Recommended Safety Tips for Preventing Bicycle Accident Injuries

All Serious Injuries

4/27/2010
Shapiro, Lewis & Appleton
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Recommended Safety Tips for Preventing Bicycle Accident Injuries

As warmer weather draws closer along the Outer Banks more people will be enjoying time and having fun in the sun. All this fun often includes more time riding a bicycle. Since we practice injury law each and every day,and hear of some terrible accidents on bikes like those involving traumatic brain injury , it is our most sincere wish that you remain safe while participating in this popular recreational activity during your time in Nags Head, Kill Devil Hills, Kitty Hawk, or Manteo. Although these wonderful OBX beach towns have plenty of bike paths for your pleasure, there are a few safety tips to keep in mind.

I would first like to mention that according to the National Centers for Disease Control each year there are a reported 500,000 biking related injuries in the U.S. that require at least a visit to the emergency room at a hospital. In fact, more than 700 people die in the U.S. each year on a bicycle. Although I think the Outer Banks Hospital in Nags Head appears to be a nice facility probably filled with very competent doctors, we would like for you not to have to visit the place, especially while on vacation.

You might want to know what exactly causes bicycle accidents? Well, it comes from a variety of causes. Vehicle drivers' errors or inattention are the most frequent cause of bicycle crashes. Loose gravel on the road and rain-slicked surfaces often contribute to crashes. Additionally, speed increases risk; cyclists are much more likely to sustain serious injury when they are riding fast. Of course, remind your kids that stunts on bicycles increase the odds of accidents and injury.

So, how can bicyclists protect themselves from all this?

The simplest and most effective protection is to wear a helmet. Helmets reduce the number of deaths and traumatic brain injuries (TBI), and they reduce overall medical costs.

Wearing a helmet will not prevent you from being hit by a vehicle. The essential practice of safe bicycling is to be as conspicuous and as predictable as possible so that motorists around always know you are there and can predict what you are going to do.
Night is the most dangerous time, because visibility is reduced. Thirty-six per cent of bicycle fatalities occur between 6pm and midnight.
Every bicyclist should have a headlamp, preferably the newer LED (Light Emitting Diode) models, which have a brighter light and draw less power from batteries. Every bicyclist should also have a blinking red rear light.
In addition, cyclists traveling at dusk or in the dark should wear a reflective vest with the SMV (slow moving vehicle) triangle on it. Bicyclists' clothing should be bright colored, with reflective strips, to increase visibility to drivers

According to the Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center of the University of North Carolina Highway Safety Research Center bicyclists should ride with traffic. If you ride against traffic -- especially riding on a sidewalk -- you make yourself virtually invisible to motorists that are turning at intersections and driveways. They aren't expecting anyone coming from your direction. Almost a quarter of all bicycle/motor vehicle crashes involve a rider who's either riding against the traffic and/or riding along the sidewalk.

What do you do if you or a loved one are involved in a bicycle accident with injuries. First, seek immediate professional medical care whether at an urgent care center or emergency room at the local hospital. You should make sure the police do a report of any car/bike wreck. Then, call a lawyer who specializes in injury law to find out your rights.

Labels: accident bicycling bike paths biking Cooper injury injury attorney Kill Devil Hills Kitty Hawk Nags Head North Carolina Outer Banks safety tips traumatic brain injury

Looking for the best personal injury attorneys in North Carolina? Well, legally we can't claim that's us, our injury lawyers have been recognized for many achievements and awarded numerous honors for representing injured victims and family members of people who suffered wrongful deaths.

Rick Shapiro and Jim Lewis have been recognized as Super Lawyers for Personal Injury Law since 2010, an honor fewer than 5 percent of attorneys received. Our attorneys have also been listed among the Best Lawyers in America for Injury Law since 2008. Overall, our North Carolina injury law firm have been recognized as one of the Best Injury Law Firms in North Carolina for personal injury plaintiffs since 2010 by U.S. News & World Report.

Also, two of our NC injury attorneys have been listed in the National Million Dollar Advocates Forum since 2009, and our NC injury law firm is a member with Primerus, an organization for a select group of highly ethical and respected law firms.

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In terms of North Carolina personal injury cases we serve all areas of the Tar Heel State, including Elizabeth City, Edenton, Raleigh, Durham, Rocky Mount, Roanoke Rapids, Greensboro, Charlotte, Winston-Salem, Pasquotank, Perquimans, Halifax, Northampton, Greenville, Goldsboro, Havelock, Kinston, New Bern, Tarboro, Wilson, Ahoskie, Currituck, Camden and the Outer Banks towns of Nags Head, Kitty Hawk, Kill Devil Hills, Manteo, Corolla, Currituck and Dare.

For clients in South Carolina, we are prepared to help injury, wrongful death and accident victims in Charleston, Myrtle Beach, Summerville, Orangeburg, Columbia, Florence, Greenvile, Anderson, Rock Hill, Spartanburg, Clemson, Darlington and any other town, city or county in the Palmetto State.

Our injury lawyers are also licensed in Virginia (VA), West Virginia (WV), Kentucky (KY), Florida (FL) and Washington, DC.

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