May is Motorcycle Awareness Month — what to be aware of

While efforts to raise awareness of motorcycles on the road may help to avoid some accidents, you probably see drivers not paying attention every time you’re on the road. We see the problem every time we get a new client.

May is a good time to review your underinsured insurance coverage. Read my article in last month’s issue of Full Throttle Magazine “How much underinsured coverage do I need”. Have a question about insurance coverage, just call us and will be happy to help you out.

With so many drivers not paying attention, the most important part of awareness is that of the motorcyclist. Motorcyclists need to assume that every driver doesn’t see them.

The single most important time to be aware of drivers is when you see a car about to make a left turn. The vast majority of our motorcycle accident cases involve a car making a left turn. In every one of these cases, the driver just didn’t see the motorcycle.

Motorcycle accidents involving cars making a left turn include:

• Cars coming from the opposite direction making a left turn in front of you
• Cars coming out of a parking lot
• Cars coming out of a side street
• Cars coming out of a driveway

Although we have motorcycle accident cases where a motorcycle was hit in the rear or sideswiped, these four types of left-turn accidents seem to make up the bulk of our law practice.

Consequently, until left turns are banned or technology in cars takes over, the single most important driver to look for is the one about to make a left turn!

We’ve been helping raise awareness of motorcycles on the road with our campaign BE AWARE MOTORCYCLES ARE EVERYWHERE®.  Every year, we give out lawn signs, bumper stickers, magnetic bumper stickers, and large magnetic car signs. Look for our signs at motorcycle events or just ask Lee at Full Throttle Magazine.

Look for our motorcycle awareness billboards in May at Costco in Melville/Farmingdale and Westbury displaying BE AWARE MOTORCYCLES ARE EVERYWHERE®.