A paralegal in Birmingham, Alabama has taken it upon herself to help the Department of Transportation generate awareness of one of its summer safety initiatives intended specifically for motorcycle riders.
Felicity Rackstraw is a paralegal with Clarke Willmott and says that her passion for motorcycles and her own experience with a motorcycle accident inspired her to assist the Department in getting the word out about biker safety. The “Think Bike, Think Biker” campaign is intended to provide a simple but very powerful and very important message to motorists and motorcycle riders to be on the lookout for one another out on the road.
Rackstraw, who is an avid motorcycle enthusiast herself, was involved in a serious accident during the summer of 2010 that nearly took her life. Since recovering from her injuries she has been a champion of road safety improvements and legislation intended to make the roads safer for all motorists, and particularly those riding motorcycles.
In recounting her incident, Rackstraw says that she was teaching a motorcycle safety course and has several of her students out on the road with her as part of the training. She stopped at a roundabout and a motorist in a car behind her slammed into her while she was stopped, sending her and her BMW motorcycle skidding across the pavement.
Rackstraw suffered injuries to her neck, legs, and back and has since developed an even greater passion for rider safety.
A road traffic legal expert and partner at Clarke Willmott has expressed the firms support of their paralegal in her efforts to raise awareness of the campaign due to his personal experience with what he calls “the devastating consequences” of traffic accidents in general and those involving motorcycles in particular.
