Tennessee has been ranked #17 on the list of the Most Bike Friendly States, which is not the best news for bikers, although it could be much worse. Unfortunately, while Tennessee does a pretty good job at providing bike lanes and enforcing safety rules for bike riders, there is still the very real risk that bicyclists could be hurt or killed when riding. Bike Safety Month this May is intended to reduce the risk of injury by educating bikers and drivers on how to be safer and avoid accidents.
Our Johnson City, TN bike accident attorneys know that the risk of bicycle accidents goes up when the weather is warm and when kids are out of school. As such, Bike Safety Month is set at an opportune time to provide important safety reminders. Everyone should make a commitment this month to be careful when riding or driving throughout the summer season in order to reduce the number of serious or fatal bike accidents that occur.
Safety Tips for Bike Safety Month
Bike accidents happen for a lot of different reasons, including decisions made by both drivers and bicycle riders. Bike riders are the ones who are most likely to get seriously hurt in a bicycle accident, so they should be especially cautious to make smart and safe choices to reduce the risk of a crash. For example, some of the different things bike riders should do include:
- Wearing reflective and bright clothing at night.
- Wearing a helmet at all times when riding.
- Avoiding riding in areas with heavy traffic unless you are an experienced bicycle rider.
- Interacting with drivers through the use of turn signals and by making eye contact at intersections to make sure they see you.
- Staying to the right as far as possible except when making a left turn.
- Watching for parked cars with drivers in the driver seat. Being aware of these drivers could help you to avoid getting doored (having a door open in your path) if the driver is getting out. Being aware of drivers in the driver seat can also help you to see when someone might be gearing up to pull out of his parking space and into your path.
- Watching traffic signals. You have to obey all traffic signals when riding on the roads. You should also watch the signals on cross traffic to stay ahead of traffic.
- Staying in the center lane when turning left. Left turns are one of the riskiest maneuvers for bike riders.
If bicycle riders follow these safety tips, hopefully they can avoid becoming involved in a bike crash. Unfortunately, drivers also make errors and are careless in protecting the safety of bicycle riders.
If a driver does something wrong like failing to yield the right-of-way or getting into the space of a bike rider, there is little the bicycle rider can do to prevent a crash with the larger and faster car. Drivers of passenger cars are thus often responsible for bike accidents even when bicycle riders are as careful as possible.
If you are in a bike accident in Johnson City, Tennessee, contact Meade Injury Law Group today at (423) 464-7779for a free consultation.
