Can a motorcyclist avoid a left turn accident?

On Behalf of | Jul 2, 2022 | Motor Vehicle Accidents |

Of all the accidents that motorcyclists get involved in, one of the most dangerous is a left-turn accident. When another vehicle has to turn left, there’s a chance that the driver may execute that turn directly in front of the oncoming motorcycle. The motorcyclist then collides with the side of the vehicle since there’s not enough space for the turn to be done safely.

This is one of the most common motorcycle accidents, and there are a lot of reasons why it may happen. Some drivers don’t see motorcycles. Some motorcycles are hidden by other vehicles on the road. Some drivers simply don’t bother to look or just assume they have plenty of space. But can a motorcyclist who sees this coming actually avoid it?

It’s hard to predict

This is actually one of the harder types of accidents to avoid because it’s difficult to predict. A vehicle may simply be sitting in the oncoming traffic lane with the blinker on, waiting for traffic to clear before turning left. The motorcyclist will see the car and recognize that this is potentially problematic, but the motorcyclist also has the right of way. Just like any other car on the road, the rider probably assumes that the other driver has seen them coming and is going to wait for them to go by.

If the driver does make a mistake and turns with too little space, it all happens so quickly that motorcyclists often can’t reduce their speed or even swerve to avoid the crash. This means that you could be seriously injured by events entirely out of your control if you’re riding a motorcycle, and you need to know how to seek financial compensation.