Better cycle lanes could reduce future accident claims Cyclists. What's the deal with them? Are they saving the planet or simply getting in the way of traffic? I'm all in favour of ditching the car and heading out on a bike to work in the mornings but when I'm stuck behind a man peddling in his business suit, wearing a bright blue helmet, I sometimes wonder whether it would be better if he got back in his BMW and chugged out a few more of those deadly fumes that have been damaging our planet.
It seems that more and more people are taking to cycling in a bid to reduce carbon emissions as well as benefit their health and save quite a hefty amount of money spent on fuel. In all honesty I would relish the idea of cycling from place to place but what puts me off is the possibility of being involved in a road accident and having to make an accident claim because some idiot has knocked me off my bike.
Bicycle accidents in the news
All too often we hear about serious bicycle accidents that have occurred on the roads; just recently I read a news story about a 79-year-old man who had been knocked off his bike in Leicestershire. He was cycling along Gallows Lane in Measham and collided with a black Citroen. The man was taken to Nottingham's Queen's Medical Centre with a serious head injury whilst the driver of the vehicle escaped suffering any serious personal injuries.
In another instance, one elderly man was killed riding his bike with a group of his friends in Hemel Hampstead. The 75-year-old was cycling down Tring Road near Long Marston when he fell into the path of a Seat Toledo. The injured man was rushed to Stoke Mandeville Hospital but later died from his injuries. Once again, the driver of the vehicle escaped unharmed.
Such fatal accidents appear to be occurring nearly every day. The best way to combat the number of people suffering personal injuries and making subsequent accident claims is by investing more money into the UK's cycle lanes.
We only have to look at the Dutch to see how a more conscious effort to make cycle lanes really does have a fantastic affect on the culture and the standard of living. When I lived in the Netherlands I definitely noticed how fewer people had weight problems and generally looked healthier and more alert.
I remember going to a second-hand shop to buy a bike; I was actually quite nervous because it had been such a long time since I had ridden one off track. But after a couple of hours of riding my new and very old fashioned bike around the city of Tilburg, it all came back to me. As they say, 'It's like riding a bike'.
What amazed me the most was the fact that cyclists had separate traffic lights and that traffic actually had to give way to those riding bikes. It's a whole different way of life compared to us Brits but it works so well. It's just baffling why we don't adopt the same scheme over here to avoid possible bicycle accidents from occurring.
Fortunately, I was never involved in a road traffic accident and I didn't find myself making an accident claim for injury compensation, although I did fall off couple off times!
When I returned home to Britain, there was no way I wanted to start riding my bike around so close to speeding traffic. I soon got back into the old routine of driving my Fiat Punto to and from work and my bike that I brought over from the Netherlands has remained in my garage for the past two years collecting dust.
It's obvious that an effort has been made to make better cycle lanes throughout the UK but there's no way they can compare to the ones I used to ride on in the Netherlands. According to recent statistics, only 2% of our journeys are made by bike compared to 11% in Germany and 27% in the Netherlands.
UK's worst cycle lanes
In a recent article published on the BBC's website (www.bbc.co.uk) a number of cyclists described some of the worst cycle lanes they had the misfortune of coming across in the UK.
One member of the public said, "A cycle lane contributed to my only serious accident to date. I suffered a broken collarbone, and only a miracle meant that I was not also hit by a vehicle."
Another cyclist added, "One cycle path in Newcastle has a flight of steps in it and crosses a dual carriage way - it's not for the faint-hearted."
So it seems that people using bikes face a number of dangerous obstacles during their journeys on cycle lanes. Unless more money is invested into our lanes, the risk of people needing to make accident claims because they have been involved in a serious road accident will not be reduced.
With that in mind, just remember that next time you're out driving to give a little extra room to that business man riding his bike and if you're a cyclist, try not to stick out too much into the road. But most important of all, remember to wear a cycle helmet.
This article may be published on another website free of charge, on the condition that a link is provided from this article to our website: http://www.youclaim.co.uk About the author:
Lucia Appleby, YouClaim are the leading online personal injury compensation claim people with a 97% claim success rate. Call 0800 10 757 95 or visit http://www.youclaim.co.uk for more details.
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