The reality is that drivers are actually responsible for most serious motorcycle injuries and deaths. The University of South Florida’s Center for Urban Transportation Research recently released a study reporting that 60 percent of motorcycle crashes involving another vehicle were due to the negligence of the other vehicle rather than the motorcyclist. The majority of these crashes were the result of the other vehicle not appropriately yielding the right of way to the motorcyclist. 

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One common example of such incidents is when a truck or car driver pulls over from a side road directly in front of an oncoming motorcyclist, either because they’re not paying attention or because they expect the motorcyclist to yield its right of way to the cars on the road. Another example is when drivers turn left across oncoming traffic right in front of a motorcyclist. Unfortunately, oftentimes the reason drivers “fail” to spot a motorcyclist is that they did actually see the motorcyclist, but decide to turn or pull out in front of them regardless. This is due to the fact that drivers mentally associate size with speed and intimidation- they may choose to pull out in front of a motorcyclist since it doesn’t pose any physical risk, but wouldn’t pull out in front of a pickup truck that is going 10 miles slower than the motorcyclist.