Here is a video which demonstrates a classic cager v. motorcycle scenario whereby a cager cuts off a motorcycle and causes the motorcycle to crash, probably causing severe personal injuries to the motorcyclist.
First off there is no excusing the cager whatsoever for causing this motorcycle accident. The car has a duty of due care to ensure that there is no one in the other lane before changing lanes. The video clearly shows that the biker owned the lane, and was clearly not at fault in this accident. I handle motorcycle cases such as this on a daily basis. Most of the time there is not video like this to show what actually happened in a motorcycle accident.
From the video it appears at least to me that the accident could have probably been avoided had the biker been riding slower. You may agree with me that it appears that the car took a bit of time before the biker hit the car. Had the biker been going slower, this accident probably could have been avoided.
What is the lesson learned by this video; Ride like you are invisible. If you are on city streets or highways, anticipate that some idiot is going to cut in front of you in their car. Ride defensively and always try to leave yourself a way out.
Obviously, there are times when there is flat out nothing that you can do, however, the lesson of this video is that riding slower on city streets and highways where cars and cagers will be entering and changing lanes may save your life!
By Norman Gregory Fernandez, Esq., © 2008
Recent comments