According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), in 2012, approximately 726 bicyclists and other cyclists were killed and an additional 49,000 were injured in motor vehicle traffic accidents. These statistics have been on the rise, especially since the use of bicycles has become a popular mode of transportation and a preferred type of outdoor exercise.
If you or a loved one was injured by a careless driver while riding a bicycle, you have a legal right to be compensated for your injuries and damages. Although the insurance industry has spent enormous sums money to convince the public that tort reform is necessary, there is nothing frivolous about car-on-bike accidents, especially for the seriously injured cyclists who incur expensive medical bills to treat serious injuries.
Important Safety Tips to Avoid Car-On-Bike Accidents
Since car-on-bike accidents can have such serious consequences, it is better to avoid them in the first place. However, totally avoiding an accident may not be possible. You may be able to reduce the likelihood of getting into such an accident if you know what the cycling risks are.
Below are some important safety tips that may help reduce your risk of getting into a bicycle accident:
- Observe traffic laws. Just like other drivers on the road, bicyclists are legally required to observe all traffic laws. This can protect you in two ways. Once, it enables everybody sharing the road to know what to expect from each other. And, two, it will protect your legal rights in the event that you involved in an accident.
- Ride with situational awareness. Even as a bicyclist, you have a legal duty to exercise due care. This also applies to being aware of what is happening in the road environment and how it can affect you.
- Be conspicuous. The more visible you make yourself on the road, the more likely other motorists will be to see you.
- Don’t drink and ride. Just as drunk driving can alter a motorist’s ability to drive, drinking and bicycling can also alter a bicyclist’s ability to ride safely.
Call Us Today!
Attorney Kenneth A. Wilhelm is a New York personal injury attorney with over 43 years of experience, including bicycle accident cases. We recently recovered $ 5,600,000 for an injured bicyclist. For more information or to schedule a complimentary consultation, please call us 24 hours a day, seven days a week at 1-800-967-5496 or visit us at www.work4youlaw.com. We can even come to you. Huge amounts of money have been offered to our clients.
http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/Pubs/812018.pdf