San Diego Bicycle Accident Lawyer - Michael Rehm

Free Consultations - Call (619) 787-3456

San Diego County is bicycle friendly, in the sense that bike trails with magnificent views are abundant. Riders with mountain bikes can explore off-road trails, while beach cruisers are a popular way for vacationers to explore coastal communities. Tourists enjoy scenic bicycling at the Mission Beach Boardwalk and Sail Bay, and Silver Strand Bikeway is a favorite of bicycle enthusiasts who ride for exercise.

Unfortunately, bicycles and cars are not a good mix. Part of the Silver Strand Bikeway is very close to Route 75. While recreational riding on bike trails is relatively safe, riders who commute to work on their bicycles know that San Diego drivers are not always watching for bicyclists.

Bicyclists who are injured in an accident that is caused by the driver of a motor vehicle are entitled to pursue compensation. The Law Office of Michael Rehm represents bicycle accident victims throughout San Diego County, including El Cajon, Chula Vista, Carlsbad and Oceanside. Contact our office for advice about bicycle accidents in San Diego and surrounding communities.

Dangers of San Diego Bicycling

In 2015, about 2.3% of all traffic accident deaths nationwide involved bicyclists. In San Diego, however, 3.2% of fatal traffic accidents involve bicycle riders.

Bicycle lanes are helpful, but they may also provide a false sense of safety. When lanes are not separated from traffic by barriers, a distracted driver can easily drift into a bike lane and cause an accident.

Many of the most dangerous roads for bicycle riders in San Diego include bicycle lanes. The bike lane on Friars Road is widely regarded as one of the most dangerous places in San Diego to ride a bicycle, thanks to its proximity to on-ramps and 50 mph traffic. An analysis of San Diego bicycling determined that Nimitz Blvd. and Sunset Cliffs Blvd. at the end of I-8 is dangerous because the northbound bike lane ends, forcing riders to dodge heavy traffic.

Other San Diego County locations that have been identified as dangerous for bicycle riders include:

• Coast Highway from Oceanside Boulevard to Morse Street
• Harbor Drive from Civic Center Drive in National City to Point Loma
• The intersection of Sports Arena Blvd. & Rosecrans St.
• The intersection of Midway Drive & Rosecrans St.
• Mira Mesa Boulevard eastbound between New Salem and Greenford and westbound between Scranton and Sorrento Valley Road
• Kearny Villa Road southbound from Miramar Road
• Miramar Road from Carroll Road to Kearney Villa Road
• 1st Ave. bridge over I-5
• India Street from Hawthorn to Washington

Some roads are dangerous because they are filled with potholes or littered with glass and debris. Riders who try to avoid road hazards might find themselves veering into traffic, or might be catapulted into traffic after hitting a pothole. Other dangerous roads for bicyclists include:

• Roads with no bike lane and no shoulder
• Roads with no bike lane that allow parallel parking
• Roads striped for diagonal parking
• Heavily-traveled roads with multiple commercial driveways
• Congested roads with bike lanes that drivers must cross to enter ramps
• Roads where drivers regularly exceed the speed limit

Some bicyclists contribute to their own injuries by riding carelessly, but most collisions between a car and a bicycle are the fault of the driver. Unfortunately, those accidents are too common.

Causes of San Diego Bicycle Accidents

More than a quarter of all bicycle accidents occur at intersections. Drivers cause those accidents when they fail to yield to an oncoming bicycle or when they hit a bicycle that stopped for a red light. Drivers should treat bicycles like any other vehicle, but drivers often fail to notice bicyclists or misjudge their speed.

More than 80% of bicycle collisions involve bicycles that are hit by the front of an oncoming car. While cars sometimes back into bicyclists or sideswipe them during lane changes, the bicycle makes contact with the front of the car in an overwhelming majority of collisions.

That statistic suggests that most collisions with bicycles are caused by driver distraction. Rather than watching the road, drivers are looking at cellphones, texting, or programming a GPS. Except for the rare accident in which a bicycle suddenly veers into a traffic lane, drivers should always be able to see a bicycle in time to avoid a collision.

Speeding also contributes to collisions with bicycles. Drivers who exceed the speed limit increase their stopping distance. By the time speeding drivers notice a bicycle, they may not be able to react in time to avoid a collision.

San Diego Bicycle Accident Injuries

Injuries that commonly result from bicycle accidents include:

• Traumatic brain injuries
• Broken teeth
• Facial scarring
• Broken arms
• Broken legs
• Spinal injuries
• Joint injuries
• Neck, back, and shoulder injuries
• Nerve damage

Bicycle helmets offer some protection against head injuries — it is better to wear one than not — but no helmet can shield against the forces produced by a collision with a two-ton car. The catastrophic nature of brain damage and paralysis is life-changing.

Even when an injury is not catastrophic, however, bicycle accidents have serious consequences. It often takes weeks or months to recover from bicycle accident injuries. Some injuries lead to long-term or permanent impairments and lasting pain.

Bicycle Accident Injury Compensation

Compared to the safety belts, airbags, and crumple zones that protect occupants of a passenger vehicle, bicyclists have little protection when they ride. Death is therefore a grim possibility when cars collide with bicycles. In California, certain surviving family members, including spouses and children, are entitled to seek wrongful death compensation when a careless driver kills a loved one in a bicycle accident.

Compensation for injuries to a bicyclist caused by a negligent driver may include:

• Medical expenses
• Future healthcare and rehabilitation expenses
• Lost wages
• Loss of future earning capacity
• Lost or delayed opportunities (such as income loss caused by a delayed education)
• Job retraining
• The expense of coping with a disability (wheelchairs, caretakers, wheelchair-accessible vehicles, etc.)
• Pain and suffering
• Emotional distress, mental anguish, and loss of enjoyment of life

Compensation depends on the facts of the case. Every case is different. No case should be settled until all the facts are known. For a free evaluation of a bicycle injury claim by a San Diego personal injury attorney, contact The Law Office of Michael Rehm at (619) 787-3456. Our firm represents bicycle accident victims throughout San Diego County, including El Cajon, Chula Vista, Carlsbad and Oceanside.

The Law Office of Michael Rehm

402 W Broadway

San Diego , CA 92101

Phone: (619) 787-3456