PERSONAL INJURY BLOG

California is the only state in the country where motorcycling spitting is legal, but until now, there were rules that advise motorcyclists about lane splitting. Now, that has changed. The California Highway Patrol recently decided to officially provide guidance for motorcyclists to perform this technique properly.

Lane splitting is the practice in which motorcyclists ride between cars in crowded areas. It has been a controversial technique, and many motorists have criticized the practice, even calling for a ban on it. However, lane splitting, as the practice is called, has been legal in California for years now. In January, the California Highway Patrol decided to finally offer motorcyclists official guidance about how to practice lane splitting safely, and responsibly. The guidance has been released after consultations with other California state agencies, as well as motorcycle rider groups.

The new guidance applies not just to city streets, but also to highways across California. The rules require that motorcyclists lane split at a speed of not more than 10 mph above the speed of the traffic around the motorcyclist. If the traffic around is moving at more than 30 mph, it is highly recommended that you avoid lane splitting.
Those are some of the simple rules included in the guidance, and to Los Angeles motorcycle accident lawyers, they seem very sensible.

The new rules also give California motorcyclists some guidance about riding safely, and not riding at excessive speeds. Motorcyclists in California have always been subjected to the threat of ticketing by the California Highway Patrol for driving at excessive speeds. However, the new rules provide specifics, and should be very useful in helping motorcyclists ride safely.

A motorcyclist who was riding on Sepulveda Boulevard in Manhattan Beach, suffered critical injuries after an accident last week.

The accident occurred in the evening as the motorcyclist was heading north on Sepulveda Boulevard. A car that was traveling south made a left turn in front of the motorcyclist. The motorcycle struck the car broadside, and the motorcyclist suffered serious injuries. He was rushed to the County Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, but succumbed to his injuries.

On the face of it, this may seem like a simple accident, but the fact is that accidents caused when a motorist makes a turn in front of a motorcyclist are some of the most common accidents, often ending in serious injuries for the motorcyclist. Most of these accidents occur because the motorist is not aware of the motorcyclist riding behind him. A motorcycle has a much narrower frame, and as a result, a motorist may not be aware that there's a motorcyclist behind him, unless he takes care to actually look out for one.

With more numbers of motorcyclists on California roads, Los Angeles motorcycle accident lawyers believe there is simply no excuse for motorists to remain unaware about the presence of large numbers of motorcyclists on their roads. These accidents can be avoided. For example, motorists must look out for motorcyclists in their rear view mirrors. Very often, motorcyclists may be hidden in a motorist’s blind spots. Motorists must be very careful, and take a few seconds to look out for a motorcyclist located out of their field of vision. It is especially important for drivers to be careful in conditions of poor visibility, like during bad weather or during nighttime. A little care and caution can go a long way in preventing these accidents.

It should be a simple enough requirement-wear a helmet while riding a motorcycle because it will significantly reduce the risks of suffering a serious or fatal traumatic brain injury during an accident.  Unfortunately, motorcyclists either refuse to wear helmets because of the comfort factor, or as Los Angeles motorcycle accident lawyers sometimes see, wear unapproved, non-federally certified helmets that do nothing to prevent brain injury during a crash.

The California Highway Patrol says that many motorcycle accident fatalities can be traced to helmet failure when a motorcyclist is not wearing a sturdy helmet that is approved by the Department of Transportation.  You can determine whether your helmet has been approved by the DOT by looking for a sticker that is located at the back of the helmet. 

Unfortunately, helmet use isn't as pervasive in the motorcycle fraternity as Los Angeles brain injury attorneys would prefer.  Many motorcyclists find them too cumbersome, and believe they block vision and reduce hearing.  Others prefer the freedom that comes with wearing a novelty helmet that does not cover the face completely.  These novelty helmets also do not come with an inner lining, and are simply not believed to be as sturdy as federal certified helmets.  A motorcyclist wearing these helmets will find no protection from devastating full frontal facial injuries, with possibly fatal consequences.

However, many motorcyclists have their doubts about the testing that DOT-approved helmets are put to. For these motorcyclists, there are other private agencies that conduct helmet testing.  For instance, the Snell Memorial Foundation, a nonprofit organization based in Sacramento, conducts independent testing of helmets.  The organization tests and certifies more than 3,500 helmets, and includes a number of impact tests, including face shield and chinstrap tests.  The results are posted online.  The Snell Memorial Foundation says it has a highly stringent testing process, and only those helmets that pass each and every single test make the cut.

Police have identified the 7-year-old child who was killed on Wednesday when his father's motorcycle collided with a car. The impact threw Victor Camacho 22 feet from the impact and killed him. Victor and his older brother, 8, were riding on the motorcycle with their father, though the older boy was not seriously hurt in the impact. The boys' father was uninjured.

Camacho's motorcycle was heading northbound, and a car that was parked on the curb pulled away to make a U-turn. The motorcycle struck the car a moment later, throwing Victor over the vehicle, where he landed on the other side, apparently killed on impact.

According to police Sergeant Tim Bedwell, the car appears to have not yielded to the motorcycle. The police are continuing to investigate the matter.

Further complicating the matter is the fact that it is illegal for more than one passenger to be present on a motorcycle. Only one passenger is permitted, and must ride behind the motorcycle operator. Victor's older brother was riding in front of their father. Additionally, Victor's helmet was not properly fitted for his size, and came off in the impact. A proper helmet might have kept the injuries in the fall to a minimum.

Victor's older brother suffered minor abrasions to his face, but was otherwise doing fine at the hospital.

Charges in the case have yet to be filed, as the police are continuing to investigate. The police have not released any names, and it is unclear where the identification of young Victor came from. A 19-year-old woman was identified as the driver of the other vehicle but, again, her name has not been released.

Both drivers permitted the police to take drug and alcohol tests. Until these results are returned, police are declining to file charges or mention what potential charges might be considered.

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Oftentimes, people hear statistics without really getting a sense of them. The news talks about how statistics show that driving is more dangerous than flying even though people drive all the time without getting into wrecks. Those people are the lucky ones… For the people who are involved in significant accidents, or have a loved one or relative that was involved in one, statistics of the dangers of driving are very real.

In Kentucky recently, 14 people were killed in three automotive accidents over four days. A Mennonite family was struck when a tractor-trailer crossed the median, killing 11 and leaving only two surviving children. Another tractor-trailer crossed the median into opposing traffic killing a woman on a motorcycle. Another woman died just blocks from her house when her car struck a tree. These accidents had different causes, but each one took lives. Yes, it is safe to drive on the roads in most cases, but proper driving is no guarantee of safety. A family observing all the laws and proper procedures can still end up involved in an accident and even killed if another driver loses control of a large truck or other massive vehicle and drives into them or forces them off the road.

State authorities are investigating the incidents above, particularly the two cases in which the medians were crossed. The causes of the accidents may have been issues with the roads themselves or possibly the fault of the drivers. For that very reason, traffic accidents are particularly difficult to investigate, especially on busy roadways such as interstates. Evidence can scatter, and every moment spent collecting information ties up the roads and costs time, money, and frustration to all involved. Regardless of those difficulties, the victims—or the victims’ families, as the case may be—deserve to know the truth of what happened, especially if findings can bring about safer roads or stricter rules for the kinds of vehicles that might have been at fault.

This past Wednesday, a motorcycle crash injured the driver when insulation that spilled from a truck forced him to ditch his bike to avoid striking it. The 56-year-old motorcyclist has not been identified but was taken to the Reno Emergency Center for serious injuries.

Witnesses say they saw the roll of fiberglass insulation fall from the back of the truck, which forced the cyclist to ditch in an attempt to avoid colliding with it. The cargo vehicle did not stop, and witnesses say they do not think the driver was aware of what had actually occurred at the time. The Reno Highway Patrol is asking the public for any information they might have to help track down the truck driver.

All motorists are wary of tractor-trailers, and a healthy fear of them is common. The dangers surrounding large trucks on today’s roads are many, but trucks carrying cargo that is open to the air can elicit well-deserved nervousness and anxiety. The fact that the truck driver in this case did not stop is disturbing regardless of whether he knew of the danger he posed and the loss of cargo or not. That he could go unaware of such an event is a sobering thought. How exactly does one miss a large piece of insulation flying off their vehicle? How did it come loose in the first place? Just the same, even more disturbing is the notion that he might have known and kept driving anyway.

Standards for the acceptable ways of securing cargo vary from state to state, and no system is perfect… There may well be no specific fault to find in this case, as it could have simply been equipment failure. Yet the accident occurred on Wednesday and has received some degree of news coverage. Questions as to why the driver has not attempted to contact the authorities are reasonable, since by now he almost certainly must have noted or been told of the cargo missing from his truck.

As the NHP continues its investigation, they ask any parties with information to contact them through Trooper Harvey Brown regarding case number NHP-1003170235.