Yesterday, Ocean City Bike Week 2015 kicked off, meaning thousands of motorcyclists were on the roads making their way to Ocean City, Maryland. To celebrate the start of this year’s festivities, a parade of bikers drove down Coastal Highway from 27th Street to the inlet. Some of the attendees this year drove their motorcycles all the way from California and Arizona. Bike Week events will last through the end of the weekend. Fortunately, weather for the duration of the event is expected to be perfect, which means driving conditions should be ideal for the motorcyclists.
With thousands of bikers on the road in Ocean City the next few days, we want to remind everyone about safety risks with motorcycles when involved in an accident. Motorcycles are always at a higher risk of getting into a serious accident that results in severe injuries because of the lack of protection that the bikes offer. In addition, other vehicles on the road, especially large trucks forget to take extra precautions when a motorcycle is driving in front of or next to them. Cars, trucks, and buses on the road must double their following distance of a motorcycle to assure that there is enough space to stop suddenly without hitting the bike. While a rear-end collision between two vehicles (i.e. cars, trucks, buses) rarely results in serious or fatal injuries, the same type of accident almost always results in extremely serious or even fatal injuries for a motorcyclist.
The biggest difference between cars and motorcycles is in terms of safety mechanisms to prevent injury in an accident. Automobiles have several safety features that prevent serious injury when accidents occur, such as seatbelts, airbags, and a windshield. There are no seatbelts to restrain motorcyclists, there are no airbags to limit impact in a crash, and there is no windshield or any other similar device to prevent the rider from flipping over the handlebars of the motorcycle. Motorcyclists must wear helmets and other protective gear and clothing to limit injury as much as possible if involved in a crash.
We hope that all the motorcyclists in Ocean City for Bike Week 2015 enjoy their time and do not fall victim to a serious accident injury. However, if you or someone you love has been injured or killed in a Maryland motorcycle accident that is caused by the negligence or fault of another driver, please contact us to schedule an appointment at our Ocean City location or one of our other office locations throughout Maryland for a free case evaluation. Call our office today at (410) 995-1515 or visit us online to learn more about Maryland motorcycle accidents.
