Do you often find yourself outside riding your bike? Are you worried about the potential dangers of bike riding? This article may help you stay a little safer while you commute to work, enjoy your free time, or get some exercise on your bicycle.
One of the most important things you can do in order to prevent more serious injuries: wear a helmet!
According to the Bicycle Helmet Safety Institute, bicycle helmets are 85% effective in mitigating brain injuries. This means that the best possible way to reduce your chances of serious brain injury or death on a bicycle is to wear a helmet!
Further, cyclists should be aware of safety precautions whenever they take a ride. The following are safety measures offered by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration:
- Ride a bike that fits you—if it’s too big, it’s harder to control the bike.
- Ride a bike that works—it really doesn’t matter how well you ride if the brakes don’t work.
- Wear equipment to protect you and make you more visible to others, like a bike helmet, bright clothing (during the day), reflective gear, and a white front light and red rear light and reflectors on your bike (at night, or when visibility is poor).
- Ride one per seat, with both hands on the handlebars, unless signaling a turn.
- Carry all items in a backpack or strapped to the back of the bike.
- Tuck and tie your shoe laces and pant legs so they don’t get caught in your bike chain.
- Plan your route—if driving as a vehicle on the road, choose routes with less traffic and slower speeds. Your safest route may be away from traffic altogether, in a bike lane or on a bike path.
Bicycle accidents are common in South Florida and can happen in even the safest of cities like Coral Springs. In an effort to reduce bicycle accidents, the city of Coral Springs has promoted the Move Over bicycle safety campaign. The campaign pertains to the Florida law requiring motor vehicles to give bicyclists 3 feet of space while passing them on the road.
Broward County has also taken measures to reduce bicycle accidents. With the help of Florida International University and Broward Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO), the county has launched an application called BiKE Broward, where cyclists have the ability to map out their destinations according to the person’s best interest. The 5 types of routes offered are fast, short, have the least interaction with traffic, simple, and scenic. The bicyclists simply need to type in their start and end location, and the application will map out the route.
Further, Broward County has several parks with scenic bike trails for people interested in recreational biking.
The parks in Broward County with bike trails are a safe alternative for those biking for recreational purposes and are listed below:
- Brian Piccolo Park located in Cooper City
- C.B. Smith Park located in the city of Pembroke Pines
- Central Broward Regional Park & Stadium located in the city of Lauderhill
- Hollywood North Beach Park located in the city of Hollywood
- Markham Park located in the city of Sunrise
- Plantation Heritage Park located in the city of Plantation
- Quiet Waters Park located in the city of Deerfield Beach
- Reverend Samuel Delevoe Memorial Park located in the city of Ft. Lauderdale
- Tradewinds Park located in the city of Coconut Creek
- Tree Tops Park located in the city of Davie
- T.Y. Park located in the city of Hollywood
- Vista View Park located in the city of Davie
- West Lake Park located in the city of Hollywood
Additionally, there are 60 neighborhood parks in the city of Coral Springs for people of all ages to enjoy. Some of the parks have nature trails or jogging/walking trails that can be used for bike riding as well.
If you or someone you know does happen to get injured on a bicycle in South Florida, contact the legal team at Cytryn & Velazquez. Our firm has extensive experience handling bicycle accidents in Coral Springs, Coconut Creek, Lauderhill, Plantation, Sunrise, and Tamarac. Whether your bicycle accident was due to a collision with an automobile or a manufacturing defect on the bicycle itself, our team of experienced bicycle accident attorneys in Coral Springs can help.
We are prepared to help you deal with this sensitive matter and develop a plan to protect your interests and to maximize your compensation.
Contact us now at (954) 833-1440 to speak to a qualified Coral Springs bike accident lawyer about your case.