If you ride a bicycle near traffic, you need to familiarize yourself with the risks you face and the prevalence of accidents. Also, if you have kids who enjoy riding bikes, you need to understand the hazards they could encounter and take steps to prevent an accident. Sadly, even the most cautious bicyclists cannot always avoid accidents, especially since some drivers get behind the wheel while drunk or drowsy, or they fail to pay attention to the road because of their phones.
When a traffic accident takes place, bicyclists have an especially high chance of suffering a serious injury or death.
Data on traffic collisions involving bicyclists
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that nearly 467,000 bicyclists sustained injuries in 2015, and more than 1,000 lost their lives. Bike accident injuries can impact victims and their loved ones in different ways, whether a victim has to miss work because they cannot walk or they have a hard time due to hospital bills. In fact, 2010 data shows that over the course of victims’ lives, fatal and nonfatal bike accident injuries led to $10 billion worth of medical expenses and lost productivity.
Bike accident risk factors
As a bicyclist, you face many risks. Sometimes, drivers ignore bicyclists and fail to keep an eye out for those riding bikes. Slick roads, poor visibility, busy streets and inexperienced drivers also cause many bicycle accidents. In the aftermath of a bicycle accident, victims need to go over all of the details of the incident and take a close look at their legal options.