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Car drivers cause most crashes with motorcycles, study finds
By Angel Streeter, Sun Sentinel
For motorcycle riders, people in "cages" — those driving cars and trucks — bear a disproportionate share of the blame for the high number of motorcycle crashes on South Florida roads.
"The increasing number of motorcycle accidents is greatly due to distracted drivers on cellphones," said Michael Gluckman, of Delray Beach, who has been riding for 13 years.
But people in cars traditionally have pointed to reckless motorcycle drivers careening in and out of traffic for putting their own lives at risk.
"These guys are always making statements that everyone should watch out for them," said Don Cosby, of Fort Lauderdale. "I feel like they don't watch out for themselves very well … You see [bikers on sport bikes] cutting in and out of traffic. Very few ride in a reasonable, safe manner. They're pretty reckless." So who's mostly to blame when four-wheel and two-wheel vehicles collide? According to a recent Florida Department of Transportation study, bikers are right. Motorists driving cars and trucks are mostly at fault, often failing to yield the right of way to the smaller vehicles.
In analyzing 10 years of Florida motorcycle crashes, Chanyoung Lee, a senior researcher at the University of South Florida's Center for Urban Transportation Research, found that 60 percent of the time motorists in other vehicles are at fault when they collide with motorcycles. "There's a bias by people driving," Lee said. "They don't expect to see motorcycles."
But the study uncovered more: When looking at all motorcycle crashes, motorcycle operators bear a lot of responsibility as well. They have a significantly higher number of single-vehicle crashes than other drivers. That is, they crash on their own without other vehicles involved.
Some 34 percent of motorcycle crashes involve one vehicle, according to the study. Compare that to only 19 percent of car crashes involving one vehicle.
Many of those single-vehicle motorcycle crashes occur when bikers are navigating curves but fail to slow down.
"When you ride a motorcycle, there's a good chance you'll crash by yourself, a little higher than if you were in a car," said Lee, who is part of FDOT's Motorcycle Safety Coalition.
When looking at really severe and fatal motorcycle crashes, 50 percent of those accidents involve just the motorcycle and no other vehicle.
But that doesn't take other motorists off the hook. In severe and fatal motorcycle crashes involving multiple vehicles, greater blame falls on four-wheeled drivers. And most motorcycle crashes involve other vehicles.
Those crashes often involve other vehicles making a left turn, pulling in front of motorcycles that are going straight. The problem is people in cars and trucks fail to see motorcycles. That's partly because they have smaller profiles.
People perceive the speed of something relative to the size of the object, Lee said. A car or truck barreling down a road at 45 mph may be more intimidating than a motorcycle going at the same speed. So drivers may yield for them and not the motorcycle. Drivers may also think the motorcycle is farther away.
But it's also a matter of awareness. In driver surveys, FDOT has asked people how often they see motorcycles. Those with motorcycle endorsements on their driver's licenses report seeing motorcycles all the time, while those without endorsements who live in the same area report occasionally seeing motorcycles.
"If you're aware of it, you see it," Lee said.
Unaware motorists are a constant hazard for Edward Davila, Jr., president of Wings of Gold MC of Palm Beach. On a recent Sunday drive to church, he was nearly side-swiped twice. On a drive on Interstate 95 with a few friends, a woman texting on her phone drifted into their lane.
He recalls four friends who died in recent months. In each case, another vehicle was at fault, cutting one off, pushing one into a wall and hitting another head-on.
He thinks the crashes occur more often during the winter when snowbirds arrive.
"They're not paying attention," he said. "Bikes are not as big a thing up north as in South Florida."
More motorcycle crashes occur in March than any other month of the year. But Lee thinks that's because there are more motorcycles on the road.
Ideally, Lee said motorists should be doing what FDOT has been advocating for several years: Look Twice for Motorcycles. And bikers should make themselves more conspicuous, wearing bright clothing other than the traditional black leather.
Gluckman believes FDOT's campaign has made a difference.
"We're not easy to see," he said. "But we're not invisible. If you look carefully, you will see us."
