Common Bicycle Accidents

Here in Pinellas County, we have the beautiful Fred Marquis Pinellas Trial to ride our bikes upon. Unfortunately, elsewhere in our county we have few, if any bike paths or bicycle friendly roadways, but we do have thousands of bicycle enthusiasts, such as those who are members of the Suncoast Cycling Club, who are often seen riding in groups on the highways. What this means is, not only does the bicyclist need to be especially careful, if not defensive, while riding, but folks driving cars and trucks need to pay special attention to look our for these bicyclists as well. One of the most frequent biking accident we see in our personal injury practice is where a motor vehicle operator makes the left hand turn onto a road at a stop sign or red light, without double-checking to make sure that a bicyclist isn’t about to enter into their vehicle’s path of travel. Your vehicle’s tinted window may prevent the bicyclist from making eye contact with you. These accidents often result in serious, if not deadly injuries to the bicyclist. So, wait to make your turn, check one last time for someone about to cross in front of your vehicle, and permit the bicyclist to cross the street safely.