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A 75-Year-Old Cyclist Dies after Being Hit by Car

A Lexus driven by a 50-year-old Charmichael man ran into a cyclist at an intersection of Winding Way and Rampart Dr. in Charmichael Saturday evening, November 17, 2018. According to California Highway Patrol, the cyclist entered the intersection ending up in front of the Lexus when the collision occurred. The driver says that he did not see the cyclist until it was too late, and according to the CHP, the cyclist was wearing dark clothes with no visible reflective material.

The driver of the Lexus was uninjured, but unfortunately, the cyclist was knocked off his bike and suffered fatal injuries. The CHP determined that the driver was not impaired but the incident is still being investigated.  Anyone with information regarding this accident is encouraged to contact the North Sacramento Area CHP office by clicking here.

Cyclist Safety Riding at Night

Though we have no idea of who’s at fault in the above-mentioned accident, it should be mentioned that visibility is a prominent factor in many bicycle accidents. According to experts, driver reaction time is between 1.5 to 2.5 seconds when spotting a potential collision. This means that once the driver spots a cyclist in his/her path, the driver doesn’t begin to take evasive action for an additional 1 to 2 seconds.

Further, in a study done by Science Direct, highly visible drivers have a 47 percent less chance of being hit. The study involved two groups of cyclists, one outfitted with a highly-visible reflective jacket, the other with non-reflective clothing. The group that wore the jacket had 47 percent (reduced to 38 after counting for response bias) less chance of being in a collision.

This makes sense in that if a driver sees the cyclist sooner, he has more time to respond and hopefully avoid the accident.

What if I’m injured in a Cyclist Accident?

If you are involved in a cyclist-auto collision, you might think that if you weren’t visible enough, then you might not get compensated for your injuries. This is not true. Whether you get money for your injures and damage to your bike depends on a host of factors.

The best thing to do is to get pictures at the scene (if not too injured to do so). Preserve the damaged bike and any other equipment or items that might be useful to determine what happened.  Often times police don’t take auto-cyclist accidents as seriously as they do a car v. car accidents and important evidence gets lost.

Do I need an Attorney?

You don’t need an attorney if you can count on the insurance agents and their lawyers to protect your interests and do the right thing. Though that does happen, it is statistically rare.

You need an attorney that understands the laws regarding hit-and-run and bicycle collisions. The attorney’s at Bay Area Bicycle Law have the experience dealing with hit-and-run accidents, and they are the only law firm in Northern California that deals exclusively with bicycle law.

Contact the attorney’s at Bay Area Bicycle Law to get someone working for you. You can call (415) 466 8717 or click here to contact us online.