May is Motorcycle Awareness Month, and the single most important crash pattern every driver should understand this May is the left-turn motorcycle collision. A car turning left across the path of an oncoming motorcycle causes more fatal crashes than any other type of collision involving a bike. The rider has almost no time to react, and the physics of the impact favor the car every time.
Buffalo riders face this danger at every intersection. Western New York's short riding season pushes heavy motorcycle traffic onto the roads as soon as the weather turns, and drivers who haven't been looking for bikes all winter suddenly have to share the road with them again. Buffalo intersections on Main Street, Transit Road, and Delaware Avenue see left-turn accidents regularly, and May is when they spike.
This post explains why Motorcycle Awareness Month puts a spotlight on left-turn motorcycle accidents, why drivers keep missing motorcycles at intersections, where these crashes hit hardest in Erie County, what New York law says about fault, and how riders can protect themselves when a driver turns directly into their path.
May is National Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month, and left-turn motorcycle collisions sit at the center of almost every national safety campaign tied to it. The reason is simple. Left-turn accidents are the most common way riders die on American roads, and they are also the most preventable.
NHTSA, the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles, and the New York Motorcycle Safety Program all build their May messaging around getting drivers to slow down and look twice at intersections. The "Look Twice, Save a Life" campaign exists because of left-turn motorcycle accidents. The "Start Seeing Motorcycles" message targets the same problem from a different angle.
Motorcycle Awareness Month works because it repeats one clear instruction to drivers: before you turn left, check for motorcycles. That single habit prevents more rider deaths in left-turn motorcycle accidents than any other change a driver can make.
Call us 24/7 at 716-854-1300 to speak with a personal injury lawyer near you, or contact us for a FREE consultation.
Left-turn motorcycle crashes account for a huge share of fatal motorcycle accidents nationwide. NHTSA data consistently shows that collisions between a motorcycle going straight and a car turning left are among the most common fatal crash patterns on American roads.
New York crash data from the Department of Motor Vehicles and the Governor's Traffic Safety Committee points to the same problem. Intersection motorcycle crashes make up the majority of fatal motorcycle collisions in the state, with left-turn motorcycle accidents leading the list. Buffalo's mix of dense city intersections and suburban corridors feeding out into the Southtowns and Northtowns creates constant opportunities for these left-turn accidents during riding season.
The numbers tell a simple story. When a car turns left into a motorcycle, the rider usually loses. The car has steel, airbags, and crumple zones. The rider has a helmet and whatever gear they put on that morning. A single left-turn motorcycle crash can leave a rider with injuries that last a lifetime.
The answer is not that drivers don't care. In almost every left-turn motorcycle crash, the driver genuinely believed the path was clear. The problem is how the human brain processes what the eye actually sees.
Drivers scan for car-sized objects. When the brain doesn't register a vehicle in the oncoming lane, the driver commits to the turn. A motorcycle is small enough to slip through that visual filter entirely. Researchers call it "looked but failed to see." The driver looked right at the bike and didn't register it.
Several factors make the problem worse at Buffalo intersections:
None of these reasons excuse the driver. New York law requires drivers to yield the right of way to oncoming traffic before turning left, regardless of what they did or didn't see.
Erie County has specific intersections where left-turn motorcycle crashes happen over and over. Riders who use these corridors know the trouble spots, and drivers who live here should too.
Main Street running from downtown Buffalo through the University Heights neighborhood and out to Williamsville is one of the most active corridors for left-turn motorcycle accidents in the area. The stretch from UB South Campus through Eggertsville into Williamsville has multiple signalized intersections where drivers turn left across heavy oncoming motorcycle traffic. The intersection of Main and Transit sees regular left-turn motorcycle crashes.
Transit Road is another hot spot. The approaches to Main Street, Sheridan Drive, Maple Road, and Wehrle Drive all see left-turn accidents year after year. Heavy suburban traffic mixes with weekend riders heading to East Aurora, Clarence, and the Southern Tier, and drivers rushing to make turns miss motorcycles in the process. Traffic lanes on Transit narrow as they cross major intersections, leaving riders less room to maneuver when a driver turns in front of them.
Delaware Avenue has the same pattern. Drivers turning left into neighborhoods and businesses miss motorcycles coming the other way, particularly between Kenmore Avenue and Hertel Avenue. Niagara Falls Boulevard north into Amherst carries faster-moving traffic, and left-turn motorcycle accidents there tend to be more severe because of the higher speeds involved.
Sheridan Drive across the Northtowns, Abbott Road into the Southtowns, and Niagara Street along the West Side all see regular left-turn motorcycle crashes. On-ramps and off-ramps for the 33, the 190, and the 290 create merge conflicts where drivers cut across traffic lanes to reach surface streets.
New York law is clear. A driver turning left must yield the right of way to oncoming traffic, including motorcycles. New York Vehicle and Traffic Law Section 1141 puts the responsibility squarely on the turning driver. "I didn't see the motorcycle" is not a defense that holds up in court. A driver who fails to yield the right of way violates the law, and that violation supports a personal injury claim.
That said, insurance companies still try to shift blame onto riders. They argue the rider was speeding, rode into the intersection at the wrong moment, or failed to react in time. They also claim riders were lane splitting, which is illegal in New York, even when the rider was simply filtering through stopped traffic or riding normally.
New York is a pure comparative fault state. That means your recovery is reduced by your share of the blame, but even a rider found 90% at fault can still recover 10% of damages. This is more rider-friendly than what most states use, but insurance adjusters still push hard to maximize the rider's assigned fault percentage to cut settlements and prevent a fair settlement.
It's also worth knowing that New York's No-Fault insurance law does not cover motorcycle riders. That means injured riders can sue for pain and suffering and other damages in any personal injury case, without needing to meet the serious injury threshold that applies to car accident victims. This opens up more recovery options for riders than most people realize, including compensation for medical expenses, medical bills, lost wages, and long-term injury care.
Evidence is what protects your legal rights and defeats insurance tactics. Police reports showing the driver failed to yield the right of way, witness statements confirming the rider had the right of way, photos of the intersection, and traffic camera footage all help establish fault. Police reports are especially important because they document the scene in real time and often include admissions from the driver who caused the crash. Buffalo businesses along major corridors often have security cameras that can capture left-turn motorcycle crashes, and securing that footage quickly can make or break a case. Accident reconstruction can prove exactly how fast the rider was going and where the driver's sight lines should have caught the bike.
Left-turn motorcycle accidents tend to cause some of the most serious injuries in motorcycle personal injury cases. The impact angle, the speed of the oncoming rider, and the lack of protection combine to cause severe trauma.
Common injuries from a left-turn motorcycle crash include:
These injuries create massive medical expenses and medical bills that can follow a rider for years. A serious left-turn motorcycle crash often leads to hundreds of thousands of dollars in care, plus lost wages during recovery.
Riders can't control what drivers do. What they can control is how they approach every intersection where a left-turn motorcycle crash could happen.
These habits don't excuse a driver who fails to yield the right of way. They give riders the best possible chance to survive when drivers do.
Get medical care immediately. Left-turn motorcycle crashes often cause serious injuries, including traumatic brain injuries, broken bones, internal injuries, spinal cord damage, and road rash. Adrenaline hides pain at the scene. An ER visit creates a medical record that ties your injuries to the crash and starts the paper trail for your medical expenses.
Call the police and make sure an official crash report is filed. Police reports document the driver's statements, the position of the vehicles, and the officer's assessment of fault. In left-turn motorcycle accident cases, police reports are often the single strongest piece of evidence. Police reports also note whether the driver used turn signals, yielded the right of way, or admitted fault at the scene.
Photograph the scene if you can. Get pictures of both vehicles, the intersection layout, traffic signals, skid marks, and debris. Record the names and phone numbers of any witnesses. Eyewitnesses to left-turn motorcycle accidents are powerful because they saw what the driver claims they didn't. In Buffalo, security cameras from nearby businesses, gas stations, and residential buildings often capture crashes. Securing that footage quickly matters because many systems overwrite every few days.
Do not give a recorded statement to the other driver's insurance company. Adjusters are trained to pull quotes that sound like admissions of fault. A simple "I was going a little fast" gets used to push up your assigned fault percentage and cut your recovery, which can prevent you from ever getting a fair settlement. Protecting your legal rights starts with not saying the wrong thing at the wrong time.
New York gives riders three years from the date of the crash to file a personal injury lawsuit. For claims involving a government entity like the City of Buffalo, Erie County, or the NFTA, you must file a Notice of Claim within 90 days. Our personal injury lawyers in Buffalo recommend speaking with a lawyer well before any deadline closes.
Left-turn motorcycle accident cases look simple on paper. The driver turned. The rider had the right of way. The driver is at fault. In practice, insurance companies fight these personal injury cases aggressively because the medical bills and other damages are often high.
A personal injury lawyer in Buffalo who handles left-turn motorcycle accidents knows what tactics to expect and how to counter them. That means working with accident reconstruction professionals, tracking down traffic camera and business surveillance footage before it's overwritten, reviewing police reports for admissions from the driver, and interviewing witnesses before memories fade.
It also means knowing which local intersections have a history of left-turn motorcycle crashes and using that pattern evidence to strengthen the case. A driver who turned left across oncoming traffic at Main Street and Transit Road is part of a documented problem, and that context matters in negotiations. Our lawyers fight to recover every category of damage you've suffered, including medical expenses, medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, and long-term care costs, so you can walk away with a fair settlement that reflects what really happened.
Our personal injury lawyers in Buffalo fight to make sure the driver who failed to yield the right of way is the one held responsible, not the rider who had the right of way. We protect your legal rights from the first day through the final resolution.
May is Motorcycle Awareness Month, and left-turn motorcycle accidents are why the campaign exists. If a driver turned left in front of you on Main Street, Transit Road, Delaware Avenue, or anywhere in Erie County, call RK&L today. Our personal injury lawyers in Buffalo will review your case for free and fight for the recovery you deserve.
Call us 24/7 at 716-854-1300 to speak with a personal injury lawyer near you, or contact us for a FREE consultation.
Sources:
Our results are driven by personalized strategies that are hand-crafted to fit your needs.
You’re not just a client to us. You are our partner, and we would be honored to make you our next success story.
As former prosecutors and experienced attorneys, we can anticipate how your case will be handled by the other side and tactics insurance companies will use.