May is bicycle safety awareness month, and our Galveston bicycle accident lawyers Hallo want to especially encourage motor vehicle operators to pause and evaluate their own wholesale NFL jerseys roadway interactions with cyclists.
In 2011, the most recent year for which statistics are available, 46 bicyclists were killed in Texas. That marked a startling 7 percent increase within the span of a single year.
Many of these crashes Trollface are caused by the carelessness of other motorists who either aren’t paying attention or are driving aggressively or irresponsibly.
Bicyclists are vulnerable when impacted by a motor vehicle. They lack the size, power and protection that a motor vehicle offers – even when the person on the bicycle has done everything right.
Recently, the League of American Bicyclists released a list cheap jerseys of the most bike-friendly Economia states in 2013. Texas ranked right in the middle, cheap jerseys at 22.
The bike friendliness of a and wholesale NFL jerseys city is important, according to a study published in the March 2011 edition of the journal Environmental Practice. The study, “Evidence on Why Bike-Friendly Cities Are Safer for All Road Users,” revealed that cities with high bicycling rates generally have a far lower risk of fatal and serious injury crashes for all road users when compared to cities that aren’t bicycle friendly. The researchers posit that the bicycle infrastructure itself has a traffic calming effect, and also that the presence of a large number of bicyclists can actually change the dynamics of a street enough to lower the speed of surrounding UN vehicles. Partially, this is attributed to the fact that the more bicyclists there are on the road, the more aware other motorist are and therefore, the more they adjust their driving habits.
What would it take to increase bicycle ridership in Galveston? The New York City Department of Transportation reported last year that the installation of a protected green bicycle lane on one roadway resulted in:
- A nearly 60 percent increase in weekday ridership;
- A nearly 35 percent crash reduction risk;
- Overall vehicle speed reduction.
Clearly, even simple and fairly inexpensive measures can have a big impact.
The U.S. Department of Transportation Leonard reports that roughly one-third of all bicycle fatalities in America occur at an intersection. One particular concern is hybrid electric vehicles, which according to the U.S. Department of Transportation, are about 60 percent more likely to be involved in a bicycle crash than vehicles with combustible engines – simply because they can’t be heard. An effort is currently underway by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to increase sound emission standards so that these vehicles will be audible to approaching cyclists and pedestrians.
As a prime Real vacation destination, Galveston is perhaps more bicycle-friendly than most other places throughout the state, with scenic bicycle routes and our annual, two-day “Bike wholesale nfl jerseys Around the Bay” event . But of course, there is always room for improvement.
One way is to support the Houston-Galveston Area Council’s Transportation Policy Council’s current $12.8 million Wholesale Miami Dolphins Jerseys budget for ongoing bicycle and pedestrian projects. Activist groups such as BikeTexas have vigorously opposed such actions in the past, and have had success in keeping bicycle-friendly projects rolling forward.
If you have been involved in a Galveston bicycle accident, contact Hagood & Neumann at (800) 632-9404. Offices in Houston and Galveston.