Limited Visibility Motorcycle Accidents

Limited visibility remains one of the primary causes of motorcycle accidents in New Hampshire. Motorists often fail to recognize a motorcycle in dense traffic due to being distracted by the presence of an obstruction, poor weather conditions, or simply a lack of concentration brought about by hectic traffic flow. As a result, they may swerve into the motorcyclist’s lane causing injury, or collide with the bike in a number of ways. If you are injured due to limited visibility, we urge you to consult with a trustworthy New Hampshire motorcycle accident attorney to determine how best to proceed.

We frequently encounter cases where a motorist claims he/she did not see our client due to traffic or other conditions such as bright sunlight. In all such cases, we have been able to successfully establish that, had the other driver (the defendant) been more careful, the accident would not have occurred and our client would not have been injured. One the keys to success in this type of case is obtaining measurements of where our client’s motorcycle would have first been visible to the defendant had he/she been paying closer attention. Using this measurement, our accident reconstruction experts will then factor in the speed of the vehicles to determine the amount of time the defendant had to observe our client and, if necessary, act to avoid the collision.

Another key to success in a case involving limited visibility is obtaining witness statements, if they are available, particularly if the defendant is claiming that our client was operating his/her motorcycle in excess of the speed limit.

In one case we successfully resolved recently, the defendant asserted that he could not have avoided the accident because a box truck was obscuring his ability to see the traffic coming in the lane adjacent to the truck. He further claimed that our client was operating his motorcycle at an excessive rate of speed. We investigated his claim that he could not have seen oncoming traffic—including our client’s motorcycle—by taking aerial pictures of the intersection, measuring the intersection, and then piecing together from photos of the accident scene taken by the police where exactly the defendant’s car collided with our client’s motorcycle. From there, we superimposed on the aerial photograph a box truck approximately the same size as the one that the defendant claimed blocked his view. With this information, we were then able to show that the defendant would have had more than adequate ability to see oncoming traffic in the lane adjacent to the box truck. We were also able to obtain a statement from the box truck operator that the defendant did not slowly inch his vehicle forward to both make the presence of his vehicle known to oncoming traffic, but also to get a better angle to view the oncoming traffic. Using our accident scene evidence and the box truck driver’s statement, we were able to successfully rebut the defendant’s claim that the accident was unavoidable. In the course of our negotiations with the defendant’s insurance company, we pointed out that New Hampshire motor vehicle laws require drivers to exercise reasonable care which, under the circumstances of this case, clearly required the defendant to slowly pull forward until he had a reasonably clear sight line to oncoming traffic—something he failed to do. We also provided witness statements and other evidence that our client was not operating in excess of the speed limit, including a statement from an individual who was driving behind our client immediately before the accident occurred. Based on the weight of this evidence, the defendant’s insurance company’s adjuster dropped her argument that the accident was unavoidable and that the defendant was not at fault. She also no longer claimed that our client was operating in excess of the speed limit. With those obstacles out of the way, the case resolved for an amount seven times what the insurance company originally offered our client.

If you are injured in a motorcycle accident where the defendant is claiming the accident was due to limited visibility, you should retain a trustworthy New Hamsphire motorcycle accident attorney to help obtain the compensation you deserve for your injuries. We can investigate what caused the accident and join all responsible parties to your lawsuit. Contact Peter Thompson & Associates at 800.804.2004 or via our online form.