Missouri Motorcycle Crash Risks in June Rainstorms
If you ride in Missouri, you already know that summer doesn’t ease in gently. It hits. And when a June rainstorm rolls through Kansas City, St. Louis, or any stretch of highway in between, the road beneath your tires can turn against you in an instant. A Missouri wet road motorcycle accident isn’t always caused by reckless riding. Often, it comes down to a road surface that becomes dangerously slick and a driver nearby who doesn’t adjust their behavior in time. Understanding how these crashes happen and what your legal options are could make a real difference if you or someone you love is hurt. That’s why the Kansas City motorcycle accident attorneys at Patterson Legal Group have put together this helpful guide.
Why June Rainstorms Create Especially Dangerous Roads for Motorcyclists
Spring gives way to summer heat in Missouri, and that timing matters more than most people realize. After weeks of hot, dry weather, motor oil, fuel residue, and other vehicle fluids build up on road surfaces. They bake into the pavement, quiet and invisible until rain arrives.
When the first raindrops of a June storm hit that oil-saturated pavement, they don’t just clean it—they lift it up. And for a short, really intense window, roads can be slicker than black ice. It’s one of the most treacherous scenarios imaginable for motorcyclists—a car has four tires to fight the loss of grip; a motorcycle has only two.
Missouri gets a lot of crazy summer storms, and thunderstorms can pop up out of nowhere, with no warning, especially in the Kansas City area and along I-70 and I-44.
Where Crashes Tend to Happen in Clusters
There are certain spots that are especially prone to a slippery roads motorcycle crash, unfortunately. Here are some of the most common our Kansas City motorcycle injury lawyer team has seen:
- Intersections: Cars stuck in traffic are likely to drip oil, adding to the risk of a crash for a motorcyclist.
- Highway on and off ramps: Tight corners combined with all the grime on the road and drivers merging at high speed creates dangerous conditions.
- Urban surface streets: Stop and go traffic leaves oil all over the city roads, and the rain makes it hard for drivers to see motorcyclists before they need to brake.
- Old roads: Worn-out pavement that’s lost its texture gives you even less grip when the roads are wet, making it even easier to lose control and crash.
Missouri Wet Road Motorcycle Accident Safety Tips
You don’t have to give up riding just because of storms in the summer. A few simple habits can keep you upright when the weather turns nasty. Here are some helpful June motorcycle safety tips:
Leave Some Space
On dry roads, a few seconds is probably enough between you and the car in front of you. But on wet roads, double that—at the very least. When it rains, stopping takes a lot longer, so you need a lot more space and time to react if the car in front of you brakes suddenly. This is especially true in slow-moving traffic in Kansas City, where people behind you might be having a hard time stopping as well. A rear-end motorcycle collision in MO can be absolutely devastating, even at low speeds.
Brake Smoothly and Steer Easy
When a motorcycle tire starts to lose traction on a wet road, it happens fast. Most motorcycle crashes in wet conditions start with a rider hitting the brakes too hard–and the front wheel locking up. On wet roads, that can send the bike sliding sideways–and by the time you recover, it’s often too late. Try to brake gradually for best results.
The First Rain is the Worst
If it’s been dry for a few days, the first bit of rain is when roads are at their most slippery. But once the rain has been falling for 15 or 20 minutes, it usually starts washing away some of the oil and grime.
If you spot the sky getting dark or feel the initial raindrops hitting your helmet, it might be a good time to pull over for a minute. It’s better to let the worst of the oil wash away before continuing on your way.
Gear Up and Stay Visible
Rain really cuts down on visibility, for you and the other drivers on the road. Wearing high-visibility gear can help, and keeping your headlights on helps drivers spot you in time. Drivers who can’t see a motorcyclist soon enough are far more likely to be involved in a crash.
How Patterson Legal Group Helps After an Accident
When a motorcycle goes down in a storm, the insurance company will often ask: was the motorcyclist going too fast for conditions? This is a pretty standard tactic: they try to shift the focus away from the driver who caused the accident and onto the rider themselves.
Our Missouri motorcycle crash attorney team has seen this trick before, and we know how to fight back. When we take on a wet road motorcycle accident case in Missouri, we look at the whole picture. That involves:
- What the weather and road were like at the time of the crash: We ask for radar data, precipitation records, and road maintenance records to figure out exactly what the road was like when the crash happened.
- What the other driver was up to: Missouri law says that drivers should be driving at a speed that’s safe for the road and weather conditions. A driver who’s cruising at highway speed in the rain—or one that is tailgating—may have failed to meet that very basic standard.
- Vehicle data and what other people saw: Black box data from the other vehicle, dashcam footage, and witness statements can all help us piece together what went on and who was at fault.
- The physical evidence on the ground: Skid marks, debris fields, impact points, and damage to the bike all tell a story. We bring in accident reconstruction experts if the facts of the case demand a deeper, more technical look.
The end goal is to show that the other driver’s failure to adjust to the rain directly caused your injuries. That’s the foundation of a strong motorcycle accident claim in the state.
Here to Help After a Missouri Wet Road Motorcycle Accident
If you’ve been hurt in a Missouri wet road motorcycle accident, Patterson Legal Group is here to help guide you on what to do next. We’re always ready to offer support, no matter which stage of the process you’re currently facing. Our Missouri motorcycle accident lawyers have an impressive track record of getting results for our clients in Missouri—and we’re also happy to work with folks from Kansas, Oklahoma, and Colorado too.
We’ll stick with you every step of the way, fighting to make sure you get the compensation you deserve. Get in touch now for your free consultation. Just give us a call at 888-687-2400 or fill out our secure online form. You can also speak with someone from our LiveChat team. We’re here to make things easy for you.
Thanks to our ‘No Win, No Fee’ promise, you won’t have to worry about paying a single penny unless we are successful in securing compensation on your behalf. Just reach out and let’s get the process started – you deserve the money you’re entitled to.
The information on this blog is for informational purposes only. It is not meant to serve as legal advice for an individual case or situation. This information is not intended to create an attorney-client relationship nor does viewing this material constitute an attorney-client relationship.
