According to recent statistics, motorcycle and bicycle crashes involve other vehicles 75% of the time. The most common are accidents in which the car or truck did not see the cyclist. They either collide or the bike is forced to swerve and crashes.
Due to increasingly high gas prices and the struggling economy, more people are riding bicycles. Accidents involving vehicles and cyclists are on the rise.
A common cause of motorcycle accidents is the fact that motorcycles are able to stop much quicker and require less distance to stop than other vehicles. This causes a rear-end accident because the driver of the car or truck was negligently following too closely behind the motorcycle. Other potential hazards to cyclists include debris in the roadway, grease or motor oil on the pavement, uneven concrete or blacktop surfaces and potholes.
Helmet Laws
Currently, 46 out of the 50 states have a helmet law. The only states who don’t include Colorado, Illinois, Iowa and New Hampshire. A total of 20 states have full helmet laws for all motorcycle riders. There are 19 states in which adult riders are exempt from the helmet laws. Seven states have laws that require adult bikers between the ages of 18 and 20 to wear protective headgear. These states include Arkansas, Florida, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina and Texas.
Always wear an approved helmet. It should fit snugly; sit low on the forehead and the two side plastic pieces on the straps should fit just under the ears. The buckle should be just under the chin, with one finger’s width of space between the strap and chin.
General Bicycle Rights and Laws
In most states, bicyclists have the same rights to the roadways and must obey the same traffic laws as the operators of other vehicles. They must ride as far to the right as practical when a car and a bicycle can safely share the lane. A bicyclist should be allowed full use of the lane when the rider is overtaking and passing another vehicle going in the same direction.
A bike lane is usually marked by a painted bicycle symbol on the pavement and by a thick, white stripe separating it from the rest of the roadway.
If the lane is marked for bicycle use only, drivers may never use that lane as a turning or passing lane. When the lane is too narrow for both the car and bicycle, the cyclist is allowed full use of the lane. If the bicyclist is getting ready for a left turn at an intersection, the vehicle needs to yield the right of way.
Lane splitting is when a motorcycle rides in between the lanes in the same direction as the traffic. This is illegal in all states, except California where it’s required to be done in a safe and prudent manner, which means not exceeding the speed limit, or moving quicker than 10 mph over the surrounding traffic.