Texas Motorcycle Crash Deaths Increasing Yearly | DENENA | POINTS

Texas Motorcycle Crash Deaths Increasing Yearly

TxDOT data shows a yearly increase of 5% in the number of motorcycle crash deaths in Texas. Accidents claimed the lives of 494 motorcyclists last year and 470 in 2012. 4,339 of the motorcycle accidents in our state last year involved at least one other vehicle.

And after a collision with a bike, drivers of larger vehicles typically say they never saw the motorcycle before the accident. The Houston motorcycle crash injury attorneys at Denena Points, PC mention that various research studies over the years that track driver’s eye movements, measure the gaps they leave for different types of approaching vehicles, and survey their reactions to traffic have shown that drivers of larger vehicles often lack perceptual awareness of approaching motorcycles, bicycles, or pedestrians.

Driving is a complex task, and drivers for their own safety try to be alert for vehicles their own size or larger into which they might crash. This sometimes leaves them without the extra conscious attention to spare for smaller vehicles or persons.

So TxDOT has launched a novel safety campaign designed to increase drivers’ awareness of motorcycles. The campaign includes a component taken from video games. Our Houston motorcycle crash injury attorneys note that video games have been shown to increase physical reflexes and reaction times among those who play them.

The TxDOT idea is apparently taken from a game called “Slug Bug.” Those who have played the game tend to show heightened awareness of Volkswagen Beetles on actual roadways even after they’ve stopped playing the game. So TxDOT’s new motorcycle safety campaign asks people to “look twice” and count the motorcycles they see on their drives in order to help heighten their awareness of the smaller vehicles. Children may enjoy this game (it offers a game sheet to download) and remain conditioned to noticing the presence of bikes when they begin driving themselves.

The campaign is called “Share the Road: Look Twice for Motorcycles” and starts in conjunction with National Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month in May. TxDOT has organized motorcycle processions and events around the state to help publicize the new campaign. The campaign asks all drivers to look twice for motorcycles, use signals when turning, and leave sufficient gaps in traffic for other vehicles, including bikes.

Our Houston motorcycle crash injury attorneys emphasize that research has shown that about 32% to 39% of fatal motorcycle crashes occur at intersections and involve cars or trucks turning in front of motorcyclists without leaving sufficient gaps for the bikes. The bikers don’t have enough time to stop or evade the larger vehicles and end up crashing into them.

Learn more about what to do after a serious motorcycle crash. Download your free guide from this web page.