We’ve been doing a lot of talking about bicycling safety since Florida was named the most dangerous state in the nation. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the state of Florida saw more bicyclist fatalities in 2012 than any other state.
Bicycling.com offers some important resources for staying safe. Our Fort Lauderdale bicycle accident lawyers encourage you to listen up and to spread the word through National Bike Safety Month. Please review the following and share with your loved ones. Whether you’re old or young, a bicyclists or a driver, we can all do our part to help reduce the risks of these accidents.
Biking to Prevent a Fall:
-Make sure you’re always looking ahead. You don’t want to stare into the directions that you don’t want to steer. Our bodies naturally steer us into the area we’re looking. Look where your tires need to go.
-Prep your pedals. Don’t use clips on your pedals that are too tight. You want to be able to predict a fall and prepare for it. Once you start to fall, commit to it. Don’t back out and risk even more injury.
-Keep it loose. When heading over a bump or over a pothole, the last thing you want to do is tense up and lock your limbs. Make sure your body is loose and ready to absorb any kind of movement.
-Keep yourself stable. When you’re pedaling slow or you’re heading up a hill, you want to leave space between you and your bike. This will help you to keep your bike stable.
Unfortunately, you can’t escape your way out of every crash. But there are ways to help you skirt the damage. There are five major principles to falling properly. Listen up!
1. Go with the energy. Avoid throwing your arms out to catch yourself in the fall. This is where you run the risk of fracturing or breaking an arm or wrist. Your safest way to fall is to tuck and roll.
2. Take away the energy. When falling backwards, avoid putting your arms out to break your fall. Again, you run the risk of fracturing or breaking a bone. Simply tuck your chin and roll your back. Keep your arms out to the side to help stop the momentum. You want to slap the ground with your arms.
3. Lower your center of gravity. Keep your hips low to the ground to reduce inertia. You have a shorter distance to fall and less risks of getting injured.
4. Hang on. When falling, you may want to push the bike away from you with your hands and your feet. That’s fine, unless you’re falling to the side. When this happens, you want to hang on to the handlebar. Try to let the bar hit the ground first and absorb some of the impact.
If you or a loved one has been injured in a traffic accident, contact Richard Ansara at 954 761-3641 or toll-free at 877-277-3780 for a free and confidential consultation to discuss your case.
More Blog Entries:
Bicycle Accidents on the Rise in Florida, New Statistics, Broward Injury Lawyer Blog, April 28, 2013
Cell Phone-Using Drivers Endangering South Florida Cyclists and Pedestrians, Broward Injury Lawyer Blog, April 9, 2013