Georgia is a motorcycle destination state, with scenic highways and popular motorcycle routes through flourishing cotton fields, mountain valleys, and along coastal roadways. It’s also a warm-weather state that allows year-round motorcycle use for residents who enjoy gas-friendly transportation to work and school. Unfortunately, the same open-air design that makes a motorcycle ride appealing also leaves riders vulnerable to severe or fatal injuries in a crash. Experienced motorcycle accident attorneys in Atlanta have seen careless drivers and other negligent parties being responsible for many motorcycle accidents in Georgia.
A recent Georgia accident report reveals alarming trends in motorcycle accidents, including fatal motorcycle crashes. The following statistics highlight the dangers when motorcyclists share the roadway with vehicles that weigh an average of 4,000 pounds:
According to CDC motorcycle crash data, motorcycle helmets prevent about 37% of motorcycle rider fatalities in accidents and 41% of passenger deaths.
Motorcyclists are vulnerable to severe injuries and fatalities in crashes because a rider lacks the protection of seatbelts and the surrounding structure of a car. A motorcyclist faces direct impact with the roadway, obstacles, and other vehicles in collisions. Common causes of Georgia motorcycle accident fatalities include drivers who speed, engage in distracted driving, follow too closely, fail to yield the right of way to motorcyclists, improperly pass, or make unsafe lane changes into the pathway of a motorcycle. Impaired drivers and drowsy drivers add to the dangers facing motorcyclists on Georgia roadways.
Less commonly, careless or reckless drivers are not the liable parties in a Georgia motorcycle accident. Atlanta accident attorneys explain that sometimes the investigation reveals other types of negligence caused or contributed to the accident, such as negligent road maintenance, obstructed signs, poorly designed intersections, or defective motorcycle parts.
In a motorcycle accident, the rider suffers direct impact with the roadway and obstacles while driving at speeds comparable to those of cars. Some motorcycle accident injuries are relatively minor, such as road rash abrasions and soft-tissue injuries like sprains and torn ligaments. In other cases handled by experienced injury attorneys in Atlanta, fractures, lacerations, contusions, and back and neck injuries cause pain, suffering, and adverse financial consequences. Tragically, the most common causes of motorcycle accident fatalities in Georgia include the following grave injuries:
When a rider suffers fatal injuries in a Georgia motorcycle accident caused by someone else, their closest surviving family member may recover compensation through a wrongful death claim against the at-fault driver or other negligent party.
"*" indicates required fields