Lehigh Valley Vehicle Accident Blog

Though you and many other Pennsylvania residents likely drive on an almost daily basis, it is important to never become a complacent driver. Even if you have years of driving experience, you still need to maintain a constant focus on the task of driving and remember that other drivers could easily carry out reckless or negligent actions that put you in a dangerous situation.

Of course, the potential dangers on the road do not stop at other drivers. You could easily end up facing certain conditions that make it more hazardous to be on the road at a given time. If you do not account for these hazards and take action to drive more safely, you could end up in an accident.

It's been approximately six months since a seven-year-old girl was hit by a car while getting off of a school bus and crossing the street back in October. The driver who hit her failed to stop properly. The good news is that the girl just got to come home and appears to be making great strides toward recovering.

Doctors did not know at the time how she would do. When the car slammed into her at 3:30 that fall afternoon, she suffered a serious brain injury. Her mother claims she nearly died on the way to the hospital. But she did survive, and, riding in a wheelchair, she's now coming home.

People sometimes get so caught up in thinking about motorcycle safety and crash statistics that they forget why people ride in the first place. What is it about motorcycles that draws us to the open road? Why do we love these vehicles, even though they are often impractical and they do come with safety risks?

Everyone has their own reasons. You likely can list a few of yours. Here are a number of top reasons from industry professionals:

• It's their passion in life. The same way that people love playing team sports, doing science experiments, going rock-climbing, writing books or anything else, people love to ride.
• They love the friendships that it creates. Riding can be a solitary experience, and there is something to be said for the sense of freedom it creates, but it can also be a community experience. Some refer to this as a "brotherhood."
• It's a good way to relieve stress. You see this reason from a lot of athletes and runners, as well. Getting out and doing something you love helps you work through the stress of the daily grind.
• It does have a practical side. A motorcycle generally uses far less gas than a car, it takes up far less space and it gives people a fast, easy way to get around when they don't need to carry more than one passenger. Many people ride for their daily commute all summer long.

People often complain about "speed traps," saying that the police just set them up to make money, not to keep people safe. However, speed limits -- and the enforcement that goes with them -- really do have a main goal of creating safer roads. The police understand that higher speeds put everyone in danger.

First and foremost, the speed that the cars are traveling at during a crash often relates directly to the severity of the injuries suffered by those in the accident. A crash may have been survivable at 55 miles an hour but may turn deadly at 75 mph. More force acts on the bodies of those in the vehicles.