As many Los Angeles drivers can attest, freeway and highway guardrails can be very effective at protecting many car and truck passengers from serious injury. However, many motorcyclists in Los Angeles are not so lucky — they actually can cause serious injury to motorcycle riders and their passengers. Many motorcyclists enjoy the rides through the Santa Monica mountains, such as Topanga Canyon, but these rides can be death traps if not driven carefully.
The CHP (through a contractor) offers motorcycle driver safety courses and as of March 2012, over 800,000 motorcycle riders have received training at one of the training sites across the state. Please click here for more information on motorcycle rider safety classes offered by the state of California. However, while many motorcyclists have attended these classes, motorcycle fatalities in California have increased 175% in 10 years. Do not let yourself or your loved one become a statistic.
That being said, it is important that all motorcycle riders in Los Angeles know why and how guardrails can present hazards and how a motorcyclist can protect him or herself against a road barrier accident. Bikers should know that while guardrails protect many large automobiles and cars from dangerous curves, many men and women who ride motorcycles are not as fortunate. While motorcyclist fatalities in Los Angeles can occur from a variety of accidents, in recent years, more motorcyclists in the US were killed in guardrail collisions than passengers of any other vehicle type.
The injuries sustained in a motorcyclist-guardrail collision are dependent on the design of the barrier. For example, steel guardrails are designed to absorb the energy from an impact through deformation. With less energy present, the chances of the colliding object (in this case, the motorcyclist) being redirected into oncoming traffic is significantly reduced. However, these barriers are designed to retain large vehicles — not motorcycles. What’s more, the posts supporting the W-beam of the guardrail are one of the most serious dangers to motorcyclists in Los Angeles. They generally have narrow faces and sharp edges, causing the force to be highly concentrated on the motorcyclist as he/she collides with it. An experience no Los Angeles motorcyclist wants to face.
While there are other types of guardrails that might cause less injury to motorcyclists, there are not always in use. Clearly, steps need to be taken to make Los Angeles roads and freeways motorcycle-friendly. In the meantime, it is crucial that motorcyclists remember to ride safely and that they share the road with bigger, less forgiving vehicles. If you or a loved on was injured in a Los Angeles guardrail accident, contact an experienced motorcycle accident lawyer immediately. You might be able to recover financially for the injuries you have suffered.
With the right motorcycle accident lawyer in Los Angeles fighting for your legal rights, you can trust that you will get the compensation that you deserve. You deserve justice and a lawyer who can help you achieve it. Bradley I. Kramer, MD, Esq. will provide you with the legal represenation you are looking for. A doctor and lawyer, Bradley has the knowledge and expertise required to successfully bring a personal injury lawsuit in Los Angeles. If you or a loved one has sustained injuries as a result of an accident that was someone else’s fault, contact a Los Angeles personal injury attorney immediately to review the details of your case.