Norfolk Motorcyclist is Seriously Injured on Lafayette Boulevard

Time and time again in Norfolk, Virginia Beach and Chesapeake, motorcyclists are seriously hurt by inattentive drivers making a turn.

It happened again at the end of last week in Norfolk when a Honda Accord failed to yield while making a left turn from Lafayette Boulevard onto Marne Avenue, police reported.

Police said the rider who was hit was still in a critical condition at Norfolk’s Sentara General Hospital on Saturday morning.

To make matters worse, it appears the driver of the Accord should not have been behind the wheel in the first place. The police said he was driving on a revoked license.

He was reported to be driving a Honda Accord traveling eastbound on Lafayette Boulevard when he attempted to turn left onto Marne Avenue, hitting the motorcyclist. My thoughts are with the motorcyclist and his family. There have been many crashes involving riders in Hampton Roads this summer and often the motorcyclist has been doing nothing wrong. A number of motorcyclists have lost their lives in Hampton Roads.

In this video a former client of Cooper Hurley who was hurt on his motorcycle talks about the firm

When drivers are making turns they often appear to have a blind spot to those on two wheels, be they cyclists or motorcyclists. Even at a low speed a motorcyclist can sustain very serious and life-threatening injuries.

Motorcyclists are almost 40 times as likely as car drivers to be killed in a crash. If you are on a motorcycle there are some basic precautions you can take to safeguard yourself, although you can seldom control the behavior of other drivers. You should always:

• Wear a helmet and protective gear
• Consider steering differently at different speeds
• Use brakes to slow down gradually. Avoid sudden stops
• Keep your bike maintained in a good condition
• Avoid riding in hazardous weather conditions.

If you have been injured in a motorcycle accident in Virginia, you will need to recover the most you can for your injuries. Call Cooper Hurley at 757.455.0077 or see CooperHurley.com. See our Virginia motorcycle safety tips.