Maryland Personal Injury Blog

FATAL BALTIMORE BIKE ACCIDENT HIGHLIGHTS ROAD HAZARDS FOR CYCLISTS

By Steve Heisler on December 8, 2008

Fourteen year old Blaine Susnowitz of Middle River, Maryland was killed several weeks ago when he was struck by a pickup truck while riding his bicycle.

The Maryland bicycle accident occurred at the intersection of Martin Boulevard and Middle River Road and is still being investigated. As a Baltimore Bicycle Accident Lawyer, I’ve represented riders who have sustained serious injuries as a result of the negligence of themselves and other motorists. While riding on a bicycle will always be a risky venture, there are plenty of safeguards that cyclists can take to minimize the hazards.

Here are “Ten Ways To Not Get Hit” while riding a bicycle, according to Michael Bluejay of bicyclesafe.com. According to Bluejay, motor vehicles pulling out of a side road, parking lot,or driveway on the right is the most common way to get hit. He calls this “The Right Cross”. Bluejay recommends the following safety tips to avoid this type of collision:

1) USE A HEADLIGHT. A front headlight is a necessity at night AND the daytime. This allows other motorists to see you better. Bluejay proclaims that helmet-mounted lights are the best, “because then you can look directly at the driver to make sure they see your light”.

2) HONK. It sounds corny, but Bluejay suggest that cyclists use a loud horn when approaching a vehicle, especially on the right. “If you don’t have a horn, then yell ‘Hey!’ You may feel awkward honking or yelling, but it’s better to be embarrassed than to get hit”, he says.

3)SLOW DOWN. Bluejay says to slow down when approaching other drivers when eye contact cannot be made. “Doing this has saved my life on too many occasions to count”, he remarks.

4) RIDE FURTHER LEFT. Bluejay contends that drivers pulling out from the right are not focusing on the bike lane or the region closest to the curb, but instead are looking for cars in the middle of the lane. The farther left you are the better chance a car will notice you. “Using this method has saved me on three occasions in which a motorist ran into me and I wasn’t hurt, and in which I definitely would have slammed into the driver’s side door had I not moved left”, he quips.

Bluejay cautions to stay farther to the right on fast roads with few cross streets and farther left on slow roads with numerous cross streets.

My next blog post will cover more ways not to get hit while driving operating your bicycle.

Posted in Bicycle Accidents, Injuries |