Motorcycle accidents can kill and it is hardly surprising. As a motorbike rider you are 40 times more likely to be killed than car drivers or passengers. You are more likely to be killed on a motorbike than any other means of transport. In 2004 over 500 people were killed in road accidents and over 6000 were seriously injured. These are scary statistics but they are facts and need to be addressed seriously. Another important statistic is that 80% of motorcycle accidents were caused by the negligence of another. Obviously motorcyclists are very vulnerable because of the lack of protection they have and the fact they only have 2 wheels to keep the bike on the road. If a bikes crosses a man hole or some oil on the road it is a lot more difficult to keep control of a bike than it is a car. Also the injuries you are likely to sustain will be a lot worse than a car accident.

So why are motorcycles so appealing to people when they are so dangerous? Well unless you have driven a bike this can be hard to understand. Having driven motor bikes in my youth I can understand the thrills. For me it was a case being a bit of a tom boy and not being old enough to drive a car and I needed transport to take me to work and back. It was only when my second bike was stolen from my front garden that I decided to learn to drive a car and leave my biking days behind. The cold weather in winter was another factor which convinced me to learn to drive a car. But I will never forget the feeling of being astride a motorbike with just your clothing and helmet as protection. There is nothing better to get the adrenalin going than riding a bike. To this day even though I have had a motorcycle accident I still would like to get another bike if only for the summer.

To have an accident on a motorbike is quite a scary experience. Back in the late 90's I was involved on the back of my boyfriends motorbike when a car came out at a junction and drove straight into us, obviously not seeing us at all. We were both thrown from the bike several feet. Luckily for us we were not traveling very fast and the injuries were not too serious. It could have been a lot worse as I was stupidly wearing a short skirt. Normally I would have been wearing jeans and leathers but that night it was a warm summer evening and my boyfriend was giving me a lift just one way so I thought I would chance wearing a skirt! Big mistake! My arms and legs were badly scratched from the tarmac but I was lucky not to receive more severe injuries.

Our injuries may have been minor but the accident was not our fault and there was damage to the bike, our selves and the leather coats we were wearing. Also once you have had an impact on your crash helmet you are supposed to replace it. With all this in mind we went to see a solicitor and started proceedings. The driver of the car admitted to not seeing us at all so it was a simple case and we won a substantial amount of compensation. It took about 3 months but it was worth it as we replaced our crash helmets, fixed up the scratches to the bike and I bought some much need leather trousers.