Rider Injured in Motorcycle Accident on I-35 North in San Antonio, TX
San Antonio, TX -- January 16, 2022, a male motorcyclist was seriously injured in a single-vehicle accident on I-35 on San Antonio's Northeast Side.
Authorities say the incident happened around 11:00 p.m. on I-35 North near Randolph Boulevard. Preliminary investigation suggests the motorcyclist, believed to be in his 40s, was traveling on the roadway when he lost control for unknown reasons. The bike traveled off the road and crashed into a guardrail between the main lanes of the highway and its feeder road.
The rider, said to be wearing a helmet at the time, was transported to a local hospital with a suspected head injury.
No further information is available at this time.
Commentary on Motorcycle Accident on I-35 in San Antonio
I'm not able to say exactly what happened here any more than anyone else reading these vague reports would be, but I do have some experience working with victims of motorcycle wrecks. That experience has led me to feel a measure of concern when a crash like this happens. Why? Because I've learned that the public--sometimes even investigators themselves--have an unfair and biased view of motorcyclists.
The prevailing opinion of motorcycle riders is that they're all reckless "daredevils" who pay little attention to traffic laws. Much of this impression is derived from how riders are depicted in popular culture, combined with the antics of the occasional bad egg on the roadway. In reality, most riders are perfectly safe when operating their vehicles--more so in many cases than car drivers because they have to make do without safety features like airbags and seat belts. Nevertheless, when they lose control on a roadway and crash as the rider did in San Antonio they are often accused right out of the gate of doing something wrong even before sufficient evidence has been found to know the whole story.
Am I saying motorcyclists can't be reckless or cause accidents? Absolutely not. I'm only saying it's unfair to assume they're liable by default before other possibilities are considered as well. Could the bike have been defective or had a mechanical issue? Was the road slick or covered in debris that affected traction? Could the rider have had some kind of incapacitating medical problem? What if there was another vehicle that cut him off and made him lose control, then left the scene?
As I said, I don't know more than what reports convey and that's precious little at the moment. Hopefully more blanks will get filled in with time, but in the meantime it's best not to jump to any conclusions. My concern is making sure the investigators are professional enough to let only the facts, free of any bias, tell the story. Waiting around to see if the police in charge of this can exercise that discretion may not be the most prudent path forward.
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