On the Job Injury

Unfortunately, motorcycle accidents are common in Orlando and throughout the United States. While the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA) reported that the number of motorcyclist deaths appears to have declined slightly in 2013, evidence indicates that this decline was caused by bad weather and not better safety. Overall, the number of motorcycle deaths has been rapidly increasing and the decline in 2013 was only the second time since 1997 that the number of fatalities has gone down.

Victims of motorcycle crashes should consult with an Orlando personal injury lawyer for help after their collision. Motorcyclists may be entitled to compensation if a driver’s carelessness or negligence was the cause of the accident and injuries.

Preventing Motorcycle Wrecks

In Florida, there was a seven percent decline in motorcyclist deaths in 2013, mirroring the national decline. In the first six months of 2012, 222 Floridians died in motorcycle collisions. In the same time period in 2013, just 207 motorcyclists died. In the first nine months of 2012, there were 326 deaths while the death toll was down to 303 in 2013.

According to Forbes, the reason for the nationwide decline in motorcycle deaths was because 2013 was a colder and wetter year throughout the United States than 2012 was. This resulted in fewer riders being on the roads.

Planning for bad weather is a terrible way to try to bring down the rate of fatal motorcycle collisions. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has provided some tips that can actually improve safety conditions. The tips were published in the start of May, because May is Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month. The NHTSA advises drivers to:

– Signal every time the driver merges or changes lanes.
motorcycle riders are advised to:
– Have a motorcycle license and undergo safety training.
– Avoid driving while impaired or distracted.
– Use both turn signals and hand signals before changing lanes or turning.

While some people make the smart choice of either shutting off their cellphones or keeping their devices out of reach, many people just can’t resist reading an incoming message or sending a quick text. When they engage in this type of careless behavior, they are putting themselves and everyone else sharing the road at risk of serious injury or worse.

Technology, however, may help prevent people from texting. According to an April 2, 2014, article in WKMG Local 6, two Central Florida brothers have come up with an app that can make it impossible to text while driving. The brothers admit they used their phones in the past to text while driving on many occasions. One brother, Phil Stiles, told Local 6 that he wanted to create an app that would remove the temptation to text and drive. The app, called TXTShield, works like this: When a vehicle hits a certain speed, it will activate and the driver cannot read an inbound text or send an outbound text. If you text someone with the app, you will receive a message stating that the person is driving and unable to respond.

Studies find that drivers who text generally take their eyes off the road for about 5 seconds. If you’re driving a car at 55 mph, you’re essentially driving the length of a football field blindfolded. Most people who spend any amount of time on the road might notice someone who is swerving from lane to lane. A decade ago you might have thought that the driver was drunk. Nowadays, it’s more likely that the person is distracted by a cellphone.

Apps such as the one detailed in Local 6 may help people who are habitual offenders when it comes to texting and driving. Parents also may want to consider making such cellphone apps a requirement for their teenage drivers. According to Local 6, parents can set up the app with a password so their teenagers won’t be able to shut it off.

Central Florida accident victims can contact Winter Park, FL personal injury attorney Richard B. Troutman by calling 866-434-5770.

Motorcycle Accident Lawyer

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