Head injuries stemming from bicycle accidents happen every day. These types of accidents occur because of a variety of reasons such as road hazards, distracted driving, carelessness, and product defects. If you are involved in a bicycle accident, it is important to seek legal counsel immediately. The Law Offices of d’Oliveira & Associates, are prepared to help if you or a loved one has been injured in a bicycle accident.
Bicycle Injury Facts:
Some 57,000,000 people ride bicycles and the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control (part of the Centers for Disease Control) estimates that helmets reduce head injuries by 85%.
75 percent of children’s bicycle-related fatalities could have been prevented had the children been wearing helmets.
Over 600,000 people annually are treated in emergency rooms for bicycle-related injuries; 824 people die.
Laws on Bicycle Helmets
- There is no federal law requiring bicycle helmets.
- In Rhode Island, all bicycle riders age 15 and younger must wear helmets.
- In Massachusetts, all bicycle riders age 16 and younger must wear helmets.
Bicycle Safety Tips: The helmet
- Always wear a helmet. After all, Lance Armstrong and other athletes always wear helmets.
- Choose a helmet with “ANSI,” “ASTM,” or “Snell Foundation” approval.
- Purchase a new helmet each year as your child grows or if the helmet is damaged.
- The helmet should be snug, yet comfortable. It should NOT move around or rock side to side.
- Always use the chin strap and buckle.
General Bicycle Safety Tips
- Bicycles that are too small or too large are not safe because they are difficult to handle. Be sure that you can stand over the bicycle with both feet flat on the ground.
- Encourage your child to use training wheels until he is confident, safe rider.
- Make sure that your child can brake, turn, and stop properly, even under pressure.
- Teach your child to use proper hand signals and model their use. This means that your child must be comfortable enough to let go of the handle bars to signal.
- Have your children ride on the sidewalk, on a park trail, or in an empty parking lot until they are about 10 years old.
- Teach your children to look both ways, just as they do when they cross the street while walking (left, right, and left again).
- Teach your children to obey all traffic signs and signals, and stay to the edge of the road by the curb.
- Do not allow your children to ride at dusk. This is the hardest time of day for drivers to see.
The Law Offices of d’Oliveira and Associates, are prepared to help if you or a loved one has been injured in a bicycle accident. Email us or call now for FREE case evaluation. For your convenience, our telephones are answered 24 hours a day and 7 days a week at 1-800-992-6878.