The Park City Record reported that a 14-year-old boy suffered a leg injury Monday when he crashed on a motorcycle at the Oakley Recreation Complex. At about 4:30 in the afternoon the boy was riding a motorcycle when he struck a chain suspended between two large fence posts. The purpose of the chain was to prevent riders from driving on the grass. Detective Ron Bridge, a spokesman for the Summit County Sheriff's Office said that the collision was with such force that a post was pulled out of the ground and the motorcycle was stopped abruptly.
I wanted to blog about this incident because it is the time of year that a lot of motorcycle riders, both street and dirt bikers, will start to get back on the open road and on the trails in and around Utah. We have to on the lookout for obstructions and especially those that restrict entry into "protected" areas.
However, the mere placing of a chain across a road does not always put a motorcycle rider on notice that the area is restricted or afford enough warning to allow the rider to avoid injury. The placing of a chain across a roadway may be negligent in at least two circumstances.
First of all chains across roads need to be well marked. The chain should be painted in a bright color and there should be a sign hanging from the chain to alert riders that the chain is present. Generally chains are gray in color and so is the surrounding terrain. If there is no sign or the chain painted a bright warning color I think that it is very possible that placing the chain int he anticipated route of travel of a motorcyclist may amount to negligence.
Second, the chain and its supporting posts should not be so heavy or reinforced that should the motorcycle rider collide with the chain that there is catastrophic injury sustained. In the Park City case above it sounds like when the rider struck the chain that the impact ripped at least one of the posts from the ground. The fact that the post was ripped from the ground may show negligence.
Incidentally, if the Oakley Recreation Complex is owned by the City of Oakley there is probably only a one year statute of limitation against bringing a case. This is so because of the Governmental Immunity Act of Utah codified in the Utah Code as Title 63G Chapter 7. The Act affords certain immunities to governmental entities and needs to be strictly complied with to protect any potential claim against a governmental entity be it a town, city, county or state entity.
We all need to be careful and respectful of the property of others and people who place chains need to be respectful of the right of riders to ride where allowed.
Utah Bike Law and its lawyers are not representing any of the parties mentioned in this article at the time the article was posted. Our information source is cited in the article. If you were involved in this incident or a similar incident and have questions about your rights and options, call us or another reputable law firm. Do not act solely upon the information provided herein. Get a consultation. The best law firms will provide a free consultation. We provide a free, confidential consultation to not at fault persons named in this article. The free consultation offer extends to family members as well.
I got one of these maps a few years ago and it was good then. However, this new and improved version is promised to be even better. This is more than a map of the Southwest of the United States. It is designed with motorcyclists in mind. It is going to be one of those maps that lives in your bag for a very long time.
Thirty-four classic rides through the Southwest's quintessential scenes. Includes a map for each and color photos, as well as plenty of details on mileage, road conditions and terrain, services, motorcycle-friendly establishments, interesting sites, and side trips. You can get the map at the Utah Travel Industry Website for $18.95.
Below is a reprint of an article by James Davis who is a recognized motorcycle safety expert, consultant and lecturer and created an excelent motorcycle safety website Motorcycel Tips and Techniques out of Texas.
Group riding has lots of benefits for its participants, and a few new responsibilities.
For example, recently we heard about a group ride that turned sour when the lead bike failed to recognize where he was supposed to make a left turn and drove past that road. The second bike in the group did recognize the turnoff and decided to make it. He turned left and the third bike promptly ran into him.
What went wrong? It was argued that if nobody was following too closely then the actions of bike two would have saved everybody in the group (other than the lead bike) from having to make a U-turn and there would have been no accident.
Probably true, but almost any group rider with experience understands that it is up to the leader to make decisions about when and where the group will change directions. It might well have been that the leader had a reason for failing to make that turn. He could, for example, have realized that the group was going too fast to safely make that turn. (If anybody in the group understands the danger to a group of making sudden moves it is an experienced lead bike.) Further, what if the second bike did not willingly make that left turn - that he had a mechanical problem such as a flat tire that caused it. Since all members of a group are expected to follow the direction set by the lead bike, UNLESS IT IS INTO DANGER, all other bikes in the group (other than the drag bike) should have attempted to avoid bike two and continue behind the leader.
An example: The past State Director for GWRRA in Texas was once leading a ride in which he took a turn too fast and left the road. Not one single rider behind him followed - they were experienced group riders, not just 'chicken'. You are, ultimately, responsible for your own ride from a safety point of view.
Bike two, in the accident described earlier, was way out of line to unilaterally decide to take over lead position - to mutiny, if you will. However, the fact that the third rider ran into the second rider suggests that she was either riding too close to the second rider, or was inattentive, or was so confused by the unorthodox behavior of bike two that she could not react fast enough to prevent the accident. Whatever the reason, bike three broke the prime directive - 'Never hit the bike in front of you!'
When you are riding in a group as other than lead or drag bike your principal activity is 'station keeping' - maintaining proper distance between yourself and the bike ahead of you. Since the vast majority of accident threats present themselves to you from the front, each person should be encouraged to focus their attention primarily in front of them. In other words, it is dangerous to spend too much time watching your rear-view mirrors. Thus, the prime directive.
That said, if you accept the prime directive and assume that all the other riders have done the same, then you are also tacitly acknowledging that you trust the rider behind you. But, of course, you may never have ridden in a group with that person before. You may not have even met that person before. Further, it is common practice to put the weakest and least experienced riders towards the back of a group. Is that not setting up for an accident?
Not at all! The weakest/least experienced riders are in the back because these are the people most likely to have an accident. Thus, they are placed towards the back so that such an accident can put the fewest other people as possible into danger. It also allows the drag bike to observe how these riders handle themselves and to work with them at stops about the little things that they may be doing wrong.
As to their potential danger to the riders in front of them, that can be managed. Let me give you an example of savvy group riding behavior by an experienced rider who became concerned that the bike following was too close to her. She simply used a hand signal telling the bike behind her to slow down.
Even though most of us have CBs, we tend to use hand signals as well - to keep those without CBs informed. While there is a stated rule that all hand signals must be passed back, most individuals in a group ride tend never to originate such a signal thinking that this is just one more job of the lead bike. The exception to this is the case where an individual rider in the group notices a hazard in the roadway and points to it so that all behind will be alerted.
An individual group rider CAN ALWAYS initiate a hand signal telling the person behind him/her to slow down. This is the way to reduce concern about an inexperienced rider in the rear driving too close to the bike ahead of him. On the other hand, nobody but the lead bike is entitled to originate a hand signal telling the person behind him/her to speed up. (This is another way of saying that spacing in a group is usually specified in terms of minimums ('no closer than 1 second') - the riders can individually decide to use a larger space.)
The prime directive, if flawed, errors on the side of conservatism. It mandates that attention be primarily directed towards the front. It mandates that you not follow too closely. It makes you think about what the bike ahead of you (closest ahead of you, not literally 'straight ahead') is doing or might do next rather than what the lead bike is up to. It gives you a modest suggestion about what to do if *you* are about to have an accident. (i.e., if you are riding in the right track, and there is a hazard in the road ahead of you, the prime directive forces you to tend to turn towards the right to avoid that hazard - thus, taking you farther away from the closest bike ahead.)
Utah Bike Law is a law firm and its lawyers represent motorcycle riders and their families across Utah including the counties and cities of Beaver, Box Elder, Cache, Carbon, Daggett, Davis, Duchesne, Emery, Garfield, Grand, Iron, Juab, Kane, Millard, Morgan, Piute, Rich, Salt Lake, San Juan, Sanpete, Sevier, Summit, Tooele, Uintah, Utah, Wasatch, Washington, Wayne, Weber, American Fork, Beaver, Bountiful, Brigham City, Cedar City, Delta, Draper, Duchesne, Fillmore, Heber, Kamas, Kanab, Kaysville, Layton, Lehi, Logan, Moab, Murray, Nephi, Ogden, Orem, Park City, Price, Provo, Richfield, Riverton, Roy, Salt Lake City, Sandy, South Jordan, St. George, Tooele, Vernal, West Jordan, and West Valley City.
The Polar Bear Ride is one of the most popular rides in Utah - probably because it is one of the earliest rides and the money raised goes to the benefit of charities throughout the state of Utah. This past Sunday was the 2010 Polar Bear Ride and it promised to be a great ride because the weather was warmest in months and everyone owning a motorcycle wanted to get out and ride.
Unfortunately, at about 1:00 pm yesterday afternoon dispatchers were notified that two motorcycles had crashed north-bound on 100 North on SR-73 in Cedar Fort West of Eagle Mountain in Utah. Both of the motorcycles were heading in the same direction.
Killed in the crash was Brian Morris, age 43, of Orem. On the motorcycle with Brian Morris was his mother, Sandra Morris, 63, also of Orem. She sustained serious injuries and was taken by ambulance to a hospital. Injured on the other motorcycle was Bert Weaver, age 69, of Roy. Weaver also sustained serious injuries and was transported to a hospital by ambulance. Injuries to Sandra Morris and Bert Weaver do not appear to be life threatening.
Group motorcycle riding can be dangerous because there is a tendency for the riders to bunch-up and not allow the correct following distance to compensate for the unexpected. Before going on any group ride watch this video from the Motorcycle Safety Foundation on Safe Group Riding. Most of all make sure you are allowing enough room between yourself and the rider in front of you to avoid a crash.
Most of the news articles on this horrible crash also note that neither Brian or Sandra Morris were wearing helmets and this contributed to their injuries. The law in Utah does not require a person 18 years or older to wear a helmet. Your choice to wear a helmet is in fact that - your choice. Your decision to wear a helmet should be based on fact. In a recent article Study Shows Unhelmeted Riders Suffer More Severe Injury we looked at the statistics. I almost always wear a helmet but whether you do or not is up to you!
Utah Bike Law and its lawyers are not representing any of the parties mentioned in this article at the time the article was posted. Our information source is cited in the article. If you were involved in this incident or a similar incident and have questions about your rights and options, call us or another reputable law firm. Do not act solely upon the information provided herein. Get a consultation. The best law firms will provide a free consultation. We provide a free, confidential consultation to not at fault persons named in this article. The free consultation offer extends to family members as well.
The most common injures that result from a motorcycle crash in terms of frequency are:
Road rash: When an individual is thrown from a motorbike unprotected skin that meets the pavement will be injured. These skin and bone abrasions are referred to as road rash. In addition to being quite painful, they can also leave the accident victim scarred for life.Sometimes road rash requires skin grafting requiring weeks of admission to a hospital.
Disfigurement: Disfigurement, often in terms of facial scars and teeth damage occurs when motorcyclists are not wearing protective equipment to protect the face. Even with a helmet motorcycle crash victims often sustain damage to their teeth. Trauma to the facial area can result in intense pain, and the driver with the disfigurement may have to go through painful and expensive plastic surgery or bear the marks of the accident for the remainder of his life.Oral surgery is also required to repair damaged and missing teeth.
Fractures: When motorcycle accidents occur, leg fractures are a very common type of injury. Since motorcyclists are often thrown from the bike during an accident, it’s possible for almost any other bone in the body to be fractured as well. Fractures can be accompanied by lacerations if bones break through the surface of the skin, and tendons, joints and nerves can also be damaged during a motorcycle accident. Wrist fractures are also very coomon becasue riders reach out to protect themselves - it is an automatic response. Sometimes fractures can take years to heal properly.
Spinal cord injuries: These types of injuries are very serious and occur when the vertebrae-protected cord that transmits nerve impulses from the brain to the rest of the body is damaged. The impact a spinal cord injury will have on the victim depends mainly on the location of the injury and whether the entire spinal cord was damaged. A person with a spinal cord injury may end up completely paralyzed from the neck down, or they may lose some function in their legs.
Brain damage and concussions: Motorcycle accidents often involve some level of head trauma. This can cause a concussion or it can cause traumatic brain injury that can dramatically reduce the victim’s overall quality of life and his ability to live independently. Serious brain injury can also cause death.
Utah Bike Law is a law firm and its lawyers represent motorcycle riders and their families across Utah including the counties and cities of Beaver, Box Elder, Cache, Carbon, Daggett, Davis, Duchesne, Emery, Garfield, Grand, Iron, Juab, Kane, Millard, Morgan, Piute, Rich, Salt Lake, San Juan, Sanpete, Sevier, Summit, Tooele, Uintah, Utah, Wasatch, Washington, Wayne, Weber, American Fork, Beaver, Bountiful, Brigham City, Cedar City, Delta, Draper, Duchesne, Fillmore, Heber, Kamas, Kanab, Kaysville, Layton, Lehi, Logan, Moab, Murray, Nephi, Ogden, Orem, Park City, Price, Provo, Richfield, Riverton, Roy, Salt Lake City, Sandy, South Jordan, St. George, Tooele, Vernal, West Jordan, and West Valley City.
As the weather warms so will the number of motorcycles on our highways. Motorcycle crashes are traumatic. Not only are they traumatic for the injured rider and sometimes their passenger but they are traumatic for the driver of the vehicle that often causes the crash and for those that witness the crash. Regardless of your opinion of motorcycle riders and if not for any other reason than to save yourself some heartache we need to watch out for each other out there.
In 2007, there were 2,332 two-vehicle fatal crashes involving a motorcycle and another type of vehicle. In 40 percent of these crashes, the other vehicle was turning left while the motorcycle was going straight, passing, or overtaking the vehicle.
Always make a visual check for motorcycles by checking mirrors and blind spots before entering or leaving a lane of traffic and at intersections.
Don't be fooled by a flashing turn signal on a motorcycle – motorcycle signals are often not self-canceling and riders sometimes forget to turn them off. Wait to be sure the motorcycle is going to turn before you proceed.
Allow more following distance, three or four seconds more, when behind a motorcycle, so the motorcyclist has enough time to maneuver or stop in an emergency. And don't tailgate. In dry conditions, motorcycles can stop more quickly than cars.
In 2007, 5,154 motorcyclists lost their lives in fatal highway crashes, an increase for the tenth straight year.
Utah Bike Law is a law firm and its lawyers represent motorcycle riders and their families across Utah including the counties and cities of Beaver, Box Elder, Cache, Carbon, Daggett, Davis, Duchesne, Emery, Garfield, Grand, Iron, Juab, Kane, Millard, Morgan, Piute, Rich, Salt Lake, San Juan, Sanpete, Sevier, Summit, Tooele, Uintah, Utah, Wasatch, Washington, Wayne, Weber, American Fork, Beaver, Bountiful, Brigham City, Cedar City, Delta, Draper, Duchesne, Fillmore, Heber, Kamas, Kanab, Kaysville, Layton, Lehi, Logan, Moab, Murray, Nephi, Ogden, Orem, Park City, Price, Provo, Richfield, Riverton, Roy, Salt Lake City, Sandy, South Jordan, St. George, Tooele, Vernal, West Jordan, and West Valley City.
The Utah Highway Safety Office is partnering with Richter7 to increase motorcycle safety awareness throughout the state. Richter7 is sponsoring the DRIVE AWARE. RIDE AWARE. video contest, which challenges participants to create videos that promote motorcycle and driver safety as part of the campaign. First-, second- and third-place winners will receive $1,000, $500 and $250, respectively.
The deadline for contest submissions is Friday, April 16. Participants should email submissions to Megan Hoskins at
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. All entries will be showcased on Utah Highway Safety Office’s motorcycle safety Facebook page. More information is available by contacting Megan Hoskins or Derek Miller at
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or by visiting the campaign’s Facebook page. Users of Facebook would search “Utah Highway Safety Office†to access the page. For more information, please visit http://highwaysafety.utah.gov.
This is a good and worthwhile project that last year attracted enteries from many different people. The winner last year was a young man in high school as I recall.
Utah Bike Law is a law firm and its lawyers are dedicated to representing injured motorcycle riders and their families.If you or a loved one were involved in a motorcycle crash in Utah we invite you to call for a free confidential consultation.There is no obligation and you are not charged any fees whatsoever unless we recover money for you.
Monday March 1, 2010 was a beautiful day and like a lot of other motorcycle riders I fired up my bike and went for a ride. Brushing off the winter cobwebs I was careful to be very safe with my driving and very safe watching the vehicle drivers around me because I know that they are not looking for motorcycle riders this early in the motorcycle season.
I suspect that a 29-year-old motorcycle rider from Provo was doing the same thing - out for an early ride on his motorcycle. Unfortunately a 19-year-old woman driving an SUV around noon made a left turn into the path of the Provo man on the motorcycle. The motorcyclist was able to lay down his motorcycle, but still slid into the front fender of the SUV. He was critically injured with head, chest and leg trauma. Immediate helicopter evacuation was performed and the injured motorcycle rider was airlifted to Utah Valley Medical Center where he remains in critical condition today.
The motorcycle crash occurred near near 700 North and State Street in the Utah County town of Lindon. Police told the Salt Lake Tribune that the woman, who was northbound, told them she had glanced at her watch just before making the turn west onto 700 North and did not see the approaching southbound motorcycle.
The most common type of motorcycle crash involving another vehicle occurs when the other vehicle is turning left in front of the motorcycle rider. I think the crash occurs for at least three major reasons. First, the driver of the vehicle just is not accustomed to and looking for motorcycles. We, as human beings have a tendency to see what we are looking for and if we are not looking for motorcycles on the streets we drive we simply will not see motorcycles. Second, motorcycles are relatively small as compared to vehicles and they can be obscured from view by roadside obstacles or even the car strut that holds up the roof of the car. Last, but certainly not least, is that because motorcycles are small they appear to be further away than what they actually are and vehicles turning left think they have all the time they need to safely turn in front of the motorcycle when in fact they do no.
I point out these common causes not to lay blame so much as to attune other vehicle drivers and motorcycle riders themselves about how left-turning vehicles cause motorcycle crashes. We all, both vehicle drivers and motorcycle riders need to watch out for each other out there!
Utah Bike Law and its lawyers are not representing any of the parties mentioned in this article at the time the article was posted. Our information source is cited in the article. If you were involved in this incident or a similar incident and have questions about your rights and options, call us or another reputable law firm. Do not act solely upon the information provided herein. Get a consultation. The best law firms will provide a free consultation. We provide a free, confidential consultation to not at fault persons named in this article. The free consultation offer extends to family members as well.
In Utah you have the right to choose to wear a helmet when you are riding your motorcycle as long as you are 18 years old. I think your decision to wear or not wear a helmet is up to you - you alone - not the legislature! However...... if you are going to wear a helmet you should consider using the best helmet and that would be the new Lazer SuperSkin Motorcycle Helmet.
It is important to note that in 67% of all cases the head is affected in a motorcycle accident and, according to the European COST 327 helmet study concerning motorcyclist safety, “rotational acceleration was identified as a principal cause of head injuryâ€.
In order to understand how this phenomenon occurs, you should be aware that the brain is not fixed to the inside of the skull and the brain linings but that it floats, immersed in cerebrospinal fluid. In fact, the skull and the brain can be compared to a hollow globe that encloses a gelatinous sphere, the brain matter, which floats within the bony walls in a whole network of membranes and elastic cables (blood vessels, tissues etc).
Any impact causes instantaneous pivoting of the head, to a greater or lesser degree. Of course, the brain mass follows the rotational movement of the skull, but with a slight time delay. Kinetic energy results in the brain undergoing a rotational to-and-fro movement inside the skull.
And as described previously, this happens within the first 15 milliseconds following the impact. Clearly the violence of this rotational movement within the skull can instantaneously cause the tearing of blood vessels and nerve fibers inside the brain. This phenomenon, called “intracranial shearing†by doctors, is the cause of serious and inoperable injuries leading to serious disabilities (coma, paralysis and various other disorders) and all too often, death.
With the Lazer SuperSkin Motorcycle Helmet the rotational forces are decreased and the brain is saved!
Utah Bike Law is a law firm and its lawyers represent motorcycle riders and their families across Utah including the counties and cities of Beaver, Box Elder, Cache, Carbon, Daggett, Davis, Duchesne, Emery, Garfield, Grand, Iron, Juab, Kane, Millard, Morgan, Piute, Rich, Salt Lake, San Juan, Sanpete, Sevier, Summit, Tooele, Uintah, Utah, Wasatch, Washington, Wayne, Weber, American Fork, Beaver, Bountiful, Brigham City, Cedar City, Delta, Draper, Duchesne, Fillmore, Heber, Kamas, Kanab, Kaysville, Layton, Lehi, Logan, Moab, Murray, Nephi, Ogden, Orem, Park City, Price, Provo, Richfield, Riverton, Roy, Salt Lake City, Sandy, South Jordan, St. George, Tooele, Vernal, West Jordan, and West Valley City.
While the carnage nationwide has fallen in recent years, 37,261 individuals died in vehicular accidents in 2008 — that's still more than 10 times the number who died in the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001. Most of the traffic fatalities can be attributed to excessive speed, alcohol-impairment or failure to wear seat belts. Drivers distracted while texting, eating or using their cell phones are also a growing concern. But often the roads themselves are to blame.
Scripps News has an investigative project underway titles "KILLER ROADS" and the various articles are an intense read.
The study found that the single most deadly road is the 181-mile segment of Interstate 15 that passes through San Bernardino County, Calif., and connects Los Angeles to Las Vegas. During the 15-year period of the study, 1,069 people perished in 834 accidents. That's more than double the death toll from any other road in any other county.
There is another excellent interactive map at SafeRoadMaps where you can investigate the frequency and cause of crashes across America by various methods.
Ride aware and ride safe - and if you are on any of these killer roads keep your sphincter tight!
Utah Bike Law is a law firm and its lawyers represent motorcycle riders and their families across Utah including the counties and cities of Beaver, Box Elder, Cache, Carbon, Daggett, Davis, Duchesne, Emery, Garfield, Grand, Iron, Juab, Kane, Millard, Morgan, Piute, Rich, Salt Lake, San Juan, Sanpete, Sevier, Summit, Tooele, Uintah, Utah, Wasatch, Washington, Wayne, Weber, American Fork, Beaver, Bountiful, Brigham City, Cedar City, Delta, Draper, Duchesne, Fillmore, Heber, Kamas, Kanab, Kaysville, Layton, Lehi, Logan, Moab, Murray, Nephi, Ogden, Orem, Park City, Price, Provo, Richfield, Riverton, Roy, Salt Lake City, Sandy, South Jordan, St. George, Tooele, Vernal, West Jordan, and West Valley City.
Open Road Journey is a great motorcycle website where you can research motorcycle rides across America and around the world. You can search by state and under Utah they have some of the best and least known rides in the state.
One of my local favorite rides is what they call "Twisty Fun" which takes you on a beautiful ride west of I-15 on highway 92 through the Wasatch National Forest. The ride has gorgeous scenery, lots of pull-offs and the condition of the road is fantastic - or at least it was last year!
Another ride they call "Moab to Grand Junction - The Back Way" is a good ride and very populated with motorcycle riders in the summer months. Make sure you pack a lot of cool drinks in the summer - you can fry your a** off in the summer in this area.
Lava Hot Springs, although I have never been there, is reported to be one of the most fun spots in Idaho. Rafting the Snake River is reported to be great. I can attest that the route from Ogden Utah to Preston Idaho is good road and pretty scenery.
There are other trips including Highway 12 in southern Utah that goes through the Manti-La Sal National Forest and the Four Corners area of Utah that need to be seen to be believed.
The best part about this website is that you can add your own trips and share your adventures with others. Add a few of your own. I think I will add a few of my trips this year - plan on heading West into Nevada this year - see the desert.
Utah Bike Law is a law firm and its lawyers represent motorcycle riders and their families across Utah including the counties and cities of Beaver, Box Elder, Cache, Carbon, Daggett, Davis, Duchesne, Emery, Garfield, Grand, Iron, Juab, Kane, Millard, Morgan, Piute, Rich, Salt Lake, San Juan, Sanpete, Sevier, Summit, Tooele, Uintah, Utah, Wasatch, Washington, Wayne, Weber, American Fork, Beaver, Bountiful, Brigham City, Cedar City, Delta, Draper, Duchesne, Fillmore, Heber, Kamas, Kanab, Kaysville, Layton, Lehi, Logan, Moab, Murray, Nephi, Ogden, Orem, Park City, Price, Provo, Richfield, Riverton, Roy, Salt Lake City, Sandy, South Jordan, St. George, Tooele, Vernal, West Jordan, and West Valley City.
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