Articles Tagged with San diego bicycle accident attorney

Bicyclists in Poway and throughout Southern California are often at risk of serious and deadly injuries in collisions involving negligent motorists. While San Diego County and Los Angeles County, for example, have taken some steps to address the high rate of bicycle injuries and deaths, such as adding new bike lanes, cyclists in Southern California continue to get hurt in avoidable crashes that result from careless or reckless drivers who engage in distracted driving, aggressive driving, and intoxicated driver. According to a recent report from ABC News, “the state of the bike and pedestrian infrastructure” is still not what it could be, and cyclists continue to be involved in deadly crashes.

Learning More About Bicycle Accident Injuries and Deaths in Southern California

As that ABC News report underscores, “between 2018 and 2022” in the Los Angeles area alone, “an average of 35 bicyclists died and more than 2,500 were injured.” The majority of those crashes had four things in common: They occurred on roads with higher speed limits (of 35 miles per hour or higher), on roads that had three or more lanes going in either direction, at nighttime, and on roads without dedicated bike lanes. Approximately 50% of deadly bicycle collisions in Southern California, based on data from an ABC7 analysis, happen between 6:00 pm and 6:00 am, and nearly 80% of all deadly collisions occur on roads where there are no dedicated bike lanes or other forms of “bike infrastructure.”

Do bicycle helmets actually prevent serious brain injuries when bike accidents happen in Poway or elsewhere in Southern California? In other words, do bike helmet laws make cycling safer? And do laws requiring bicycle helmets actually have their intended effect, or are there unintended consequences, too? A recent article in Slate discusses the “cult” of bike helmets and the ways in which this “modern safety obsession” might actually cause more harm than good. What should you know about biking safety, bike helmets, and injuries in Southern California? Our Poway bicycle accident lawyers want to discuss the Slate article and provide you with more information about filing a bicycle injury claim. 

Benefits Versus Harms of Bike Helmet Laws

As you may know, California law requires minors (those under the age of 18) to wear a helmet if they are riding a bicycle, but adults aged 18 and older are not required by law to wear a helmet while bicycling in California. Bicycle helmet laws are set by states, which means they vary from state to state. What are the pros and cons of bike helmet laws? 

Since the start of the pandemic, more California residents have been spending time outside walking and bicycling. At the same time, more people are choosing to travel by car than ever before instead of taking forms of mass transit. As more people use bicycles and more motor vehicles are on the roads, there are increased accident and injury risks. According to a report from U.S. News & World Report, the rate of deadly bicycle accidents in California hit a 25-year high in 2020, and both accident and injury rates persist throughout the state. While overall bicycle injury and death rates have risen across the country, they have been markedly high in California. When a bicycle accident happens in Vista, who is liable? Consider some of the following information from our Vista bicycle accident lawyers.

Negligent Motorists are Often Liable for Bike Collisions

When a bicyclist is injured in a collision with a motor vehicle, the driver of the motor vehicle is often at fault and liable for injuries. There are many different ways in which driver error can cause collisions with bicyclists, including distracted driving, intoxicated driving, and aggressive driving.

More residents of Southern California are purchasing bicycles, and much of the increased demand for bikes has been driven by the COVID-19 pandemic. According to a study from the Pew Charitable Trusts, as a result of the pandemic, many people decided to spend more time outside and bought bicycles for recreation and travel. Given the combination of an increased number of cyclists on the road and motorists who have proven to be more aggressive than in years before the pandemic struck, bicycle fatalities have risen, and most of those deaths involve collisions with bicycles and automobiles. Indeed, urban fatalities have risen by nearly 50%, and bicycle accident death rates have also increased in suburbs across America.

If you have recently begun cycling, or if you are a seasoned bicyclist but recently suffered injuries in a crash involving a car or truck, what should you know about bicycle accidents and safety?

Common Causes of Bicycle Collisions Involving Motorists

Is bicycling becoming more dangerous in Valley Center and throughout San Diego County? Bicyclists in San Diego have been voicing concerns for quite some time about serious and deadly bike accident injuries in Southern California, and many safety groups have pushed for the creation or renovation of bike lanes. Yet according to a recent article in CaliforniaHealthline.org, bicycle accidents continue to result in life-threatening and fatal injuries in the state. Indeed, as the article points out, as of late January 2020, the overall rate of bike accident deaths in California had reached a 25-year high. 

Rise in California Bike Accident Deaths

According to the article, between 2016-2018, California had the highest rate of fatal bicycle accidents “for any three-year period since the mid-1990s.” During that period, the average death rate for bicycle accidents reached its highest point since the early 2000s. This information comes as cities across California expand bike share programs and more residents invest in bicycling.