Cycling Safety In the ‘80s comedy, Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure, the titular character faces jealous boyfriends, long-winded tour guides, Hell’s Angels, Santa Clause, Godzilla, and Twisted Sister in his quest to regain possession of his beloved bike. Throughout the film, Mr. Herman encounters many opportunities for bodily harm and legal backlash; but he manages to come out smelling like a rose with a girl on his arm and his bike in custody.
The movie makes extensive use of ridiculous dialogue and situations to draw laughs; but the real lunacy is that Mr. Herman might have risked a comparable degree of peril if he had been riding his bicycle instead of searching for it (and if there were not as many gadgets on Pee Wee Herman’s bike as on the utility belt of the Adam West Batman). Conveniently, the filmmakers make no mention of this.
Luckily, bicycle injuries and fatalities have diminished significantly since 1985. In fact, the National Highway Traffic Administration relates that bicycle fatalities declined 12% between 2008 and 2009 alone. However, bicyclists still make up a disproportionate number of traffic fatalities—theAlliance for Biking and Walking reports that bicyclists’ representation on fatality reports still doubles their representation on the roadways. According to the Network of Employers for Traffic Safety, 42.3% of bicycle accidents are caused by motorists. What’s an avid bicyclist to do?
How can a Utah bicycle accident lawyer help?
A bicyclist has all the same rights on the roadway as the driver of a motor vehicle. If those rights are not acknowledged, a bicyclist is entitled to compensation for their injuries. Should you ever meet misfortune on a bicycle and reluctance to make reparations following the accident, you might consider a bicycle accident lawyer to argue your case to a higher authority than the one who opened his door in front of you. For more information, call 801-506-0800.