During the pandemic most of us have been driving less. With fewer drivers on the road, fewer car accidents have occurred. At the same time, however, bicycle accidents have been on the upswing for a variety of reasons.

In large cities where people typically rely on mass transit to get from place to place, many have been avoiding subways and buses and taking their bikes instead. Additionally, many people have looked to their bicycles for exercise because health clubs and gyms have been closed. With more bikes on the road, bike collisions or vehicles crashing into bicycles are more likely to occur. In New York City, for example, bike injuries increased nearly 50 percent between March 2019 and March 2020.

If you’ve been riding your bike a lot more than in the past, your mathematical odds of an accident are on the increase. It’s also a bad time to need to go to the hospital, especially if you live in a state where COVID-19 cases are on the upswing and medical centers are taxed. So it is important to take steps to avoid accidents that result in bodily injury. For example, if you are riding your bike for recreational purposes, try and ride on quieter streets, designated bike paths and even sidewalks instead of busy main roads. Be sure to have reflective strips on your bicycle, helmet and clothes if you absolutely have to ride after dark, make sure you have identification, and obey all the rules of the road that automobile drivers must follow. If you do get injured in a bicycle accident and believe it’s the fault of another biker, a driver or even a pedestrian, make sure you get all their information at the scene and contact Accident Lawyer John Fagan at 777-JOHN to find out if you have a claim.