Johnson County Bicycle Accident Attorney

They say there are two kinds of bicyclists. The ones who have been hit by a car, and the ones who are going to be hit by a car. According to NHTSA, (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration), in 2009, 51,000 bicyclists were injured in car bicycle wrecks. The vast majority of permanent injuries from bicycle accidents are brain injuries sustained from head trauma. Soft tissue injuries are not uncommon either due to the vulnerability of a bicyclist on the road.

A Story from a Partner at the Firm

A few years ago, I purchased a racing bike for my wife, who competes in triathlons. While she loves to ride, she rarely rides it as she has almost been ran over numerous times by automobile drivers not paying attention. Rather, she elects to ride her mountain bike on the Johnson County, KS path. I don't even own a road bike due to the dangers. Instead, I ride my mountain bike at the Shawnee Park Mountain bike trails. And of course, I ride with my family on the Johnson County trails. Even that can be dangerous!

In fact, some people consider riding your bike on the sidewalk to be more dangerous than riding on the street because riding on the sidewalk makes you less noticeable to automobiles. This is especially true for cars pulling out of their driveways. Also, you are at risk of wrecking into a pedestrian. However, most of the Johnson County trail does not have intersections, so I feel fairly safe, even with my children riding. However, as I discussed in a blog, my son was in a car-related bike accident on the Johnson County trail. It involved one of the most common bicycle and car-related accidents, which is cars turning right at intersections. Alas, an automobile driver's visibility for a cyclist is minimal and often in the driver's blind spot.

Common Causes of Bicycle Accidents

Another contributing factor for automobile-related bike accidents, is that drivers simply do not consider the bicyclist. They do not think about the real danger. They do not consider that the road is not just for cars. They consider bicyclists to be mere annoyances. This is especially true in the United States, including Missouri and Kansas. It should be noted that over the years, Kansas and Missouri have made strides toward being biker friendly. They have both attempted to provide decent bike trails, such as Missouri's Katy Trail. Other countries have less problems as their cities are designed around bicyclists and the biker is on the mind of car drivers.

The following are common negligent actions by automobile drivers which lead to bike car wrecks:

• Negligent Passing. This occurs when a driver passes a bike without providing enough room. This causes the bicyclists to run off the road or even hit the vehicle.
• Negligent Turning. This happens when a car turns right in front of a bicyclist. This is a common cause of fatality in motorcycle wrecks involving cars.
• Disregarding Bike Lanes. Our cities are trying to be more bike friendly and are even constructing roads with special bikes lanes. Unfortunately, many vehicle drivers simply ignore these designated lanes and drive their vehicle through them.
• Overestimating a biker's braking. Sometimes an auto driver assumes that the biker can stop quicker than the biker really can.
• Underestimating biker's speed. Sometimes a driver will make a turn or stop, thinking the biker won't be to them for a while. In reality, the biker may be going a lot faster than you thought, and be to your vehicle before you imagined, causing a wreck.
• Negligence of Biker. It's not always the Automobile driver's negligence which causes the wreck. Sometimes the biker is at fault. If you are an injured biker who is going to trial, the opposing lawyer will likely attempt to show that you were the one who was actually negligent. The lawyer will try to show that you were passing a line of stopped vehicles, ignored traffic signs, or were biking too fast.

Get the Help You Need During a case evaluation

Our law firm is located in Johnson County, Kansas and we represent clients throughout Kansas and Missouri courts. We have represented many clients injured in car wrecks.