Aggressive drivers are dangerous, and they pose a serious threat to all other drivers on Florida roadways – especially moped and motorcycle operators and passengers.
When aggressive drivers collide with mopeds or motorcycles, serious and catastrophic injuries may result. This is because motorcycle operators and passengers are directly exposed to the ground and to everything else around them.
Their bodies have little protective covering other than their helmets, which offer only limited protection. A hard impact that occurs at a high rate of speed may cause a motorcycle operator and any passengers to be thrown from the bike and sustain serious injuries that can result in permanent impairment.
Our modern society is very mobile, and thanks (in part) to Florida superhighways and thoroughfares, aggressive driving1 has, unfortunately, become commonplace.
Although many types of carelessness and negligence can constitute aggressive driving, some of the more common types of aggressive and dangerous driving on Florida roadways include the following: Changing lanes too quickly or weaving in and out of traffic; Following too closely (i.e. tailgating); Failing to use a turn signal when executing a turn; Exceeding posted speed limits; Engaging in distracted driving (e.g., texting while driving or making cell phone calls without using a hands-free option); Drunk or impaired driving; Fatigued driving
When motor vehicle drivers engage in these types of aggressive, reckless, or careless driving activities, they pose a risk to everyone else around them on the roadway – especially to motorcyclists and their passengers. As such, these reckless and careless drivers may be held accountable to innocent accident victims under Florida law.
Negligence
Standard
All motor vehicle drivers have a duty under Florida law to drive their vehicles in a reasonably safe and careful manner – and to operate their vehicles as a reasonably prudent driver would operate a vehicle under the same or similar circumstances. This is a technical way of saying that drivers have a duty to drive carefully and obey all Florida traffic laws2 and regulations while operating their vehicles on Florida roadways.
In order to recover damages for personal injuries sustained in a motorcycle accident that was caused by an aggressive driver, the injured victim must prove that the aggressive driver breached the applicable standard of care – or that he or she drove in a reckless, careless, or aggressive manner for the road conditions then-and-there existing.
The injured victim must also prove that the driver’s breach of the applicable standard of care proximately resulted in injuries and damages. The injuries and damages may be economic (such as for payment of medical bills and lost wages) or noneconomic (such as monetary compensation for pain and suffering and emotional distress).
In addition to the aggressive driver of the motor vehicle, the injured victim may also have a legal cause of action against the owner of the vehicle (if that person is different from the driver), based on an agency theory of recovery.
A motorcycle is no match for a high-speed car or truck that collides with it, especially in cases where the driver of that other vehicle is driving aggressively or not paying proper attention to the roadway in front of him or her.
When these accidents occur, serious – and potentially catastrophic – personal injuries may result. While small-scale motor vehicle accidents and fender benders often bring about soft tissue and other minor injuries, motorcycle accidents caused by aggressive drivers typically result in serious personal injuries and damages like fractures and broken bones, concussions, brain injury and facial scarring.
As part of a personal injury case, an injured plaintiff motorcyclist (or motorcycle passenger) must prove that the driver’s negligence and breach of the applicable standard of care resulted in injuries and damages.
An injured plaintiff may be able to recover some or all of the following types of economic and non-economic damages .