Posts tagged "bicycle accidents"

As discussed in the previous post, more and more bicyclists are wearing head-mounted video cameras when they ride their bikes for protection. These cameras provide protection both in preventing assaults and in sorting out fault after an accident occurs. Since the cameras record what occurred in an accident, it is easier to determine who or what caused the accident.

If drivers see a cyclist wearing a camera, they may think twice before purposely knocking them down or otherwise harassing or assaulting the cyclist. Some videos of drivers purposely assaulting cyclists (including an incident in California) have made their way onto YouTube where they have been watched by hundreds of thousands of people, including the police, who have charged the identifiable assailants with crimes. As more drivers are aware of the practice of cyclists to wear video cameras, it is likely that the behavior of some could improve.

A recent article in The New York Times details the growing practice of bicyclists to use head-mounted video cameras as a "black box" in case of an accident as they ride their bike. The practice has been growing around the country, including in California.

The cameras are strapped to the head and sit on or below the helmet. If an accident occurs, a bicyclist or law enforcement officer can check the recording to see what happened, and also find identifying material of the driver if they happened to leave the scene of the accident.

The cameras have already caught suspects in hit-and-run accidents and other motor vehicle-bicycle accidents all over the country. In California, a man was charged with leaving the scene of an accident after a video recording caught him knocking down two bicyclists with the car he was driving and then driving away.

Biking is a great way to get exercise and can be a great form of transportation that is good for the environment. A bike crash, however, can lead to catastrophic injuries or even death. Because bicyclists are more vulnerable in an accident with a motor vehicle, it is important to know the rules of the road, wear a helmet and ride defensively.

The website of Bike Safe California offers tips on bike safety for all riders. You can also find out where a class is happening near you and sign up to learn more about bike safety. You may have known how to ride a bike from a young age, but taking a class with biking experts can give you the skills you need to be much safer on the road, especially if you are making a change in your biking activities, such as going from an occasional bicyclist to a full-fledged bicycling commuter.

In some accidents, the severity of the injuries is not readily apparent. The rush of adrenaline and disorientation that can immediately follow a car accident can cause a person to be oblivious of an injury. It may not be till later when they have had a chance to catch their breath that they notice the trauma. In other circumstances there is little to notice in the initial injury, some internal injuries may be difficult to detect for some time.

Some variation of this phenomenon appears to have been the case recently when an 11-year-old boy was struck by a car outside a restaurant. It appears that neither the boy, who was riding his bike with one of his parents, nor the car that struck him were moving very fast at the time of the collision. But the boy later needed serious medical attention.

One of the wonderful benefits of living in California is the ability to spend time outside enjoying the weather, doing things like bicycling and walking. Unfortunately, however, these activities can be dangerous when it comes to sharing the road with each other and other vehicles.

Bicycle and pedestrian safety is necessary for everyone to be able to get to where they are going safely. Bicycle and pedestrian accidents are a serious risk whenever motor vehicles run stop signs or speed, or when there is too much traffic. Pedestrians are also at risk when bicycles do not follow traffic signals and ride too fast or out of control.

In November, a 47-year-old Los Altos Hills bicyclist was killed when she was involved in an accident with a truck on Alpine Road in San Mateo County. The woman's family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the truck driver and his employer, Randazzo Enterprises.

An initial investigation by the California Highway Patrol determined that the woman caused the accident when she unsafely turned on Alpine Road. As trial approaches, both the plaintiff and defendants are attempting to shift the responsibility for the accident to the county for maintaining a dangerous stretch of road.

San Jose detectives are investigating an unusual fatal bicycle accident that happened over the weekend. According to investigators, two 32-year-old San Jose men were in attendance at the same house party Friday evening into early Saturday morning. Officers believe the two men were good friends.

Early Saturday morning, one man left the party on his bicycle, and the other man left shortly thereafter in a 2004 Subaru. Investigators say that the bicyclist was riding in the middle of Cherry Avenue near Foxworthy Avenue at about 2 a.m. At about that time, the bicyclist was stuck by the 32-year-old San Jose man's Subaru. Although the street has bicycle lanes, investigators believe the bicycle was not in the designated bicycle lane.

It seems like we see headlines in California about bicycle crashes every week. Last week we saw the story of a bicyclist being killed in a crash with a Muni bus. Based on the headlines we could assume that bicycle crashes are on the increase, but a recent traffic safety report from the city of San Luis Obispo seems to verify that bicycle accidents are indeed on the rise in this state.

According to the San Luis Obispo report, even though total traffic collisions went down from 2008 to 2009, bicycle collisions increased 22 percent. San Luis Obispo had 59 bicycle collisions in 2008 and 72 in 2009.