Weaving In And Out Of Traffic Can Lead To A New Haven Motorcycle Accident

Traffic can be so frustrating and when you are stuck in it and are riding a motorcycle it can be incredibly tempting to hit the gas on your motorcycle and start weaving in and out of it, but this can be deadly. If you think about the risk vs. the reward of weaving in and out of traffic it might look something like this; Weaving in and out of traffic might save me a few minutes on my commute, it also might lead to a deadly New Haven motorcycle accident. The answer seems quite clear.

As you think about it now when you’re not riding your motorcycle you may see it that way, but when you’re thinking about getting home after a long day, you may change your mind and take the risk anyway. In the short term, this decision may lead to you getting a home a few minutes early, but in the long term, the law of averages might put you in a situation where you are injured or even worse. Not only is lane splitting extremely dangerous, it is also illegal in Connecticut.

Before you consider whether you want to drive in this erratic way you should have the facts about how it can affect your ability to drive your motorcycle safely. It is not just as simple making your ride a little bit dangerous, there are very specific ways that weaving in and out of traffic can impact your safety as you ride your motorcycle. These include the following;

1.) Reduced and limited visibility. You are already riding a motorcycle which is far smaller and lighter then most of the vehicles that you are sharing the road with. Due to the size of your vehicle, even if you follow all of the rules of the road you are operating at a disadvantage or visibility. When you add in the risky behavior of lane splitting you can significantly reduce your ability to be seen by other drivers. In fact, as you weave in and out of traffic the likelihood that another driver will turn into you as they change lanes because they did not see you coming.

2.) Your reaction time is reduced. When you’re following the rules of the road you can remain alert and react to changes in the conditions ahead of you. However, when you are changing lanes frequently you are driving while experiencing quick bursts of speed and in some cases sudden stops which can decrease your reaction times significantly. If you’re focused on weaving and the road conditions in front of you change, you may not have the ability to react to those changes in time.

3.) Cars, especially SUVs and trucks have significant blind spots. As your vehicle is already smaller than all of these vehicles you are already in their blind spots. When you start to weave in and out of traffic you are putting yourself in more and more positions that are likely to leave you moving in and out of the blind spots for those vehicles. When this happens the driver may not see you coming and side swipe you without even knowing you were there in the first place.

4.) Loss of control can happen due to this driving habit. When you’re weaving in and out of traffic you are usually doing so at a high rate of speed and also trying to turn on a dime. This type of driving may look cool in the movies, but in practice it can be a recipe for disaster. You may lose control of your vehicle quite easily which could put you at a greater risk of getting into a New Haven motorcycle accident which could result in an injury or worse.

As a reminder, this idea of lane splitting or weaving in and out of traffic on your motorcycle is illegal in the state of Connecticut. It is also extremely dangerous. You should avoid this behavior at all costs, even if it means that you won’t make it home as fast as you would like. Traffic can leave you frustrated or agitated, but taking matters into your own hands could leave you injured or even worse.

Contact our office and speak with an experienced attorney if you’ve been injured as the result of a motorcycle accident and one of our attorneys will speak with you about your situation.