Southern California’s temperature climate makes it an ideal place to ride a motorcycle. In fact, many people in Los Angeles find a bike a great mode of transportation all year round. Other people may drive passenger vehicles some of the time and then bring out their bikes for special riding days or long trips with fellow motorcyclists. Either way, the joy of riding on two wheels is unique but so too are the risks faced by riders.
As explained by Cheat Sheet, a large number of the risks faced by motorcyclists involve drivers of other types of vehicles. In the city or even along stretches of the coast highway where cars park off to one side, bikers must watch for opening car doors that can knock into them. Sometimes a door can be opened without enough time for bikers to avoid driving right into it. Cars, trucks and other vehicles making turns, especially left turns may do so in front of bikers. This may happen without sufficient time for the riders to respond, thus resulting in an accident.
Lane changes by passenger vehicles can be a particularly big challenge, especially if vehicles do not signal so riders do not have advance notice. If a vehicle driver does not see a rider, they could all too easily move over into the path of the rider or even directly knock the motorcylist over.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration notes that in 2017 alone, motorcyclists accounted for 15 percent of California’s statewide vehicular fatalities. In Los Angeles County alone, 153 people on bikes were killed in accidents that year.
