Bicycle Accidents
Selecting a professional in a personal injury matter is a very important decision. As physicians who are specifically familiar with the management of accidental injuries, Centers For Neurology can treat your injuries and refer you to the best personal injury lawyers in Florida.
Bicycling injuries must be given immediate medical attention because of the possibility of broken bones or concussions. Some bicycle injuries may include trauma to the spine that may impair normal body motion that can continue over years. Injuries of this type often result in chronic back pain and headaches.
Common symptoms of concussions
Neck pain and restriction of movement.
Headache that won't go away.
Tiredness and feelings of nervousness.
Trouble with balance, equilibrium.
Ringing in the ears.
Nausea.
Inability to sleep and excessive sweating.
Numbness in extremities.
Inability to concentrate or memory loss.
The SHCC Centers for Neurology and Pain Management have provided over 20 years of proven treatment for patients with injuries. We offer a team approach that includes neurology, neuropsychology, chiropractic, physical and massage therapies that fit the precise need of each patient. After evaluation, a comprehensive treatment plan will be implemented to relieve the pain and avoid long-term disabilities.
If you have experienced a bicycle related injury call our centers today. Your injury can be evaluated promptly. The SHCC Centers for Neurology and Pain Management are open six days a week, Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. On Saturday, by appointment. We are conveniently located in five areas in Broward and Palm Beach Counties. Call today for an appointment with one of our specialists toll free 866-426-3876.
Bicycle accidents and how to prevent them
Bicycles are associated with more childhood injuries than any other consumer product except the automobile. More than 70 percent of children ages 5 to 14 ride bicycles. This age group rides 50 percent more than the average bicyclist and accounts for approximately 21 percent of all bicycle-related injuries.
The single most effective safety device available to reduce injury from bicycle crashes is a helmet. Unfortunately, national estimate report that bicycle helmet use among child bicyclists ranges only from 15 to 25 percent.
In 2001, nearly 314,600 children ages 14 and under were treated in hospital emergency rooms for bicycle injuries. Children ages 14 and under accounted for 36 percent of bicyclists injured in car crashes. It is estimated that collisions with automobiles account for nearly 90 percent of all bicycle deaths and 10 percent of all nonfatal bike injuries.
Children can be seriously hurt from colliding with handlebars during a fall, even in low speed bike crashes. Improper bicycle size may predispose a child to falling.
How to NOT get hit when Bicycling
Bicycle helmets are the best safety precaution bicyclists can take. But even if you wear one, your main goal should be to avoid getting hit by a car when riding a bicycle. Preventing a bicycle / auto accident is the best medicine.
We list below ways to not get hit by cars when bike riding.
#1. Cars Pulling Out on the Right
A car pulling out of a side street, parking lot, or driveway on the right is the most common type of collision.
The collision happens either when you ride across the path of the car and it hits you, or the car pulls out in front of you and you slam into it.
Ways to avoid this bicycle and car crash:
- Get a headlight. Whether at night or day, a headlight is going to make you more visible to a motorist who might otherwise hit you.
- Honk. Get a bell or a horn and use it whenever you see a car approaching or waiting ahead of you and to the right.
- Slow Down. If you can't make eye contact with the driver, slow down so much that you're able to completely stop if you have to.
- Move left. The car driver is not going to be looking for a bicyclist, but looking for other cars that might cross his path. If you move closer to the center of the lane you're traveling in, the driver will have a better chance of seeing you, and you will be better positioned to avoid the car. But you must remember that this position can also leave you vulnerable to cars behind you.
#2. A Driver Opens His Car Door in Front of You
This bicycle car accident usually happens when the car is parked and the driver is exiting it.
How to avoid this collision:
- Ride to the left. Ride far enough to the left that you won't run into any door that's opened unexpectedly. You're more likely to get doored by a parked car if you ride too close to it than you are to get hit from behind by a car that can clearly see you.
#3. Red Light and Right Turn.
You stop to the right of a car that's already waiting at a red light or stop sign. They can't see you. When the light turns green, you move forward, and then they turn right, right into you.
This type of accident is especially dangerous when it's a bus or a semi that you're stopping next to. These are bigger vehicles and have more blind spots.
How to avoid this bicycle car accident:
- Don't stop in the blind spot. Simply stop behind a car instead of to the right of it. This makes you very visible to traffic on all sides.
- By the way, be very careful when passing stopped cars on the right as you approach a red light. You run the risk of getting doored by a passenger exiting the car on the right side, or hit by a car that unexpectedly decides to pull into a parking space on the right side of the street.
#4. A Car Passes You and Makes a Right Turn
A car passes you and then tries to make a right turn directly in front of you, or right into you.
The drivers think you're not going very fast, so they think they can pass you in time. This collision is very hard to avoid because you typically don't see it until the last second, and because there's nowhere for you to go when it happens.
How to avoid this bicycle car accident:
- Don't ride on the sidewalk. When you come off the sidewalk to cross the street you're invisible to motorists
- Ride to the left. Taking up the whole lane makes it harder for drivers to pass you to cut you off or turn into you.
- Glance in your mirror before approaching an intersection. Be sure to look in your mirror well before you get to the intersection. When you're actually going through an intersection, you'll need to be paying very close attention to what's in front of you.
#5. Bicycle Passing on the Right of a Car Making a Right
You're passing a slow-moving car on the right, when it unexpectedly makes a right turn right into you, trying to get to a parking lot, driveway or side street.
How to avoid this bicycle car accident:
- Don't pass on the right. This collision is very easy to avoid. Just don't pass any vehicle on the right. If a car ahead of you is going only 10 mph, then you slow down too, behind it. It will eventually start moving faster. If it doesn't, pass on the left when it's safe to do so.
- Look behind you before turning right. Look behind you before making a right-hand turn on your bicycle to make sure a bike isn't trying to pass you. Even if it's the other cyclist's fault for trying to pass you on the right, it won't hurt any less when they hit you.
#6. A Car Coming Toward You Makes A Left Turn into You
A car coming from the opposite direction toward you makes a left turn right in front of you, or right into you. This is similar to #1 above.
How to avoid this bicycle car accident:
- Don't ride on the sidewalk. When you come off the sidewalk to cross the street, you're invisible to turning motorists.
- Get a headlight. Make yourself more visible to drivers
Wear something bright, even during the day. Yellow or orange reflective vests make a big difference in making you visible. The driver may not see the bike, but they'll see the vest. - Slow Down. If you can't make eye contact with the driver, slow down so much that you're able to completely stop if you have to.
#7. Getting Rear Ended When You Try to Pass on the Left of An Obstruction
You innocently move a little to the left to go around a parked car or some other obstruction in the road, and you get hit by a car coming up from behind you.
How to avoid this bicycle car accident:
- Never mover left without checking your mirror or looking behind you first. Some motorists like to pass cyclists within mere inches, so moving even a tiny bit to the left could put you in the path of a car.
- Don't swerve in and out of the parking lane if it contains any parked cars. You might be tempted to ride in the parking lane where there are no parked cars, dipping back into the traffic lane when you encounter a parked car. This puts you at risk for getting hit from behind. Instead, ride a steady, straight line in the traffic lane. Use a handlebar mirror. Get one and use it.
#8. A Car Runs Into You from Behind
This is what bicyclists fear the most, but it's not the most common kind of accident. However, it's one of the hardest collisions to avoid, since you're not usually looking behind you.
How to avoid the bicycle car accident:
- Get a rear light. The majority of bicycle collisions are caused when cyclists ride at night without lights. Getting rear-ended in the daylight is rare.
- Choose wide streets. Ride on streets where the outside lane is so wide that it can easily fit a car and bike side by side.
- Choose slow streets. The slower a car is going, the more time the driver has to see you.
- Use back streets on weekends. The risk of getting hit by a car on Friday or Saturday night is much greater than on other nights because all the drunks are out driving around.
- Get a mirror. Get a mirror and use it. If it looks like a car doesn't see you, hop off your bike and onto the sidewalk.
- Don't hug the curb. This gives you some room to move into in case you see a large vehicle in your mirror.
#9. A Car Makes a Right Turn into You As You Ride Across the Street at A Crosswalk
You're riding on the sidewalk and cross the street at a crosswalk, and a car makes a right turn, right into you. Cars aren't expecting bikes in the crosswalk, so you have to be careful to avoid this one.
How to avoid this bicycle car accident:
- Get a headlight. Buy one and use it. Make yourself visible.
- Slow down. Slow down enough that you're able to completely stop if necessary.
- Don't ride on the sidewalk in the first place. Crossing between sidewalks can be a fairly dangerous maneuver. Don't ride on the sidewalk in the first place.
#10. Cyclist Riding the Wrong Way
You're riding the wrong way (against traffic, on the left-hand side of the street). A car makes a right turn from a side street, driveway, or parking lot, right into you. They didn't see you because they were looking for traffic only on their left, not on their right. Even worse, you could be hit by a car on the same road coming at you from straight ahead of you. They had less time to see you and take evasive action because they're approaching you faster than normal. If they hit you, it's going to be much more forceful impact.
How to avoid this bicycle car accident:
- Don't ride against traffic. Ride with traffic, in the same direction.
More general tips
- Avoid busy streets.
- Use headlights.
- Ride as if you were invisible.
- Take the whole lane when appropriate.
We at the SHCC Centers for Neurology and Pain Management have provided over 20 years of proven treatment for patients with injuries from bicycle and car accidents. We would rather you not be in a bicycle accident, but if you are, we are here to help you.
If you have experienced a bicycle related injury call our centers today. Your injury can be evaluated promptly. The SHCC Centers for Neurology and Pain Management are open six days a week, Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. On Saturday, by appointment. We are conveniently located in five areas in Broward and Palm Beach Counties. Call today for an appointment with one of our specialists toll free 866-426-3876.
We would like to thank Michael Bluejay for many of the helpful tips on preventing bicycle and car accidents.
