Motorcyclist killed in accident with tractor trailer

A Maryland motorcycle rider was involved in a fatal accident with a tractor trailer yesterday, and it appears that authorities are wrongly putting most of the blame for this on the motorcyclist.  The motorcyclist was riding north on Maryland 63 when a tractor trailer pulled out of a truck stop.  According to the news story, the motorcyclist lost control of the motorcycle and became separated from trhe bike as they skidded down the road.  The motorcyclist was killed when the rear wheels of the tractor trailer passed over the motorcyclist.  Authorities are citing the excessive speed of the motorcyclist as the main cause of the accident.

It seems to me that the Maryland authorities have this one wrong.  First, any vehicle, but especially a tractor-trailer, has the responsibility to wait and make sure that the road is clear before exiting a driveway onto the road. Traffic on the road (in this case the motorcycle) has the right of way.  Tractor trailers need to be especially mindful of this because given the length of the trailer and the slow acceleration of the truck, tractor trailers obstruct a roadway for a long time while merging.  Second, many studies have shown that one of the main causes of motorcycle accidents is the failure of the other driver to see the motorcycle.  The two most common scenarios where this results in fatal accidents is when the driver makes a left turn in front of an oncoming motorcycle and when a driver pulls in front of a motorcycle at an intersection or, as in this case, from a driveway.  The sudden appearance of the vehicle in front of the motorcycle often leaves the rider with few options and little time in which to try to avoid the accident.  Third, the news story describes the rider becoming separated from the bike and both of them skidding down the roadway.  To me, this sounds like the motorcycle rider was laying the bike down, a commonly taught strategy for avoiding serious injury in this kind of situation.

I am not trying to say that the motorcyclist was without fault.  He may have been speeding, it is an issue which deserves a closer look.  However, the main cause of this fatal accident was the failure of the tractor trailer driver to yield the right of way while exiting the truck stop.  The motorcyclist never should have been put in the position where he had to lay the motorcycle down.

The faulty conclusions drawn by the investigating officers in this case are a good example of why injured motorcyclists need to hire an experienced Chicago personal injury lawyer when they are involved in a motorcycle crash.