The front page WSB-TV website on Tuesday, February 9, 2016, displayed two prominent stories that are connected, although unintentionally. The lead banner headline relayed details of a winter weather advisory for the Atlanta area, including probable accumulation of snow. In another story, a video covered the story of I-75 closing due to a tragic motorcycle crash involving a head-on collision with a tractor-trailer truck. This blog post discusses the increased dangers of riding motorcycles in winter in Georgia. Increased Number Of Accidents In The Winter Months There is no question that all drivers and passengers face increased dangers during the winter months. The federal Department of Transporation (DOT) Highway Safety Administration reports that during a typical winter driving season across the United States, nearly 7,400 drivers and passengers lose their lives, and nearly 675,000 more are injured in crashes. Many can be directly related to adverse weather and road conditions. Although…

Motorcyclists can never be too careful. The same can be said for everyone else on the road, particularly concerning how we navigate and share the roadways with motorcyclists. Drivers are often encouraged and reminded to look twice for motorcycles. A failure to look carefully may have contributed to the cause of why a woman's life was cut tragically short on a Sunday afternoon in December. A woman leaving a holiday Christmas parade in which she had driven her motorcycle was pronounced dead approximately a half-hour after her bike struck a van that allegedly pulled out of an apartment complex in front of her. The driver of the van was an elderly woman of nearly 90 years. No charges have been filed, and the elderly woman was taken to the same hospital as the deceased woman but was listed in stable condition. A passenger in the van was reportedly uninjured. When…

The fact that motorcycle operators and their passengers do not have a steel frame surrounding them to provide protection is one of the reasons catastrophic injuries are common in a motorcycle collision with a car or other motor vehicle. This is why it is important for motorcycle riders to take precautions before going out on the road to minimize the chances of becoming a motorcycle accident victim. According to Georgia officials, most catastrophic injuries and deaths associated with a motorcycle crash are caused by either a neck injury or a head injury. Wearing a helmet increases your chances of surviving a motorcycle accident. Helmets should meet federal standards and should not show signs of cracks or other defects that could limit their effectiveness in protecting you in the event of an accident. If the helmet is not equipped with a face shield, state law requires you to wear some form of…

Motorcyclists will likely tell you that when it comes to getting to where they want to go, they wouldn't have it any other way. The responsiveness, the maneuverability, the fuel economy and more are things that traveling in a car cannot match. But there is no such thing as an unalloyed blessing, and when it comes to traffic accidents the same factors that make riding a motorcycle such a joy can turn into the rider's worst enemies. Simply put, when a car collides with you on a motorcycle the car has all of the advantages. What you have between you and the pavement – your clothing, and your helmet – is what you have. No seatbelt. No airbags. No anti-lock braking. And what that means is that there is a very real risk that you will suffer one or more serious injuries: broken bones, head and spinal cord injuries are…

Much has been written about the dangers of texting and talking on a cellphone while operating a motor vehicle. The truth is that focusing attention on just those two behaviors ignores the fact that anything that takes a driver’s attention away from the road contributes to making that person a distracted driver and a danger to others. A fatal motorcycle crash was the most recent illustration of the danger a distracted driver poses on Georgia highways. According to police, a motorist became lost and realized that he had gone off the route shown on the GPS on his cellphone. The motorist made a sudden U-turn in an effort to get back on course, but his maneuver took him into the path of oncoming traffic that included a motorcycle. The failure to yield by the motorist caused his vehicle to hit the motorcycle. The rider died from the catastrophic injuries caused…

Riding a motorcycle is an exercise in trade-offs. In exchange for the benefits of greater maneuverability, better fuel economy and a greater sense of freedom riders must be cognizant of the potential hazards, of which the most significant is what can happen to you if you get into a collision with a car or a truck. The same lightweight characteristics of your motorcycle that contribute to the benefits above can turn into serious or even deadly drawbacks when there is nothing between you and the road but the clothes you wear and the helmet on your head. The reasons why another driver might hit you are many, but car-motorcycle accidents frequently result from the car driver never even seeing you until it is too late. The reasons for that, in turn, can lead to questions of possible negligence: careless driving, distracted driving, not paying sufficient attention in conditions including darkness…

A motorcycle rider who is involved in an accident on a Georgia road is much more likely to suffer serious personal injury or to die than are those who are occupants in other types of motor vehicles. Motorcyclists simply do not have the same protection as do other vehicle occupants. According to data provided by the Insurance Information Institute, 4,688 people died and approximately 88,000 were injured in motorcycle accidents around the country during 2013. A 2012 study demonstrated that for every vehicle mile traveled in the U.S. that year, motorcyclists were far more likely to be involved in a fatal collision or to be seriously injured in a crash than were other occupants of passenger cars. In many cases, drivers simply fail to see motorcyclists who have the right of way. In two-thirds of collisions, the fault lies with other motorists who are turning left onto a roadway, crossing…

Georgia motorcycle enthusiasts might be interested to learn about a coming technology that has the potential to greatly reduce the number of both small-vehicle as well as motorcycle crashes. The technology, which is currently undergoing the final administrative steps for its release, allows vehicles to communicate safety data with one another, alerting drivers to the presence of other vehicles or slowing traffic. While the vehicle-to-vehicle communication technology is currently under study for release as a technology for cars and light trucks, its potential to also reduce motorcycle crashes is promising. In a safety pilot study conducted by the Department of Transportation in 2012, nearly 3,000 cars and light trucks in Ann Arbor, Michigan, were fitted with the technology. The study demonstrated that the systems worked well across manufacturers. Many motorcycle accidents occur when a car fails to notice an oncoming motorcycle, turning left in front of it and causing a…

A motorcyclist is dead after an accident on Sept. 19 in Columbus. His Harley-Davidson was hit by a minivan driven by a Salem, Ala. woman. Both he and his wife were in the state to attend the Georgia HOG Rally. According to the coroner from Muscogee County, the man died at the Midtown Medical Center at about 10:19 a.m. An autopsy has been scheduled. The driver who hit the biker was taken into custody and charged with vehicular homicide and cited for a traffic light violation. She was released from the Muscogee County Jail after posting bond. The accident occurred on Victory Drive near the Econo Lodge when the biker, who started entering the intersection, was hit by a 64-year-old minivan driver who did not stop at a red light while making a left turn. According to witnesses, the minivan dragged the motorcyclist for around 75 feet under the van's…

An Atlanta police department report confirmed that a 33-year old woman was killed in a fatal motorcycle crash which occurred in the early morning hours on the Downtown Connector. A woman driving a Hyundai Sonata allegedly bumped into the rear end of the motorcycle, causing the female passenger on the bike to fall off. The car then hit and killed the woman. The driver of the motorcycle was also injured, but reportedly fled the area after his passenger did not respond when he called her name. The woman driving the Hyundai was charged with vehicular homicide in the first degree, DUI and another charge. A breath test registered the woman's blood-alcohol level at .209 percent, more than double the legal limit in the state. Police took her to the Fulton County Jail. The driver of the motorcycle was also taken into custody after he sought treatment at a local hospital.…