What Causes Placerville Bicycle Accidents?

Cycling has gained a huge amount of popularity with California residents over recent years and for good reason. Riding a bike offers people a chance to exercise, get outside, and save on fuel costs while getting to and from where they need to go. In a place like Placerville that offers plenty of scenic mountain roads, riding a bike can be a truly exhilarating experience. However, cycling does come with risks. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s data shows that over 2 percent of fatal US roadway accidents involve a cyclist and that 65 million people die in bicycle crashes nationwide every year. To avoid being seriously hurt during a crash, cyclists should learn about what normally causes bicycle accidents.

Common Causes

Below are four of the most common bicycle accident causes:

Vehicles Entering Traffic: When drivers pull out from a parking spot or driveway and enter the road, they often fail to notice oncoming cyclists. Often, this means that a driver will pull out and block a cyclist’s path. When this happens, it can be hard for cyclists to stop in time to avoid a serious crash.
Left-Turning Vehicles: When vehicles perform a left-hand turn, they essentially cut across a lane of traffic. This is inherently dangerous, and left-hand turns are a common cause of all types of crashes including collisions involving motorcyclists and pedestrians. As with vehicles entering traffic, drivers can fail to notice cyclists while making left turns and block the bicycle’s path.
Opening Doors: This may be a cliche, but bicyclists really do suffer injuries when vehicle drivers and passengers open vehicle doors into roadways. Because this is so dangerous, it is illegal in California to open car doors if doing so endangers roadway traffic. In most cases, people who open doors in front of cyclists can be considered negligent.
Roadway Defects: We rely on roadways to be safe. However, there are sometimes issues such as large potholes, poor lighting, missing signage, or dangerous design that cause accidents outside of the control of drivers and cyclists. Government bodies such as states and municipalities are responsible for making sure roadways are safe. Because of this, they can be liable in cases where roadway defects lead to accidents.

Cyclist Injuries

Because cyclists don’t have any protection like occupants of vehicles do, they can suffer serious injuries when they are involved in a crash. During my time representing injured cyclists, I have witnessed how life-changing these injuries can be. Some of the more common types of bicycle accident injuries include bone fractures, neck injuries, traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, and more. These injuries can be painful, stressful, and expensive to recover from. For this reason, injured cyclists are able to seek compensation through personal injury claims.

Many people are unsure of whether or not their case merits an injury claim. To figure out whether or not you should file a claim, you can watch the following video. However, it is always best to get advice from a lawyer who has experience handling injury cases. Most attorneys offer free phone consultations where you can get the information you need to move forward with filing a claim.

More Articles from Ed Smith, Placerville Bicycle Accident Lawyer

Placerville Bicycle Accident Lawyer

I’m Ed Smith, a Placerville bicycle accident lawyer. Bicycle accidents can cause major injuries. If you were injured while riding a bike, call (800) 404-5400 or (530) 392-9400 and I’ll provide you with free, friendly legal advice.

I’ve proudly served Placerville residents for more than 37 years and have helped many people obtain fair settlements and verdicts. See the ratings and reviews from my previous clients at the following websites:

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What Causes Placerville Bicycle Accidents?