'Tis the season to take extra care, says Ohio motorcycle accident lawyer Ralph Buss
Updated: Aug 10, 2020
Doctors and emergency medical personnel, along with accident injury attorneys everywhere, refer to it as “trauma season.” It’s the stretch from Memorial Day to Labor Day, and we’re smack-dab in the middle of it. Based on the numbers alone, this season is no time to let your guard down while out cruising on your sled.
According to the latest statistics from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, 3,064 - or 61 percent - of U.S. fatal motorcycle accidents in 2018 happened between May and September, peaking in June at 659. The other seven months accounted for about 39 percent - 1,921 - motorcyclist deaths on the nation’s roadways. The least fatal month for motorcyclists that year was December, when 183 riders were killed in motorcycle accidents.
It stands to reason why so many fatal motorcycle accidents happen when they do. It’s the warmest, most pleasant time of the year. It’s when people travel most - on motorcycles, in cars, trucks, busses, vans and all types of vehicles. It’s vacation season for many families, as school-aged children are on spring break and summer vacation. There’s Memorial Day, graduation celebrations, Fathers Day, the Fourth of July, Labor Day and countless other occasions for which people travel and get together.
And we all know that, on our bikes, we are more vulnerable in traffic and out on the highways than those driving and riding in passenger vehicles and other enclosed modes of transportation.
“We bikers have to be more alert and more careful than drivers and passengers in enclosed vehicles, simply because we’re more exposed on our motorcycles,” said Ralph C. Buss, whose law firm primarily represents the victims of motorcycle accidents. “We don’t have the same armor around us out on the roadway and that increases our exposure to injury and death exponentially.”
He reaffirmed that now is the season when motorcyclists are at the greatest risk for being injured or killed.
“Motorcyclists face a greater risk out on the road every day of the year,” he said. “But it’s especially critical during the spring and summer months to be extra vigilant and cautious. This is a time that, not only are there more bikes out there on the road. There are more vehicles - more people traveling - than at any other time. It’s the law of averages working out there: The more vehicles sharing the road, the greater the chances for accidents.”
If you, a friend or a loved one has been injured in a motorcycle crash, it’s important to have a skilled, experienced lawyer to protect your rights and get you the compensation to which you and your family are entitled. Contact the Law Offices of Ralph C. Buss to discuss your case today. Call us at 1-800-582-5577. Visit our website: ralphbuss.com. Contact us through our Facebook Page or visit us in person at 168 E. High St. in Painesville, Ohio.
