On Behalf of Simon & Gilman, LLP | Jul 13, 2018 | Firm News
Accidents between cars and bicycles are among the most dangerous crashes that can occur. Even a cyclist with proper riding gear and a bike helmet has relatively little protection during the accident. There is a high chance of a fatality.
To better understand how these crashes take place, let’s take a look at the types of deadly accidents that happen most. In order, they are:
- 40 percent: Rear-end accidents
- 12 percent: Unknown accidents
- 10 percent: T-bone accidents, or side impacts
- 8 percent: Head-on collisions
- 7 percent: No involvement with cars at all
- 6 percent: Right hook accidents
- 6 percent: Failure to yield accidents
- 5 percent: Other accidents
- 4 percent: Sideswipe accidents
- 2 percent: Cyclists failure to yield accidents
As you can see, the vast majority of bicycle accidents — at least fatal ones — do involve cars. In many cases, as evidenced by just 2 percent occurring when cyclists failed to yield, the drivers are at fault.
It is no surprise that rear-end accidents are the most common by a long shot. Cyclists are supposed to ride with traffic. Typically, they need to stay off of sidewalks and ride in the road, on the shoulder or in a bike lane. This means that traffic constantly overtakes them, and cyclists may not even realize that they are about to get hit until the impact occurs.
This type of accident, even if it is not fatal, can lead to incredibly high medical bills, lost wages and other costs. If you are involved in one, or if a loved one passes away, make sure you know what legal options you have.
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