Bicycling is an excellent mode of transportation that is environmentally friendly and can provide the cyclist with exercise. While that sounds like a great thing, it is important for bicyclists and drivers on the roadway to understand that they all must be careful because the number of fatal bicycle accidents is increasing. This might interest our California readers.
From 1975 to 2010, the number of bicycle accident fatalities was decreasing. From 2010 to 2012, the number has been on the rise. An overwhelming 69 percent of the more than 700 bicycle accident deaths in 2012 occurred in urban areas that are densely populated.
Interestingly, around two-thirds of the bicyclists who died in these accidents weren’t wearing helmets at the time of the accident. Nearly 30 percent of the victims had a blood-alcohol concentration of above .08 percent.
This falls in line with the fact that the percentage of adults killed in bicycle accidents was higher in 2012 than in 1975. In 1975, 21 percent of the cyclist victims were adults. In 2012, that increased to 84 percent. Of all the cyclist deaths in 2012, a whopping 74 percent of them were adult males.
This certainly shows that it is important for everyone to be careful when bicyclists are on the roadways. It is also imperative that cyclists wear a helmet. Our readers in California should know that almost half of the country’s fatalities for bicycle accidents occurred in Texas, New York, Florida and California.
Those who have lost a loved one in a bicycle accident should know that they have the right to seek compensation for their loved one’s death. Knowing how to hold accountable and what damages to seek might help them to decide how to proceed.
Source: WAFB 9, “U.S. bicyclist deaths on the rise” Alex Kramer, Jan. 03, 2015
