On a motorcycle, any crash with another vehicle is dangerous. The motorcyclist is almost always in vastly greater danger because of the smaller size of their vehicle. They don’t have nearly the protection that someone in a car has, even when wearing a motorcycle helmet.
But one of the accidents that is both the most common and the most dangerous is known as a left-turn accident. It’s important to understand how this can happen so that motorcyclists can avoid it.
The problem with judgment calls
The issue with left turns is that it’s a judgment call. If a motorcyclist is heading down the road and a driver coming toward them has to turn left in front of the bike, it’s up to that driver to decide when it is safe to do so.
If the driver turns when there is not enough space, however, the motorcyclist will strike the side of the vehicle as it turns through the traffic lane. A motorcyclist can’t swerve to the left to avoid the crash, because that’s where the actual oncoming lanes are. They also can’t swerve right, because that’s the direction the turning vehicle is traveling.
There are numerous reasons why drivers will make this mistake. Often, they don’t see motorcycles. Sometimes they think the motorcycles are traveling much slower than they actually are. In other cases, drivers are just distracted by phones or passengers.
But regardless of why the accident happens, it can have devastating consequences for the motorcyclist. Those who have been injured need to know how to seek financial compensation for medical bills and related costs.