Important Insights into Bicycle Accidents & Tips on How to Stay Safe

College students are more vulnerable to bicycle accidents, as they often use the vehicle to go to colleges and travel from one corner to another at the same campus. The most pragmatic way to cut down the risk of bicycle accidents is to drive safely. Unfortunately, the risk is not reduced to zero even if you adopt all possible precautions to avoid accidents. This is because, it can happen due to other party’s negligence, recklessness or willful acts.

What you should do if you are hit cycling to class? At first, go for first aid. If the injury is serious, visit a local doctor for immediate medical attention. If it was not your fault and someone else’s egregious on-road behavior caused the mishap, consult a personal injury lawyer to prepare a blueprint of the legal actions.

Do most bicycle accidents occur in urban areas?

Most bicycle accidents take place in urban areas. Surprisingly, these rarely occur at the crossings. The statistics claims that nearly 70% of bicycle accident cases happen in cities and about 60% of such incidents happen at non-intersections.

The figure is a clear indication that the cyclists are at a higher risk of accidents in the urban areas. That means the students living in the metro cities always need to be on high alert in order to stay safe and unharmed.

Do most bicycle accidents happen at night?

In 2011, the NHTSA compiled a statistics and it claims that the students cycling between 4pm and 8pm are at a greater risk of meeting accidents, getting injured and even succumbing to their injuries. The record suggests that 30 percent of bicycle accidents take place during that time. The next highest number of casualties takes place after 8pm and before midnight.

Does alcohol play a role in bicycle accidents?

To some extent, it cannot be refuted that cycling under influence of alcohol increases the chance of fatalities. In nearly 30% of all bicycle accident cases registered in 2011, the cyclists were found to have a high blood alcohol concentration (equal to or greater than 0.01). Of those cyclists, 23% had a blood alcohol concentration more than 0.08.

The grim statistics gives a clear message to the students that they must not ride cycles after consuming alcohol. Driving four-wheelers while being drunk enhances the chance of accidents by manifolds. The same goes true for the cyclists. Drunk cycling is most likely to invite dangers.

What should the college students do to stay safe while cycling?

• • Never forget to wear a helmet. Just being a safe cyclist is not enough, as anyone’s mistake, negligence or reckless driving may cause a terrible accident resulting into a traumatic head injury.
  • Always obey the traffic rules. These rules are not only for the car drivers but also apply to the pedestrians and cyclists alike.

• Make sure to wear bright colored T-shirts, as it will make you more visible to the motorists at night or dusk.

• Fit a light at the front of your bicycle if you often go out cycling at night. It is also important to use a red reflector on the back of your bicycle.