While vehicle collisions can involve to all sorts of road users, motorcyclists tend to come off worse than most. On a motorcycle, you have little to protect you in a crash. You could say the same for cyclists and pedestrians. Yet, the increased speed of a motorcycle brings extra danger.
Drivers often fail to see motorcycles
People who do not ride motorcycles do not expect to see them on the roads. If you are a motorcyclist, you may find this hard to understand as you spot other bikers all along the route. Yet, people subconsciously focus on what they know. When you become a parent for the first time, you start to notice playgrounds everywhere, despite never noticing them before. When you buy a red Honda motorcycle, you start to see others with red Hondas, which you did not notice when you rode a black Suzuki.
Size also makes a difference. The same smallness that allows you to squeeze between gaps in the traffic can make it harder for drivers to see you. If you sit slotted between two cars, you can disappear from view. If you have a car behind you, a driver overtaking that car might not notice you are ahead and hit you as they pull back into lane.
It is clear that drivers find it harder to spot motorcycles than they do cars or trucks. Does that excuse them for crashing into you and injuring you? Of course not. It is common knowledge that motorcycles are less visible and more vulnerable. So drivers need to take extra care to watch out for them. Unfortunately many drivers are not paying attention. If a driver injures you, it is crucial to understand the real reasons they did not see you.