Can Bikers Recover Damages When Road Conditions Cause Motorcycle Crashes in New Jersey?
If you’ve been injured in a single-vehicle motorcycle accident, you might think you have no legal recourse. Bikers often push the limits of their skills and lose control of their motorcycle. But the fact that another vehicle didn’t cause your accident does not automatically rule out a claim for damages. For motorcyclists, minor road hazards can be serious safety threats. A pothole, patch of loose gravel, unexpected pavement defect, debris in the roadway, slippery surface, or poorly designed curve can cause a motorcycle to lose traction or stability in an instant. If the roadway itself contributed to your crash, it is possible to hold a government entity accountable.
The “Single Vehicle” Motorcycle Crash
Single-vehicle crashes represent a significant share of motorcycle accidents. Nationally, approximately 35–38 percent of motorcycle fatalities in recent years have occurred in single-vehicle crashes. Historically, research reveals that approximately 43 percent of fatal motorcycle crashes in New Jersey have been single-vehicle. When single-vehicle crashes occur, the cause might have been a roadway defect, debris, faulty road design, or other negligent circumstance. It’s possible you wouldn’t even know that defect caused your crash until a crash expert investigates.
How Often Do Road Defects Cause Motorcycle Crashes?
The classic Hurt Report, a major motorcycle-crash study conducted in Southern California, found that roadway defects—including pavement ridges and potholes—were the precipitating cause in approximately 2 percent of all motorcycle crashes. That was back in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Sixty years have passed, and New Jersey drivers know that many roads have gotten substantially worse. Even when roads are “repaired,” negligent work can produce sudden level changes that two-wheeled vehicles cannot safely cross.
New Jersey Specifically Recognizes Roadway Hazards
New Jersey’s official crash-reporting system, the NJTR-1 Police Crash Investigation Report, allows officers to identify specific apparent contributing circumstances, which include:
- Road-surface conditions
- Obstruction or debris in the roadway
- Ruts, holes, and bumps
- Defective or missing traffic-control devices
- Improper work zones
- Physical obstructions affecting visibility
- Improper or inadequate lane markings
- Other roadway factors
New Jersey’s crash-report manual also specifically addresses crashes involving potholes and manhole covers. It explains that these incidents are classified as non-collision crashes and that documenting them is important for determining roadway-maintenance and traffic-engineering needs.
Debris can be especially dangerous to motorcycles
Loose gravel, sand, dirt, construction materials, and other debris deserve particular attention in motorcycle cases. A New Jersey Department of Transportation study examined motorcycle crash locations and conducted detailed investigations of roadway characteristics. Researchers found that the roadways were generally free of major defects such as potholes, cracks, and patches. However, contaminants such as sand and gravel were found at many of the crash locations. The researchers concluded that keeping roads free of debris could reduce crashes because such contaminants may cause motorcyclists to lose control. This report was published in 2009, giving authorities ample notice of dangerous conditions they needed to address.
Road Design Can Constitute a Dangerous Defect
Federal motorcycle-safety guidance recognizes that roadway design, construction, and maintenance should take motorcycle-specific safety considerations into account. Failing to do so can put NJ motorcyclists at unreasonable risk. The New Jersey DOT research cited above found that the majority of the motorcycle crashes occurred on curves. Approximately 60 percent of the curves investigated had warning signs. This means that 40 percent of curves where accidents occurred did not provide warning. The absence of a warning sign where one should exist can constitute a design defect.
Other potential issues in roadway-design include problematic sight distances, insufficient recovery areas, dangerous roadside objects, inappropriate barriers, pavement-edge conditions, and other features that can affect a motorcyclist’s ability to maneuver.
Proving a Road Hazard Caused a Motorcycle Crash
When an unsafe road condition causes a New Jersey motorcycle crash, determining liability is more complicated than an ordinary negligence case. The New Jersey Tort Claims Act Claims establishes specific requirements for holding a public entity liable for injuries. An attorney generally must establish that:
- The roadway presented a dangerous condition
- The condition created a reasonably foreseeable risk of the type of injury suffered
- That the condition proximately caused the crash
Importantly, the attorney must also show either that a public employee created the condition or that the responsible government entity had actual or constructive notice of the hazard and sufficient time to take protective measures. Finally, the government’s failure to act must have been“ palpably unreasonable,” a higher standard than ordinary negligence.
Thus, an accident attorney must:
- Establish that a dangerous condition existed
- Prove the entity in charge had actual or constructive notice of the defect
- Establish that the defect caused the motorcycle to crash
- Show that the government’s conduct with regard to the defect was “palpably unreasonable”
An attorney can demonstrate actual notice of a defect by citing prior complaints, police reports, maintenance requests, emails, photographs, work orders, or government inspection records. Constructive notice is established when a defect had existed for a sufficient period and was sufficiently obvious that reasonable governmental inspection should have discovered it.
Evidence that the government knew or should have known about a dangerous roadway condition, had adequate time to correct it or warn motorists, and nevertheless failed to take reasonable protective measures can demonstrate the government was palpably unreasonable.
Time is a particularly important element, because road conditions can change shortly after a crash. Evidence that the injured party needs to preserve can be lost permanently.
Act Quickly If a Road Condition Caused Your Motorcycle Accident
A motorcyclist can recover damages for a single-vehicle crash if poor road conditions caused it to happen. A rider who is seriously injured after encountering a road hazard deserves every chance to prove his case. But proof requires a prompt, detailed investigation to preserve evidence. A police report might hint at the cause, but is generally insufficient by itself to meet the legal requirements of the case. To achieve the best possible outcome, you should immediately retain an experienced motorcycle accident attorney who can go to work for you, while you recover from your injuries.
Call Razi & Giampa Law, LLC in Paramus for a free motorcycle accident consultation
Razi & Giampa Law, LLC in Paramus, advocates strongly for motorcyclists injured in crashes in Bergen County and throughout New Jersey. To schedule a free consultation, call us today at (201) 534-5011 or contact our firm online.
