I struck up a converstation with a cop today about riding motorcycles. Everything was going good, he had stated that he was going to be a motorcycle cop in the near future. But surprisingly he told me that all cops in this area are taught that every motorcycle accident is the riders fault! Does not matter what the circumstances are you should have anticipated anything and everything any other driver did. And I do want to stress here....alll accidents...every one of them. So to all those LEO's on this forum have you been given the same info as what they teach here?

 

Common sense isn't that common!!

 

Where do you live so I can stay the hell away from there.

 

LEO here, that was never taught to me, at least here in Ohio. You look at the accident, the damage, what witnesses and drivers/operators tell you and then it's usually real clear who is at fault. All you have to do is check the news papers in your state concerning motorcycle accidents....you will see that the driver of the cage is the one usually cited for the accident.

I think he either didn't understand a directive or was given really poor training.

 

find the above statement very hard to believe.

 

It happens. The motorcyclist may be hurt and on his way to the hospital when the officer writes the report and it has happened often where it's assumed to be the bikers fault. We have disputed a lot of these reports. You can dispute your police report but my advice is to be as nice to the officer at the scene. Even if he is going against you in his report. You can dispute the report later. Make sure to get as much witness info as possible. And call an experienced motorcycle attorney if you are not sure what evidence to keep etc.

Motorcycle Lawyer Russ Brown

 

+1 on Russ's comment. Contact an attorney that specializes in motorcycle accidents. Another +1 for Russ that the accident report is not written in stone and can be changed later. If you have a cell phone with a camera, take pics of everything (but stay out of the way of any safety service that might be on scene like officers taking measurements or fire dept. if the accident calls for it). These will help out later. One of the best things to get pics of are any skid marks or scraps in the pavement from either vehicle (make sure to get a pic of these marks from the start of the marks so that you get the marks and vehicles in the same shot if possible) and especially the damage/location of damage on both vehicles. (Both can tell anyone a lot of facts about the accident.) I've been doing this 16 years and have been to tons of accidents.

Any officer worth anything will not issue a cite to someone who was taken to the hospital before they have a chance to speak with them. I know it happens, but in my opinion, if they do, they didn't do their job the right way.

 

I will never forget the NYS trooper who issued a buddy of mine a ticket after a bike accident. He had just been loaded into the ambulance, and the trooper walked up to the ambulance driver, had him open the back door, and placed the ticket on my friend, who was strapped to a backboard. The ambulance driver said, "I can't believe you just did that". The trooper replied, "Don't tell me how to do my job".

I was just awestruck. I was with my friend the whole time,from the accident to the moment he was put in the ambulance, and the trooper never once spoke to my friend. It was a reckless driving citation.

 

I think the LEO is misinterpreting the concept that there is no such thing as an accident. Accidents are usually the result of a series of poor judgements that catch up to you. There usually is something the biker could have done to avoid the accident, but common sense is if the bike is 10% at fault and the cage 90% why blame the bike? I stay as from from cages as possible.

 

I think he has a good point. Maybe he is saying to look at all motorcycle accidents as the MC fault, that way we as MC riders can learn to avoid accidents. Even whan an accident is clearly the fault of the other vehicle I would say the accident could maybe have been avoided if the MC rider had his head screwed on. When you tangle with a car, you're going to lose, if it's the cars fault or your fault, it is you who will lose.