Common Causes of Bicycle Accidents

Listed below are some common causes of bicycle accidents along with a general outcome and who the usual at-fault party would be:

• Getting Doored — This is when the door of a car or motor vehicle is swung open into the way of an oncoming cyclist. Whether it occurred in a bicycle lane or not, it is the responsibility of the person opening the door to check for traffic before opening the door. As a cyclist, staying alert can help in detouring away from a negligent passenger or driver.
• Hit-and-Run — A hit-and-run situation oftentimes can happen when a bicycle is involved. This happens usually for one of two reasons:
  • The driver perceived the cyclist as reckless, not following the rules of the road and found it unnecessary to stop when they felt they were not at fault. While this is obviously the wrong thing to do, it is fairly common.
  • The driver may have caused the accident, but did not make contact with the cyclist and therefore did not realize they were the cause of an accident.
• Running a red light or stop sign — As we know, cyclists are responsible for following the rules of the road; just because they are riding a bicycle does not exempt them from road rules. If an accident occurred due to a red light run-through, the party who did not have the right-of-way is at fault. It is important for cyclists to be observant, particularly when approaching an intersection.
• Right Turn Accident — One of the most common causes of brain injury in cyclists is in accidents where a vehicle makes a righthand turn without checking for cycle traffic. While this can seem like an obvious case where the driver is at fault, we also have to take the setting into consideration. Biker negligence can be the case if they were riding in the wrong direction on a one-way street, riding against traffic, running a red light or a stop sign, or turning without warning into traffic.