Articles Posted in Bicycle Accidents

On August 20, 2009, a bicyclist was hit by a car on a busy southwest highway at about 3pm. He died later that day at about 8pm. The Chicago cyclist was not wearing a helmet when he was thrown into the windshield of a car and then out onto the pavement. Could this have been avoided?

About 1,000 deaths each year are attributed to bicycle accidents. Three fourths of them are from brain injuries. And besides death, accidents have caused hundreds of brain injuries. One way to prevent this is to wear a helmet. There are lots of lame excuses not to wear one – you’ll get hat head, it’s too sweaty, it doesn’t look cool, etc. – but how lame is it to suffer a permanent brain injury if you don’t wear one? Be sure you get one that has been tested and recommended by the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM). Make sure the helmet fits right. Be sure that when it is on it can’t be moved easily from side to side or back and forth. Be sure it sits level on your head and that when the straps are on it cannot possibly come off your head.

Other things to think about with helmets is to be sure to replace them if the helmet has experienced an impact after a fall, etc. You should also replace it every five years as the foam can become brittle.

A recent article in the Chicago Sun-Times: ” Chicago’s Lakefront Trail: A path to danger” has pointed out the need for bicyclists to exercise caution when riding on bikepaths and multi-use recreational trails. Statistics show that bicycle collisions happen almost three times as often on paths as on streets. Chicago’s Lakefront Trail is one of the busiest multi-use trails in the United States. The trail is used by bicyclists, runners, beach-goers, in-line skaters, sightseers and even Segway riders. The crowded trail can be hazardous to bicyclists.

Other dangers on the Lakefront Trail that bicyclists need to be aware of include intersections where motorists who are entering lakefront parks fail to yield to trail riders, narrow sections of the trail that can become choke points, sharp turns, some of which are difficult to see around, and sand, ice, or snow on the trail. Riders should slow down if they encounter any of these situations.

Bicyclists should wear a helmet every time they ride. Seventy-five percent of all bicycle-related injuries and deaths involve the head, In a crash, helmets can cut the risk of head injury by up to eighty-five percent.

The city of Chicago has launched an aggressive campaign to promote bicycle safety to avoid bicycle accidents and to raise awareness of traffic laws geared to bicyclists. As part of the Safe Streets for Chicago program, alderman in five wards, local Police commanders, parking enforcement aides, and Mayor Daley’s Bicycling Ambassadors have partnered to educate motorists and bicyclists regarding old and new city ordinances related to bicycle safety.

Events from May to August will highlight dangerous behaviors that cause injuries to cyclists, such as motorists who park in bike lanes, and motorists who open car doors into a cyclist’s path.

Additionally, Chicago law enforcement staff is receiving special training on enforcing new bicycle safety ordinances that were passed in March of 2008. The Chicago Department of Revenue’s parking enforcement aides have received special training on enforcing the city’s bike lane ordinance, which now carries a $150 fine, up from $100 from last year according to a CDOT press release. All of these activities are aimed at teaching motorists and bicyclists to share the road.

Anyone who drives in Chicago probably has noticed that there are more bicyclists sharing the roadway with automobiles than ever before. Unfortunately, there seem to also be more bicyclist accidents than ever before. One cannot help to be moved by the white painted bicycles that stand as memorials at the sites where bicyclists have been killed in an accident.

Safety measures need to be taken by both bicyclists and car drivers alike to avoid accidents. A few common sense recommendations for bicyclists are:

– Obey traffic rules

A bicyclist was stuck by a car and killed Thursday evening on Lake shore Drive on the North Side of Chicago. This wrongful death occurred while the man was riding a bicycle in the 3300 block of North Lake Shore Drive at about 5:45 p.m. when he was hit by a car. The man died en route to Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center.