Riding a motorcycle down the highway comes with risks, as does driving in a car. We often select vehicles based on safety features, among other things, and we expect those safety features to work properly when they are needed. If they don't work right every time, there is no point in having them.

What if you are told your vehicle had safety features it doesn't actually have? That's exactly what one California couple is claiming after crashing their motorcycle in April 2009. The couple says the Harley Davidson dealer told them their motorcycle was equipped with anti-lock brakes when they purchased it in 2008, but discovered after a crash in 2009 that it did not. Now the passenger involved in that crash has suffered a brain injury and will need a lifetime of care.

When traffic stopped suddenly in 2008, the driver tried to brake to avoid the jam ahead, but felt the brakes lock up, thinking the anti-lock breaking system had failed. The passenger was expelled from the vehicle and landed 35 feet away, suffering traumatic injuries.

The driver and passenger of the motorcycle claim they were told the vehicle was equipped, and they believed the dealer because an indicator light was present on the dash board. The manufacturer claims the light never lit up, therefore indicating the feature wasn't present on the vehicle. They also said it was the driver's responsibility to know their vehicle.

Because the anti-lock brake system indicator was present on the control panel of the vehicle, it may have provided the owners with a false sense of the safety features present on the vehicle. Now a jury will decide who is responsible for the brain injury incurred by the passenger, and whether she will get the help she needs for the rest of her life.

Source: The Sacramento Bee, "Contentious motorcycle crash case heads to Sacramento jury," Andy Furillo, Dec. 18, 2011