According to San Francisco News, a woman was killed in a fatal bicycle accident while riding through a South Bay neighborhood. The rider was struck by a pick-up truck near the intersection of Dusenberg Drive and Chynoweth Avenue in San Jose. This accident marks the fourth fatal accident in San Jose for the year. A representative for the Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition notes that with the increase in people riding bikes for transportation, there has been a corresponding increase in fatalities. Further, the design of San Jose’s roadways is geared toward cars – with wide, multi-lane high speed streets.
A recent story by National Public Radio echoes this sentiment, noting that as more and more people are biking to work, hospital admissions as the result of bike injuries has more than doubled in recent years across the country. A study performed at University of California found that the greatest rise in accidents was with bikers over the age of 45. When someone in their 50s or 60s gets into a bike accident, the likelihood of an injury is greater than for a 25-year-old.
Some tips to avoid injuries from bicycle accident includes paying attention to basic bike safety rules. This means doing such things as wearing a helmet, driving/biking defensively, wearing reflective gear and having lights for night riding. Car drivers also need to be more aware of bikers and understand that they must learn to share the road.
For more information or if you or a loved one has been injured in a bicycle accident, please contact the experienced San Francisco personal injury lawyers at Bostwick & Peterson, LLP for an immediate consultation.