As the first nice days of spring crop here and there it is an almost inevitable conclusion that we will start to see more and more motorcyclists, bicycle riders, and fair-weather runners and joggers take to the streets and sidewalks in towns and cities all around the state. From Columbia and Bowie to Annapolis and Washington, D.C., the longer days and milder temperatures makes everyone feel like making a fresh start. Unfortunately, with the added volume of two-wheeled vehicles, there are bound to be some mishaps as well.
Here in the Baltimore area, we’re used to seeing motorcycles plying the streets from time to time whenever the weather takes a turn for the better. It’s always tempting for bikers to get their machines out on the roadways as earlier as possible, if only to make the most of the riding season to come. But accidents between cars, trucks and cycles are also prone to increase at this time of the year. As Maryland personal injury attorneys, we know the value of taking extra precautions when heading out fo the first time on a motorbike.
Not only must a biker flex his riding muscles after a long winter’s nap, so to speak, but following the prolonged absence of any significant volume of two-wheeled vehicle, drivers of passenger cars and commercial trucks need time to collectively adjust to the change in the roadway landscape. Reminding oneself that a bike could be hidden behind a large approaching vehicle when waiting to make a left-hand turn, for instance, can not only save the cost of a traffic accident, but it could also save a life.
Sadly, as with all traffic-related collisions, we will begin to see serious injury accidents as well as fatal crashes once the riding season begins in earnest. And with those incidents, emergency rooms will see a new crop of closed-head injuries, compound fractures and spinal cord and neck injuries. Bikers are sorely outmatched on our highways and urban streets when it comes to collisions with large motor vehicles. Wrecks involving commercial delivery trucks and 18-wheel tractor-trailer rigs can be especially deadly for bikers.
A few days ago, a 30-year-old motorcycle rider was killed just outside of a Royal Farm store in Anne Arundel County when a driver in a Chevrolet Cobalt apparently hit the man’s bike. According to police, the fatal crash occurred a little before 2pm on a Sunday afternoon as a 19-year-old woman was attempting to cross the three-lane Rte 3 roadway to get into the store’s parking. Based on information in the brief news article, the impact occurred in the left-hand lane when the Chevy struck the late-model Suzuki motorcycle.
EMS crews arriving on at the crash site found the economy car and bike blocking the entrance to the Royal Farm parking lot. Emergency responders took the fatally injured biker to Baltimore Washington Medical Center; however doctors in the emergency room apparently could not save the man, who died a short time later from injuries sustained in the deadly wreck. Based on news reports at the time, police believed that neither alcohol nor speed was a factor in the crash.
Deadly crash kills motorcyclist, ABC2News.com, March 11, 2013