Not only are bicycles less visible on the road than motor vehicles, bicyclists also have a higher risk of injury than motorists. Bicyclists present small and inconspicuous profiles in traffic, and since they’re on two wheels as opposed to four, bikes are highly unstable if they’re in a collision with a motor vehicle. Bicyclists don’t have a steel body with crumple zones around them to protect them, and they don’t have the safety benefits of restraint or air bag systems either. Other than maybe a helmet, bicyclists are frighteningly vulnerable and exposed to injury or death in an accident.

If you or a loved one was involved in a bicycle accident in San Francisco or any part of Northern California, contact us today for a free consultation. The attorneys at Bay Area Bicycle Law  have extensive experience working on bicycle cases and we offer our clients the superior service needed to represent their bicycle accident cases.

TYPES OF BICYCLE ACCIDENTS

The attorneys at Bay Area Bicycle Law have experience in bicycle-related cases involving the following:

WHAT ARE THE MOST COMMON TYPES OF BICYCLE ACCIDENTS?

While good data on bicycle crashes can be hard to come by because not all bicycle accidents are reported, the Statewide Integrated Traffic Records System (SWITRS) allows for analysis of reported bike accidents across the state.

In 2020, the top five primary crash factors for bicycle collisions that resulted in fatal or serious injuries were: improper turning (17.9 percent), unsafe speed (16.9 percent, automobile right-of-way (15.1 percent), traffic signals and signs (12.3 percent), and wrong side of the road (11.0 percent).

Riding against traffic

According to recent data, just over 10 percent of bicycle accidents in traffic occur when a bicyclist is riding on the wrong side of the road – that is, against oncoming traffic. Additionally, riding the wrong way in traffic accounts for a significant percentage of severe injuries and fatalities. Bicyclists should never ride against oncoming traffic.

Exiting from a private drive

When a bicyclist enters a roadway from a private drive, alley, side street, or sidewalk, they can be hit by a motor vehicle if the driver is not paying proper attention.

Stop signs and stop lights

Collisions at stop signs and stop lights can occur in a variety of ways. In some cases, a motor vehicle may fail to stop at a stop sign or red light, and crash into a bicyclist. In other cases, a motor vehicle will stop, but then fail to properly yield the right-of-way after the stop, and collide with a bicyclist. Vehicles turning left on a green light or right on a red also may crash into cyclists who have the right of way if they are not keeping a proper lookout and scanning for bicyclists.

Vehicle driver overtaking the motorist

Collisions can occur when a bicyclist who is legally occupying the roadway gets hit from behind by an overtaking vehicle. Injuries are usually severe, and fatalities aren’t unusual. Most of these crashes occur at night when the driver of the motor vehicle either didn’t see the bicycle or didn’t see it until it was too late to avoid a collision. Drug and alcohol impairment contribute to many of these accidents. Unfortunately, 2021 data shows that just over 62% of California drivers believed it was legal for bicyclists to ride on roadways. This was down significantly from 2019, when just over 80% of California drivers surveyed said they believed it was legal for bicyclists to ride on roadways.

Driver turning left

Although vehicles turning left account for more than 40 percent of all motorcycle accidents, they only account for 1.2 percent of all bicycle accidents. The slower speed of a bicycle is the distinguishing factor. Since bicycles present much smaller and less conspicuous profiles on the road, motorists who cause these left-turn accidents often report that they either never saw the bicyclist, or they didn’t see them until it was too late.

Driver turning right

Right-turn crashes occur when a bicyclist riding on the right side of a lane of traffic and immediately approaching an intersection is struck by a driver making a right turn. In some cases the bicyclist may be in the driver’s blind spot, or perhaps the motorist even passes the bicyclist before making a right turn directly in front of the bike.

Getting “doored”

Unfortunately, we have seen a significant increase in dooring cases with the rise of rideshare companies, which do not train drivers adequately on how and where to safely let passengers out of the vehicle. Doorings occur when a person exiting a vehicle opens their door into the immediate path of a passing cyclist, and the cyclist slams into the car door. Common injuries in dooring collisions include broken clavicles and traumatic brain injuries.