Oddly enough, a recent study has found that the more bicyclists there are on the streets in San Francisco, the fewer accidents seem to be occurring. The report was issued by the National
Association of City Transportation Officials, and found that although cycling deaths are up overall in the city, they will probably go down. In addition, they are not as high as the numbers suggest they should be.
Between 2006 and 2014, it’s estimated that San Francisco gained about 12,000 new bike commuters, which is equal to 14 percent of the total increase in new commuters overall. Since 2006, the city’s cycling rate has almost doubled.
Naturally, with a huge increase in the number of bikers, there has been an increase in bike accidents and deaths. However, the increase in accidents is not equivalent to the increase in use. In fact, it appears that the more bike riders that are biking in San Francisco, the less likely they are to become involved in an accident.
This situation is not unique – across the 68 cities in California that were surveyed, the likelihood of an injury decreases as the amount of walking or cycling increases. Another interesting fact is that bike share programs appear to be safer than using your own bicycle. San Francisco launched a bike share program in 2013. Prior to the death this year of a cyclist in Chicago, there had never been a death recorded among users of bike share programs. Experts are not sure why bike sharing is much safer than using your own bike.
Accidents involving bicyclists are still on the rise in San Francisco, even they are not rising as fast as they should be statistically. Other cities like New York and Chicago have managed to decrease their rate of bicycle fatalities. In San Francisco, bicycle deaths are a sensitive issue, with many in the biking community claiming that the city does not do enough to curb these types of deaths. It is unclear why other cities are doing better than San Francisco at stopping the number of bicyclist deaths.
Most bicyclists who are injured in accidents with automobiles are severely injured. Obviously, bicyclists have very little in the way of protection. Some common injuries that are suffered in bicycle accidents include concussions, broken bones, paralysis, and even death. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, over 600 cyclists are killed each year and over 50,000 are injured in accidents with automobiles. Sadly, a large percentage of those injured victims are children, many of whom will require ongoing medical care.
In some accident cases, there may be more than one person at fault for the accident, which can make it difficult to determine who is financially responsible for the accident. When an automobile hits a bicyclist, there is very little room for forgiveness, and most of those bicyclists suffer very serious injuries or even death.
At Liberty Law, Micha Star Liberty and Seth I. Rosenberg believe that bicyclists who are injured because of the fault of an automobile driver should seek full compensation from the responsible party. If you are a bicyclist who has been injured in the San Francisco Bay area, call the San Francisco bicycle accident attorneys at Liberty Law at 415-896-1000 or 510-645-1000. We can help. You may be entitled to compensation for your medical expenses, lost wages, pain and suffering, and more. Call today to learn more or to schedule a free consultation on your case. If we choose to accept your case, you pay us nothing until we obtain compensation for you.
