Riding a motorcycle among distracted motorists is challenging. However, you must also watch for drunk drivers. While they are a hazard to everyone on the road, they’re especially dangerous to motorcyclists. If sober motorists find motorcycles difficult to see, rest assured that you’ll be even less visible to the drunk driver.

Drunk motorists can endanger you by driving where they aren’t supposed to be such as the wrong side of the road, or the wrong way on interstates. They may try to compensate for their condition by driving too slow and become dangerous obstructions to traffic flow. Sometimes they become invisible when forgetting to turn on their lights at night. In any case, motorcycle accidents with drunk drivers are especially hazardous because you may literally never know what hit you.

Defensive Riding Tips

• Avoid the peak drunk driving hours. The best defense against drunk drivers is never sharing the road with them in the first place. Stay off the road during peak drunk driving hours. These tend to be Friday and Saturday nights, and during drinking holidays such as New Year’s Eve. The most dangerous hours are between 1 am and 3 am when they are heading back home from bars. Avoid areas filled with drinking establishments.
• Stay off the left lanes on multilane highways. When drunk drivers go the wrong way on multilane roads, they are often unaware of this and will keep to their right, which are the left lanes from your perspective. Minimize the risk of collision with them by staying on the right most lanes.
• Avoid two lane roads. Drunk drivers often weave between lanes and there is little room for avoiding them on narrow two lane roads.
• Use caution at intersections. Intersections are dangerous places for motorcyclists even when drivers are sober. The dangers are magnified when drunk drivers are on the road. Don’t proceed through an intersection without checking for motorists running stop signs or red lights. Watch for cars making turns into you.

If a drunk driver injured you in an accident, the lawyers at Hogan Injury can advise you of your legal options. Contact us today for a free case evaluation.