Bicycle Accidents

October 5, 2017

Volusia County Sheriff Recovering in Hospital After Being Hit By Truck

by Whittel & Melton, LLC

The Volusia County Sheriff was injured in a crash while riding a bicycle Friday morning.

Authorities said his bike was hit by a pickup truck in the 4900 block of South Peninsula Drive. It happened just before 9 a.m.

The driver of the truck, who remained at the scene, was found at fault and received a traffic citation, the Sheriff’s Office said.

The man was taken to a local hospital for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries.

He suffered a broken left hand, a possible ACL tear in his right knee and two fractured vertebrae. He also received sutures in his left knee.

The 54-year-old was elected sheriff in November 2016 and sworn in on Jan. 3. He formerly served as police chief in Daytona Beach.

Volusia County is a populated region, and a lot is happening here all the time. Bicycle accidents are pretty common here, sadly. The most common reasons bike accidents occur are due to the following:

Negligence of the drivers on the road.
Drivers operating under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
Drivers failed to stop at stop signs.

August 30, 2017

Public Investment Pays Off in Pedestrian, Bicyclist Safety, Florida Still On Top List for Most Dangerous Region

by Whittel & Melton, LLC

A new study of pedestrian and bicycle travel suggests investment in infrastructure and policies to encourage walking and biking is correlated with lower rates of pedestrian and bicyclist deaths.

The work by researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and the University of Wisconsin-Madison also identifies the safest and most dangerous metropolitan regions for pedestrians and bicyclists in the U.S.

Using improved travel data, the study calculated the rates of fatalities for walkers and bicyclists in 46 American regions with populations greater than one million.

The safest regions identified by the meta-analysis were:

Walking

Chicago
Cincinnati
Cleveland
Minneapolis
New York City
Portland
San Francisco
Seattle

Bicycling

Portland

The most dangerous regions were:

Walking

Houston
Jacksonville
Miami
Orlando
San Antonio
Tampa

Bicycling

Jacksonville
New York City
Orlando
Tampa
West Palm Beach

The study uses data from the National Household Travel Survey, which includes work, recreational, shopping, school and social trips, so it goes beyond the “journey-to-work” data collected by the U.S. Census.

Analysis of all 46 regions also provided support for the “safety in numbers” hypothesis: More pedestrian and bicyclist traffic overall is related to lower crash risk for each person walking and bicycling.

September 2, 2015

Florida’s Bicycle Death Rate Highest in Nation

by Whittel & Melton, LLC

A new report on bicyclist deaths by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention finds that Florida has the highest rate of bicycling deaths of any state in the nation — 0.57 per 100,000 people, more than double the nationwide rate of 0.23 per 100,000.

While other states have found ways to cut bicycle deaths during two periods measured over the last three decades, Florida has only reduced the number less than 10 percent.

Nationwide, safety seems to be improving for bicyclists, with the number of deaths per 100,000 people declining 44 percent from 0.41 to 0.23 during the periods measured — the five years from 1975 to 1979 and the five years from 2008 to 2012, according to the new CDC report titled “Bicyclist Deaths Associated with Motor Vehicle Traffic — United States, 1975–2012.”

The steepest decline measured was among children younger than 15.

According to the report, bicyclists are killed on U.S. roads at a rate double that of vehicle occupants, even though bicycle travel accounts for only about 1 percent of trips across all modes of transportation.

Because of the year-round warm climate in Florida, cycling is a popular mode of transportation and exercise activity during most months of the year. However, Florida roadways also pose serious risks to bicyclists, from distracted automobile drivers to improper bike lanes. If you or someone you love has suffered a serious injury or was killed in a bike accident, it is very important to discuss your case with a Florida Injury Lawyer at Whittel & Melton.

Unfortunately, what could start out as a leisurely bike ride can quickly turn into a fatal accident. At Whittel & Melton, we believe that the responsible party should be held responsible for damages. Filing a personal injury or wrongful death claim for a bike accident can be complex, but we can provide you with the experienced representation you need.