The Language of Reporting Motorcycle Accidents

[XLFD]

Sometimes a motorcyclist has nobody to blame for a crash other than themselves.  Sometimes they share the blame.  Other times they are blameless, but you rarely hear that being the case in the news media or in the police reports.  Take this following article which is titled "Motorcycle/pickup truck crash causes minor injuries", suggesting that both parties were to blame.  

The Oceana County Press reported on June 1, 2018:

GRANT TOWNSHIP — A 65-year-old Whitehall man sustained minor injuries in a crash with a pickup truck on Oceana Drive near Yale Road Thursday, May 31, shortly before 8 p.m., according to an Oceana County Sheriff’s Office accident report.
A 2007 Chevrolet Silverado driven by a 62-year-old New Era man collided with a 1997 Honda motorcycle.
The pickup truck driver “was traveling north on Oceana Drive when he went to turn into his residence…” the report states.
As the pickup truck driver was turning, the motorcycle “came around the corner and made contact with his vehicle.”
The motorcyclist, who was wearing helmet, was not taken to the hospital, the report stated. The pickup truck driver, who was wearing a seatbelt, was not hurt [End of Article].

Happily, the biker seems to have not sustained any appreciable damage, though it's unlikely his motorcycle was as lucky.  As you can see on the two maps, the blue line (motorcycle) travels down Oceana Drive presumably at highway speed minding his own business, until a Silverado going the other way slows and turns in front of him.  

Travelling north and turning into his driveway, the driver had no excuse for not seeing the motorcycle and allowing him the right-of-way, as he should have under those rules.  It was not yet dark, the sun was blocked by the trees to the west, and the topography shows that even with a modest curve, a high-profiled Silverado should have seen the biker for at least a couple of seconds.  You can bet they would have seen a semi truck and not turned in front of them.  

But the law violation is clear to you or I, it is not so clear to those who investigate and report on these accidents.  A motorist turns in front of a motorcyclist headed the opposite way proceeding lawfully down the street.  The police do not assign blame to the motorist even when it's clear without a full investigation, the journalists do the same.  Both miss the opportunity time and time again to offer a public service announcement encouraging folks to look out for bikers, and to give that warning some teeth by enforcing the law when these incidents happen.