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“Crash reports and injury statistics have long been important outcome variables in the study of motorcyclists and the success of the training they receive. Yet, for many researchers, these indicators have not been an adequate indicator of success,” according to Drs. Sherry Williams and Jim Heideman of the Motorcycle Safety Foundation (MSF).

In their paper presented to the International Motorcycle Safety Conference, Orlando, FL October 15, 2013, the doctors cited the 1990 Simpson & Mayhew recommendation that investigators should evaluate the value of training from the students’ perspective and study near-crash scenarios provided by riders themselves.  

Understanding motorcycle crashes and the external circumstances surrounding them, known as “safety critical events” where a rider takes immediate evasive action to avoid a crash or correct any unsafe acts, is important. Near-miss accident documentation and reviews are already required in the aviation and the maritime industries in order to learn about safety issues.

MSF believes that by studying scenarios of near-miss crashes, improvement in a motorcyclist’s response to an actual crash can be attained, and training courses can be developed to assist motorcyclists in dealing with any “real-life” crash situations.

Lee County, with 26 motorcycle fatalities, was tied for sixth place with Orange County in the number of Florida motorcycle deaths in 2015, according to a recently released AAA (American Automobile Association) study.

The Orlando Sentinel reported on March 13, 2017 that in the first weekend of the Daytona Bike Week which ran from Friday, March 10 to Sunday, March 19, there were at least three major motorcycle crashes in Volusia County. In these crashes two people died and six were injured in less than 24 hours.

Daytona Beach Police Sgt. Kelsey Harris told the Orlando Sentinel, “We normally do see an increase in the number of traffic fatalities, but we’ve all been saying how this year seems to be busier than the last eight years. It’s been bad out there for crashes, and between everything else going on, it’s keeping us very busy.”

The U.S. Department of Transportation, Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA) reported that:

Virtually all transportation accidents are preceded by a chain of events or circumstances—any one of which might have prevented the accident if it had gone another way. In a large number of cases, operators are aware of these "close calls" or "near misses" and may have information that could prevent future accidents. However, most of our model programs are focused on collecting data on mishaps only when they result in a reportable accident. This leaves unexposed the large majority of cases where we could develop useful data on accident precursors or on prevention strategies that have actually worked.

Motorcycle rider education and training, according to the National Agenda for Motorcycle Safety recommendations, should be based on a “uniform, educationally sound curricula that reflects current crash and training research as well as the differing demands of various riders and environments. Crash avoidance skills are important components of rider education and training curricula. According to the National Agenda, research identified braking, cornering, and swerving as crash avoidance skills absent among crash-involved motorcyclists.”

“Motorcycle accidents can be particularly bad because of the rider’s vulnerability. Other vehicle drivers must ‘share the road’ and watch out for motorcyclists. In the meantime, motorcycle rider education using near-miss information may help to save more lives and reduce injuries,” said Fort Myers Motorcycle Accident Attorney, Randall Spivey of Spivey Law Firm, Personal Injury Attorneys, P.A.

Ft. Myers Motorcycle Accident Attorney,Randall L. Spivey is a Board Certified Trial Attorney – the highest recognition for competence bestowed by the Florida Bar and a distinction earned by just one (1%) percent of Florida attorneys.  He has handled over 2,000 personal injury and wrongful death cases throughout Florida.  For a free and confidential consultation to discuss your legal rights, contact the Spivey Law Firm, Personal Injury Attorneys, P.A., in Lee County at 239.337.7483 or toll free at 1.888.477.4839, or by email to Randall@SpiveyLaw.com.  Visit SpiveyLaw.com for more information.  You can contact Spivey Law Firm, Personal Injury Attorneys, P.A.in Charlotte County at 941.764.7748 and in Collier County 239.793.7748.