Personal injury attorney says drivers aren’t looking for motorcycles on the road

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE) – In the past year we’ve seen double digit motorcycle crashes and deaths in Louisville.

The most recent was in Pleasure Ridge Park Thursday evening.

There was another one earlier this week on Monday, when a 38-year-old man who was hit by an SUV on Westport Road on Monday.

There’s a saying in the motorcycle community: Look twice, save a life.

It sounds simple, but it’s effective.

“It’s just so common,” said Karl Truman, a personal injury attorney. “You see so many motorcycle crashes. It’s very unfortunate.”

Truman said he sees dozens of motorcycle accident cases a year. He even co-authored a book called “The Guide to Protecting Motorcyclists in Indiana and Kentucky.”

The book has 179 tips that say it can save your life.

“I’ve handled many motorcycle crashes over the ,” Truman said. “Death cases, very serious bodily injury cases. So I’ve become really interested in the motorcycle community.”

Truman has a simple theory on the most common cause of car and motorcycle collisions.

“Drivers just aren’t looking for motorcycles,” Truman said.

It’s important for drivers and motorcyclists to share the road.

“You’ve got to take time as a driver of a car to look for the motorcycle and be aware of them and know that they’re out there,” Truman said.

Truman said some of the most common causes of motorcycle crashes are when a car turns left in front of them or runs stop signs and stop lights.

He said he has several pending cases currently involving these kinds of accidents.

“And the driver says ‘I didn’t see them.’ They must’ve been speeding. I just didn’t see them,’” Truman said.

However, it’s not just a one-sided responsibility.

Motorcyclists need to be aware of their surroundings just as much as drivers do.

“I know a motorcycle safety instructor who said that he told his student, ‘when you’re out on the road, you just have to assume that everyone out there wants to kill you,’ Truman said.

Truman said it’s not prime riding season right now, but once it gets warmer, there will be even more motorcycles on the road.

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