After the Fall

After the fall

UP FRONT

David Edwards

AWRIGHT, PUT THE REFLECTORIZED tape down and back away from the bike. Enough already with the debate over daytime high-beams. And if you buy one more piece of articulated, armor-plated, day-glo riding gear, you run the risk of being taken for some kind of post-Chernobyl armadillo mutant.

Here’s the thing: Motorcycles are not dangerous.

You read that right. Despite what your Aunt Tilly thinks, despite the fatalistic “risk management” bleatings published in various riding-club newsletters, despite the Chicken Little postings on internet forums, done right, riding a motorcycle is not a particularly dangerous activity.

Howzat, you ask? I’ll explain.

First, you have a valid motorcycle operator’s license, right? And you wouldn’t think of riding under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Good. We’ve just reduced our chances of being involved in accident by a whopping 50 percent.

Next, let’s work on our riding skills. Don’t take this the wrong way, but you’re not as good a rider as you think you are-and if you’re truly offended by that remark, it’s a sure sign you have work to do. Sign up for some high-performance riding schools, attend local track days, learn to fully exploit the front brakes, cornering grip and acceleration of your motorcycle. To really improve bike control, buy a used dirtbike or dual-sport (they’re unbelievably cheap) and take to the trails. You’ll be a better, safer rider, plus all of this stuff is the most fun you can have with a chinstrap on.

Speaking of which, wear a helmet. Period. Gloves, good boots, heavy pants and a purpose-built riding jacket, too. And keep your motorcycle up to snuff-fresh tires, trued rims, rebuilt suspension, snugged-up steering-head bearings, properly lubed/adjusted chain and so on.

Finally, develop your sixth sense for accident avoidance. All of us on staff make terrible car passengers, imploring our wives/girlfriends to, “Watch out for that guy, he’s coming over,” which invariably he does. Be especially on guard at intersections. Sean Maher, legislative specialist for the AMA, points out that motorcycle fatalities declined 48 percent between 1990 and 1999, a dip that would be even greater if the average American automobile driver weren’t so piss-poor behind the wheel. “Two out of every three motorcycle crashes are the fault of Joe Car Driver,” he says.

Anyway, do all of these things, become really serious about your roadcraft, and you’ll be so under-represented in accident statistics as to become almost bulletproof.

But not totally, as Dan Leventhal knows only too well. Last year, Levethal, a rider for 10 years, mounted his trusty 1996 Beemer, bound for a barbershop a few blocks from his Denver home, so close he didn’t bother with his helmet. Big mistake. At an intersection, Leventhal was savagely broadsided by a red-light-running Chevy pickup, hurling him down the road where he landed with multiple tibia and fibula fractures, a broken hip, a severe concussion, various facial lacerations and heavy bruising.

Dan’s employer-provided health-care insurance covered most of the considerable medical bills and some of his rehabilitation costs. His motorcycle insurance took care of the bike and some of his damaged riding gear. Still, Leventhal had non-reimbursable fees totaling more than five figures, this on top of three months unpaid leave from work and the cost of alterations made to his house during rehab-grab bars in the shower, an orthopedic recliner, etc.

So, you sue the bastard that ran you down, right? Easier said than done. The driver in Leventhal’s accident had $100,000 worth of liability insurance, so the funds seemed available. But in an attempt to recoup what it had paid in hospital bills, Dan’s health-care provider placed a $58,000 lien on any future settlement, a little-known practice called “subrogation.” Factor in attorney’s fees (typically a third of the money awarded), court costs, etc., and of that $100K, Dan would be lucky to realize $ 15,000—this after a protracted legal battle that might last years. Insult to injury, the pickup driver plea-bargained his charges down to an $80 fine and two points off his license-not bad for almost killing someone.

“It seems that somewhere in there, the insurance company is double-dipping,” says Leventhal, who has become something of an insurance-reform advocate in the 18 months since his accident. “They get paid once with your monthly premium and again from your settlement. A handful of states have ruled that insurance companies cannot be paid twice, among them Pennsylvania, Virginia, Missouri, Arizona and Georgia. Currently, there are as many as a dozen class actions challenging subrogation in nine states, including Florida, Texas and Illinois.

“But if you don’t live in one of those states, you had better take a close look at your health insurance policy. If it had a subrogation clause, you may get shafted.”

Personal injury protection (PIP) policies, required in many states for car drivers, are exempt from subrogation, but motorcyclists are deemed too high risk, so can’t even purchase PIPs at extra cost. Uninsured/underinsured motorists’ coverage is available at reasonable cost, but is liable to subrogation. Get it anyway; with a good driving record, $50,000 in coverage can be had for less than $100 per year.

Other insights gleaned from the wrong side of the emergency room?

“Find a good lawyer before you need one,” says Leventhal. “The sooner a lawyer can get on your case, the better the chances that things will go your way. Not to mention it’s no fun sitting in the hospital flipping through the Yellow Pages.” Leventhal also suggests joining organizations that fight for the rights of all motorcyclists, among them the AMA (www.ama-cycle.org), ABATE (www.abate.org), the Motorcycle Riders Foundation (www.mrf.org) and Ride to Work Inc. (www.ridetowork.org).

All well and good, but remember the best insurance policy comes before the fall: Be the best rider you can be.