Fort Lauderdale Injury Lawyer Blog

A man was killed on his motorcyle Sunday in Pasco County when he took evasive action to avoid hitting three motorcycles he was riding with in a group, the Florida Highway Patrol reported. Stephen Kopilchak from Forstproof, Florida was declared dead at the scene when his 2006 Harley Davidson went down.

Kopilchak had been riding his motorcycle together with three other motorcycles when a car in front of the group slowed to enter a private driveway. The three other motorcycles in front of Kopilchak took "evasive action" to avoid the car, but Kopilchak, who was wearing a helmet, was unable to avoid the three other motorcycles and lost control.

Although the rider had been wearing a helmet, this failed to protect him. This tragic case raises the issue of how to safely maneuver a motorcyle when riding in a group. Frequently, bikers are forced to take quick action to avoid making contact with other vehicles on the road who don't see them. Not surprisingly, the most important safety maneuver a biker can make while riding in a group occurs long before the sudden emergency. When riding in a group of motorcycles, adequate spacing between you and your fellow riders is critical from the get go.

Sudden emergencies are just as the term implies -- situations which occur without warning requiring an immediate response. If you are too close to other motorcyles, your options are limited. The end result may be that your bike may goes down. All sorts of scenerios can rapidly present themselves on group rides, ranging from debris on the roadway to a flat tire on one of the other motorcycles. Bikers need to be aware of this and to space themselves accordingly.