Spring is here…the time of year that all or most of us like to spend more time outdoors enjoying the milder weather. And there are so many ways and places that we can do that here in Florida.
INVISIBLE!
By Daniel L. Hightower, Lawyer
Motorcycles are fun to ride. I get that. Several high school friends of mine and I used to rent motorcycles on some Saturdays (without our parents’ knowledge and consent) and ride them in the rough land around the mined phosphate pits in Polk County, Florida. It was like “dirt-biking” before I ever heard the term. Sometimes, we got stuck in the ballbearing sand… because there were just street tires on the rentals. No problem. Get off the bike and push it over to harder ground and haul butt again. It was invigorating going up and down mounds of dirt and flying down dirt roads with the wind blowing in our faces. A sense of freedom in wide open spaces that I imagine motorcyclists today enjoy.
Once I got into beef cattle ranching in 1990, then learning to ride a quarter horse well was almost mandatory. So I did. And I get the same sense of freedom in wide open spaces I did back in high school on a motorcycle… by loping a well-broke cow horse across an open pasture, wind in my face, gathering up a bunch of cattle and driving them to the cow pens. Invigorating.
But in a cow pasture, there are no distracted drivers in cars and trucks turning left in front of me, blowing stop signs, changing lanes without looking or rear-ending me while they are on their cell phones. Unfortunately, motorcyclists have to be on constant alert for these risks and I expect that you are… more than ever now due to the number of people moving into Florida and driving cars and trucks.
This may not be an original thought, but it occurred to me that if I were riding a motorcycle today, especially in traffic, I would assume that I’m “invisible” and ride accordingly. It doesn’t matter how many “Watch Out For Motorcycles” bumper stickers and road signs there are, some drivers of cars and trucks… JUST DON’T DO IT!
So ride your bikes safely and assume you’re INVISIBLE when in traffic… and prolong the fun and adventures that you understandably enjoy on your motorcycles.
PS. Yes, I’ve helped seriously injured motorcyclists recover a $9.6 million Verdict, a $5.75 million settlement and other large sums of money over the many past years… and we still do… but it’s much better to be happy, healthy and safe than to have a multi-million dollar motorcycle injuries claim.
