How Do Arizona Bicycle Accidents Happen?

By The Husband and Wife Law Team on January 2, 2015

Arizona bicycle accidents are common, and they are becoming more and more common as time goes by because more individuals who want to get fit, change their commute, and help the environment are switching to two wheels. But if you’re involved in a collision with a motor vehicle when you’re on your bicycle, you won’t feel like it’s a common occurrence. In fact, you will feel like it’s a one-in-a-million incident that has forever changed your life and caused you serious injury and hardship.

Unfortunately, there are still many different ways that you can be involved in a serious collision, with or without your own actions being involved. So what are some of the most common reasons why people like you can get involved in serious bicycle collisions with motor vehicle drivers on the road?

• A driver on the road fails to stop for a stop sign or runs through a red light when you are already crossing the street with the right of way. Despite your having the right of way, if a driver ignores the signal or the stop sign, you will end up as the victim of an intersection collision.
• A driver does not stop at a crosswalk that you are using to cross the road with your bicycle. Remember, although you legally can use the crosswalk to cross the street with your bicycle, most motorists are going to be looking for pedestrians and not cyclists in these areas. And even though you might make yourself visible, this does not mean that they will see you.
• A motorist pulls onto the shoulder of the road or into the bicycle lane in order to avoid another accident, to stop, or to make a right hand turn. This is a very common cause of accidents involving cyclists in Arizona because drivers have not yet come to terms with the idea that they cannot simply veer into the right hand side of the road onto the shoulder without checking for a cyclist.
• A driver makes a left hand turn at a light or at a stop sign without checking for cyclists who are traveling straight. This is common in Arizona because many drivers wait until other motor vehicles are clear but do not check the cross lanes for pedestrians and cyclists before completing their left hand turn, and this can spell disaster for you.

If you have been injured in a bicycle-car collision, you may be entitled to compensation for your medical bills and more. Contact the best injury lawyers at Breyer Law Offices, P.C. to find out more.