In the last ten years, the fatality rate of motorcycle riders has nearly doubled. In 1999, there were 22.75 fatalities per 100,000,000 miles traveled by motorcycles in the United States. In a recent study in 2009 the numbers are around 40 per 1 million miles traveled by riders!
Not only have the number of deaths gone up in the US, the number of motorcycles on the road has gone up too, which makes sense. The increase in motorcycle sales has alarmed some people as the more motorcycles on the road, the more accidents that will occur involving motorcycles. This is a scary thought as a motorcyclist is 35 times more likely to be killed than automobile drivers. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, if you ride a motorcycle you have nearly a 50% chance of being involved in a motorcycle accident in your lifetime. Given this information all motorcycle drivers need to make sure they do the following:
- Make sure to get motorcycle insurance that will cover your medical bills should you get in an accident. Most state laws only require drivers to carry only $20,000 in insurance coverage for injuries and medical bills. If you think about how much medical bills has increased over the past few years, this number is not nearly enough to cover a motorcycle accident.
- It is always a good idea to have a motorcycle injury lawyer in your contact list. If you happen to get in a motorcycle accident, you do not want to have to worry about finding a motorcycle attorney when you are dealing with police, insurance companies and doctors. If you contact a motorcycle injury lawyer when you start riding you will always have someone to call if something happens to you while you ride.
With the increase in motorcycles on the road today and the number of accidents makes riding motorcycles very dangerous. Not only do you need the proper insurance, but you also need to have a motorcycle injury lawyer who you can count on if you happen to get in a motorcycle accident.