Bicycle Accidents

Injuries sustained while riding a bicycle are unfortunately all too common, especially in Las Vegas. 

Given the year-round warm climate Las Vegas offers, thousands of cyclists take to the streets every single day, whether commuting to work, or simply looking for recreational exercise. Although cyclists are a growing, evolving community in the Las Vegas area, biking can lead to a high rate of injuries as a result of a number of accidents.

Each year, more than 135 children die from injuries sustained from accidents while bicycling, and approximately 267,000 cyclists receive injuries severe enough to require emergency room attention. Furthermore, many bicycle accidents go unreported over the course of a year when they are not severe enough to require a hospital visit, proving that biker accidents are more prevalent than one may think.

I am here and ready to help protect you in any way if you are injured in a bicycle accident. However, in order for a biker to avoid liability in the unfortunate event of an accident, it is important for a rider to follow Nevada Statutes regarding bicycle law, including:

- The operator of a bicycle shall not intentionally interfere with the movement of a motor vehicle.

- A biker must have a light on the front of his or her bike to emit visible, white light from a distance of at least 500 feet to the front

- No person operating a bicycle should carry a package or bundle impairing the biker’s ability to operate the handlebars.

- A biker must comply with all rules of the road and must ride on the road when provided a proper path to cycle.

- Motor vehicles and bicycles are required to have operating brake systems that are good enough to bring the vehicle to a complete stop within 25 feet of using the brake system.

- All passenger vehicles and bicycles may not transport more passengers than the manufacturer’s recommendation.

- Bicycles must always use the bicycle lane when traveling on a road. If there is not a designated bicycle lane, the bicycle must remain on the far right of the road. The only exception to this rule is if there is something in the far right lane, such as construction, that could potentially harm the bicyclist.

- Drivers of a bicycle must use arm signals to turn and must implement this signal no less than 100 feet from the point in which they are going to turn, just like a motor vehicle.

- Many local laws prohibit the use of earbuds or headphones while driving a bicycle.

Many bikers fail to comply with the aforementioned statues of Nevada law, and therefore assume liability in the event of an accident. 

In most cases involving bicyclists and automobiles, the person driving the car is almost always at fault in the accident. There are other reasons for bicycle accidents to consider as well.

Those driving an automobile must always must be careful of bicycle riders and motorcycles as well. A bicycle needs to be treated as another car on the road by the operator of the motor vehicle. An example of this would be if you are sharing the right lane with a bicyclist and you are planning a turn right at an intersection, you must yield to the bicyclist. You cannot drive in a designated bike lane unless you are pulling off of the road.

Laws change all the time and there are many traffic laws concerning bicycles, and not knowing those laws does not provide protection to those who injure a bicyclist. As a bicyclist, you have rights.

If you have an accident you need a lawyer with knowledge in all aspects of bicycle equipment, accident reconstruction, roadway designs as they relate to bicyclists, and how these factors may be a crucial part of your case.