See if you can wrap your mind around this: a medical study claims that New York’s bicycle lanes make riding in the city both safer and more dangerous.
In a previous blog we discussed how bicycling is growing in popularity across the U.S. This is especially true in urban cities and is attributed to an increase in ridership among middle-aged Americans. Unfortunately, as the number of people commuting via bicycle has increased, so too has the number of individuals who are injured or killed in motor vehicle and bicycle accidents.
In cities across the country, more and more people are choosing to ride bicycles. In many large urban cities like New York City, not only are more people choosing to commute to work via bicycle, but those who are choosing to do so aren't just right out of college.
According to New York City’s Department of City Planning, approximately 24 percent of the city's more than 8.4 million residents are under the age of 18. For younger children, the city's Parks Department maintains hundreds of parks and playgrounds, many of which contain equipment like slides and monkey bars. The safety of many of these playgrounds was the subject of a recent New York Daily News article which detailed the horrific injuries of several New York City children.
Throughout U.S. cities, more people are choosing to commute via bicycle than ever before. This is true in New York City were Mayor de Blasio has committed to adding bike lanes and a city-wide bike share program started in 2013. However, the recent death of a 37-year-old biker, who was struck and killed when a vehicle collided with another car and jumped the median, served as a solemn reminder to bicyclists throughout the city of the many hazards they face.
Across the country and in major urban cities like New York City, bicycles are becoming more popular than ever with more residents relying on biking to get to work and around their neighborhoods. However, at the same time that cities like New York City expand bike lanes and do more to promote biking, the number of commercial trucks traveling down these same urban streets is also increasing.
Many people enjoy spending time outdoors in the spring and summer months bicycling. Recently, the bicycle company Trek recalled certain models of their bicycles due to a malfunction of a quick release lever on the front wheel hub, causing the wheel to separate from the bicycle. The malfunction could cause the rider to lose control of the bicycle resulting in serious injuries. Nearly one million bicycles in the US and Canada were affected by the recall. Three bicycle owners were seriously injured due to the malfunction, causing one to become a quadriplegic; another to suffer severe facial injuries; and the third, a fractured wrist. Trek is one of the nation's largest bicycle sellers. The bicycles, manufactured in China and Taiwan, sold for between $450 and $1650 between 2000 and 2015. The company has urged that consumers cease using the bicycles and has provided Trek retailers with new quick releases that they will install on the recalled bicycles for no cost. The company is also providing a $20 gift certificate for use of Bontrager items. While it is very important to practice safety precautions when bicycling, a rider cannot protect themselves against a defective product that they do not know about. In the case of the Trek bicycles, the lever could open if an object hit it or if the skewer was not tightened enough. A rider would not be able to protect themselves from such discrete design defects. As in the unfortunate cases resulting from the quick release issue on Trek bicycles, bike accidents can be very serious, or even deadly. It is estimated that 700 cyclists die per year due to accidents. Another 67,000 more visit emergency rooms as a result of a bicycle related accident. If you have been involved in an accident due to a design defect of a product you purchased, contact an experienced personal injury attorney who can advise you of your rights and legal remedies. Call the attorneys at Sakkas, Cahn & Weiss, LLP at (212) 571-7171.
When it comes to personal injury matters, accident reports are very important. They provide information about what exactly happened, what caused the crash, and other helpful details -- or at least they should.
New York City is relatively compact and densely populated. While the city boasts one of the most expansive subway systems in the U.S., some city commuters prefer to say above ground. For these individuals, it can be difficult to cope with the headaches and delays that accompany driving in New York City.
Last week, we wrote about one of the many initiatives outlined in Mayor de Blasio's "Vision Zero" campaign. For too long, the status quo in New York City has been to treat car accidents, pedestrian accidents and bicyclist accidents as unpredictable and unpreventable mishaps. Those who injure or kill other travelers rarely face criminal charges, even if they violated traffic laws.