How Do Bicycle Accidents Happen in Miami

Being that there are lots of parks and bicycle lanes for people to enjoy, Coral Gables is a sweet spot for bikers. 

But, this also leaves the possibility for people to get in bicycle accidents. 

Getting in a bicycle accident doesn’t necessarily mean that you crash with another bicycle. It could mean that you get hit by a car while you are riding your bicycle. 

According to FindLaw, a bike accident is an incident between a bicycle and a bicycle, or a bicycle and an automobile. 

These are pretty common since most of the time bicycle lanes are merged with regular roads. This leads to cars and bikes being in the same general area and sometimes a car will hit a bicycle, whether this is by accident or on purpose, that depends on the driver. 

Another leading factor is drunk driving. Drunk drivers commonly miss cyclists that are on the roadside lane. Running them over and injuring the cyclist and damaging the bicycle is very likely.

Lots of cyclists like to go on rides during the night. Commonly between 6pm and midnight. During this 6 hour period is also when motorists are the most intoxicated. To add more fuel to the fire, 6pm to midnight is also when it is the darkest, which limits visibility to both cyclists and motorists.

Keeping all these factors in mind, you can see why bicycle accidents are very common and possibly fatal to cyclists.

How Common Are Bicycle Accidents?

Citing Kaire Law, Florida has the highest rate of bicycle fatalities with 5.7 per million, or about 110 annual bicycle accident deaths. 

As if this isn’t bad enough, Miami-Dade has the highest fatality rate amongst all of Florida and then Broward. 

Between 2013 and 2016, there were 578 bicycle accidents, with 100 of them coming from the fault of a drunk driver. 

In 2017 alone, there were 111 cyclist deaths in Florida. But the percentage of cyclists that died at the fault of a drunk driver is unknown. 

If you love biking, then you might bike on the roadside or the sidewalk. But if you are truly an enthusiast, then you will probably be biking on the big hotspots like the MacArthur Causeway, Crandon Boulevard Bridge, Coconut Grove, Rickenbacker Causeway, and Key Biscayne. These are also where bicycle accidents happen the most often. Because there are so many bikers, there are more accidents as well. 

According to statistics, it is clear that distracted driving from intoxication is a common reason as to why cyclists get hurt. Another reason though, which is a recent finding, is that texting and driving is leading drivers to not see cyclists and hit them. Although very obvious, it is not that obvious to irresponsible drivers and has started and continues to be a big cause of cycling accidents. 

How to Avoid Bicycle Accidents

Bicycle accidents are almost unavoidable. 

You could be biking as carefully as you want with all the right gear and at the right speed. But that doesn’t mean all the drivers in this world are good.

In fact, it is very well known that most drivers in Miami are pretty bad 

Skipping traffic lights.

Not stopping at stop signs.

Driving in two lanes at the same time.

Texting and driving. 

This is just to name a few.

Just because you are careful does not mean that you will avoid an accident. The motorist also has to be careful. 

To make sure that at least you are not at fault or causing any disturbance to other motorists, follow these quick and easy rules.

• Wear proper safety gear. This can not only lessen the chances of severe injury, it can also save your life. In addition, you are warning the drivers that you are taking action to make sure that they know you are there as well. 
• Install safety lights and reflectors so drivers can see you in low light conditions. 
  • This is one of the important guideline to follow. About 60% of bicycle accidents happen at non-daylight hours or at night. To do your part to prevent bicycle accidents in Miami, installing the proper lights both in front and in the back of your bicycle is critical. If you don’t have these lights installed on your bike, the accident can be seen as your partially or wholly your fault for not doing your part to uphold the safety of both you and the other drivers. 
• Bike in the correct lane! This can’t be stressed enough. If you are biking where there are many cars and no bike lane, then you could be putting yourself at danger. Try to avoid roads as much as possible and instead try to bike on the sidewalk or bicycle lanes.
• Follow the traffic rules. Just because you are a cyclist doesn’t mean you are exempt from 

These are pretty basic and are probably the best and simplest advice so you can stay safe. If you are paranoid and want to stay as safe as possible, check out this article. It is in-depth and helpful to anyone that is using a bicycle on open road.

Why A Personal Injury Lawyer for Bicycle Accidents in Miami?

When it comes to bicycle accidents, it could look simple on the outside.

You were biking on a beautiful day and then you got hit by a car. That is what happens regularly. Maybe you were going to bike past an intersection and you got hit by a car. That is also what happens most of the time. 

So why do you need a personal injury lawyer for something so simple?

Well, the person that hit you will ALSO have an attorney and probably an adjuster from their insurance company. You don’t want to be the one dealing with the attorney or adjuster for a few reasons:

1. They may call you on the phone to have you incriminate yourself. It is common that the adjuster or lawyer will have already heard their side of the story, so now they want to hear yours and pick parts of the story so that you incriminate yourself. Don’t be a victim of that and instead, you should talk to us and have us represent you so that you don’t have to deal with the complexities of that 
2. They may offer a settlement just to get it over with. Do not accept the settlement all by yourself. That is not the best idea. They may have offered that to you because that is what the least they can pay to get away with what they did to you. If you are still suffering and going through lots of pain, then it is important that you do not settle and instead get the help of a personal injury lawyer that knows what your bodily injuries are worth.

Other than this, there are other things they may try to do to make your case worthless and pay as little as possible. Some things that they may say are:

1. Biking on the wrong lane
2. The bicycle wasn’t visible enough
3. Biking when you weren’t supposed to (crossing during a red light)

This is just a small example of what COULD be said. Don’t be caught off guard with what they might say to discount your case. Get in contact with our team and we can get you a FREE consultation to get you started on your way back to a normal life.

Time Limit for Miami Bicycle Accident Claims

For bicycle accidents that result in serious injury, there is a time limit of 4 years to file a lawsuit to get financial compensation for your injuries from the time that the accident happened. 

However, if the bicycle accident led to the death of a loved one or someone you knew, then there is only a 2 year time frame to file a lawsuit from the time of death.

It is not recommended to wait the entire time limit and file a lawsuit at the end of the time limit. Showing that you can wait and filing a lawsuit late or over the statute of limitations will negatively affect your case or may even take away the possibility of filing suit.

What To Do After Bicycle Accidents in Miami

If you are caught in a bicycle accident, it is possible that you get injured. 

Getting injured is no fun, but getting injured so badly that your life is compromised is even worse.

Don’t just be injured and accept the consequences. You should at least get your money back for all the medical bills and lost wages from the injury. 

Having to pay for someone else’s negligence is a terrible situation to be in. Don’t pay for what someone else did to you and seek help from one of our lawyers.
Accident Lawyers MIA has a team that is ready to serve you and make sure that you are given the fullest financial compensation that you can possibly get if your injury is due to negligence. 

Contact us and get a FREE consultation.