Bicycle accidents are unfortunately increasingly common in both California and Arizona, causing many to seek damages to compensate for their losses. Defensive driving and being aware of your surroundings are the best tools for safety, as is making sure your bicycle is properly maintained, making sure to wear a helmet, and obeying all street laws to avoid accidents as best you can. In addition to wearing a properly fitted bicycle helmet, here are five products every bicycle rider should have at their disposal.
Riding on poorly-inflated or leaking tires can be dangerous, as can finding yourself in the middle of nowhere with a tire that needs patching, or a disconnected chain. You should carry a small kit with your patch kit, spare tire tube, levers to switch out tubes, and a pump to make sure you are prepared. It’s also smart to include a small first aid kit, as well as a multi-tool, should your repair needs be a little more complicated.
Your helmet, shoes, bicycle, and your top layer of clothing should all have reflective elements on them, if possible. Reflective leg bands will work to reflect light and keep you visible, and also help to keep your paints from getting caught in your chain. You should also carry extra backup reflective tape should you lose any on the ride or be stuck with less reflective clothing than normal.
Hand and arm injuries are incredibly common in bicycle accidents, so wearing bicycle gloves can at least keep your hands free of injuries to your palm, and cushion the blow a bit.
Installing a light on the front and back of your bike increases visibility overall. Installing them will announce your presence the same way a motorcycle’s does, making people aware of your positioning. Having a bike bell or horn is also important in the case of needing to indicate your presence to other bicycles, motorists, or pedestrians. Combined with defensive driving, both of these items should decrease your likelihood of a crash.
Mirrors can be installed directly on the bicycle, on your helmet, or both. These will make your ability to see behind you easier, especially since it can be difficult and dangerous to look too far over your shoulder while maneuvering a bicycle. In case of an accident, it also doesn’t hurt to have a “dashcam” type digital camera, most of which come with the equipment to tape to your helmet or handlebars, and which can help in the case of determining fault in an accident.
Safe driving and bicycle riding are always your first line of defense, and you should always assume – and drive as though – no one else can see you. Signal, drive defensively, and try to remain visible and as obvious as possible. Unfortunately, the busier the roads, the more common accidents will become. If you are the victim of a bicycle accident, you should speak with an attorney to understand your rights as soon as possible.
blogs
The Most Unsafe Era for Pedestrians in 40 Years
Pedestrian safety is of utmost importance right now, and not just because pedestrians legally have the right of way in most places in the United States. Being asafer pedestrian is always key to avoiding injuries by being aware of ones surroundings and avoiding distractions, but as it stands, North Americans are not stemming the tide […]
Five Products for Truck Driver Safety
Truck drivers are the backbone of the economy, and their safety is of the utmost importance. Not only are they at special risk of trafficaccidents, but truck driving comes with a host of other dangers. The easiest way to stay safe while driving any vehicle is being aware of your surroundings and making sure your […]
Winter Driving Safety Tips
Having your winter tires installed on your car and packing a windshield scraper is a good start to being prepared to drive in the winter, but as the cold weather gets harsher, the driving conditions get worse. With this comes the tendency for some people to overcorrect or not know how to stop properly, or […]
Bicycle Accidents
Bicycles may be a reliably safe mode of transportation but, as in so many accidents out in the world, the problem is not often with the mode of transportation you’re in, but how the person who hits you is traveling. Every year, more than 50,000 bicyclists are injured in collisions with automobiles. Too few of […]
Five Helpful Facts and Tips About Pedestrian Accidents
The pedestrian fatality rate in Arizona is more than double that of the national average, at 1.61 pedestrian deaths per 100,000 people. Most of these are male pedestrians, killed at a rate of almost three times as much as female pedestrians. Keeping pedestrians safe is everyone’s job, but as a pedestrian, you should understand the […]
Five Products for Increased Pedestrian Safety
While pedestrians typically have the right of way in most places, that doesn’t automatically make everyone around you a better or safer driver. As pedestrians, we have to activelypractice safety in order to make sure that we are the ones most responsible for our personal safety. Staying aware of our surroundings is always step number […]
Five Pedestrian Accident Facts
Some numbers have Arizona as the most dangerous state in the U.S. when it comes to pedestrians. They are in the most danger by simply being outnumbered, which means accidents are likely to rise as the number of automobiles on the road continues to rise. It is important for you to not only understand how […]
What to Look for When Hiring an Attorney
In Arizona and California, two big car cultures on the grow, you’re statistically more likely to be involved in some sort of motor vehicle accident or have some other legal concerns surrounding your automobile. Other injuries, like dog bites and slip and falls, are all-too common, and can be difficult to navigate with some kind […]
Five Helpful Facts and Tips About Motorcycle Accidents
Motorcycles are specialist machines. They require their own licenses, training and a specific discipline for driving safely. Learning to drive defensively on a motorcycle can be more difficult than doing so in an automobile. Each year, there are 2,907 total motorcycle crashes, 2,274 of which result in injuries and 156 of which result in some […]
Five Apps for Increased Road Safety
Staying safe on the road is more important as more and more cities become increasingly dependent on automobile transportation. Increasedroad safety is about diligence and attentive driving, but there are also ways to “gamify” or in other ways incentivize safe driving, through smartphone apps. Here are five apps designed to keep you less distracted and […]
formulario de contacto
