A Bicycle Accident In Chicago
Tuesday, April 05, 2005
Nearly One Million Children are Injured each year in Bicycle Accidents... A Bicyclist is Fatally Injured every 6 hours ...
Over the past 10 years, bicycling has become extremely popular in the United States. It is a convenient and inexpensive method of travel, especially in large cities where traffic is congested and parking spaces are difficult to find. High tech materials and fabrication have now made bicycle riding virtually effortless and many families enjoy exploring the countryside on bicycles.
Many cities now recognize the increase in bike traffic and have constructed special bike lanes. Parks have now made trails accessible to bicycles. Even some vehicle manufacturers are now offering bike racks as standard equipment. Sadly, however, many automobile drivers do not respect the bicyclists' rights to share the roads and, more importantly, young bike riders haven't been educated on how to legally and safely share the roads with automobiles.
Uneducated drivers and bicyclists have resulted in some staggering statistics
A bicyclist is fatally injured every 6 hours;
Nearly one million children are injured each year in bicycle related accidents;
Nearly half of all bicycle fatalities occur to children under the age of 16;
75% of all serious injuries and fatalities from bicycle accidents are from head injuries;
While collisions with cars account for only 1/3rd of all bicycle accidents, they account for the majority of catastrophic injuries and deaths.
Motor vehicle operators must be attentive to bicycle riders. They must equate a bicycle with a motor vehicle and observe the same laws. For example: if you are sharing the right lane with a bicyclist and you are planning to turn right at an intersection, you must yield to the bicyclist. You may not drive in a designated bike lane unless you have immediate intentions to turn off the road. There are many "new" traffic laws concerning bicycles and ignorance of the laws will not protect you against negligence if you injure a bicyclist.
Bicycle riders are subject to the same traffic laws as motorists. If you are riding a bicycle, you are also required to obey the traffic laws and you deserve the same protection by those laws as automobile drivers.
Other types of negligence, such as product liability, defective products and negligent manufacturing or assembly, can also cause bicycle accidents and injuries.
Speak to a Chicago lawyer today that represents bicyclists that have been wronged on the roadway or by a defective product.
