Skip to main content

The Importance of Healthy Hands in Preventing Motorcycle Accidents

wp-content/uploads/2022/07/san-bernardino-mountains-brain-injury-700x467-1.jpeg

The Importance of Healthy Hands in Preventing Motorcycle Accidents

Motorcycle riders face numerous risks on the road, including accidents that can result in serious injuries. While many riders focus on wearing protective gear like helmets and gloves, they may overlook the importance of maintaining healthy hands. Healthy hands are essential for safe and effective motorcycle riding and can help prevent accidents that can result in injuries or even fatalities.

Obviously, taking steps to get the right driver’s license and paying attention to dangerous traffic signs, like bad weather, can benefit any motorcycle rider; hand injuries are something most don’t consider when they think about motorcycle accidents. Let’s discuss motorcycle accident hand injuries and how to avoid motorcycle accidents generally.

The Anatomy of the Hand

To understand why healthy hands are important for motorcycle riders, it’s essential first to understand the anatomy of the hand. The hand is a complex structure made up of bones, muscles, tendons, and nerves that work together to provide grip, stability, and dexterity. Any damage to the hand can impair these functions, making it difficult or impossible to control the motorcycle properly during a motorcycle crash.

The medical evidence and applicable data all say bad hands will only increase the risk of collisions while motorcycling. So use your judgment and secure the therapy and medications necessary to improve hand responsiveness while riding a motorcycle. Vibrations and movement can take their toll, so maintain alertness and remember to familiarize yourself to handle these situations directly to nip them in the bud.

Common Hand Injuries in Motorcycle Accidents

Motorcycle accidents can result in a wide range of injuries, including many that affect the hands. Some motorcycle accidents’ most common hand injuries include fractures, dislocations, sprains, strains, and cuts. These injuries can result in pain, swelling, reduced mobility, and other symptoms that can impair a rider or passenger’s ability to control the motorcycle.

Preventing Hand Injuries on a Motorcycle

Fortunately, if you can’t avoid motorcycle accidents altogether, there are steps that riders can take to help prevent hand injuries on a motorcycle. One of the most important is wearing protective gloves specifically designed for motorcycle riding.

These armored riding gloves can provide additional grip, cushioning, and protection for the hands, reducing the risk of injury in the event of a motorcycle crash with other vehicle drivers or an object.

Motorcycle Helmets Don’t Prevent Hand Injuries

Motorcycle helmets with a DOT symbol are designed to protect against head injury. Some are also designed to shield the rider’s face in the event of an accident or collision, just like motorcycle pants are designed to protect the legs and goggles for eye protection. They are not designed to protect other parts of the body, such as the hands in motorcycle crashes.

The motorcycle helmet is just one of the many safety measures that politicians and insurance companies demand to lessen the blow of motorcycle accident cases on society. You can also wear reflective clothing, but that does not afford your hand extra protection while riding a bike by anyone’s safety standards.

Helmets and Hands

Motorcycle helmets and armor often don’t prevent hand injuries because the hands are often the first point of contact if injured motorcyclists fall during a collision. When riders fall off their motorcycle, they may instinctively try to use their hands to break their fall or protect themselves from hitting the ground or other objects. Even with armored gloves, this can result in serious hand injuries to a motorcyclist, such as broken bones, fractures, cuts, and abrasions after a crash with other vehicles and other car drivers on the roads.

Gloves and Hands

While some motorcycle gloves offer some protection to the hands, they are not designed to provide the same level of protection as a helmet. Gloves may help prevent minor injuries, such as scrapes and bruises, but they cannot prevent serious injuries. To prevent hand injuries while riding a motorcycle, it is important to wear proper riding gloves that provide sufficient protection to the hands. Additionally, riders can take other measures to protect themselves, such as wearing reflective clothing and other protective gear.

NHTSA Tips

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, following these safety tips and avoiding risky riding behavior within the speed limit is also key to minimizing dangers. Motorcycle safety is one way new or unfamiliar motorcycle riders can avoid serious injury or death caused by traffic fatalities. Use extra precautions to stay safe, like wearing reflective material.

Beware Signaling

Be careful and signal with turn signals on your handlebars that are working properly when you change lanes. Be careful of uneven surfaces and poor lighting conditions when changing lanes in blind spots of big rigs and cars. Stay away from drug and alcohol use while motorcycle riding, especially when engaged in passenger transportation.

Obtain Police Report

Make a police report if there is a crash as well, so the insurance company can’t weasel its way out of paying you later for problems caused by other motorists. Was someone you love hurt? We can help you and your family members with a free case review to discuss your options and any traffic laws you feel were violated by the motorist or other road users in other vehicles.

React sooner rather than later, as every second counts when it comes to handling and coordinating insurance and disability claims. Ideally, calling our lawyers for a free consultation to check on your case is the best way to go.

Maintaining Hand Health for Motorcycle Riding

In addition to wearing protective gear, there are several other ways that riders can maintain healthy hands for motorcycle riding in full motorcycle safety regalia. This includes regular exercise to strengthen muscles and improve flexibility, stretching, and warm-up exercises before riding.

Proper nutrition and hydration can also help maintain hand health and overall physical health. If you wear goggles, you also increase your vision, making it more likely to see where you are headed and increase your reaction time to maneuver your bike.

Seeking Medical Treatment for Motorcycle Accident Hand Injuries

Despite the best efforts of riders to prevent hand injuries with proper motorcycle safety, motorcycle accidents can still occur. When they do, it’s important to seek prompt medical treatment to help prevent complications and ensure proper healing. This may involve immobilization, physical therapy, surgery, or other interventions depending on the nature and severity of the injury on your bike. Most states have laws banning things like lane splitting, so don’t assume you will always win compensation if a traffic violation caused your injury. Finding fault is only one important thing out of many you must consider when pursuing another driver or party. For example, if there were potholes, you would have a limited amount of time to make a government claim if that road defect had an influence on your crash or ineffective brakes in the rain or snow at intersections.

We Can Help With Motorcycle Crashes

In conclusion, healthy hands and feet are essential to safe and effective motorcycle riding. By understanding the importance of maintaining hand health and preventing and treating injuries, riders can reduce the risk of accidents and enjoy the many benefits of the open road.

If you or a close family member has medical bills or lost wages from injuring their hard knuckles or hands, our lawyers can help you better grip your legal problems riding motorcycles. Motorcyclists can call us 24/7 at (213) 596-9642. We can help you ride into success financially after being injured on your bike, both physically and monetarily!

Firm Archive

Main Los Angeles Location

633 W 5th Street #2890 Los Angeles, CA 90071 (213) 596-9642.
Animation of injury lawyer, Michael Ehline Animation of injury lawyer, Michael Ehline

Michael Ehline

Michael Ehline is an inactive U.S. Marine and world-famous legal historian. Michael helped draft the Cruise Ship Safety Act and has won some of U.S. history’s largest motorcycle accident settlements. Together with his legal team, Michael and the Ehline Law Firm collect damages on behalf of clients. We pride ourselves on being available to answer your most pressing and difficult questions 24/7. We are proud sponsors of the Paul Ehline Memorial Motorcycle Ride and a Service Disabled Veteran Operated Business. (SDVOB.) We are ready to fight.

Disclaimer