural areas.  ***63.0% of all FATAL motorcycle crashes occurred in rural areas.
  • Motorcycle accident victims were 93.7% male and 6.3% were female.
  • The average age of injured motorcyclists was 41.3 years.
  • 42% of motorcycle crashes involved one motor vehicle striking anther motor vehicle.

These accidents are real, and they are frequent.  Every rider on the road has probably had multiple close calls with accidents.  Most of the time, the automobile drivers simply did not see the motorcycle, or were not looking out for them.  The proliferation of on-board entertainment, cell phone usage and texting have only made things worse.

Chances are, if you ride a motorcycle, you will have an accident.  Motorcyclists and their passengers deserve the same protection under the law as any other person on the road.  Injured riders need good advice, counsel and representation from attorneys who have experience handling motorcycle injury claims.  If you or a loved one have been injured in a motorcycle accident, do not let an insurance company dictate your future.  Contact the attorneys at Price & Randle, LLC at (573) 240-8866 for a free consultation.

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