Virginia Beach, VA Motorcycle Injury Lawyers Report – Bill Would allow Motorcyclists to Ride Two Abreast
By John Cooper, Virginia Beach, VA Motorcycle Accident Injury Attorney
New legislation proposed in Virginia (VA) would allow motorcycles to travel two abreast.
A house subcommittee backed the motorcycle bill by Del. Tony Wilt on Jan. 18, 2012, the Virginian-Pilot reported.
Wilt has said he knows of no evidence that the practice of riding side by side has been found to be a safety hazard in the other 48 states that allow it.
But Virginia State Police are not convinced.
“Two or three feet is such a small space,” Lt. Danny Glick of the State Police told the Virginian-Pilot. “Space gives you options. Putting another vehicle that close in the lane is taking away your options.”
As experienced Virginia (VA) motorcycle accident attorneys we are convinced by the arguments for this change in the law. Already cities such as Norfolk and Virginia Beach, VA see many motorcycle accidents. However, this is a rule that curbs freedom for riders, without real benefit.
As an attorney who has helped the victims of motorcycle accidents and their families I know motorcyclists are more vulnerable than the drivers of cars. Because they have less protection and are more likely to go unnoticed by larger vehicles, motorcyclists are more likely to be killed in an accident than car drivers.
We are concerned by any measures that could make riding a motorcycle even more dangerous. Yet, this law just limits a standard way bikers operate safely across the US. The main reason for motorcycle wrecks is the car driver not respecting the space of the biker. I have successfully wrapped up a case this year where the insurance attorney tried to use this unneeded law to claim the rider and his buddy were unsafe. Whether they rode side by side or not had no bearing on the bad driving by a teenager who struck one of the Navy riders. The law allows the at-fault driver’s insurer to try to escape responsibility in some injury cases when the standard should be safe operation under the circumstances.
DM
The Norfolk and Virginia Beach based personal injury law firm, Cooper Hurley, handles car, truck, and motorcycle injuries as well as brain injury, wrongful death, railroad workers’ injuries (FELA) mesothelioma and medical malpractice. John Cooper and Jim Hurley have over 40 years of combined experience in handling auto injury accident claims. Attorney John Cooper has been named to Virginia “Super Lawyers” since 2010 and has been a member since 2011 of the Multimillion dollar Advocates Roundtable. Cooper Hurley represents people hurt in accidents in Norfolk, Virginia Beach, Portsmouth, Suffolk, Chesapeake, Hampton, Newport News and throughout VA, and always put the best interests of the our clients first. The firm is recognized by other lawyers as “AV” by Martindale-Hubbell, a national attorney rating service, for our top level of legal skill and highest ethical standards. If you need help or advice about a serious injury, please call us (757) 455 -0077. For a free consultation with a specialized Hampton Roads, Virginia personal injury lawyer contact us through this website
