There are plenty of Illinois residents out there on bicycles, even when the weather turns cold and winter arrives in full force. Exercise and recreation are probably the biggest draws for bicyclists, but some people even rely upon bicycles as their primary mode of transportation. Unfortunately, not everyone is cognizant of the fact that there are so many bicyclists in areas where bicyclists might share the roads with motor vehicles. And, as a result, collisions between bicyclists and motor vehicles can be quite common.
As the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration points out, when it comes to auto-bicycle collisions, it is usually the bicyclists who get the worst of it. Of course, that is probably obvious—a collision between a vehicle that weighs a couple thousand pounds and a person on a bicycle is no match at all. In one 2020 alone, over 930 bicyclists died in America in traffic collisions.
These types of collisions, unfortunately, can also cause severe, life-altering injuries. Bicyclists may suffer broken bones, spine or brain damage or, in the worst-case scenarios, fatalities can be the result.
Personal injury legal action
When Illinois residents are injured in collisions with motor vehicles, they may have valid personal injury claims to pursue. Of course, the facts of any given scenario are crucial. An injured plaintiff must have convincing evidence that the motorist did, in fact, cause the collision in question. Injured bicyclists will need to get their potential claims evaluated to see if they can take legal action to attempt to secure financial compensation.