Many Utah newspapers have reported on the recent motorcycle death of Peter Rognile including SaltTVNetwork, Deseret News, Fox 13, and ABC4 News.  What is not talked about is the reporting in and of itself.

Almost invariably the articles mention that Mr. Rognile was not wearing a helmet.  I just wanted to write about this statement.  The law in Utah does not and did not require or mandate that Mr. Rognile wear a helmet.  The law in Utah requires that those under 18 years of age wear a helmet.

When the articles state that Mr. Rognile was not wearing a helmet the inference is that he was responsible for his own death.  Nothing could be farther from the truth. It appears in the reports that a vehicle turned left directly into the path of the motorcycle.  It appears that the car driver may be at fault for causing this crash.  When the reporting lays the blame on the motorcyclist it turns the public attention away from the car driver's fault.  

Every year in Utah and across the United States many motorcycle riders are killed or seriously injured because vehicle drivers are simply not seeing the motorcycle.  We need to start watching out for each other out there.  Motorcyclists are entitled to use their lane of travel.  Motorcyclists are not legally required to wear helmets.  Motorcyclists, because they are not wearing helmets,are not to blame when a car negligently turns in front of them causing bodily harm.  the sooner reporting starts to accurately and fairly look at the facts and place blame where blame belongs they will focus the public's attention on the party at fault.  In doing so perhaps vehicle drivers in Utah will start looking out for motorcyclists.

Utah Bike Law and its lawyers are not representing any of the parties mentioned in this article at the time the article was posted.  Our information source is cited in the article.  If you were involved in this incident or a similar incident and have questions about your rights and options, call us or another reputable law firm.  Do not act solely upon the information provided herein.  Get a consultation.  The best law firms will provide a free consultation.  We provide a free, confidential consultation to not at fault persons named in this article.  The free consultation offer extends to family members as well.  Utah Bike Law and its attorneys are licensed to practice law only in the State of Utah and maintain offices in Salt Lake City, Utah. No attorney client relationship is established by simply visiting this website.

I love my Harley and often wear a helmet when I ride.  Before I became an attorney I was in the artillery in the army and suffered a hearing loss to my left ear.  As a result of my hearing loss I sometimes face challenges hearing at trial, not to mention hearing my wife at home.  That "wife" remark was an attempt at humor.  Also because of my hearing loss I am concerned about the possible damage to my hearing when I ride my Harley.

To start with, Harley motorcycles are distinctively loud.  Not as loud as Big Dog bikes, but loud nonetheless. A few of my friends have custom pipes on their bikes that make them even louder. The argument goes something like this: if I have a loud bike maybe the car and truck drivers will know I am there and not crash into me!  Sounds reasonable, but you might be putting your hearing at risk. You might also be putting your wallet at risk when outfitting your bike with loud pipes because many city ordinances limit the amount of noise a motorcycle can emit. 

To compound the problem recent medical studies show that wearing a motorcycle helmet can damage your hearing. The studies have revealed the biggest source of noise for motorcyclists is actually generated by air moving over the helmet. Even at relatively slow speeds, the sound can exceed safe levels.  The Acoustical Society of America has been doing a lot of work on motorcycle helmets including these and others:

• Motorcycle helmets and the frequency dependence of temporary hearing threshold shift

• The experimental measurement of motorcycle noise

• The sources and effects of noise exposure in motorcycling
  

You might think that the combination of a windscreen and a helmet might reduce noise - think again!  They have even done studies on that.

So what's the answer?  Stop riding motorcycles - I don't think so - not even no but HELL NO!  On longer rides on the highway I usually wear those soft ear plugs and it seems to help.  From now on I am going to try to habitually wear those ear plugs - even on shorter rides.  That raises another issue however, will I be able to hear other vehicles around me in traffic and even other motorcycles so I do not cut them off?  The battle continues...

Take care out there...

I have been a motorcycle rider for over 30 years and have also been a registered nurse.  My law practice focuses on representing injured and killed motorcycle riders and their families.  We can help you with medical bills, getting your bike fixed and getting you the money you deserve from the person that caused the crash. Utah Bike Law and its attorneys are licensed to practice law only in the State of Utah and maintain offices in Salt Lake City, Utah. No attorney client relationship is established by simply visiting this website.

The Salt Lake Tribune reported that in Price, Utah officers, at about 2 a.m., spotted a motorcycle being ridden by a man and woman as it roared through town ay about 95 mph.  The police were unable to follow the motorcycle at the time.  However, a short time later, the motorcycle was again spotted while leaving town.  The police again attempted pursuit but the motorcycle escaped hitting speeds of134 mph.  Because of the high speed officers terminated pursuit.

A Union Pacific train employee called 911 at about 3:20 a.m. reporting a body near the 400 West railway crossing in Wellington, Utah.  Police responded and found the bodies of the man and woman next to the wreckage of the motorcycle earlier spotted in Price. "Our initial investigation indicates the motorcycle driver failed to negotiate a curve and crashed. Both the man and woman appeared to have died on impact," officer Adams said.  KSL also has pictures of the crash scene.

There has been many incidents across the nation where police officers have engaged in pursuits of motorcycles for various traffic violations.  Nothing wrong with that - you break the law you should pay the price.  However, engaging in high-speed chases over extended periods of time endangers the people on the motorcycle, the police officers, and of course the public.  The officers here did exactly the right thing in my opinion by breaking off the chase.  The officers were also probably following police procedure - good for them.  If the police had engaged in a prolonged pursuit and violated policy trying to catch a speeding motorcycle for a simple traffic violation and in effect causing the motorcycle to crash they might be found responsible for the crash.

The reports do not say whether the driver of the motorcycle was the man or the woman.  Whomever the passenger was, or if that can be determined,may well have a civil claim against the driver for wrongful death.  It appears relatively clear that the driver of the motorcycle was responsible for the crash when he failed to negotiate a curve causing the crash and thereby the death of the passenger.

Utah Bike Law and its lawyers are not representing any of the parties mentioned in this article at the time the article was posted.  Our information source is cited in the article.  If you were involved in this incident or a similar incident and have questions about your rights and options, call us or another reputable law firm.  Do not act solely upon the information provided herein.  Get a consultation.  The best law firms will provide a free consultation.  We provide a free, confidential consultation to not at fault persons named in this article.  The free consultation offer extends to family members as well.  Utah Bike Law and its attorneys are licensed to practice law only in the State of Utah and maintain offices in Salt Lake City, Utah. No attorney client relationship is established by simply visiting this website.

This was a crash waiting to happen and I am amazed that a crash like this has not happened more often.  About one year ago a police officer was driving his cruiser in Austin Texas.  As he approached an intersection with a stop sign facing him he reached out a typed on the keypad to his computer counsel common to many police vehicles.  Unfortunately, he failed to stop at the stop sign and crashed into a motorcycle rider causing severe injury.  The motorcycle crash and the injuries are reported by KVUE.

Have you ever seen the inside of a police cruiser?  Typically there is a pile of paper and what resembles a portable file cabinet containing all the forms  the officer requires. There is almost always a laptop computer positioned on a stand that holds the laptop, usually tilted toward the officer.  Furthermore, the officer typically has a radio and often a radio earpiece plugged into their ear.  You probably know where I am heading here - that's right - sensory overload!  We have officers in Utah that are expected to be on the watch for criminal and traffic violations while cruising in their vehicles.  They are inundated with information from their radios and computers.  They are entering license plate numbers and receiving answers to their queries. All of this while driving, looking out for violations and typing on a computer - a crash waiting to happen.

Utah law makes texting for civilians an unlawful act.  The law is codified in section 41-6a-1716  and makes texting a class C misdemeanor and a class B misdemeanor if texting and causing serious bodily injury.  What is good for the goose should be good for the gander.  What I mean is that if texting is unlawful for civilians should it not be unlawful for police?  I know the argument is that police will not be able to properly do their duty if they cannot access their on-board computers.  I am not saying we should get rid of the computers all together.  What I am saying is maybe we should consider and investigate alternatives that will allow the officer to do his or her job while being safe.  This is as much a goal to protect civilians as it is a goal to protect the very officers that protect us.

The motorcyclist in Texas sued the city and won.  It was a terrible experience for the motorcyclist - no doubt it was also a terrible experience for the officer involved as well.  Most police officers join the force to help and protect the citizens of their town or city.  When an officer unintentionally harms a citizen it certainly is not fun for any involved.  Furthermore, if that is not incentive enough, we, the citizens, end up paying the settlement.  As part of protecting the citizens is it not incumbent upon the police to look into locking the keyboards to cruiser computers while the cruiser is in motion? I know the technology is out there and relatively cheap.

Utah Bike Law is a law firm and its lawyers are dedicated to representing injured motorcycle riders and their families.  If you or a loved one were involved in a motorcycle crash in Utah we invite you to call for a free confidential consultation.  There is no obligation and you are not charged any fees whatsoever unless we recover money for you. Utah Bike Law and its attorneys are licensed to practice law only in the State of Utah and maintain offices in Salt Lake City, Utah. No attorney client relationship is established by simply visiting this website.