Caution! This Motorcycle Turns Left

Visiting or living in Florida is wonderful with the great weather and scenery.  Obeying the traffic laws ensures most will arrive safely to their destinations.  Driving defensively should be a way of life for safety and financial reasons not just for motorcycles but for automobiles too.  There are laws on the books however, that could be a nightmare for not only an innocent driver but a way to defraud an insurance company.

The following scenario could happen to anyone:  With the left turn signal on, and slowly rolling but not come to a complete stop the motorcyclist waited for the oncoming traffic to clear.  A truck  that had followed him for about two miles had started slowing down about 50 yards back.   As the truck driver crept forward, it appeared as though he was doing the same thing, waiting for the traffic to clear to allow the bike to make the turn.   One more glance back to be sure all was well  the last car went by and the motorcyclist started his turn.  All of a sudden out of nowhere the truck behind him was beside him and in his path!  The truck was only going about 5 to 7 miles an hour, so when they met it was just a glancing blow. The motorcycles front tire hit the trucks right front wheel and both bike and motorcyclist fell to the road.

The truck pulled about 50 feet ahead and stopped.  First instincts were to run up and scream in his face, but the sight of the bike laying in the middle of the road made the biker stop.  After getting the bike out of the road, both truck driver and motorcyclist took a deep breath and relived the experience.  Witnesses were on hand to confirm what had happened.  The truck driver said he did not see the  turn signal blinking on the motorcycle and did not know why he was stopped in the middle of the road and decided to go around him after the traffic cleared.   Admitting fault and providing insurance information they agreed this honest truck driver could leave and the motorcyclist waited for the State Trooper to come and write a police report.

When the Florida State Trooper arrived, he listened intently to the description of the accident.  He looked at the damage to the motorcycle, and asked several times if anyone was hurt.   After quietly reviewing  the scene he dropped the bombshell  “I can write this accident report up if you want, but, I will have to ticket you if I do.”  Astonished he had to ask him to repeat himself.  As long as no one was hurt, alcohol was not involved and both drivers agreed to the description of the accident the Trooper was not bound to write the accident report.  The involved drivers could report it for insurance purposes with a “Drivers Report Of Traffic Crash.” But why was this innocent victim going to be charged?

There is a Florida Law on the books that when summed up reads, It is the responsibility of the motor vehicle operator, to make sure another driver is not trying to pass while attempting a left turn.   The only way the passing driver could be charged, is if he could not get back into his lane before a double yellow line or “No Passing Zone”.

Even if the law is not on your side, most motorcyclist and automobile drivers do not want to be involved in an accident regardless of who is at fault.  The lawmaker who wrote this law punishes the less cautious driver, not thinking of the unscrupulous few that take advantage of this type of situation.  There are those that make a living by creating accidents and collecting monies from insurance companies.   The idea is not to re-write traffic laws but inform the public they could become a victim of an impatient driver not paying attention or worse.

Being a motorcyclist, means defensive driving must be a way of life.  Looking twice for the biker is not enough, sometimes three or four times is a given.  Learning valuable lessons and living to tell them is a humbling experience and passing it on is the thing to do.