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Why Texting Is Such a Danger to Riders

March 25, 2016

Motorcycle riders are hard for other drivers to notice to begin with. With texting, we’ve become almost invisible. Honestly, I think texting has quadrupled the danger associated with riding on the street. I don’t have any statistics to prove that particular notion, but according to this website:

Text messaging makes a vehicular crash up to 23 times more likely
Texting while driving is about 6 times more likely to cause an accident than driving intoxicated
13% of drivers age 18-20 involved in car wrecks admitted to texting or talking on their cells when the wrecks occurred

The percentage on this last point seems low to me. (Then again, it reflects only those who “admitted” to the behavior.) A guy I met at NOLA Motorsports Park personally told me about a texting “18-20 year old” who crashed into him. This man, named John Cook, was at the track donating his time, bikes, and money to raise funds for another rider who’d been injured in an accident. I struck up a friendship with him, and he told me about his accident which happened in 2009.

John, used to live in the Gulf South and moved to north Georgia after Katrina. On a beautiful fall day there, he decided to ride his brand new (at the time) 2010 Harley Davidson Screaming Eagle CVO Street Glide to a local Hooter’s for Bike Night. In own his words:

“I was riding southbound on a divided well-lit highway at the speed limit of 55 mph and wearing full gear—3/4 helmet, gloves, boots, and leathers. As I approached an intersection wired with traffic lights and turn signals, I had the green light. I still looked all ways to make sure the intersection was safe. There was only one compact car that was stopped facing north in the left-turn lane. Seeing all was clear, I gave my bike some gas and continued southbound. As I entered the intersection the stopped car suddenly accelerated, turning left directly in front of me. I had zero time to react. I struck her passenger rear door at 55 mph and was thrown over the car.”

The next thing John became aware of was paramedics all over him trying to bring him to consciousness. He was in incredible pain, confused and disoriented, and struggling to breathe. John was airlifted via helicopter to a trauma center in Atlanta. Here is a list of his injuries:

broken left ankle
broken left leg
pelvis fractures
fractured sternum
7 ribs broken in 11 different places
both lungs collapsed
broken left arm
broken left wrist
broken left clavicle
broken left scapula
slight bleed in the brain that led to a minor stroke

John was eventually discharged in a wheelchair with a huge hospital bill in his hand. Months of extensive rehab followed.

And who was the person who caused the accident?

It was an 18-year-old girl who had been texting while she waited for the light to change. She said she confused the green light telling traffic to proceed forward with her lane’s left-turn light. Her light had remained red, but in her confusion brought on by texting distractions, she turned anyway. After all was said and done after the accident, she ended up only paying a few small fines, maybe about $200 total.

At MotoJustice, our attorneys always request copies of cell phone and text records to determine if someone was using their mobile device at the time of an accident. But even when a person can be held truly accountable for an accident they caused, any motorcycle rider will tell you that their injuries are not worth a payout. Laws restricting cell phone usage when driving exist, but they’re not often followed or enforced.

Riders need to be aware that only they can protect themselves from an accident:

Be vigilant – Simply assume that other drivers are using their phones and are not watching out for riders. Keep an eye out for cars driving erratically or weaving between lanes. Then stay away!
Watch out for intersections – Intersections are the worst. People get bored waiting for the light to change and they start to text. Then they gun it when the light turns green without looking around.
Cover that hand brake – Always be prepared to stop suddenly.
Head on a swivel – Look around at all times.
Wear protective gear – Your gear will lessen injuries. As severe as John Cook’s injuries were, if he hadn’t been wearing his helmet and leathers, things would have been much worse.
Keep the speed down – Especially when not on the highway. If you are speeding through an intersection, you are just asking for trouble.

Spread the word to watch for motorcycles, and tell people that their texts can wait. Take the It Can Wait pledge and encourage people you know to do the same. It won’t happen overnight, but as a longer-term strategy, we need to make texting and driving socially unacceptable.

Be careful out there!

Image credit: Stefano Cavoretto, Shutterstock.com

What Should You Do If You Are Involved in a Motorcycle Accident in New Orleans

February 29, 2016

When a rider was hit by two drunk drivers, MotoJustice helped him both immediately following the accident and then later in the legal system. It turns out the two drivers were drinking buddies, and one was following the other to the next watering hole. The first driver was not paying attention and braked late behind the biker. His friend slammed into him, and the both of them ran into the back of the bike.

The scary part of the story is that both drunks got out of their vehicles and attempted to goad the injured rider into a fight. They knew they were in trouble so they wanted to divert attention from their mistakes by putting the innocent rider in the wrong. They even spat on him in their attempts to incite him!

Thankfully, our client kept his cool, he called us at MotoJustice, and over the phone we talked him through what needed to be done. When the officer arrived, the motorcycle rider insisted that he prepare a report and issue an item number. Both drunks were arrested and eventually prosecuted. Meanwhile, the rider was treated for his injuries and got his bike repair costs covered.

This case and others like it compel us to give you the information you need to protect yourself after an accident. If you live anywhere in Louisiana and you find yourself in trouble, do the following things:

Call the Police and Wait

You know the number — 911. Use it. No one wants to wait around on the side of the road, but an official record dramatically raises the chances of a successful legal outcome. If the police officer asks if you “really want a report,” your answer is a definite “Yes.” Most officers don’t want to spend extra time after their shift typing up a lengthy accident report, so politely ask the officer to do his job. At minimum, before allowing the officer to leave the scene, get an item or incident number from the officer. The lawyers at MotoJustice can then track down any reports, statements or witnesses after the event.

If at all possible, don’t leave the scene until the police arrive. If your safety is at risk, then do what is required to ensure personal safety. But understand that the case will typically become nothing more than your word against the other person’s, and the legal system may not consider your version of events any more believable than theirs.

Keep Your Cool

Don’t let yourself be provoked or intimidated. Don’t get into a fight or do anything questionable that could hurt your case in the legal system. Criminal charges against you will not work in your favor, regardless if the accident was someone else’s fault.

Call MotoJustice

We can give you advice about your specific situation right then and there. What’s more, if the accident happens in the New Orleans area, we will come and sit with you while you’re waiting for the police. It won’t cost you anything, so there’s no reason not to call.

We answer the phone at all hours, even late at night. We’re almost always available, but just in case we’re not available at a particular moment, leave a message. It will be transcribed and sent to the lawyers at MotoJustice via text and email. You’ll promptly get a call back.

Put MotoJustice’s toll-free number in your phone now: 1-888-666-1983.

Document Everything and Look for Witnesses

Take photos with your smartphone. Open the voice memo app, and tell yourself what happened while the events are all still fresh in your memory. Record any altercations that may occur between you and the other driver. Details could be important later on, so paint a picture of the scene. Is it a rainy evening? Is the lighting dim? Is the road bumpy or well paved? And so on…

Look around. Are there any traffic cameras or businesses with security cameras that could be of assistance later on? Are there any witnesses waiting for a bus? If so, ask them what they saw and record their comments with your phone. Be sure to also ask for their names and contact information and ask politely for their help. We have seen promises made on scene to injured parties honored years later when cases proceeded to trial.

Even if the person who was in an accident with you seems nice and reasonable, still document everything you can. The lies come later, and rarely on scene.

Likewise, we’ve said that you shouldn’t let yourself be bullied by others who were in the accident, but if you fear for your safety, go to a safe area. Try and get the police to join you there.

Care for Your Bike

If your bike was damaged in the accident, you certainly don’t want to leave it on the side of the road. Anyone with a pick-up truck and a few buddies could throw it into the truck bed and drive off with it. We can help with transportation anywhere in the New Orleans area. In many cases, we can help statewide by making a few calls to associates in other cities.

In addition, at MotoJustice we fight for property damage reimbursements along with personal injury claims. Most lawyers don’t like to mess with the property damage component of a motorcycle accident case, but we see our work as doing whatever it takes to help riders get back in the saddle.

In addition to arranging to pick-up your bike through our friends at The Transportation Revolution, their mechanics will assess damages and share the information with you and with us. We’ll soon work to get a claim going on those property damages.

Tend to Any Injuries and Stay Safe

As already mentioned, you should stick around for the police, but if you need immediate medical attention, take care of yourself first. Call an ambulance or get yourself to an emergency room or an urgent care center. If you don’t have a primary care physician, we can help with that too! We have doctors that can treat you with little or no out-of-pocket expenses. If you are hurt, we want to help you heal. That is the only way to get you back on a bike and riding again.

Keep this number handy: 1-888-666-1983. You’ll never know when you’ll need it.

Image credit: Corepics VOF, Shutterstock.com

An Evening with Fast Freddy Spencer

February 1, 2016

Mary Touzet, Freddy Spencer, Jacque Touzet

If you live in Louisiana and love riding motorcycles, chances are you know about Freddy Spencer. He’s a local, from Shreveport originally, who achieved renown and fame in the world of international motorcycle racing during a career that spanned from the late 1970s to the early 1990s.

He’s retired from racing now, but as a Louisianan who competed and thrived on the world level, his presence still looms large in New Orleans and around the state. He won three Grand Prix world championships, including winning the 250cc and 500cc Grand Prix world championships in the same season (1985), the only rider to have ever done so. The list of his accomplishments goes on, but suffice to say that he’s a living legend.

At the beginning of this year, I went with my wife and my friends from the Transportation Revolution to attend a dinner in his honor.

It was a packed house at the Bourbon House, located on Bourbon St. in the French Quarter. Still, it was intimate enough for everyone to have a chance to mingle, and “Fast Freddy” was surprised to be presented with an official acclamation from the City of New Orleans at the event.

What was cool was that people who ride every day were there to honor him. The crowd had its share of VIPs, but it also honored the everyday rider. Some had come on their motorcycles to the dinner! The event was a joyous one, an evening to celebrate our love of riding. For me, it was a special night since we just launched this new website and our toll-free number was chosen with Freddie in mind. The “1983” at the end of the Motojustice toll-free number pays homage to Freddie’s 1983 world-championship victory. He was only 21 at the time, and he was the youngest rider to seize this massive honor.

Jacque Touzet (center) with brothers Zachary (left) and Max (right) Materne of the Transportation Revolution

The dinner made me feel the importance of what we do here at MotoJustice every day, and spending time with Fast Freddy and so many of his admirers was an inspiration to me. Motorcycle riders need representation and justice when other drivers on the road don’t see them. We have a right to ride and have a duty to stick up for our fellow riders. While I’ll never be able to match Fast Freddy’s accomplishments on the track, I’ll do my best to accomplish similar feats in Court. I’m glad to be part of a community of riders that respect him and feel privileged to have a chance to show him their admiration.