Bicycle Accident Lawyers Port St. Lucie

Riding a bike is a great way to get exercise, reduce emissions, and enjoy the great weather that Florida has to offer year-round. Many people use bicycles to go grocery shopping, commute to and from work, as well as to ride for exercise or pleasure. The city is taking major steps to offer more trails for activities like biking, hiking, or running, all of which can help improve residents’ quality of life and safety. 

Cyclists have the right to use Florida roads, but unfortunately, it is the responsibility of the cyclist to stay vigilant and defensive as passenger vehicles, motorcycles, and trucks pass them on the road. A cyclist is usually able to get to and from their destination without incident, but the fact that there were 88 bicycle crashes reported in St. Lucie County in 2020 shows that not all rides are free from incident. 

Contact 1-800-Injured To Find a Personal Injury Attorney In Your Area Today

1-800-Injured is an attorney and medical referral service. We will connect you with an experienced bicycle accident lawyer in your area for a free consultation so you can have an in-depth conversation with a personal injury lawyer about your situation. After any type of accident, making sense of your options and having confidence for the future can feel nearly impossible, especially if your medical bills pile up as you continue to miss work and lose out on wages due to your injuries. 

When you connect with a lawyer for a free consultation, you will be able to go through the many details of your situation and get clear answers and explanations about what you can expect as you move forward with this process. Knowing that someone is willing to fight for you can be enough to give you the peace of mind necessary to stay focused on your recovery without the added stress and anxiety of your legal issues affecting your health.

Read more below about bicycle accidents and contact 1-800-Injured as soon as possible to find a bicycle attorney who is willing to take your case.

Common Causes of Bicycle Accidents

The following are just a few of the many different ways that bicycle accidents may occur, though they exclude instances where the cyclist is at fault since those situations do not typically result in a personal injury claim. However, even if you are partially responsible for the accident, Florida’s Pure Comparative Fault rule extends the right to compensation to an at-fault party, albeit reduced proportionately to their percentage of fault.  

Whether or not you see the cause of your accident listed below, contact us as soon as possible so you can discuss your unique situation with an attorney.

Blind Spots

Bicycles, much like motorcycles, are much easier for a driver to “lose” in their blind spots than a larger vehicle like a car or truck. As such, cyclists are all too familiar with watching a car commit to a turn or lane change into their path of travel. Even a low-speed collision can lead to serious or fatal injuries.

Lack of Turn Signals

When drivers fail to use turn signals, everyone around them must react quickly to their unexpected maneuvers such as suddenly braking to make an unsignaled turn, changing lanes, or pulling to the side of the road. Although it isn’t a cyclist’s responsibility to ensure that drivers use their signals, they are often the unfortunate victims of this reckless decision.

Drunk Driving

When someone makes the dangerous decision to get behind the wheel and operate a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol or other drugs, they are putting everyone else on the road in danger. Drunk drivers suffer from reduced awareness and reaction times and a number of other serious issues that can lead to an accident.

Road Rage

It is unfortunate for cyclists that many drivers are ignorant of the traffic laws that extend to cyclists or simply ignore them. Many people react to a cyclist “taking the lane” as if they are violating traffic laws and deserve to be punished. There are an alarming number of reports each year of cyclists being hurt due to road rage and other aggressive actions taken by drivers against them. 

Inexperienced Drivers

Inexperienced drivers have a lot to pay attention to as they try to operate a motor vehicle safely, and while they focus on these details that more experienced drivers simply consider muscle memory, they may miss important details such as a cyclist merging onto a road or a bike lane on the shoulder of the road. This inexperience is a major threat to the safety of cyclists everywhere.

Speeding

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, speeding was a factor in 26% of all traffic fatalities in 2019 and shows how prevalent a factor speed is in cycling accidents. Speeding requires an increased reaction time to avoid hazards, decreases the control a driver has over their vehicle, and increases the force of a collision.

Dooring

This occurs when the passenger or driver of a parked vehicle opens their door as a cyclist travels towards them. If the cyclist cannot react in time to the suddenly opened door, they could crash into it and get launched over the handlebars towards the ground, suffering serious injuries in the process.

Improper Safety Infrastructure

Part of the issue is that many cities have set cyclists up for failure by having dangerous traffic designs that do not consider a cyclist. According to cycling advocacy group Vision Zero, Florida is the worst state in the country in terms of cycling fatalities, and this is caused by the combined failure of the environment, safety policies, and technologies. While typically, these infrastructure issues do not hold a municipality liable, your attorney may recognize a path towards holding local or state government accountable for these failures as you seek compensation for your many damages.