The United States Department of Transportation (DOT) has announced that May is National Bike Safety Month. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the American Automobile Association (AAA) have launched a new "Roll Model" campaign to help promote awareness among parents and caregivers about the important part they play in setting positive examples for children and teens to ride their bicycles safely.
Teaching by example plays a crucial part in ensuring that children and teens bike safely. The "Roll Model" campaign also provides adults with the opportunity to increase their own safety and heighten their own awareness. According to the U.S. DOT, the average age for bicyclists who are killed in accidents is 41.
The campaign emphasizes the importance of bicyclists of all ages wearing helmets to help lower the chances of injury in the event of a bike accident in San Francisco and throughout the United States. The campaign also reminds bicyclists that they share the same laws as motorized vehicles and must ride in the same direction as vehicle traffic, obey traffic lights and stop signs, and signal their intentions for turns. In addition, being a good "Roll Model" also applies to adult motorists sharing the road and treating bicyclists with respect when driving. Drivers are supposed to leave at least three feet between their vehicle and the bicyclist and only pass when it is safe to do so. Moreover, drivers who text or talk on their cell phones are distracted and greatly increase their chances of not seeing bicyclists.
According to the NHTSA, in 2009, 630 pedalcyclists (including bicyclists and other cyclists) were killed and an additional 51,000 suffered injuries in motor vehicle accidents in the U.S. Pedalcyclist fatalities amounted to 2 percent of all motor vehicle accident fatalities and 2 percent comprised of all the individuals who suffered injuries in accidents during 2009.
San Francisco bike accident attorneys are familiar with the many challenges bike accident victims face and will work diligently to protect the rights of bicyclists injured by a motorist's negligence in a crash.
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