Motorcycle sales have risen steadily since the early 1990s. That surge was fueled by Baby Boomers who were rediscovering motorcycles or finally indulging their wild side in their empty nest and golden years. At the same time, safety has become increasingly important, especially because there are many more senior riders on the road today.

Fortunately, new safety features continue to pop up. If you love riding your motorcycle, here are five safety innovations for you to consider.

When Maryland employees work in certain occupations such as auto repair, nursing or construction, among others, they often work with chemicals, toxic substances and other on-the-job hazards that could lead to illnesses. Employers are required to make sure that you have what you need to safely work with these substances, including training, protective equipment and other safety measures. Even following the appropriate safety rules and regulations, accidents still happen, and some of them lead to occupational diseases.

In many car crashes, drivers, passengers and other witnesses are available to help Maryland law enforcement officials determine what happened. This task becomes exponentially more difficult when witnesses are unavailable and the occupants of the vehicle or vehicles involved died as result of the motor vehicle accident. In these cases, the families of the victims may not know the circumstances behind the death of a loved one for some time.

Two families here in Maryland may be awaiting answers to how their family members died. The single car accident occurred sometime in the early morning hours of a recent Sunday. Police officers were not called to the scene, but rather discovered it at around 2:35 a.m.

In the past few years, concussions and other brain injuries suffered by football players have been much in the news. However, football and other contact sports are in the minority in terms of causing serious brain damage.

Vehicle accidents are at fault for many more cases of traumatic brain injury across the country.

Understanding the two forms of TBI

Even in a low-speed, rear-end collision, serious brain trauma is possible. There are two forms of traumatic brain injury: open and closed. An open head injury refers to a skull fracture or an incident in which a foreign object penetrates the skull. A closed head injury, which is much more common, is caused by a blow to the head; no open wound is involved. This could happen, for example, if the impact of a rear-end collision causes a person’s head to strike the steering wheel or dashboard.

Police officers here in Maryland and its surrounding areas risk their lives daily in the performance of their duties. Each of them understands the hazards and dangers they could face when they put on their uniforms, but that does not stop them from doing so. For this reason, it often seems more tragic when a police officer loses his or her life in a motor vehicle accident while off duty.

Recently, an off-duty police officer who works in the nation’s capital suffered such a fate. As he rode his motorcycle on a Maryland road, another vehicle suddenly moved into his lane. The abrupt movement caused the officer’s motorcycle to topple, and he went down with it. That might have been the end of it, except that the officer fell into the oncoming lane of travel where another vehicle struck him.

Maryland roads are often always busy. However, during rush hour, the concentration of vehicles increases dramatically. Along with the increase in vehicles, there also comes an increase in the potential for a motor vehicle accident. Even a seemingly minor mistake could lead to catastrophe.

However, a big mistake led to man’s death in a recent crash that took place on a Maryland road at approximately 5:30 p.m. The driver of a pickup truck somehow allowed his vehicle to cross over into oncoming traffic directly into the path of another vehicle. The driver of the second vehicle, a pickup truck as well, was unable to avoid the resulting head-on collision. The mail truck behind the second pickup could not stop in time to avoid becoming involved in the accident.

Can you really sue if you are injured on someone else’s property? Yes and no. The legal doctrine of premises liability makes property owners responsible under certain circumstances.

If you were trespassing or caused your own injury, you would be out of luck. But if the property created or ignored a safety hazard, you may be able to bring a claim for damages.

Maryland fans of reality television may be familiar with a show entitled, “My 600-lb Life” that profiles morbidly obese people as they go through their weight loss journeys. As part of the show, their care is overseen by Dr. Nowzaradan, referred to on the show as Dr. Now, who also performs weight-loss procedures on his patients as part of their care. Patients are painfully aware of the possible risks involved in the surgery, but many of them probably did not realize the danger could come from Dr. Now who is currently facing a medical malpractice claim from one of his patients.

Both the doctor and the clinic out of which he works are named in the suit, which was filed in Sept. 2017. The former patient alleges that Dr. Now failed to remove tubing and a stainless steel connector inside the patient following surgery to repair a hiatal hernia and remove a gastric band system two years prior to that date. Just days thereafter, the patient began experiencing excruciating abdominal pressure and pain.

Rear-end collisions bring up images of cars bumping into each other at stop lights or when traffic comes to an unexpected standstill during rush hour. Many of these fender benders cause more in property damage than they do in injuries, but that is not always the case. A rear-end motor vehicle accident can become much more than just a fender bender, depending on the circumstances.

For instance, two vehicles headed in the same direction on Maryland 273 recently collided. Before all was said and done, three vehicles were involved and one person was dead with two others injured. Preliminary reports from troopers with the Maryland State Police indicate that two vehicles were traveling westbound when the lead car slowed down to make a left turn. The vehicle behind it failed to stop and crashed into the back of the lead vehicle. The impact violently shoved the first car into the eastbound lane where it was hit by another vehicle.

Recent research indicates that a concussion can impair driving skills long after the person has “recovered.”

Among other findings, a study at the University of Georgia indicated that post-concussion drivers lacked vehicle control. This could contribute to a car crash causing serious injury to you or a family member.