Motorcycle accident lawyer Price says riding clears head

Give Ohio motorcycle accident attorney Billy Price a call on any given weekday and you’ll likely find him in court, at a deposition or negotiating a claim with some big insurance company.

But if you’re looking for Price on any given weekend, you’ll likely find him negotiating the twists and turns of the open road on his Harley-Davidson near his Akron-area residence.

At 35, Price has been practicing law for nine years, honing his skills in the areas of motorcycle automobile and trucking accidents – and doing all he can to carve out a little time here and there to ride (not an easy task with a successful practice, a wife and two children).

“When I can, I like just going out and riding around because it clears my head,” Price said.

He said sometimes all it takes is a quick jaunt down a local stretch of road.

“There’s a straight-away on the street where I live and I like to just get out there and open it up real quick – for about a quarter-mile or so,” Price said.  “I feel more alive when I can do that.”

Price, who works with the MotorEagles team at Elk & Elk, said riding has become an inalienable part of him in the 25 years he’s been around motorcycles.

“It’s a big part of my identity. I mean, my first love is my wife and my kids. I love to be with them, but the second-most important thing to me is my bike. I love being on my bike,” he said.

“For anyone who rides and has been for a good bit of time, your motorcycle – I mean, the machine itself – really becomes a reflection of your own character. I mean, there are all kinds of ways to customize a motorcycle and make it your own – to fit your character. I’ve modified my bike to reflect my character – just its lines and curves and all the chrome – really reflects what I think is cool.”

Price said that, as a lawyer, he is more appreciative of the dangers inherent in riding alongside other types of vehicles on his motorcycle.
“I think I’m more fearful and more cautious because I’m a lawyer because I’ve seen some of the things some of these guys who have been in accidents go through,” he said. “But I do I think I’m better able to spot safety issues and anticipate potential danger because of those things that I’ve seen others go through.”

As far as promoting motorcycle safety goes, Price said he wants to do all he can – in and out of court; on his own bike and behind the wheel of his other vehicles – to educate other drivers about the special care they need to exercise when sharing the road with bikers.

“I really want to see other drivers learn how important it is to be careful when sharing the road with people on bikes. I just don’t think other people really realize the problems caused by careless driving,” he said.

Too many people just don’t understand how thin a line motorcyclists ride between the exhilaration of riding with the wind in their faces and, quite frankly, death.

“It’s like it’s us versus them. I mean, I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve been out on the highway and a tractor trailer cut me off,” Price said.  “In fact, I remember an incident not too long ago when I was on my way home from Lorain and a tractor trailer forced me off the road. That could’ve been a really bad situation and the whole thing could have totally been avoided.”

He said there are three things he’d really like to see in motorcycling’s future.

“I’d like to see more people on bikes. I think if people rode more, they’d understand and appreciate the risks and therefore exercise a lot more care around people on bikes,” he said.

“I’d like to see better laws in place – harsher penalties for traffic violations like following too closely and not yielding the right-of-way to an oncoming motorcyclist and I’d like to see more safety gear available and greater advances in safety gear for motorcycle riders. It’s come a long way already, but it can always get better and that stuff really helps.”

Until his wish list becomes reality, though, Price had this advice to offer new riders:
“Learn as much as you can about defensive driving and get as much education as you can about riding,” Price said. “And you just need to ride. The more experience you get the better. I would also suggest riding with a mentor – a more experienced rider who has been in situations only time on a bike will bring.”