Bike Lanes: not always safe

Colorado Bicycle Accident Lawyer Brian Weiss reminds us to stay alert.

Bike lanes are not necessarily a safe zone for bike riders, especially when poorly designed.   When riding in bike lanes, do not let your guard down. As cyclists, we face drivers pulling into parking spaces next to bike lanes and opening their doors without looking.

I’ve recently represented several cyclists who have been hit on their bicycles while riding in bicycle lanes. Two of the individuals were “doored” by people opening their doors without looking if there was a bicycle in the bike lane before opening their door. A third client another gentleman was seriously injured when a car pulled out of a parking space without looking to see if the bicycle lane or even the road for that matter was clear when doing so.

Another matter I wanted to comment on is when cars are pulling out from an alley or a side street across a bicycle lane. It seems that drivers of cars are looking for other cars not for pedestrians and bicyclists. When an individual was lawfully riding on a sidewalk he is given the same rights as pedestrians him in many locations.

Denver has rules that do not allow you to ride on the sidewalks most other places in Colorado do. Riding on sidewalks is in many places the safest place for children or inexperienced bike riders to operate their bicycles. I personally think that there are flaws in Denver’s law about not permitting the riding of bicycles on sidewalks, but unless it changes it is still the law that must be followed when riding in the City and County of Denver.

In situations when bicyclists are hit or injured by cars, the riders are not alone. Bike Law attorneys are available to talk to injured riders at no cost. I am honored to be part of the national network of attorneys who ride their bikes and represent deserving clients.