Motorcycle Lawyer

This has to be one of the most common questions asked when someone is injured in an accident. We have all seen thousands of commercials claiming "Like a Good Neighbor", "Good Hands", "State Farm is There", Nationwide "is on your side".  The insurance companies spend millions of dollars promoting the concept that they are "fast, fair and friendly" because the opposite is true.  Insurance companies make money by waiting as long as they possibly can before paying a claim.  The longer it takes... Read more

OK grasshopper. You paid for motorcycle accident insurance, and now you had an accident. You faithfully made payments month after month, and you never thought about much, except what the policy cost. You are about to find out why it makes a difference who you bought your insurance from. An insurance policy is often called "a contract of exclusions". You are going to find out why. Most riders take only moments to pick out an insurance policy. They either purchase a policy through the deale... Read more

Is It OK for Motorcyclists to "Run" Red Lights? Of course it's not OK for motorcyclists to speed through traffic, weaving in and out, running red lights, popping wheelies, and generally being a nuisance around town. That's not what I'm talking about. Frustration at the stop light If you ride a motorcycle, you've probably experienced rolling up to a red light only to sit there for up to 15 minutes waiting for it to change. Except it never changes, and you sheepishly roll through the... Read more

How To Stay Safe When You Ride At Night? Plenty of research has been done looking into motorcycle safety. You can find enough stats to scare you away from your bike forever on Wikipedia’s Motorcycle Safety page. These are some of the spookier statistics: According to the U.S. National Highway Transportation Safety Administration, Motorcyclists are 35 times more likely to die in a fatal accident as drivers of other types of vehicles. According to a national study by the Australian Transp... Read more

This year I celebrate riding motorcycles for 50 years, and dealing with accidents for 40 years. I hope I learned something in all that time that might be useful to other riders, so here it is. Is it safe to ride a motorcycle? Years ago, I remember discussing this question with Luke Lucarelli. He was known as the “million mile motorcyclist”, because he had more than a million miles under his belt. He set up the CHP motorcycle training program, and he taught motorcycle riding and safety,... Read more

Early 2013, The California Highway Patrol (CHP) announced new lane splitting guidelines on www.chp.ca.gov. Their list of safety tips is really more specific than “general” as it gives you a technical definition of what lane splitting is, before even getting into lane splitting “best practices”. As defined by the CHP, “the term lane splitting, sometimes known as lane sharing, filtering or white-lining, refers to the process of a motorcyclist riding between lanes of stopped or slower mo... Read more

Some states may fine you up to $1000 for not riding with a helmet. State helmet laws and violations vary by each state, and your state may carry a stiffer fine than you might think.  Also, this is especially important if you are planning to travel across state lines. If you're planning a road trip that crosses these borders, or would like to learn more about your own state's helmet laws, check out our chart and infographic below.   %CODE1% Embed the graphic by copying and pasting this co... Read more

A car is going to make a left hand turn in front of you. How much time will you really have? Are you going to survive, or will you be toast? What happens, second by second, to determine who makes it, and who gets hurt? We know that time, speed, and distance are all involved, but how do things really happen? Most law-enforcement investigators and accident reconstructionists who are not trained in motorcycle accidents make a simple analysis based on the assumption that it takes the rider .75 se... Read more

A recognized motorcycle expert told me about an international conspiracy involving motorcycle manufacturers with a plan to take over the motorcycle industry by selling young riders dangerously uncontrollable motorcycles. Even in the hands of experts, these motorcycles are so wicked fast that they cause deadly crashes. No one has the skill to control them, because they are so fast and powerful. In short, they’re killing our kids. This was an actual conversation I had with a motorcycle ex... Read more

I just finished watching a You Tube video of Casey Stoner racing. Man, the guy is amazing beyond belief.  At almost any point in a tight turn, he can easily touch the ground with his hand, and he could use knee pucks on his elbows. Non-motorcycle riders can't really appreciate the amount of grip force on the tires to get over this far.  Just thinking about it is enough to get your heart pumping a little more. Of course, this arises because I am getting ready for the annual trek... Read more