With its miles of gorgeous beach highways and scenic mountain roads, Northern California has always offered motorcycle enthusiasts endless opportunities for recreational riding. Over the past few years, in an effort beat higher gas prices and avoid ever-increasing traffic congestion, thousands of motorcyclists have also joined daily automobile commuters and commercial vehicles on urban streets and freeways.

Unfortunately, more motorcycles on the road mean more accidents. Even the most cautious riders run the risk of serious injury due to negligence by automobile drivers or problems with defective bikes, helmets, and gear. In some cases, dangerous hazards, faulty road or bridge engineering, deficient signage, or poor maintenance can be the cause of serious motorcycle accidents.

According to data published by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration:

• Motorcyclist deaths occurred 27 times more often than fatalities in other types of vehicles.
• The number of motorcycle rider deaths in California increased from 463 in 2013 to 515 in 2017 – a 12.1 percent jump.

Although a good number of motorcycle accidents are the result of excessive speed or riding under the influence of alcohol, failure of automobile drivers and other vehicle operators to respect the rights of motorcyclists is also a major cause of injury accidents. And when cars and motorcycles collide, the motorcycle and its rider will always take the brunt of the damage.