Aug 28 2008
Motorcycles: Great Mileage
Motorcycles have been a popular means of transportation for at least a hundred years. The first motorcycle of any kind was built in the United States in 1867 by a man named Sylvester Howard Roper, although it was moved by steam, not petroleum. As with automobiles, it took German engineers to come up with a two-wheeled vehicle that would run on petroleum.
In 1885, Gottleib Daimler and Wilhelm Maybach came up with what was really a motorized bicycle, but that was enough! By 1894, motorcycles were available for purchase by the public and the love affair began. In countries all over the globe, people found motorcycles to be an efficient, reliable, and definitely exciting means of transportation.
With the soaring cost of fuel, motorcycles are becoming even more in demand, as they generally get significantly better gas mileage than four-wheeled vehicles. However, the frequent occurrence of accidents is is a sobering result. Motorcycles have always been involved in an uneven number of crashes in comparison to the number of car accidents, and the injuries sustained tend to be more often life-threatening. There are four times as many fatal motorcycle accidents as there are car accidents.
Therefore, it pays to wear a helmet, keep your tires well-maintained, to completely swear off drinking alcohol before riding, and to educate yourself on sharing the road safely. If, despite all your best efforts, you have a wreck, you need to know what to do. Copying down the proper information from the other driver involved is especially important, as is seeing a doctor, even if you feel okay. Reporting any accident to your insurance company is advised, but as far as the hassle of handling your settlement is concerned, it is often better to seek the help of a motorcycle lawyer.
Motorcycle lawyers know all the tricks for of dealing with insurance companies and courts, and they can usually get a greater settlement for you. Best of all, when you hand over everything to a lawyer, you do not have to suffer the hassles and red tape that go along with any accident settlement. With a motorcycle lawyer who only charges a fee after the settlement of a case, it really makes solid sense to let someone else fight for you.