My favorite bike week, Biketoberfest in Daytona Beach, Florida, comes every year, just a few miles from my office in Winter Park. We hope for great weather every year with no hurricanes, and safety as thousands of bikes come to Daytona and Orlando. I love to see the vintage and custom bikes and hope to see all of you there and also at the track at Daytona International Speedway for some of the races.

I think it is incredible how many motorcycles we have at Biketoberfest and how few accidents. However, I would love it if we could get this through this weekend in October without a single injury or fatality. I really want to take this opportunity to encourage everyone to wear your helmet more than usual. When Florida first passed the law that allowed us not to wear helmets, I thought it was absolutely awesome. I loved riding without a helmet and seeing others do it as well. However, having handled hundreds of motorcycle accidents since then, I have to tell you that the risk we wore to the helmet needs to be really closely examined by everyone. Please at least think about it when you make a decision on your helmet and ride safely.

I also want everyone to understand again how the law in Florida works on motorcycle accidents. Motorcycles are not required to carry insurance in Florida and only people who ride without helmets are required to carry health insurance. You must have a motorcycle endorsement here or at least sign up for a program that allows you to ride on a temporary basis without one.

The Florida No-Fault Law does not apply to motorcycles so if you have an accident and injury, you do not need to prove a permanent injury to obtain compensation for pain and suffering. However, in order to obtain compensation, the person who causes the accident must carry Bodily Injury Liability coverage on their vehicle, or you need to have Uninsured Motorist coverage on your motorcycle, or stacked Uninsured Motorist coverage on your cars. I really want to encourage everyone to check their automobile insurance before coming to Biketoberfest. If you’re automobile insurance does not carry “stacked” Uninsured Motorist coverage, please pay a little extra money and make sure you have it. Stacked Uninsured Motorist coverage on your cars will apply to your motorcycle, even if your motorcycle is uninsured or insured with a different company. It is really an inexpensive way to carry Uninsured Motorist coverage on your motorcycle by simply having stacked Uninsured Motorist coverage on your cars.

If you have an accident, get out of the road as soon as possible. Don’t worry about staying in the road to preserve the scene. Your safety is more important. There will probably be some marks on the road and witnesses that can help the police investigate.

Take an ambulance to the emergency room so you can see a doctor faster and don’t be in a hurry to leave without a full medical workup. Halifax Hospital in Daytona Beach has sovereign immunity which means that cannot have a claim against them for more than $100,000.00. It is really a good hospital, but you need to be sure that you give the physicians every opportunity to fully evaluate your injuries.

Please call me anytime, free of charge, before, during or after Biketoberfest, if you have questions about insurance or the Florida motorcycle laws. My telephone number is: 407-647-5002. I can’t wait to see everyone there.