lady rear ends a motorcycle with 2 passengers

[serpentracer]

read the comments on the story. how ignorant the public is about wearing helmets. holy shit.

http://www.wcpo.com/dpp/news/local_news/motorcycle-crash-leads-to-charge-serious-injuries

[QuikAccord]

That's pretty messed up.

[dustinsn3485]

This brings up a thought I've had before.

Take that same article and let's say one or both of the individuals die from injuries sustained. Would the driver of the car then have some sort of a murder charge against her?

In my hypothetical result above, assume if the riders were wearing helmets and only received minor injuries. The driver of the car is still at fault, but because of the riders choice not to wear helmets made their injuries much more serious.

How do police go about charging someone in a vehicle vs motorcycle accident, when the lack of a helmet caused much more severe injuries, up to and including death. It doesn't seem proper to charge the driver of the car with a more serious charge because of the actions of the rider to not wear appropriate safety gear...

Sent from HTC Incredible

[QuikAccord]

I would think in this scenario the driver was not properly paying attention to the road. A death could mean vehicular homicide or vehicular man slaughter charges. However these charges could be pleaded down to a lesser charge depending on cercumstances, the prosecutor, and her lawyer.

[Ricochet]

If by law they were not required to wear a helmet, and they were not breaking any laws, then it doesn't matter if they had a helmet on or not. The other driver is responsible for their injuries/death should it occur.

Saying that they would have less injury's if they had a helmet on is about the same as saying they wouldn't have been injured if they were in a car.

Bottom line, be safe out there brothers.. I hope to ride with you all..

[Scruit]

If you rear-end me in a Taho me while I'm driving my Bronco then I'm probably gonna be safe. If you rear-end me while I'm driving a '80s Festiva then they'll be pulling bit of me out of your grill for weeks. Does my choice of Festiva over Bronco reduce your liability for rear-ending me?

No.

Until i do something that is illegal (and relates directly to the injuries) and/or so dangerous that it rises to the level of contributory negligence, the car behind is at fault 100%

It it was illegal to be without a helmet then things could get tricky, but the majority of fault still lies with the car behind. Then they're talking about comparitive / contributory negligence, no-fault states, mini-tort states, 1% liabilty, 50%, 51% etc... It's ugly from that point.

In Ohio if they were required to wear a helmet (M/C novice) then there may be a case to argue that injures that would have been prevented by a helmet should be non-recoverable. That's gonna be an ugly lawsuit though. That must have precedent...?

[redkow97]

You take your victim as you find them. Do a quick google search for "eggshell skull law suit."

If you have that weird brittle bone disease, and I bump you in a manner that wouldn't hurt a healthy person, I'm still liable for all the resulting injuries, even though they're atypically extreme.

I don't like that rule, but that's the precedent. Personally, I do think people have a duty to protect themselves from foreseeable injuries and other risks. Wearing a helmet would be such a responsibility in this case. Wearing a yellow t-shirt warning people that you have brittle bone disease would be a reasonable prcaution for such a person as well. At least give people a chance to be on notice that extra caution is required around you...

People afford the elderly and babies extra caution because it's obvious they need it. Does/should a motorcycle signal the same?

[dustinsn3485]

I get it, but I don't agree with it. What happened to personal responsibility? To keep it on topic...Yeah the riders have every right to ride without helmets on, but they also know the consequences of hitting the ground without them. They should be held accountable for their own actions. It's this that bothers me with America/the legal system. It's all about making some money at someone else's expense even if you're completely responsible for your own stupidity.

Sent from HTC Incredible

[cg2112]

I get it, but I don't agree with it. What happened to personal responsibility? To keep it on topic...Yeah the riders have every right to ride without helmets on, but they also know the consequences of hitting the ground without them. They should be held accountable for their own actions. It's this that bothers me with America/the legal system. It's all about making some money at someone else's expense even if you're completely responsible for your own stupidity.

Sent from HTC Incredible

In this case, there is no "action" for the biker to take. We're talking about some careless person in a car driving into someone. The fault is completely theirs.

In the article here, there's nothing to suggest that lack of a helmet contributed to injuries.

[turnone]

Some of you are out of your fucking mind blaming the victim.

Did you overlook a few key statements: "Police say Whited was under the influence of drugs at the time of the accident and her license was already suspended from a previous OVI."

Two major things stand out there. First, she wasn't supposed to be driving at all, no license due to previous OVI suspension. Second, she was under the influence at the time. Now the first is more than enough, she shouldn't have been driving, so anything she does is already wrong.

And for those who think everyone should wear a helmet. Great, you do that. But your idea doesn't hold up well. Bikers were doing nothing illegal (presumably) and they were run into by a person without a license and under the influence.

It would be a good idea for everyone to wear helmets in cars, since the #1 cause of death in car crashes is head injury.

I'm a firm believer in helmets, but I don't always wear them. I would prefer to have it on when I crash. But let's be real, your head is much larger in a helmet and more likely to hit your head when wearing a helmet. Helmet's aren't a perfect solution. Seat belts on the other hand are much more positive. I don't go 20 feet in my car without it.

[ohiomike]

I get it, but I don't agree with it. What happened to personal responsibility? To keep it on topic...Yeah the riders have every right to ride without helmets on, but they also know the consequences of hitting the ground without them. They should be held accountable for their own actions. It's this that bothers me with America/the legal system. It's all about making some money at someone else's expense even if you're completely responsible for your own stupidity.

Sent from HTC Incredible

Think on this-The riders would not have contacted the ground with their heads had the cage driver not hit them.

I hope the cage driver is found guilty if the bike riders were not found to have contributed to the accident. That is accountability and being responsible for your actions.