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041 Motorcycle Accidents

041 Motorcycle Accidents

Lawyers in the House with Montlick

Attorneys in Podcast: Mark Anthony Molina, Esq.

May is Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month, and we’ve got an amazing show coming your way.
Attorney and biker Mark Molina joins Veronica with Robert Hydrick from the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety to discussing helmet laws, motorcycle and car safety tips, and more!

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The purpose of this show is to provide general information about the law. Our guests will not provide any individualized legal advice. If you have a personal situation and need legal advice, contact us for your free legal consultation with a Montlick attorney.

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00:05	ANNOUNCER; Welcome to Lawyers in the House. With Montlick. Wish you had a lawyer in the family? Now you do. Here’s your host. Veronica Waters. VERONICA: Hey, get your motor running and head out on the highway as long as that highway leads you to our House. Lawyers in the House with Montlick. I’m Veronica Waters, thanks so much for being with us for another episode today.
00:32	VERONICA: We are going to bring you another very special episode because we have two guests in-house with me today. One of whom you know and love, one of whom you haven’t met yet, but you’re going to love him too. First of all, let’s get to those introductions. We’ve got Mark Molina. Let’s start with Mark. He is our repeat guest and Montlick injury attorney who comes to Montlick after being born and raised in The Bronx and graduating from Benjamin Cardozo school of law.
01:06	VERONICA: And he is a veteran. MARK: Yes. VERONICA: An honorably discharged marine. MARK: Look at you. VERONICA: Having served for several years, how many years? MARK: 6. VERONICA: 6 years and you did… and he worked in aircraft. MARK: Yeah. Fixing… VERONICA: Very far cry from… MARK: Look at you. VERONICA: … lawyering. Yeah. Listen, I remember you’ve been here so many times, Mark. You know, I got your bio down. MARK: I’m impressed. Thank you. Thank you. VERONICA: Let me just tell you, okay. And can you do the oorah thing for me even? MARK: Oorah!
01:35	VERONICA: Oh, I love that. MARK: That’s too much for the mics. VERONICA: It’s so cool. MARK: You get… the needles just pegged. VERONICA: And interestingly enough, Mark has been in the law for more than three decades now. And didn’t intend to go to law school. He said he took orders from… MARK: The wife. VERONICA: Yes. MARK: As all married men do. VERONICA: Yeah. And how has this career turned out to be? MARK: It’s good. It’s good. It’s been a good 30 year plus career. I’ve helped a lot of people, very fulfilling career…
02:05	MARK: … and meaningful way of, you know, working… spending my work life. Happy to do it. Looking forward, if God gives me a couple more years, to be moving on to the next phase of life. VERONICA: I know that a lot of people look up to you and come to you for advice in the legal field. But one of the things that I kind of just learned about you is that you also really enjoy mentoring young attorneys. What kind of stuff do you impart to them?
02:33	VERONICA: What’s the most important stuff you give ‘em? MARK: I teach… I teach, mentor, and collaborate with younger attorneys because that’s how I was taught. Older veteran attorneys, seasoned attorneys taught me techniques and tactics and how to do certain things in a courtroom and I always said to myself, I’m going to pass this on. And I’m not good at… I’m not good at a lot of things, but I am excellent at mentoring and teaching and collaborating with young attorneys and I’m happy to spend all the time they need on issues and training and teaching them how to do stuff in the court.
03:07	VERONICA: What’s the best advice you could give a young lawyer? MARK: I give it every time we start. I said, don’t do me. When you see me do something, that’s me. Don’t do that. That works for me. Do what works for you. VERONICA: Find your own voice, your own path. MARK: Find your own voice, yeah. VERONICA: I love it. All right, joining us in the House today, a special guest you have not met before, not a Montlick injury attorney. He is a former broadcaster. Sports broadcaster turned civil servant.
03:36	VERONICA: His name is Robert Hydrick, and he is the communications manager with the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety in Georgia. Welcome to the house, Robert. ROBERT: Thank you very much for having me. VERONICA: Listen at that voice. ROBERT: It’s good to be back behind a microphone. VERONICA: Yeah, how does it feel? ROBERT: It feels good. It’s been, I think, ten years since I was actually on the air. So… but I only did sports. I think I did everything. I started running a teleprompter in 1985 and assignment manager, assistant news director, news anchor, producer, reporter.
04:08	VERONICA: Did you have a favorite thing in there? Was sports your favorite? ROBERT: Yeah, sports is why I got into journalism. When I was a kid, I was a bat boy for an Astros double-A farm team down at Columbus, Georgia where I grew up. And I knew I couldn’t play baseball, but I wanted to be able to go to a ballpark every day. And I was really lucky because being in the broadcasting business, you know how hard it is to get a full-time permanent job doing television sports. Of course, the industry is a lot different today than it was when I started in 1985.
04:39	ROBERT: A lot more technology, a lot more things going on, good and bad. But as far as the responsibilities… but yeah, I was able to live my dream there and I’m honestly having a dream job now. I mean, this is a really great opportunity to educate the public on highway safety. Our mission is to eliminate traffic deaths in our state and in our nation. It’s very doable.
05:05	ROBERT: About three quarters of the people killed in traffic crashes are the crashes that kill people or caused by driver behavior, driver error. And we’re, you know, looking to eliminate that behavior. That’s why we’re asking people to, you know, drive slow, reasonable speeds, wear your seatbelt, never be distracted, pay attention on the road, whether you’re walking, biking, or driving, and never, you know, operate a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol or drugs or anything that can impair your ability to do it.
05:35	VERONICA: Clearly, on a mission. ROBERT: Yes. VERONICA: Robert Hydrick, with the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety and Montlick injury attorney Mark Molina. Guys, thanks for being in the House. MARK: Thank you. VERONICA: I’ve heard it said that four wheels carry the body. Two wheels carry the soul. But that soul-carrying motorcycle comes with a staggering statistic. 80% of accidents involving motorcyclists result in injury or death.
06:04	VERONICA: Today, we are talking about – Robert kind of alluded to it- how to keep people safe, whether you’re on four wheels or on two. Motorcycle accidents and safety is what we’re talking about here today on Lawyers in the House with Montlick. So, let’s talk a little bit about, first of all, it’s motorcycle safety awareness month as we sit here today. And we’ve learned that motorcycle crashes are up 8% since last year.
06:32	VERONICA: Guys, what goes through your mind when you hear that? ROBERT: Well, I think the first thing for me is… you letting drivers… vehicles know that how important it is to be looking for motorcycles. After you’ve gone through the winter, cold months, you don’t see a lot of motorcycles on the road, so now that the weather’s warmer, they’re back on the road and you have to adjust to that.
07:00	ROBERT: And unfortunately, an example for me is a friend of mine out of the television station that I worked at down in South Georgia. He was our operations manager. He was a biker, and he lost his leg. Somebody turned left in front of him. He was going down a four-lane road and somebody was turning into a shopping center parking lot and turned in front of him. He unfortunately had to lay the bike down. He survived, but he lost his leg. And, you know, unfortunately, these kind of… type of crashes are happening too often.
07:28	ROBERT: And that’s kind of the message we do this time of month. We’re running spots reminding drivers to look for motors when they’re turning left, pulling out onto the road, turning right or wherever they’re doing. It’s called look twice save a life. VERONICA: I’ve seen that on the boards when I’m driving down the interstates of Georgia. What is one of the most common… or I shouldn’t say, what is… is that the most common motorcycle injury causing accident that sudden left turn?
08:03	ROBERT: I would say so. There’s not really any data that kind of goes into improper turn. There’s failure to yield. That is one of the major ones. But when it comes to vehicle and motorcycle collisions, that’s one of the big issues is drivers turning left, turning in front of a motorcycle, because they’re in a hurry. I don’t want to wait. I’m going to, instead of just waiting a few extra seconds, everybody gets where they’re going safely.
08:33	ROBERT: It’s just about being patient. Yeah, we’re all in a hurry. We’re all going somewhere, but the goal is for everybody to get where they’re going safely, especially people on a motorcycle. Because as you alluded to, when you’re riding in a vehicle, you’re surrounded in a box, you’re protected by that structure, but a motorcycle isn’t. And that’s why when there is a collision involving a motorcycle, there’s a higher probability of significant serious injury or worse – someone losing their life.
09:03	ROBERT: And that’s what we’re trying to avoid is we don’t want anyone to lose their life in any kind of crash on our roads. MARK: And if I could jump in, sorry. I’m by no means an expert in statistics, but having ridden for, you know, 40 years now, that left turn in front of us as bikers, it is, to me – nobody could tell me otherwise. It is the singular most way of us getting hurt. And folks don’t realize, riding on a motorcycle, stopping is not just pumping the brakes.
09:33	MARK: It is… a motorcycle is a standard stick shift vehicle where the clutches on your left hand, the pedal is on your left foot, your front brake is on your right hand, and your right foot is your back brake. There’s an all four different things being operated by four different parts of your body that all go into stopping. Whereas all you as a driver have to do is pump the brakes. So yeah yeah, cannot convince me otherwise. It’s those left turns. And when you’re making a left turn… like you said, people have been in the winter or whatever. They haven’t seen bikes.
10:03	MARK: Now, they’re not looking… The eye is just not looking for that. They’re making the left. They see the car stopped. And they just don’t see us. We’re lower, we’re smaller. Depending on the lighting of the sunlight, they just may not see us. And that’s, to me, the singular cause of most accidents. VERONICA: Two things. When we hear again about how much more frequently an accident with a motorcycle will result in an injury or death to the rider, can you tell me a little bit about what that’s like on your side of the table as an attorney?
10:35	VERONICA: And you know what? Does being a biker yourself help you when it comes to these kind of cases? MARK: Absolutely, absolutely. Knowing the functions and how to ride a bike and what goes into stopping, going, turning, everything else… I always ride my bike nowadays. I presume that nobody can see me. That’s how I ride. I ride… if I see someone making a left, I toot the horn – beep, beep, beep, just to make sure that… I might even get the, you know, the single finger salute, whatever, but that’s okay.
11:04	MARK: I’d rather get that because if I go down, I’ll have my motorcycle pants, whatever helmet I’ve decided to wear for the day, gloves and a jacket. That’s it. That is not much protection. If I come off that bike, whether I drop it, roll it or fly off of it… which is usually what happens when you’re in a left turn or any type of head on collision, you fly over the bike. And then you land on the concrete and God forbid you get run over after that, right? VERONICA: Yeah. Not only no walls on a motorcycle, but no seat belts either. MARK: No seat belts. No nothing.
11:34	MARK: Your hands and your legs are holding you in. So yeah, what was your question again? VERONICA: I heard that road rash is horrible. MARK: Road rash is, it’s the burning of your skin, burning it off. So if you can visualize that you’re going 40, 50, 60 miles on a bike and you have to lay it down, that means that you laid your bike down and your body is still… the momentum is still dragging you. It burns off your motorcycle pants, your jeans, whatever you have. And then your skin and, if it’s bad enough, right down to your bone.
12:03	MARK: So road rash is a nice way of putting it, which really skin burning by friction, right? VERONICA: But your head is protected because you said you wear helmets. MARK: I wear helmets, but I mean, there are three types of major helmets that I know of. The bowl, the little bowl with no ear or face protection. The one that’s a bowl, but it has ear protection and then the full face on that, you know, you see your whole face is covered. I wear that. You can see my hair, you know, it gets in my face a lot, so the full, the full one is good for cold weather too.
12:36	VERONICA: What kind of helmet law do we have here in Georgia, Robert? ROBERT: If you’re out of motorcycle, whether it’s passenger or operator, you must wear a helmet. VERONICA: Period? ROBERT: Period. VERONICA: Every age? ROBERT: Every age, you’re required to wear a helmet and that helmet, it’s there for your protection in the event. Look, no one knows when a crash is going to happen. But you want to be as protected as you can, whether you’re riding in a car or in a motorcycle. And that’s why we have a helmet law in Georgia. VERONICA: Talking a little bit about helmet laws…
13:06	VERONICA: I want to delve into like, does the type of helmet matter? And if you can drive a car, does that mean that you can automatically hop on a motorcycle and go if you know how to ride one? Coming up on Lawyers in the House with Mark Molina and Robert Hydrick, stay with us. You’re listening to our podcast, Lawyers in the House with Montlick. Join us 8 a.m.
13:35	Every Sunday if you want to listen live on 95.5 WSB. VERONICA: Welcome back to Lawyers in the House with Montlick. I am Veronica Waters here with Montlick injury attorney Mark Molina and Robert Hydrick with the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety, talking about motorcycle accidents and safety today. We left off talking about helmets and how much they matter. The CDC says that helmets are 37% more effective at preventing death, 41% for passengers who are on the bike, the bike’s back, right?
14:04	VERONICA: The passenger. And Robert, does the type of helmet matter? ROBERT: Well, what matters is you have an approved helmet. Helmet use among motorcyclists involved in motor vehicle crashes, saves an estimated hundred and lives, 103 lives. In Georgia. They save lives. And that’s the important thing. You know, vehicles, motorcycles, you know, if they’re damaged in a wreck, they can be repaired or replaced, but people who lose their lives, who are killed in crashes, they’re gone forever.
14:38	ROBERT: And that’s, that’s the whole thing. We don’t want anyone into a crash, but it’s the best safety, and it’s the law in Georgia to be smart… or be smart, be safe, put safety first and be prepared in case anything happens because we don’t know what’s going to happen on the road and it’s best to just to be prepared and wear a helmet. VERONICA: A hundred and three lives saved every year because of helmets? That’s incredible. So that tells you how often we see these crashes. And that’s two lives saved a week.
15:07	VERONICA: You know, how do you get a motorcycle license? How difficult is it? MARK: I’ll jump in on that, is that alright? ROBERT: Yes. MARK: So when I got my motorcycle license – and I alluded to this before- riding a motorcycle is riding a stick shift vehicle. It’s not get in, put it in drive, go. You have to show up to the testing location with another licensed motorcycle rider, a car, you and then you have to get on the motorcycle at the testing center and you have to give them your certificate – I think back then it was like 16 hours of some kind of safety program that I took back then –
15:38	MARK: and your certificate, your motorcycle permit. And then the driver gets in the car with the tester and they follow you. And then they’ll tell you, okay, stop at the stop sign, take off, and then taking off in a stick shift car is, you know, let the clutch out real slow, give it gas, shift, make your figure 8, make your turn, they want to know that you’re in control of all of that without falling at the test site. So it’s not an easy thing. VERONICA: It’s not an easy thing.
16:08	VERONICA: And also classes are required here, right? At least for younger drivers at the very least. ROBERT: Training is required. And that’s kind of the misconception is that people think if I’ve got a driver’s license, which is a class C driver’s license, I can operate a motorcycle. That’s not true. In Georgia, by law, you have to have what’s called a class M motorcycle license. And you can get those by two ways.
16:30	ROBERT: Number one, taking the motorcycle safety program course at the Georgia department of driver services or two, showing up to the customer service where you get your license, pass the knowledge on skills cycle test and the vision test. But motor- you have to supply your own motorcycle. And those are the two ways. But I think the biggest thing is that if you’re going to operate a motorcycle in Georgia, you have to have a class M license.
17:00	VERONICA: All right. Coming up on Lawyers in the House, how we, on four wheels, could look out for our neighbors on two. Stay with us. You’re listening to our podcast, Lawyers in the House with Montlick. Join us 8 a.m. every Sunday on 95.5 WMP. VERONICA: Welcome back to Lawyers in the House with your host Veronica Waters. That is me.
17:28	VERONICA: I’m here with Montlick injury attorney Mark Molina and Robert Hydrick from the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety here in Georgia talking about motorcycle accidents and safety. And don’t forget you can always follow us every single day. You don’t have to wait until the show comes on. You can find us on social @Montlicklaw on every single platform, the TikTok, the Twitter, the Facebook, the Instagram. We’re always there. And see every single episode or listen to it at LawyersintheHouse.com, which is where you can also send us a question.
17:58	VERONICA: We want to hear from you. And remember, we’re also on your favorite podcast platform too, so you can like us, subscribe to us, rate us, review us. And when the new episode drops every single week, you’re gonna be the first to know. Lawyers in the House here with Mark and Robert and we’re talking about Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month here in May. How you feeling? How you feeling about it?
18:22	ROBERT: Well, what we’re feeling is we’re hoping that with motorcyclists being on the road in the summer months… As we’re approaching summer that, you know, people who are on bikes are following the law, but we’re also hoping that people who are driving in cars are looking out for motorcycles. Look twice, save a life. VERONICA: It gets beautiful this time of year. ROBERT: And unfortunately, our data shows that from May 1st to October 31^st – it’s 6 months… two thirds of our motorcycle fatalities happened during this time in a 6-month period.
18:56	ROBERT: And it’s because there are more motorcycles on the road. And the message part of motorcycle safety awareness month is for drivers to be on the lookout for motorcycles. You know here in Georgia the season starts, you know, a little bit earlier in the year; but as you move further north in the colder locales, it’s now warming up to where more bikers are getting on the road and that’s why unfortunately you see more collisions. And that’s the whole purpose of this month is motorcycles are out there.
19:23	ROBERT: So when you’re driving, you’re turning left, you’re pulling out onto an intersection, you’re coming out of your driveway or whatever, take your time. Look and make sure that there’s not another vehicle coming, especially a motorcyclist, and wait a few seconds. That way everybody gets where they’re going safely. VERONICA: How long have you been riding, Mark? MARK: I’ve been riding since I was 17. What I want to actually jump into this thing about when we start. I mean, all went along, you’re going in the garage or walking by your bike, and it is sad. It’s beckoning you and I say, I can’t talk to you now.
19:54	MARK: I can’t talk to you now. April comes, May comes, and it beckons even louder. And you say, I hear you. Let’s do this, right? And then everybody who wants to ride rides come the warm weather. So we hit the roads hard in numbers. And there’s a kinship between bikers. I don’t know if you’ve ever noticed and look out for this when you’re driving or even riding… Whenever you see bikers in opposite directions, more often than not, we will say hi to each other by putting our left hand out kind of like waving to each other, say, yeah, we’re alive, you’re alive.
20:24	MARK: Good, keep it moving, right? But to ride a bike, as we all said, you have to have your license. I have that. It can’t be suspended or anything like that. And you have to have insurance. It’s a separate vehicle. You need a separate motorcycle policy, separate coverage, that you need to have before you get your bike on the road. You know, you all know that I’m a person injury attorney, and I’m here for you as is Montlick, one 800, you know, our number.
20:55	VERONICA: 1-800-Law-need. MARK: Law Need. But it was a shameless plug for my firm, but I don’t want to see you guys or girls after you’ve been riding in an accident. But we’re here for you if that does happen. But you have to have your license, you have to have your safety gear, you have to have your insurance policy before you hit the road in numbers, like my partner said, come, you know, early April, May. VERONICA: Do you think that it’s more important, if at all possible, to call an attorney really quickly after a motorcycle accident?
21:25	VERONICA: I mean, we’ve heard a long time you saying, call a lawyer if you’ve been in an accident. Is it even more so important? MARK: Absolutely. VERONICA: When it comes to a bike? MARK: Absolutely. For any case you know, we always start with every case is different. I can’t speak generally, but you know the size of our firm, the talent that we have, the resources that we have, call us, we can guide you better than most, but in my opinion, better than any, and just call an attorney, as you all know, it’s no obligation, no cost.
22:01	MARK: But there’s a lot of… a lot of nuances just if I’m asking you the questions of how the accident happened. I want to know did you have a clutch on? What gear were you in? You know, where are you from? You know, all the things that I know from having ridden where somebody may not know that in any other firm. VERONICA: Is it harder to determine fault? MARK: You know, I got to tell you, I always go into these cases prejudicially and stereotypically believing that the bike is not at fault or at least less at fault because of my experience.
22:35	VERONICA: I have heard that there is like a bias against motorcycle riders that people sort of look at folks on bikes and think that they are thugs or that they’re reckless or that they’re daredevils and they’re out there pushing the envelope and that if there is an accident, they must have caused it. And a lot of us are just car drivers. We don’t know how to drive a motorcycle. We don’t know. I mean, you might have a jury if you get to trial full of people who don’t know anything about a motorcycle. How hard is it to fight against that?
23:06	MARK: So like any trial, any case, tried hundreds, you got to educate the jury, right? You got to educate. In your… in your example, say it’s not always our fault. It’s not the stereotypical motorcycle gang. This was a case where it was four middle aged men driving up 575 headed to lunch. And the driver of the other car was some young kid who wasn’t paying attention. He wasn’t looking. He wasn’t giving us the space that we need. Riders are allowed to ride two abreast.
23:36	VERONICA: In a lane, right, Robert? MARK: In a lane. So I’ve been in cars where I’ve heard some not so nice things said about bikers. Oh, look at this guy, look at him cutting through traffic, and you know it’s not very flattering and I can see why, but not every rider does that. VERONICA: Now you guys take cases all over the country, although we’re sitting in Georgia here, you guys get these calls from folks everywhere. Robert, I know the laws then also differ state to state. ROBERT: And that’s important.
24:04	ROBERT: And you know this is something that goes back when Georgia instituted a hands-free law. We were making sure that we had our messaging at the state line because when you’re in Georgia, it doesn’t matter where you live. You’ve got to obey Georgia traffic laws. And if you travel outside of Georgia into another state, you have to obey their laws. So wherever you are riding, whatever state – their laws matter.
24:27	ROBERT: So if you’re planning to take a trip to another state or going to be there, it’s best to research the laws, go online, go to the highway safety office, the highway patrol and research what their motorcycle safety laws and what their traffic safety laws are so that when you get there, you don’t have to worry about being pulled over or given a citation… that you know what you need to do and you’re complying because traffic safety laws are there for one reason: save lives. They’re there to save lives.
24:56	ROBERT: And it’s not just about when we’re on the road, we’re all focused on what we’re doing. VERONICA: Right. You gotta look out for the other guys. ROBERT: But everybody’s like us. They’re trying to get somewhere. They’re trying to get home, they’re trying to get their kid to volleyball practice or wherever. We all want to get there safely. So if you’re following the laws and paying attention to what you’re doing and kind of being courteous to everybody else, then more people, everyone hopefully will get where they’re going. VERONICA: Better late than never. Better late than never.
25:23	VERONICA: So let’s talk a little bit about… we delved into accidents a little bit. Let’s talk a little bit about safety. Motorcycle safety is part and parcel of how Montlick is trying to help keep the roads safer for everybody out there. So we want to know… I want to know as a car driver, vehicle driver, what do I need to know other than look twice, save a life, you know? What are those things I need to look out for? I’m looking to you guys to tell me.
25:50	MARK: I’ll start by saying you have to remember, Veronica, that I have a lot more going on in terms of me moving, stopping, turning than you do. Right? I have to clutch. I have a stick shift. I have a brake up here. I have a brake down here. And I don’t have a seat belt. I don’t have a car. I don’t have a canopy or a cage protecting me.
26:11	MARK: So if I could impart upon you, Veronica, just remember all the things that I have to do to go from… to stop, to move, to turn, to all the things that I have to do where all you have to do is in your nice, nice, fancy car, turn, and gently tap the brake with the music playing. And I don’t have any of that. And depending on the weather, I’m cold. So my reflexes are even that much slower. So all those things that I want you to know, I don’t have all those protections when I’m riding.
26:39	VERONICA: So one of the things that I’ve read is that rear-ender crashes are also likely. Cars will rear end motorcyclists. It’s like we don’t see them the same way as we do a car? ROBERT: I think part of the issue is paying attention.
26:57	ROBERT: I mean, if you’re not really focused in on the road… and it doesn’t have to be on a phone. If you’re riding and you’re thinking about something going on in your personal life or something going on at work, that is a distraction and you’re not really focused. And then you look up and you’re approaching a light and your… your eyes are trying to focus in on looking for two brake lights. Instead you don’t see the one brake light. And that’s why it’s so important for people to understand that when you’re driving a vehicle, you are essentially driving a 3000-pound weapon. And if you’re not paying attention that vehicle turns into something that can hurt or kill people and that’s the whole message here is driving is a very, very serious responsibility and we just… when we’re on the road we need to make sure that we understand that and operate that vehicle in a responsible and legal manner.
27:55	MARK: Let me elaborate on that for a second. Is that okay? VERONICA: Yeah, go ahead. MARK: I want you guys all to visualize when you’re on autopilot going to work. Light is red. There’s a bike in front of you. You’re on autopilot. You forget there’s a bike in front of you. Light – you’re looking at the light. It turns green. You are looking, as he said, for two brake lights. You don’t see the bike that you saw a minute ago. That’s what happens because your brain is not looking for that. Your brain is looking for the two brake lights. You saw the light, you’re on autopilot and that’s poor me in the front. VERONICA: Man, how many close calls have you had?
28:25	MARK: Oh my goodness. Next question, please. VERONICA: Wow. That many? MARK: A lot. A lot. VERONICA: Did it turn you off riding? MARK: Never, never. VERONICA: Yeah. MARK: Never. Just more careful. As I say, in my old neighborhood, I was shook. VERONICA: Yeah. Yeah. And you don’t ride huh, Robert?
28:55	ROBERT: I do not ride. When I was growing up, we had a neighbor who had three daughters and they all had motorcycles. And he would take us riding on the back of his Harley-Davidson. And we would go riding to Columbus as 9… 8, 9, 10 year olds and it was a lot of fun, but it… and I have some friends who do ride. I alluded to one unfortunately had a crash 11 years ago. It is a lot of fun. It is, especially for those like Mark who like to get on the road and enjoy.
29:26	ROBERT: I do have neighbors where I live that they like to get on the road. It’s a lot of fun. But it’s just important for whether you’re a biker or a motor vehicle operator to just pay attention to what you’re doing and making sure that you’re being courteous to everybody on the road. And be courteous to others as well and hopefully they’ll be courteous to you. VERONICA: Yeah, I’ve had my husband is always… he used to ride racing bikes and he would talk about how drivers would try to get out of the way.
29:52	VERONICA: He’s like, look, if a biker wants to go around you, let him, you know, by the time you start trying to move into the lane, they’ve already mapped out their path. You know, and next thing you know, you might be moving in front of them. So now here’s what I don’t like. The folks who were darting in and between the lanes, that’s not legal here, right? ROBERT: That is not legal in Georgia. VERONICA: I hope y’all motorcyclists are… Bikers, stop doing that. Okay. Wheelies, we’re gonna talk about wheelies next. Just kidding, we’re talking about motorcycle accidents and safety here on Lawyers in the House with Montlick. Coming up, the Montlick closing argument.
30:31	You’re listening to our podcast, Lawyers in the House with Montlick. If you want to listen to our radio show live, you can hear it every Sunday, 8 a.m. on 95.5 WSB. VERONICA: Welcome back to Lawyers in the House with Montlick. I’m Veronica Waters here with Mark Molina Montlick injury attorney and Robert Hydrick from the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety talking about motorcycle accidents and safety. And you’ve been waiting for it all hour long.
30:59	VERONICA: The Montlick closing argument is here. Mark, take it away. MARK: Mark, take it away? VERONICA: No pressure. MARK: Riders, motorcyclists, bikers, if you are involved in any type of crash, any type of accident #WIN on your cell or 1-800-law-need. We got you, I got you. There’s a lot of things that go on in these particular actions. I’ve already told you all that goes on and just riding a bike.
31:28	MARK: We have a lot of resources, a lot of talent, and I can’t imagine any firm that can represent do better than us. So 1-800-law-need. VERONICA: And this is coming from a guy who rides bikes himself. MARK: That’s exactly right. VERONICA: Yeah. MARK: Oh, and thanks. VERONICA: Yeah, safety, safety, safety, safety, right? ROBERT: This is motorcycle safety awareness month. We’re going into the summer months. Motorcycles are on the road. We’re asking everybody who’s driving a vehicle to look out for motorcyclists, give them the right of way when the law requires put safety first.
31:55	ROBERT: Remember, you need… if you ride a bike or a motorcycle, you have to have a class M license. Go to dds.Georgia.gov. That’s your Georgia Department of Driver Services. They got all the information on licensing, how to get a license. You can get more information from our website, GAhighwaysafety.org under program areas, motorcycle safety. Also nhtsa.gov. That’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. They’ve got a lot of great information there as well.
32:20	VERONICA: You know, nhtsa says that the chances of fatality in a motorcycle accident are approximately 30 times higher than in a car. That is chilling to me. ROBERT: And that’s why it is very important for especially those who are driving in cars, trucks, whatever type of four wheel vehicle to make sure that you’re looking for motorcycles and you’re yielding and you’re giving them the space to avoid those collisions. Because a lot of times when motorcycles hit vehicles, the operator of the bike is going to go…. be ejected, thrown from that bike and that’s really when those catastrophic and fatal injuries happen.
32:57	VERONICA: I do think that it’s funny how much we don’t know as drivers about folks on bikes. Okay, quick story. My husband showed me this video of some biker out on the street somewhere. I don’t know what state it was in. And a police officer was riding next to him in a car. And the police officer gives him the thumbs up. And the guy takes off on a wheelie, you know, pops a wheelie and then he flies down and then the officer goes after him.
33:26	VERONICA: So the bikers were like super mad like, okay, he said this guy up. And I was like, what are you talking about? Well, because apparently giving a thumbs up to a biker means do a wheelie. I had no idea. And I was like, oh, so he thought the cops set him up. The cop wasn’t. He was just saying they go, buddy, you know? Talking to Mark Molina and Robert Hydrick from Montlick Injury Attorneys and the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety in Georgia. Guys, thanks so much for being in the House with us here on Lawyers in the House with Montlick. I’m Veronica Waters. And remember whether you are in a car or on a bike, never ride faster than your guardian angel can fly.
33:54	You’re listening to our podcast, Lawyers in the House with Montlick. Catch us live every Sunday, 8 a.m. on 95.5 WSB.

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