Portland Personal Injury Attorney

PDX Bicycle Accident Lawyer

Understanding the common types of situations bicycle v. car accidents occur can help you avoid a bad road situation when riding in traffic or empower you to know when you are not in an ideal lane position.

Under Oregon law, bicyclists are required to follow the same traffic laws as auto drivers. bicyclists deserve the same protections provided to motorists by those laws. Yet, as a bike rider, it is important to drive defensively, because any expected action on the part of a car, truck, or bus driver could instantly put the bicycle rider into a dangerous situation.

Obeying the rules of the road will help to protect you both while riding your bike, and in the event of an accident. However, when a car or truck driver breaks the law, the bicyclist wants to avoid any consequences of that vehicle's actions because a bike rider is very vulnerable. Being aware of common car and truck vs. bike accident patterns which are so common that they actually have names, can help a cyclist know what to watch for and when to pro-actively ride.

One common bicycle v. car accident pattern is the "right hook."

One of the top hazards an urban bicyclist has to contend with is having a car turn right in front of the bicyclist's direction of travel. This type of accident happens often and occurs when the bicyclist is riding in a bike lane and would seem to be easily visible. Portland's bike boxes and green lane paint are related to this type of accident and should also alert bicycle riders that these are dangerous intersections where the bicycle vs. car accident conflicts have happened in the past. The bike boxes have been showing promising hope for bicyclists, but cyclists still have to be vigilant even in the bicycle box areas.

The right hook type of accident also happens when a bicyclist is riding in the bicycle lane (typically right side of the road), or simply riding on the right of the main busy traffic lane. A car driver may, for a variety of reasons, pass the bicycle and then turn right cutting off the bicycle's direction of travel. This can result in a collision, or it may trigger the bicyclist losing control of the bicycle, or it may necessitate the bicyclist needing to force a fall to prevent contact with the auto. The bicyclist can also crash into a parked car or just get run off the road.

Bicyclists have to be aware that even when a car passes and the driver seems to be seeing them and their lane position, you still can't be sure that the car driver actually saw you. This can be the circumstance for a variety of reasons. The car driver may have been distracted, looking at something else, talking on a phone, eating, be blinded by road glare or the bike rider might be in an unfortunate position and the car driver's vision was obstructed by a passenger or just hard to see angle from the driver's seat. Even if a driver did see you as they passed, the driver may in the next moment have forgotten and turn right in front of you.

Riding your bicycle defensively means never assume a driver has seen you, even if you think he/she has. Trucks and SUVs, even cars, have blind spots, and the driver just may not know how to be aware and "look" for bicycle and motorcycle riders. The auto driver may is perhaps just lazy and negligently chooses not to really look and actively check the blind spot.

In many cases, a collision doesn't have to occur for injury or damage to occur. When a bicyclist avoids a car turning in front of her, the cyclist may lose control of the bicycle, and crash. If this happens, try to remember to observe the make and model of the vehicle and get a license number.

In Oregon, the cyclist has rights in a situation where they are forced to take evasive action and are injured; the bicycle and car do not need to have made physical contact in order for the motorist to be held liable. It is not uncommon that bicyclists are injured when they take evasive action to avoid being hit by a car, and run off the road and crash as a result. The motorist can still be held liable if the driver's negligent or wreckless driving required the bike rider to take the evasive action.

As a former bike racer and now bike commuter, I know how expensive bicycle gear can be and I pride myself on bicycle cases for working hard to make sure injured cyclists are fully compensated for bicycle damage even in these types of circumstances where there is no physical contact between the bike rider, bicycle and car. I work closely with local bicycle shops to try and get you full replacement value for your damaged bicycle and bicycle gear.

Even when a bicycle rider is riding along in a well marked bicycle lane, they have to watch out for car drivers doing unexpected sudden actions which put them into sudden peril. Car drivers will often be indecisive and perhaps unaccustomed to driving around bicycle riders. The driver may wait at an intersection for the bicycle rider to pass with the right of way, and at the last minute, gun the vehicle seemingly into the bike rider when the driver decides that the bike is slow and they should not be waiting.

Helmets

Lastly, remember when you do crash on your bicycle, check out your helmet. Bicycle helmets are designed to absorb the impact but they can only do this once and then no longer protect you as they are supposed to. Bicycle and motorcycle helmets also need to be replaced from time to time (check the manufacturer guidlines).

Bottom line, if you get hurt in a bicycle accident because of the negligence of another, contact an Oregon accident lawyer who knows Oregon bike law and what it is like to ride in traffic on a bike. I offer free initial consultations and we can discuss the particular details of your situation. The earlier you speak with an injury lawyer after an accident, the more effectively that lawyer can help you and protect you rights.