Were You Involved in a Bicycle Accident?

Looney, Smith & Conrad, Houston Bicycle Accident Lawyers

Since 1995, criminal defense trial attorney Paul Looney has litigated

60 criminal jury trials with zero final convictions

According to information from the U.S. Department of Transportation and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, pedalcyclists are bicyclists and other cyclists including riders of two-wheel, non-motorized vehicles, tricycles, and unicycles powered solely by pedals. A traffic crash is defined as an incident that involved one or more motor vehicles where at least one vehicle was in transport and the crash originated on a public trafficway such as a road or highway. Crashes that occurred on private property, including parking lots and driveways, are excluded. Pedalcyclist crashes in the information below exclude bicycle crashes that do not involve motor vehicles.

Environmental Characteristics

Figure 1 shows information about the settings surrounding pedalcyclist fatalities in 2016: land use, pedalcyclist location, light condition, and time of day and season.

1. The majority of pedalcyclist fatalities occurred in urban areas (71%) as opposed to rural areas (29%).
2. Most pedalcyclist fatalities did not occur at intersection locations (58%) as compared to 30 percent that occurred at intersections; 4 percent occurred in bicycle lanes.
3. More pedalcyclist fatalities occurred in daylight crashes (51%) compared to when it was dark (45%). Three percent of the fatalities occurred during dusk, and the remaining 2 percent during dawn light conditions.
4. Time of day is divided into eight 3-hour intervals starting at midnight, and season is defined by months.

■ Regardless of season, the 6 p.m. to 8:59 p.m time period had the highest percentage (compared to all other 3-hour periods) of pedalcyclist fatalities: 30 percent in winter, 22 percent in spring, 19 percent in summer, and 19 percent in fall.

■ During the winter months (January, February, and the following December), 30 percent of pedalcyclist fatalities occurred from 6 to 8:59 p.m., followed by 18 percent from 3 to 5:59 p.m., and 11 percent from 9 to 11:59 a.m.

■ During the spring months (March to May), the largest group (22%) of pedalcyclist fatalities occurred from 6 to 8:59 p.m., followed by 17 percent from 9 to 11:59 p.m., and 13 percent from 3 to 5:59 p.m.

■ During the summer months (June to August), 19 percent of pedalcyclist fatalities occurred from 6 to 8:59 p.m., followed by 18 percent from 9 to 11:59 p.m., and 14 percent during both 6 to 8:59 a.m. and 3 to 5:59 p.m. time periods.

■ During the fall months (September to November), 19 percent of the pedalcyclist fatalities occurred from 6 to 8:59 p.m., followed by 17 percent from 9 to 11:59 p.m., and 15 percent from 6 to 8:59 a.m.

Time of Day and Day of Week

In Figure 2, time of day is divided into eight 3-hour time intervals starting at midnight, and day of week is defined as weekday (6 a.m. Monday to 5:59 p.m. Friday) and weekend (6 p.m. Friday to 5:59 a.m. Monday). To summarize this information concerning 2016 pedalcyclist fatalities:

■ The time period 6 p.m. to 8:59 p.m. had the highest frequency of pedalcyclist fatalities during both weekdays (20%) and weekends (26%).

■ On weekdays, the second highest percentage (16%) of pedalcyclist fatalities occurred between 6 a.m. and 8:59 a.m. and between 3 p.m. and 5:59 p.m. On weekends, the second highest percentage (21%) of pedalcyclist fatalities occurred between 9 p.m. and 11:59 p.m.

Age and Gender

In 2016, the average age of pedalcyclists killed in traffic crashes was 46. Over the past 10 years, the average age of pedalcyclists killed in motor vehicle crashes has steadily increased. The average age of pedalcyclists killed has increased from 40 in 2007 to 46 in 2016.

The majority of pedalcyclists killed (84%) in 2016 were males. The largest number of pedalcyclist fatalities were in age groups 50 to 54 and 55 to 59 with 12 percent each.

In 2016, the population-based pedalcyclist fatality rate was 5.6 times higher for males than for females (see Table 2). Pedalcyclists 60 to 64 years old had the highest fatality rate (4.72 per million people) based on population. The rate for this age group for females, 1.38 per million females, was also the highest. For males, the age group 55-59 had the highest rate, 8.42 per million males.

Children under 15 accounted for 7 percent of all pedalcyclists killed in traffic crashes in 2016. Table 2 groups pedalcyclist killed in 2016 according to their age and gender, and presents population based fatality rates as well.

 

Alcohol Involvement

Alcohol involvement (BAC of .01+ g/dL)—either for a motor vehicle driver involved in a fatal pedalcyclist crash and/or the fatally injured pedalcyclist—was reported in 35 percent of the traffic crashes that resulted in pedalcyclist fatalities in 2016 as shown in Table 3 (note that Table 3 contains data about the number and percentages of crashes rather than the number and percentages of fatalities as in Table 4). In 29 percent of the crashes, either the driver or the pedalcyclist (or both) was reported to have BACs of .08 g/dL or higher.

More than one-fourth (26%) of the pedalcyclists killed in 2016 had BACs of .01 g/dL or higher, and more than one-fifth (22%) had BACs of .08 g/dL or higher. These percentages are markedly lower than 10 years ago when 33 percent of pedalcyclists killed had BACs of .01 g/dL or higher and 27 percent had BACs of .08 g/dL or higher.

As shown in Table 4, in 2007 the age group 45-to-54 had the highest alcohol involvement (45%) at .01+ g/dL and the age group 35-to-44 had the highest alcohol involvement (38%) at .08+ g/dL; the 25-to34 age group also had a large percent at both .01+ and .08+.

In 2016, the percentage of those with any level of alcohol involvement were generally lower than in 2007. Those in the 35-to-44 and 45-to54 age groups had highest percentage of fatally injured pedalcyclists at both the .01+ and the .08+ BAC levels in 2016.

Vehicle Type and Impact Point Table 5 presents the number of pedalcyclists killed by vehicle type and initial point of impact of the vehicle when it contacted the pedalcyclist in single-vehicle crashes in 2016.

■ Ninety-five percent (800) of the pedalcyclists killed were involved in single-vehicle crashes.

■ Pedalcyclists were struck by the front of the vehicle in 78 percent of the fatal crashes.

■ Light trucks were the most frequently involved vehicle in motor vehicle crashes in which a pedalcyclist was killed. Fortytwo percent (334 of the 800) of the pedalcyclists killed were contacted by light trucks. In 83 percent (276) of these crashes, the pedalcyclist came in contact with the front of the light truck.

■ Large trucks and buses showed a different pattern than passenger vehicles with respect to impact point. Fewer than half of the pedalcyclists killed were struck by the front of the large truck, and one-half were contacted by the front of the bus, compared to over 80 percent for other vehicles.

■ The right side of the large truck was the most frequent impact point, accounting for 22 percent of the fatalities, whereas for passenger vehicles this percentage was 10 percent or less. This could be due to the wide right turns required of a large truck.

 

Hiring a Lawyer

The most important qualification for hiring a Bicycle Accident Lawyer is experience. Hiring a Bicycle Accident Lawyer who has won a lot of cases in court is important. Look for a personal injury lawyer especially if a fatality resulted in the accident.

When a decision is made to hire a Bicycle Accident Attorney, the earlier in the process this is done the better (within a week or two of the injury). This gives the personal injury lawyer time to investigate while the facts are fresh and to help make important initial decisions that will affect the case such as which health care providers to consult.

When you need a Houston Bicycle Accident Lawyer, contact

Looney, Smith & Conrad, P.C. at 281-597-8818 or 979-826-8484 or Text us: 405-388-6191.

Our experienced Houston Bicycle Accident Attorneys are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week

for a free, no-obligation case evaluation.

We serve Houston, the State of Texas and the entire United States.