Motorcycle accidents can happen in many different ways. A driver could cross the centerline and hit a bike that is coming toward it. A motorcyclist could lose traction in a corner and slide off of the road. Understanding how crashes happen is a crucial part of learning how to avoid them.
But do you know what the most common motorcycle accident is? It’s the left turn accident. This crash is often fatal or leads to severe injuries, and it happens more than any other type of crash.
How does a left-turn accident occur?
You may think that this accident involves a motorcycle that is turning left, but it’s actually the other vehicle that’s turning left. This crash happens when the motorcycle is coming toward that vehicle on a two-lane road. When the other vehicle turns left, the motorcycle hits the side of that vehicle as it crosses through the lane.
The obvious way for the other driver to avoid this is simply to wait for traffic to clear before they make the left-hand turn. But the mistake that is often made is that the driver doesn’t see the bike. They may misjudge how far away it is or how fast it’s traveling. They may not see it behind other vehicles. They may simply not be paying that much attention to the road, assuming that they would notice a full-sized vehicle, and not take the time to look for a motorcycle at all.
When a driver makes this mistake, an accident is almost guaranteed because it happens so quickly and there’s no time for the motorcyclist to avoid it. Those who are seriously injured in these crashes need to know how to seek financial compensation.