Here at Atha & Co we have over 50 years of experience dealing with motorbike accidents. We know how stressful it can be when your life suddenly changes due to circumstance out of your control such as a road traffic accident.
How common are motorbike accidents?
Since 2022 we have seen a rise in motorcyclists who were involved in a accident. 16,943 motorcyclists were involved in a accident either as a casualty or fatality in 2022 across the UK resulting in a 4% increase from 2021.
Over 5,000 motorcyclists a year are seriously injured in a motorbike accident while over 10,000 motorcyclists suffered minor injuries during an accident. The risk of being a motorcyclist is that your are 40 times more likely to be killed in a road traffic accident compared to car drivers and passengers.
Motorbike accidents are more than likely caused by someone else’s negligence. Nearly half of all accidents involving a motorbike happen at junctions in cities, towns and villages when a driver isn’t paying attention to the road. Motorbike accidents are also common on tight twisty country roads with blind corners and crests.
What should you do if you’re involved in motorbike accident?
Ensure you are ok: After the accident, your health and safety is the first priority as you have very little protection on a motorbike. Evaluate the situation and seek immediate medical attention if needed.
Contact the police: Depending on the severity of the situation you may need the police to attend the scene of the accident. If the police do attend the scene of the accident make sure that you ask for the police case number as this could help you when making a claim.
Collect all essential information: If possible after the accident collect all the essential information of the accident. If a car is involved, get the driver's information, the vehicle's details and the details of any witnesses that may have seen what happened. The details you get can play an important part in making a compensation claim. If you’re seriously injured and emergency services are on the scene they may be able to collect witness information on your behalf.
Document the scene: If the area is safe and you are ok, try to take photographs and videos of the scene. This evidence can be valuable to your claim so that we can get understand what exactly took place.
Speak to a professional solicitor: When you feel that you are able to please speak to our professional team here at Atha & Co and they will be able to help you pursue your motorbike accident claim.
Who is responsible when you have a motorbike accident?
Responsibility of other road users: Not all motorbike accidents involve a vehicle but 80% of accidents are caused due to driver negligence.
The driver of any vehicle on the road is required to be responsible when behind the wheel of a car, bus and lorry etc. All drivers adhere to traffic laws when on public roads and failure to do so can result in major consequences. Any sort of driver negligence can result in an accident where the driver is at fault.
Driver incompetence can include speeding, jumping a red light, using a mobile phone while driving, road rage and tailgating.
Motorcyclist responsibilities: A motorcyclist must also take full responsibility when out on a motorbike. It is important to your safety that you obey traffic laws and ride your motorbike in a safe manner while out on a public road.
Failing to follow the laws and the highway code can result in a accident and may influence who is responsible. It is important to remember that even if you make a mistake while on your motorbike, drivers must be vigilant and may still be at fault for causing the accident.
Traffic laws: The highway code is there to be used to determine who is at fault when an accident does occur. The law defines the rules of the road such as speed limits, traffic flow, road signs etc. The highway code must be adhered to by all road users not a select few.
If you’ve been in a motorbike accident please get in touch today. Our expert team will be on hand to help make the claims process as stress free as possible.
At Atha & Co we use our expertise so that you don’t need to be hands on throughout the claims process. We always go the extra mile for our clients and can organise physiotherapy and counselling appointments to help you through this difficult time.
You can contact us today on 01642 222 575 or click on start your claim today and one of our team members will be happy to assist you and discuss your claim to kick things off.