By Jennifer Pritchett, Associate Editor

With summer the busiest driving season for motorcycles, it’s important for everyone on the roadways to be aware of their surroundings at all times to avoid a crash, Toronto settlement loan provider Larry Herscu of Easy Legal Finance tells us.

“It’s critical to drive defensively and to always be aware of what’s going on around you,” he says.

“It’s also road construction season in Ontario and it seems like everywhere you go, there are obstacles as crews work to improve the roadways.”

Herscu, Easy Legal’s president and CEO, notes May is motorcycle awareness month and it’s a great time to remind motorcycles and people driving automobiles to exercise caution.

Riders must have the proper gear to ensure their safety on the roads, he adds.

The statistics around motorcycle crashes are “astonishing,“ Herscu says.

A 2017 study by the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ) found motorcyclists in Ontario are three times more likely to be involved in a crash than people in an automobile, 10 times more likely to suffer serious injuries, and their injuries will be more costly to treat, reports the Toronto Star.

The report found the mean cost attributable to motorcycle crashes in Ontario is $5,825, or nearly double that of automobile collisions at $2,995.

“Considering both the attributable cost and higher rate of injury, we found that each registered motorcycle in Ontario costs the public health care system six times the amount of each registered automobile. Medical costs may provide an additional incentive to improve motorcycle safety,” says the CMAJ.

Herscu says those statistics are evident in the work that Easy Legal does to provide financial assistance to people involved in crashes.

Most of the individuals who come to Easy Legal have been involved in an automobile crash but those clients who have been involved in a motorcycle collision often have more serious injuries, he adds.

“Typically, more harm has been caused to motorcyclists in a crash than those who were in a vehicle, and as a result, the rehabilitation costs are far greater,” Herscu says.

“In a couple of the cases we’ve had, the injuries have been deemed catastrophic, and the injuries have totally changed their life,” he says.

Nearing the end of the 2017 summer riding season, the Ontario Provincial Police said there was a “very alarming” number of deadly motorcycle crashes with 30 fatalities by late August, reported CBC.

Police described it as the worst year for motorcycle fatalities in the previous decade, the CBC stated.

Herscu says Easy Legal is also seeing more cases where the person coming to the settlement loan firm for assistance was on a motorcycle when they were injured in a crash.

“And when you are injured, what do you do?” he asks.

“Organizations such as Easy Legal are contacted after the crash so that those injured can receive some financial support to bridge the income loss they’ve had because of their inability to work after the accident,” Herscu says.

“We also help finance any necessary treatment for their rehabilitation. In an extreme case, some people even need financing to retrofit their home to accommodate the horrific injuries they’ve suffered.”