On motorcycle visibility to other Texas drivers & influencing factors

The Texas motorcycle accident attorneys at Denena & Points note that the U.S. NHTSA has chronicled a sharp increase in fatal motorcycle accidents over the past 10 to 15 years. The NHTSA notes that motorcycle fatalities increased from 2,294 in 1998 to 5,290 in 2008. Crash data compiled by the agency indicates that many of these fatal motorcycle accidents occur because motorcycles simply aren’t conspicuous to drivers of other vehicles.

So the NHTSA has sponsored studies to look at ways to enhance motorcycle conspicuity to other drivers and prevent needless motorcycle fatalities. Several studies focused particularly on the role of headlamps and auxiliary lamps by day as well as night to enhance motorcycle visibility to other drivers.

Our Texas motorcycle accident attorneys remark that the studies measured the reactions of drivers of larger vehicles as they were about to take a left turn with a motorcycle approaching with right-of-way. The carefully conducted studies had interesting results:

• The use of the main headlamp by a motorcyclist did serve to enhance motorcycle conspicuity as measured by both observing drivers’ gazes and a lengthier safety margin of more than 3.44 seconds allowed by other drivers observing a motorcycle before a turn.
• The use of the smaller auxiliary lamps by the motorcyclist had little measurable effect on other drivers’ behavior.
• The use of headlamps by all or most drivers in traffic during the day reduced the relative conspicuity of motorcycles in relation to other traffic to previous levels. This was tested by comparing the behavior of drivers in Canada, where daytime headlight use is more compulsory, with those in the U.S., where it generally is not required.

In other words, the use of the main headlight during the day by a motorcycle rider does serve to enhance the motorcyclist’s relative conspicuity to other drivers, but only where his headlamp is not lost in sea of other vehicles’ headlights. The bottom line is that it could help for a motorcycle rider to keep the primary headlight on during daylight hours as well as by night.

Our Texas motorcycle accident attorneys caution that the drivers of larger vehicles still seem to have difficulty consciously perceiving the approach of the smaller-profile motorcycle. Therefore the other drivers do not generally leave a sufficient safety margin between their own larger vehicles and the motorcycles. So the safety of a motorcyclist still resides largely in the biker’s hands. A motorcycle rider needs to drive defensively and with an enhanced awareness of other drivers’ behavior that he or she might not use when driving an enclosed passenger vehicle.

If you become injured in a motorcycle wreck because another driver failed to notice your bike, contact our Texas motorcycle accident attorneys for effective, aggressive representation as you make your claim for the full financial compensation you deserve for your needless injuries. We’ve been providing the sound legal advice and successful strategies that clients need to win their cases for more than 14 years, and our track record speaks for itself. Look at our case results and client testimonials on this website. Then call or email us for your free and confidential legal consultation.