California Personal Injury Lawyers Blog
Our California personal injury lawyers have seen many serious bicycle accident injuries over the years. In fact, we recently recovered over one million dollars for a client who was injured while riding his bicycle. Many people opt to not wear a bicycle helmet, and that can turn into a deadly decision. In fact, 800 people were killed while riding a bicycle with 515,000 people being injured in bicycle accidents that required a trip to the emergency room or doctor’s office back in 2010. One of the most common injuries that occur in bicycle accidents are head injuries. Neglecting to wear a bicycle helmet can increase your chances of death after a bicycle accident. There are a few other reasons that wearing a bicycle helmet is a must.
- Visibility: Bicycle helmets are often brightly colored or have reflective features on them that make them more noticeable to drivers. Often, accidents happen when drivers are unable to see bicyclists that are traveling close to them. If your helmet doesn’t have reflective stripes, and you bike at night, you’ll want to consider adding some reflective tape to it.
- Protection From the Weather: A bicycle helmet also protects your head from the weather. In addition, if you’re riding your bike and a storm happens, you’ll have protection from the rain and even hail. If you like to bike when it’s chilly outside, there are some helmets meant to help keep your head warmer.
- Role Model: While in California, most areas only have laws that require minors to wear helmets, but adults that wear bicycle helmets are being excellent role models. Try telling a child to do as you say and not as you do as a parent and see how far you get! Being a role model allows you to encourage the next generation to stay safe.
- Traveling: Another reason to make sure that you start wearing a helmet is that if you travel you may find that you could get a ticket for not wearing one in another state. There are no federal laws regarding bicycle helmets, so that means that states have the right to decide the laws on who has to wear a helmet while riding a bike. Did you know that all ages are required to wear a helmet in Bidwell Park? Always wearing a helmet keeps you from a ticket.
Accidents happen even when being cautious. At Walch Law, we are here to help with the legal aspects of your bike accident. A personal injury lawsuit can help you recover some much needed funds from your accident. Have you been injured in a bike accident? Do not hesitate to get in touch with us today.