Biker and Motorcycle Lawyer Blog / Blawg

I just read about a truly disgusting accident where a biker was killed after he made a full stop at a signal, and was rear ended by a Van. You can read about the accident by clicking here. The van driver not only killed this guy but he then ran away. He has turned himself in.

The biker that was killed was riding a custom Big Dog Chopper.

The reason I am bringing attention to this one particular accident is to bring a basic motorcycle safety issue to the forefront. We who ride motorcycles are completely open to the elements. Unlike cagers, we have no protection other than what we are wearing.

When you come to a stop at a signal or stop sign, you should always keep your bike in gear, and you should always be watching your mirrors for idiots that do not look like they are going to stop. Unlike in a car where you may not be able to move out of the way, on a motorcycle you can real quickly give it some gas, let the clutch out and move if you have to.

Always leave yourself an out when you are stopped. Plan on some idiot rear ending you and plan your out; Everytime you Stop! Do not be lazy. After a while this process will become second nature.

Now with respect to custom motorcycles and choppers; there are tons of really cool looking aftermarket mirrors, and even stock mirrors. I ask this question; is having a functional dual mirror setup on your motorcycle, more important than looking cool? No way! Don’t buy those micro mirrors that are worthless in function. Make sure you have good mirrors on your motorcycle. The stock mirrors on my Harley Davidson Electra Glide are perfect for functionality. Most stock mirrors on the motorcycles that I have owned are perfect. It is the cool looking aftermarket mirrors that in most cases are worthless.

Some of the custom motorcycles that I have seen being produced have mirrors that are basically installed as an afterthought just because the law requires them to be there. I am guilty on this issue too. I have purchased really cool looking aftermarket mirrors that were basically worthless. I have since changed my ways.

You must be able to see behind you on both sides. Your mirrors can save your life.

There is no way of knowing whether the biker killed in the article mentioned above could have gotten out of the way in this instance. The reason I am bringing this article to your attention is to let you know that when you are stopped on a motorcycle, you must be vigilant to protect your life.

Remember, cagers cannot see us like they would if we were in a car. We must act like we are invisible to the cager. If cager’s rear end each other, it is ten times worse for us!

Keep Both Wheels on the Road.

By Norman Gregory Fernandez, Esq., © 2007

First off, I send my deepest condolences to the victims and their families of the worst single shooting spree homicide in United States History; The Virginia Tech Massacre.

While watching the news coverage today, I tried to imagine how horrible it must have been for the students sitting in their classrooms, listening to the barrage of gun shots that rang out. I myself attended college and law school. That is the last place on earth where you would think that some loony toon would walk in and start murdering people by shooting them. I could not imagine the horror that the unarmed students went through.

I then thought about the fact that we are a nation presently at war, and how stories like this might give fodder for our enemies to become copycats.

Going further, I thought about the fact that this tragedy could have either been prevented or diminished had just one or two of the adult students or teachers at the University had concealed carry permits to carry their own guns.

I am an advocate of the 2nd Amendment Right to Bear Arms. There are many people out there that seek to ban firearms by using incidents such as this as proof that banning guns would prevent such tragedies. I beg to differ.

In fact, in nations or States that freely allow their citizens to carry concealed weapons; the crime rates are much lower.

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The difference between a divorce and an annulment is that in the case of an annulment, the marriage is void, voidable, or not legal from its inception. A divorce involves the legal termination of a marriage by court order. In most cases it's much more difficult to obtain an annulment, than a divorce.

Examples of void, voidable, or marriages not legal from their inception are: certain marriages between relatives (incest); marriages to minors who are not emancipated (under 18 in California); marriages that are not legal in other States; marriages in California where a proper license was not obtained, or where a ceremony of marriage was not performed, or where the marriage was not consummated; marriages to persons who did not have the capacity to enter into a marriage, etc.

Many people are under the mistaken belief that they can have there marriages annulled if they were only married for a few weeks. This is a mistaken belief, if a license was obtained, a ceremony was performed, and the marriage was consummated. Unless it can be shown that the marriage was void, voidable, or not legal from its inception, you will have to go through the dissolution of marriage process. (Divorce)

My firm does family law in Southern California. You may contact me through my family law website by clicking here, or by calling 818-584-8831.

By Norman Gregory Fernandez, Esq., © 2007

Anyone who is into the biker and motorcycle scene knows that the number of women that are riding motorcycles is on the increase every year. I am an old school biker and remember the good old days when the ladies rode shotgun on the back. Although many women still ride shotgun on the back of motorcycles, more and more they are actually riding the motorcycles themselves.

To be quite frank, it is a real turn on to see a gal riding her own motorcycle. I read an article that you can check out by clicking here, that states that since 2003, there has been a 36 percent increase in women owning and riding motorcycles, and that women now make up 10% of all bikers. It only makes sense to me. I do not see any reason why women cannot ride motorcycles like men. What the hell, bikers are bikers whether they are men or women. Once you get the biker bug, you are hooked!

The article mentioned above cites that 12 percent of new motorcycle purchases from Harley Davidson, and Suzuki are made by women. This is no surprise to me; I have been riding with women who have owned their own motorcycles since the 1990’s. Now I am no sexist by any means whatsoever, however, I have seen a few women drop their bikes at stop signs or traffic lights, because they may have purchased a motorcycle that was too heavy for them. I have also seen men do the same thing.

I think that it is a good thing that more women are riding their own motorcycles. Just like men, I would recommend that women who are contemplating getting their own motorcycle, go through a Certified MSF riding course, and not choose a motorcycle that is too big for them. I have seen women who weigh 110 pounds riding Harley Davidson Baggers! I am a big guy and sometimes have trouble holding up the bike when I get into a lean at a stop sign or traffic light. I do not recommend that anyone be it man or woman purchase a motorcycle that is above their physical and riding ability.

The article states that most women who buy Harley Davidson Motorcycles opt for the Sportster.

So ladies there it is, if you have the biker bug then have at it and get your own motorcycle. The more the merrier! If your man wants to keep you on the back, then get another man. You have every right to ride your own motorcycle just like us men.

By Norman Gregory Fernandez, Esq., © 2007

Many people live their lives with pre-existing medical conditions such as: Bad knees; degenerative conditions in the back, previous broken bones that have healed, etc.

Are you entitled to recover for damages in a personal injury accident when a pre-existing medical condition is exacerbated? Yes!

The Egg Shell Skull Theory

The Egg Shell Skull Theory goes something like this. Let’s say Humpty Dumpty, who has a skull as thin as an egg shell, is driving, and gets into a car accident that is not his fault. His skull being as thin as an egg shell shatters into a million pieces so that all of the king’s horses and all of the king’s men could not put his head together again. Can Humpty Dumpty recover for his injuries considering the fact that he had a skull as thin as an egg shell, which is not normal for human beings? Yes!

The law of personal injury in a nutshell (not to be confused with egg shell) makes persons who are negligent, liable for injuries that they cause that are reasonably foreseeable. The case law on the subject has concluded that it is reasonably foreseeable that persons who are injured may have pre-existing conditions, or deformities, and that a negligent person must take the injured person as they find them. Hence Humpty Dumpty is entitled to a recovery eventhough is head is as thin as an egg shell.

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You heard it right; a bathtub! I read an article which you can read by clicking here now, about a 72 year old motorcycle rider who was riding his Honda motorcycle on an interstate when he was hit by a bath tub that fell off of a truck.

The motorcycle rider suffered severe injuries in the crash. The driver of the truck was arrested for negligent injury and carrying an unsecured load. It is good to see that law enforcement seems to be doing more to punish those who take out motorcycle riders and bikers.

I have read about other accidents where bikers were killed by boats becoming un-hitched and hitting the motorcycle, and other debris hitting the motorcyclist and causing serious bodily harm or death.

I myself almost became a victim of such an event when a pack that I was leading suddenly came upon a mattress on the road while we were cruising at 70 miles per hour on the 101 freeway in Calabasas, California. I have also had to dodge spent big rig tire treads lying about on the highways. If you hit one of those treads at speed you are in for a world of shit. Big rig tire treads are metal re-enforced and can cause major damage to you and your motorcycle if you hit one.

Unlike cagers, we bikers and motorcycle riders are completely exposed to road conditions, debris, and all sorts of hazards while riding our motorcycles. If you have ridden motorcycles for any length of time on highways and on streets, chances are that you have had your share of close calls too.

On a few occasions while I was riding in my cage, I have seen things flying on the freeway that made me thank god that I was not on my motorcycle that day!

What can we as bikers and motorcyclist do to prevent being hit by debris or flying objects on the road while we are riding? Well, in the case of the 72 year old who was hit by a bath tub, it appears, not much. I doubt that he even saw the tub coming by what was written in the article here.

When you are riding your motorcycle, always remain vigilant. Anticipate that cagers, road debris, and flying objects will come at you, because they do! Keep your eyes and your ears open and anticipate the worst so you can prevent it. Do not tailgate trucks or trailers hauling materials, and always keep enough room for you to avoid debris and obstacles on the road. Do not ride directly next to cagers, and try to keep a 2 to 3 second distance between you and any cars in front of you.

If you see debris or something flying at you, do not panic! Try to calmly process what is happening and take evasive maneuvers. If you panic, you may over-react and crash your motorcycle instead of calmly maneuvering around the hazard.

Keep Both Wheels On The Road.

By Norman Gregory Fernandez, Esq., © 2007

I have read several articles about motorcycle airbag systems. Honda has come up with a production airbag system for their Goldwing motorcycle that you can read about by clicking here.

I have also read several articles on inflatable vest that inflate upon the rider falling off of the bike.

I sure would like to hear from anyone who has had an accident while using one of these new safety devices, and to hear if they helped.

I think the jury is still out on all of these systems. I have not read any real reports on whether these systems will actually protect you if you go down. My attitude is that anything that will increase safety while riding a motorcycle is a plus.

However, for me the bottom line to being safe on a motorcycle for now is taking a proper motorcycle safety course before riding; wearing good riding gear; and watching out for cagers.

In the end you do not want to be a test subject for new and improved motorcycle safety systems. You want to keep both wheels on the road, and keep your eyes and ears open while on runs.

By Norman Gregory Fernandez, Esq., © 2007

As a biker lawyer, I handle many motorcycle injury accident cases. I also give many free consultations for bikers and motorcyclist who are injured in motorcycle accident cases.

Bikers and Motorcycle Riders are a tough breed. This goes for the female bikers that I represent as well. In most cases, they call because they know that they have legal rights when they have been injured in a motorcycle accident, but they waffle as to whether they should retain a lawyer to get what they deserve.

I gave a consultation and signed up an interesting motorcycle accident case yesterday. The gal who was riding her motorcycle was hit by a negligent cager who swerved into her lane, and admitted that he did not see her. She has broken bones and is in severe pain.

Although she is a female, she exhibited the exact same macho biker personality that I see with all of my male clients. It made me think to myself; why do us bikers not want to protect our legal rights when we are injured in an accident due to no fault of our own?

Most bikers are just worried about getting their motorcycles fixed after an accident. I had one guy laying in a hospital bed with broken bones, and a punctured lung and all he cared about was his motorcycle. I see this time and time again. I can relate, I have been injured in a motorcycle accident and all I cared about was my bike.

Does this make sense? None of us can take our bikes to our grave, nor will the bike do us any good if we are too messed up to ride it anymore. We have to think about ourselves and our family in situations such as this. Why cheat ourselves and our family out of just compensation if a cager hits us?

I try to make things easy for bikers and motorcycle riders who are injured in motorcycle accident cases in the State of California. I send my investigator out to them so they do not have to hassle coming to my office, we assist in handling all of the property damage portions of the case for free without taking a percentage of property damage like some other personal injury lawyers do. Why would anyone sign up with a lawyer that would take a percentage of your property damage loss? The only job of our clients is to get better, and to cooperate with us in case we have to sue the people who caused the accident!

Even then some bikers and motorcyclist are apprehensive about retaining a lawyer. I am telling you now, don’t be apprehensive; pick up the damm phone and give me a call so I can help you! (My Firm handles motorcycle accident injury cases in California)

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I am sure that many of you have heard the term “Black Box” data recorders which are usually associated with airplanes and airplane accidents.

Did you know that many manufacturers are now installing Black Box Data Recorders in Cars? probably not. Black Box data recorders have been put into cars for years now and nobody knows it, or it has been kept very low key; now you know.

Black Box data recorders in cars can give data such as speed at the time of an accident, gear position, braking position, direction of car, whether seatbelts were being worn, etc.

Obviously this type of data is huge for personal injury lawyers such as me. It can help get around the he said, she said, arguments for who as at fault in an auto accident, and get right to the root of actual fault. Many Personal Injury lawyers do not even know about Black Boxes being installed in cars.

There is one dilemma when it comes to Black Boxes in cars; your right to privacy is out the window. It can be predicted in the future that GPS enabled black boxes will allow Big Brother to track your movements, and potentially even disable your car.

You can read a couple of stories about Black Boxes in cars by clicking here, and by clicking here.

Technology can be good and bad. In the hands of the wrong people, it can be used to usurp the freedoms we so love in the United States. I say cast a weary eye on anyone who wants to use fear as a motive to get us as Americans to give up the freedoms that generations of us have fought and died for.

The least the car companies could do is to let us know if a Black Box is installed in our car, and to let us know what its capabilities are. As a matter of fact I think it should be legally mandated that we as consumers be notified by car manufactures if a Black Box is installed in our car.

Like I said above, the technology can be good, and it can be bad if misused by those who would seek to take our freedoms and right to privacy away. Let us have the choice.

By Norman Gregory Fernandez, Esq., © 2007

Here is a poignant video with a strong motorcycle safety message for all courtesy of youtube.com.

I sure wish that this video or something like it would be put on the TV networks to get people thinking about motorcycle safety.

By Norman Gregory Fernandez, Esq.

I have read several articles recently that governmental officials at the State and Federal level in the United States, and United Kingdom are contemplating laws that would require manufacturers of sport motorcycles otherwise known as “Crotch Rockets,” to install speed regulators on the motorcycles, that would limit their maximum speed to a pre-determined level. Some sport motorcycles can currently reach speeds of up to 200 miles per hour.

Although you will see articles from me condemning using these types of motorcycles to race on public roads, I am against governmental regulation that would cap the maximum speed of any type of motorcycle. There are already laws against speeding and reckless drivers.

There are many types of cars that can reach very fast speeds. Why is no one talking about putting speed regulators on cars? The end result of allowing such regulations would be more and more regulations. Eventually these regulations would cross over to cruiser motorcycles, and god knows what else.

Eventually with such regulations in place, big brother can and will take control of motorcycles and motorcycling. If I buy a motorcycle, I do not want some device installed that would limit my speed. Have you ever had a big rig truck tailgating you on the road while riding a motorcycle? Sometimes being able to speed up is necessary to be safe. In California there may be speed limits, but it is also illegal to not go with the flow of traffic.

The last thing I would want to be on is a motorcycle that is speed regulated so that I could not safely ride with the flow of traffic, or speed ahead of dangerous tailgaters.

There are many valid arguments for not wanting vehicles capable of 200 miles per hour on our public roads, and there are many valid arguments for not putting speed regulators on motorcycles or cars.

We already have laws to deal with speeding and reckless drivers. A free nation is less free with more and more government regulation.

I say no speed regulators. What do you say?

By Norman Gregory Fernandez, Esq., © 2007