Bicycle accidents can result in serious injuries, and in some cases, the accident may be fatal. Even with helmets and reflective clothing, bicyclists are vulnerable to injury when riding on busy streets and when crossing busy intersections. In 2013, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported that nearly 750 bicyclists were killed and about 48,000 were injured in accidents involving motor vehicles. These accidents are oftentimes the result of vehicle drivers who fail to obey traffic signals or laws, cut cyclists off or drift into bike lanes, or who are so distracted that they simply don’t see a cyclist until it is too late. Of the 750 fatalities in 2013, forty of them occurred in the state of New York. While forty is not necessarily a very high number, as New York Mayer de Blasio has stated, “No cyclist death is acceptable…”
Building Safer Bike Lanes for New York City Riders
Fortunately, because Mayor de Blasio’s administration has been working to find ways to eliminate traffic deaths, New York City is expected to receive seventy-five miles of new bike lanes, which include eighteen miles of protected bike lanes, by the end of 2016. While bike lanes are useful in that they help to define separate road space for bicycles and for motor vehicles, and because they promote a more orderly flow of traffic, protected bike lanes are even safer because they essentially act as sidewalks for bikes. These sidewalks for bikes are typically separated from traffic through the use of curbs, planters, parked cars, or other barriers. A New York City Department of Transportation study has revealed that protected bike lanes can drastically reduce injuries to cyclists. In fact, the 2014 study found that serious injuries that occurred on streets with protected bike lanes were reduced by seventy-five percent after the protected bike lanes were constructed. The new bike lanes, and especially the protected bike lanes, will hopefully go a long way towards protecting New York City riders, and will hopefully help to prevent serious and fatal accidents. With clear and defined areas for cyclists to travel in, neither cyclists nor motorists will have to worry so much about colliding with the other, and distracted drivers or drivers who fail to follow traffic laws will no longer be as big of an issue for cyclists.
Contact an Experienced Bicycle Accident Lawyer
If you’ve been involved in a bicycle accident involving a motor vehicle and you’ve suffered injuries as a result of that accident, it is important that you consider consulting with an experienced Long Island Bicycle Accident Attorney as soon as possible to determine whether you have a viable claim. The experienced attorneys at the Law Office of Cohen & Jaffe, LLP have a track record of obtaining significant results for our clients who have been involved in cycling accidents. Call the Law Office of Cohen & Jaffe, LLP today at (516) 358-6900 and learn what we can do for you. We are available 24/7 so don’t hesitate to contact us at any time, day or night.
