About Bicycle Accidents in McAllen
A bicycle accident can happen in McAllen because of any number of factors cyclists can’t control. Many, for example, result from the careless or reckless actions of motorists, some of whom do not share the road well with bicyclists. Others have more complicated root causes. Let’s take a look at a few of the more common ways that clients of Patino Law Firm could get injured in a bicycle crash.
Aggressive Driving
Texas law says that McAllen bicyclists have every bit the same right to use the roads as drivers of cars and trucks. Unfortunately, motorists do not always see things that way. For whatever reason, some drivers do not take well to sharing the roads with cyclists, and their attitude shows in the way they drive.
Aggressive driving behaviors that can lead to a deadly bicycle accident in McAllen include:
- Passing cyclists at high speed;
- Passing too close to cyclists;
- Tailgating;
- Honking or shouting at cyclists; and
- Throwing debris at cyclists.
Friendly as McAllen is for bicycling, ride a bike long enough and you are sure to have a scary experience with one of these types of dangerous driving behaviors. Any of them can throw a cyclist off balance and cause a crash.
Failure to Yield the Right-of-Way
Traffic laws in Texas also require motor vehicles to yield the right of way to bicyclists in many instances, just as they would to any other vehicle. Unfortunately, drivers often fail to consider cyclists as they would other vehicles, either because of the aggressive attitudes described above, or out of carelessness. Sometimes, drivers do not even see cyclists right in front of them, a phenomenon known as inattentional blindness.
Whatever the reason, failing to yield the right of way can cause a dangerous bicycle crash. Often, these accidents happen when drivers turn left across an oncoming lane right in front of a cyclist. The cyclist collides with the side of the car, with potentially catastrophic results. Other right-of-way accidents include cutting off a bicyclist by turning right or changing lanes.
Doorings and Back-Into Accidents
Bicyclists who ride on the side streets in downtown McAllen where cars and trucks can parallel park must stay alert to avoid getting doored. A dooring happens when the occupant of a vehicle opens a door into the path of a bicyclist approaching from behind. The cyclist does not have enough time to avoid the door and instead slams into it. The collision can send the cyclist flying over the door and onto the pavement ahead.
Other areas in downtown McAllen allow vehicles to park at an angle to the sidewalk. On these streets, bicyclists face the hazard of a vehicle backing into the path of the bicycle, resulting in a collision between the bike and the rear end of the car. As with dooring, these collisions can send cyclists over their handlebars and onto the street beyond.
Road Hazards
As we said, some bicycle accidents in McAllen have causes that do not necessarily reflect the unsafe practices of motorists. Many of these other accidents instead occur when a bicycle rider in McAllen encounters a dangerous, preventable road condition that someone should have fixed or at least warned the cyclist about. These conditions might include debris or spills in the streets, broken pavement, or a sudden transition from pavement to gravel. Road hazards like these that would not have much, if any, effect on a car or truck can throw a bicycle out of control, resulting in a serious wreck.
No matter how a bicycle accident happened in McAllen, Dr. Louis Patino has the experience and know-how to get injured cyclists the compensation they need for their injuries.
