In an ideal world riding a bicycle would be an activity that people of all ages and abilities could enjoy without worrying about the threat of a driver knocking them off. The fear of that happening is one of the reasons many people choose not to ride a bicycle – they don’t feel safe.
Understanding when crashes tend to occur can help, as it allows you to better anticipate dangerous situations and hopefully avoid them. Here are some common occasions when drivers injure cyclists:
Opening their door into your path
Drivers and passengers may fail to look properly or at all before opening their vehicle doors. You can try to anticipate this by thinking about where someone is likely to get out of a vehicle, especially where they are likely to do so in a hurry. For example, outside a coffee shop where commuters grab a takeaway coffee on their way to work. Or close to a school when parents are dropping their children off.
Turning left across you
Intersections can be very dangerous places, especially those involving left turns where you or someone else must turn across the flow of traffic. If you can find a route with more right turns and less lefts, you can reduce the risk of a collision.
Failing to notice you
Watch out for drivers who seem distracted as they probably won’t be looking out for you. Take care if the sun is setting in drivers’ eyes, or if you find yourself surrounded by large vehicles that could hide you from view.
None of this is to say that a crash would be your fault if you failed to take these precautions. While a crash might occasionally be a cyclist’s fault, all too often their injuries are down to a driver’s negligence. In such cases, you’ll want to learn about your options for compensation.
