Riding a motorcycle offers tons of benefits. Not only is it cheaper but a motorcycle requires less fuel and less maintenance compared to a four-wheeled vehicle. However, despite these advantages, motorcycle riding involves a greater amount of risk.
Due to their size and lack of protection, a motorcycle exposes the rider to a major collision. On top of that, these two-wheeled machines are less stable on the road and at high speeds. During difficult conditions such as rain and fog, riding a motorcycle gives you a greater chance of getting involved in a serious accident.
The Numbers Don’t Lie
In 2020, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recorded 5,500 motorbike-related deaths. About 180,000 more motorcyclists were treated for severe injuries. Notwithstanding the high economic losses caused by these injuries, motorcycle accidents remain a major danger. On the other hand, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reports that motorcyclists are 28% more likely to die as a result of a collision.
While helmets have saved thousands of lives, motorcyclists may still need to deal with the aftermath of an accident. While you may be fortunate enough to survive a collision on two wheels, getting compensated for your injuries and future economic losses is still important. In this guide, we look into the things you will need to do after getting involved in a motorcycle accident.
Causes of Motorcycle Accidents
Before knowing what to do following a motorcycle accident, you will need to know the factors causing it. According to the NHTSA, lack of experience and skill in using a motorcycle is the main cause of most collisions. Another factor is the fact that motorcyclists are less visible compared to passenger vehicles.
Aside from these, traffic enforcers across the country cite risky lane changes, distracted driving, and environmental factors as the leading causes of death and injury among motorcycle riders.
You have the right to pursue legal action if you have not fallen short of observing road safety for motorcyclists. No amount of preparation can keep you safe from reckless drivers and on-road hazards that could cause serious injuries, permanent disability, and psychological damages.
Learning the steps you need to take after a motorcycle accident will help you recover from your ordeal. For this, here’s what you need to do if you are ever involved in a motorcycle accident:
Steps to Take After a Motorcycle Accident
Check yourself
A lot can happen during a collision, but your priority will always be yourself. You won’t be able to help others involved if you are injured. Check to see if you can move your limbs. You may not feel the sensation of pain until much later because of the adrenaline from the crash, but it pays to know if you can get up and clear yourself from the road. As you do so, make sure you still have your safety gear and helmet on. Removing them will only expose wounds and bruises that could get worse.
After knowing that you are clear of any injuries, try to check on others that were involved in the collision. You should leave your bike behind as any attempt to push it to the side of the road will only cause more harm. Not only that, but you could be exposing yourself to ongoing traffic. At this point, your priority is to check that everyone is safe.
Once you have taken control of the situation, you or someone nearby should call emergency services. This is crucial if the collision happened on a remote road and the nearest first responders are miles away from the site. Contacting them immediately following the accident is important if there are people with life-threatening injuries that need urgent care.
Collect evidence
As you wait for emergency services to arrive, you need to get a good understanding of the situation and the events that led to it. You will need this if you are filing an insurance claim or suing the other party for negligence. The amount and quality of evidence you have gathered will help establish fault and determine the amount of compensation you deserve.
Evidence on the ground will include everything from the extent of the damage to your motorbike, skid marks, damaged landmarks, and road hazards such as potholes and patches of black ice. Apart from that, evidence can also take the form of witness testimonies. Ask other motorists or pedestrians about what they saw. Make sure to list their names and phone numbers because these details are critical to the success of your claim.
If there are surveillance cameras in nearby establishments, request the property owners if you can obtain footage showing a good perspective of the accident. In case they refuse, you may have to get a lawyer to help you out. You can also request other drivers if they can provide you with dash cam recordings, but in most cases, you may need to obtain these through the police that arrived on the scene.
Get legal assistance
Whether you have been injured as a result of reckless driving or because of road hazards that were not cleared out in the first place, the situation will cost you a lot in medical bills. You may also include the number of days you are out of work as a result of your hospitalization.
Taking both physical and economic challenges into account, a motorcycle accident lawyer can help communicate with your auto insurance provider and the party at fault in making sure you are financially secure.
Even if a motorcycle accident leaves you with minor cuts and bruises, your lawyer may also include the long-term psychological effects of the accident. In addition, the right legal expert can help shield you from an insurance company’s unfair practices that are meant to downgrade the amount covering your actual suffering.
All it takes is knowing who to call in the city you are in. If you are involved in a motorcycle accident in Alabama, you can look for a Mobile or Dothan motorcycle accident lawyer who knows how to navigate local personal injury laws to get you the compensation you need.
Riding a motorcycle is still the most convenient way to get around at a lesser cost compared to driving a car. It doesn’t have to be dangerous, but with the dangers that lie ahead, preparing and knowing what to do if you get into a collision will go a long way.