As a driver, you take on a great deal of responsibility not only for your own safety, but also for that of your passengers or other people on the road. And if you are a passenger, you effectively relinquish control of your safety and have to rely on the skill and experience of the driver. When riding a motorcycle, these roles are magnified due to the greater severity of injuries that are typically sustained in motorcycle accidents.
On a Saturday in early June, a man and a woman were riding a motorcycle on a Wisconsin highway when the driver, a 55-year-old man, decided to pass a van that was travelling in front of him. A witness told police that as the motorcycle was re-entering the lane of travel, the driver of the bike lost control. Both he and his passenger, a 52-year-old woman, were thrown from the motorcycle.
Emergency responders arrived at the scene and called in an airlift for emergency transport. Both accident victims were taken to a local hospital with severe head trauma and other life-threatening injuries. Neither person was wearing a helmet at the time of the crash.
Accidents are an unpleasant reality of road travel. Weather conditions, road disrepair and vehicle malfunction are all hazards that cause thousands of deadly accidents every year. However, some accidents can be prevented, and the possible severity of injuries can be mitigated by choices made by the drivers involved.
The medical outcome for the two victims of this motorcycle accident was still unknown at the time of a local news report. It is possible that the female passenger or her family members could place the blame for the accident on the shoulders of the driver. If that is the case, then the victim may have the right to file a lawsuit asking the Wisconsin court system to determine what level of responsibility a motorcycle driver has for the safety of a passenger under the facts and circumstances of this particular case.
Source: Mount Pleasant Patch, "Victims of Saturday Motorcycle Accident Identified," Heather Asiyanbi, June 9, 2012