The sound of screeching tires, the scream of a kid, the wail of an ambulance are sounds none of us want to hear this summer. Unless we slow down on the gas pedal, look cautiously at crosswalks and share the road vigilantly with cars and bicycles, the chance of harm is ever greater, according to Dani Liblang, principal of the Liblang Law Firm in Birmingham
Birmingham, MI, June 1, 2017 (Newswire.com) - More than 3,300 bicyclists were killed in crashes across the U.S.A. in a five-year period from 2008 to 2012, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. Three-fourths of those occurred when the bicyclist was struck by the front of a passenger vehicle. When 3,000 pounds comes up against a 100-pound teenager, the kid is in the most danger of serious injury or death.
Please, for the sake of us all, drive like your kid lives here — or it is your kid yakking on the smartphone, riding along, clueless about cars. Your watchful eyes matter. No one wants a liability suit after a tragic accident.
The number of bikes on the road at least once a season has risen from 47.16 million in 2008 to 66.57 million in 2016. Please, for the sake of us all, drive like your kid lives here. Your watchful eyes matter. No one wants a liability suit after a tragic accident.
Dani Liblang, Founder, The Liblang Law Firm P.C.
The sheer number of cyclists make it mandatory to pay attention. The number of bikes on the road at least once a season has risen from 47.16 million in 2008 to 66.57 million in 2016. Cities have painted crosswalks, bike lanes and bike caution signs, but those bent on pedal-to-the-metal speed will drive 50 miles per hour through a subdivision.
The greatest risk — almost 50 percent of bike-car collisions — occur while driving through an intersection, according to one personal injury lawyer. Put down the smartphone, look closely at all four corners, especially a slower-moving object in the shoulder of the road or the crosswalk. Some cities have installed pedestrian safety islands with orange barrels and raised platforms to get people out of the way of roaring automobiles.
According to Jay Ramey of Autoweek, automakers are hard at work to develop pedestrian and cyclist detection systems. The difficulty has been developing cameras and sophisticated radar to identify and respond to smaller and more complex objects moving across the car's pathway, warning the driver and engaging the brakes if needed.
Volvo has developed a pedestrian/cycle warning system that automatically brakes the vehicle when the system is engaged. Optimal performance depends on the optical camera viewing the cyclist because of daylight or bicycle lamps, to identify the body and bicycle contours and a clear pattern of movement.
The safety leader, Volvo, uses a grill-mounted radar and a rear-view mirror-mounted camera to analyze objects. Other manufacturers are developing systems of their own to help save lives. The Highway Safety Institute warns that the deaths of cyclists in collision with cars has gone up from 621 in 2010 to 741 in 2013, the last year of data available. That's over 100 lives lost in the pursuit of exercise and ecology.
Few vehicles produced today are equipped to identify a cyclist while driving at high speeds or at twilight. So the burden of safety falls squarely on the driver. Watch out. Motor around like it is your kid or your best friend's kid riding their bike through the neighborhood.
The Liblang Law Firm, P.C. continues to represent plaintiffs in personal injury, product liability, finance fraud, and toxic tort, as well as a variety of consumer and employment law issues. Additionally, the firm is extremely active, well versed and certified in Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR), which allows clients to pursue non-traditional litigation methods such as arbitration, mediation, mini-trials and private judging.
The firm is located at 346 Park Street, Suite 200 in Birmingham, MI. Visit their website at: http://www.lemonlawlawyers.com/about.html
For more information, contact Melinda Kollins:
phone: (248) 722-5408
email: melinda.kollins@gmail.com
Source: Curtis & Associates
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