Bicycle Injuries
Preventing children?s bicycling accidents and injuries
Posted by: Claude Wyle
December 14, 2009
One of the reasons bicycling so often leads to injuries is that parents treat their child's bicycle as a toy. They're not toys, they're vehicles. Ray Hall, cycling and road safety instructor says, "You wouldn't give your child a mini-bike and say go out and play, and bikes should be treated like a mini-bike, because they have the same power as a mini-bike or mini-motorcycle. So if you think of it as a small motorcycle, then it's more obvious how you should deal with the machines," and be alert for the possible of bicycle accidents leading to injuries in children.
Even tricycles have the potential for cycling injuries according to Barb Wentworth, Cycling Coordinator for the City of Toronto. She says parents need to stay with their children when they're tricycling because children often have difficulty in controlling their first "bicycle" and falls can happen at any time. Even though trikes are low to the ground, there can still be a bicycle head injury or trauma from a fall.
This is important inasmuch as studies show 75% of bicycle related deaths are due to head injuries. Because of the seriousness of head injuries it's very important for parents to insist that their children wear a helmet.
As a personal injury attorney and avid cyclist, I am all too aware of the dangers bicycles can present for our children. So let's teach them to respect the bike and wear a helmet!
Teaching your children how to avoid bicycle accidents and injuries
Posted by: Claude Wyle
December 11, 2009
In addition to making sure your children are wearing bike helmets, the second major area of concern with cycling is road safety. Most experts agree that children shouldn't be riding in traffic until, developmentally, they can handle such a complex task. Until a child hits about 12 years old, they're not mentally capable of judging speed and distance to be able to be let out in traffic by themselves. But don't let the warning against traffic lead you to assume that the sidewalk is completely safe. Serious collisions with motor vehicles can occur even on sidewalks.
Here are some tips for sidewalk bike riding for your kids:
• Check the law in your jurisdiction to make sure sidewalk riding is allowed.
• Watch for vehicles coming out of or turning into driveways.
• Stop at corners of sidewalks and streets to look for cars and to make sure the drivers see you before crossing.
• Enter a street at a corner and not between parked cars. Alert pedestrians that you are near by saying, "Excuse me," or, "Passing on your left," or use a bell or horn.
• And, most importantly, stay with your children while they are riding, on the sidewalk or in the roadway.
If you don't feel comfortable enough with your kids to let them out on the road unattended, then they shouldn't be riding unattended on the sidewalk, either. Every study done shows that riding on the sidewalk is two and a half times more dangerous than riding on the road. So, children under 12 should be supervised when they're on their bikes, preferably riding on quiet side streets with minimum amount of traffic.
Biking is a great activity. But, as a bicycle accident attorney, I know that in order to prevent bicycle accidents parents must be vigilant. So, supervise children, have them take lessons in road safety, wear helmets, and ride only on roadways appropriate for their age and capabilities.
Sentencing in road rage car versus bicyclists case delayed
Posted by: Claude Wyle
December 05, 2009
We learned yesterday that the sentencing of Dr. Christopher Thompson, the man convicted of six felonies including assault with a deadly weapon—his car—after he seriously injured several bicyclists in Los Angeles’ Mandeville Canyon, has been delayed until January 8, 2010.
While I am not happy about the delay, it does give us one more chance to remind fellow cyclists to join Dave Zabriskie’s letter writing campaign to ensure that Thompson gets the appropriate sentence. The maximum sentence is 10 years, but the judge could sentence Thompson to as little as probation. This is particularly possible because Thompson’s supporters have organized a campaign of their own.
Here is my letter:
Dear District Attorney Stone,
Thank you for your work in prosecuting the “car versus bicycle” assault case of Doctor Christopher Thompson.
As a bicycle accident attorney, and an avid cyclist myself, I have a particular interest in this case. Each day I see clients who are injured by cars while riding their bikes.
Although most of these injuries have been the result of negligence, recklessness, or just incompetence, I want to help ensure that someone as malicious as Christopher Thompson gets the sentence he deserves.
Most Californians are unaware that Vehicle Code section 21200 grants equal status to bicyclists on the road as to motor vehicles. This ignorance itself is not a threat, but it becomes dangerous when drivers, not understanding a bicyclist has the same right to use the road as they do, use their cars as deadly weapons to enforce their misconceptions.
Unfortunately, the legal system sometimes reinforces the perception of bicyclists as second-class citizens of the road. While you have represented bicyclists’ rights by prosecuting this as an assault case, let’s not dilute the message by giving Thompson a minimal sentence. The justice system needs to make the statement that this was a serious crime and that attacks on bicyclists will not be tolerated.
Please use this letter to convince the judge to give Thompson the harshest possible sentence.
Very truly yours,
Claude A. Wyle
Choulos, Choulos & Wyle
Wrongful death in San Jose caused by bicyclist with leashed dogs
Posted by: Claude Wyle
November 30, 2009
After a deadly bicycle accident, San Jose is exploring a law to make the city the first in California - and possibly the country - to address the issue of bicyclists riding with leashed dogs.
Councilwoman Nancy Pyle is convening a meeting Wednesday night to gauge public opinion on whether the city should revise current leash laws in some way to prevent what happened to Beverly Head on Sept. 16. The retired 62-year-old San Jose phlebotomist died as a result of a head injury after being tangled up in a dog leash while walking along a popular South San Jose trail. The dog in question was one of two pets being pulled alongside a bicyclist.
Head's husband would like to prohibit dogs leashed to bicycles on all pathways, but Jon Cicirelli, deputy director of the city's Animal Care and Services, said his first thought is not to ban bicyclists from riding with their pets, per se. Instead, he says it might be better to beef up the current leash laws mandating that owners must notonly keep their dog under control, but extend that responsibility to the leash, too.
As bicycle injury lawyers we are always distressed to hear of accidents involving bicyclists. Even though the bicyclist in question did not break any laws, we all have a duty to pedestrians and bicyclists alike. Please bike safely.
