Articles Posted in Bicycle Accidents

The bicycle accident and injury attorneys of Zneimer & Zneimer, P.C. know that with the inclement winter weather behind us, Chicago bicycle enthusiasts have begun to emerge once again. Unfortunately, the busy roadways of Chicago, and surrounding Illinois suburbs, often present dangerous circumstances for bicyclists sharing such roadways with cars, trucks, and buses. With motor vehicle accidents involving bicyclists on the rise in recent years, our bicycle accident attorneys were pleased to see our state address safety issues through The Illinois Department of Transportation’s (IDOT) launch of a Bike Transportation Plan Initiative.

Recommendations for the final plan, which is due for to be completed by December 2013 include:

• Bicycling related planning and policy recommendations,

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports a 9% increase in bicyclist fatalities between 2010 and 2011. The bicycle accident injury attorneys of Zneimer & Zneimer, P.C. take note of this alarming increase in bicycle fatalities in recent years. However, statistics show that bicycle accident fatalities currently account for only approximately 2% of all fatalities sustained during motor vehicle traffic fatalities. It is actually far more common for a bicyclist to sustain a severe head injury, rather than death, during an accident with a motorist. Our team of experienced injury attorneys represent residents of Chicago and surrounding cities, who sustained severe injuries, as a result of an accident occurring between a motorist and bicyclist.

Because bicyclists lack the protection that vehicles provide, injuries sustained in bicycling accidents are often much more severe than the injuries that may be sustained by a motorist during the same accident. According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, “The most serious injuries among a majority of those killed are to the head, highlighting the importance of wearing a bicycle helmet.” As reported by numerous studies, use of a bicycle helmet can reduce the risk of a head injury by 85%. Our bicycle injury attorneys wish that all bicyclists would reduce their risk of injury through use of bicycle helmets, however this is not always the case, partly due to lack of state regulation requiring helmet use.

Although Illinois does not currently have a statewide regulation requiring the use of helmets while riding a bicycle, some cities within Illinois have enacted ordinances, such as Cicero, Inverness, and Skokie, which require that bicyclists under the age of 16 to use helmets. Barrington bicyclists under the age of 17 must also utilize helmets. Also, bicycle messengers in Chicago, regardless of age, are required to wear helmets while performing their messenger duties. Our team of experienced bicycle accident attorneys understand, that in the absence of regulation requiring helmet use, severe injuries resulting from bicycle accidents, often time involving traumatic brain injury, will continue to increase.

The Chicago Sun-Times reports that a Chicago lawyer by the name of Neill Townsend was riding his bike southbound on Wells on Friday morning when a parked driver opened his car door in the path of his bike. Neill Townsend attempted to avoid the door by swerving out of the way and fell or was pushed by the door into the path of a south bound truck. Mr. Townsend died at the scene.

The man who opened the car door for opening a car door in the path of a bicyclist which is against the law in Chicago.

According to the Illinois Department of transportation, Division of Traffic Safety in data obtained by WBEZ, there have been 577 reported doorings in Chicago between 2009 through September, 2012. According to the map, doorings are particularly common on Milwaukee and Lincoln Avenues, two streets that have heavy commuter traffic.

Even though biking and walking reduces congestion on the roadways and reduces the level of green house gasses admitted into the atmosphere, Congress is proposing a bill that would greatly reduce funding for local biking and walking projects. According to the Active Transportation Alliance, the proposed federal bill would reduce spending for these projects from between 40 and 100 percent. Federal money for walking or biking would be reduced by 40 percent, but the cash strapped states would be allowed to divert this money to other transportation projects, most likely roads, meaning that in some states the reduction could be as much as100 percent.

Active Transportation Alliance notes that biking and walking nationally account for 12 percent of all trips but receives only 1.5 percent of federal spending. Ron Burke, executive director of Active Transportation Alliance states: “We are concerned that people who chose to walk and bike will get the short end of the stick as a result of disproportionate cuts in the proposed bill. With gas prices and roadway congestion increasing, and more and more people wanting communities that are friendly to walking and biking, this bill is a step in the wrong direction.”

Anyone who enjoys riding their bicycle throughout the Chicagoland area knows the dangers that come with it. Chicago is working to become a more bike friendly city by adding bike paths and instituting a bicycle program.

The bikers have a duty to ensure their own safety. Chicago code requires bicyclists to ride “as near as practicable” to the right-hand side of the roadway. Additionally riding against traffic is a violation of the law and can prove hazardous to everyone on the road. Illinois law requires those under age 18 to use their helmets, but it’s still a good idea for adults to use them as well. The Illinois Department of Transportation estimates that 4,000 bicyclists are injured every year.

If you or anyone you know is injured in a bicycle accident it is important that you know your legal rights. Contact attorneys Zneimer & Zneimer, P.C. for a free personal injury consultation.

Early in January we brought to your attention the case of Richard Bolling, who expert toxicologist Jennifer Bash told jurors she felt Bolling was legally drunk at the time of his May 2009 accident that struck and killed a 13 year old Trenton Booker. Trenton Booker was riding his bicycle on 81st street and Ashland avenue when he was struck. Richard Bolling was off-duty and driving his own Dodge Charger at the time of the accident and sped away from the scene. The Chicago Tribune reports Judge Matthew Coghlan sentenced 42 year-old Bolling to 3 years in prison for his conviction on charges of aggravated DUI, reckless homicide and leaving the scene of a fatal accident. Judge Coghlan also ordered Bolling to talk to recruits at the Chicago Police Academy and educate the department on “how to properly handle an investigation into one of your own.” Evidence presented at trial showed that Bolling had received preferential treatment from other officers that night including waiting at least 4 hours to administer a breathalyzer test which determined Bolling was just slightly under the legal limit. Trenton’s mother, Barbara Norman, said she would have preferred a stiffer prison term for Bolling but felt the sentence showed police officers “are not above the law.” Bolling’s supporters, including his father, retired Chicago police Cmdr. Douglas Bolling, as well as his mother and wife, left the courthouse without comments. Accident attorneys Zneimer & Zneimer estimate there are over 1,200 vehicle related fatalities in Illinois. If you or anyone you know has been involved in any accident contact Chicago personal injury attorneys Zneimer & Zneimer P.C for a free personal injury consultation.

Chicago has recently opened its first protected bicycle lane on a short stretch of Kinzie Street at Clinton Street and Canal Street but unfortunately bicyclists can not as of yet call this short stretch of protected bike lane their own. As Chicago injury lawyer Peter A. Zneimer drove past this short section on Wednesday morning he observed a taxi cab parked squarely in the protected bike lane waiting at the front door on the apartment building located at Clifton Street and Kinzie Street in Chicago impeding all the bicyclists that were headed to work on the bike lane. A couple bicyclists were knocking on the taxi drivers window pointing out that he was blocking the bike lane but he did not appear inclined to move. This individual might have benefited from an instructive traffic ticket at the least. For bicycle lanes and protected bike lanes to work to prevent bicyclist injuries there has to be police enforcement to keep drivers out of the bike lanes otherwise there is no point to bike lanes.