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Bike Safety Program Huge Success for

Law firm, over 1000 Helmets Given Away

A consumer information product of Ches Crosbie Barristers Accident and Injury Law

No Case is Settled until It’s…

Common Types of Collisions Involving Cyclists

Many cyclist injuries follow a pattern, and some types of accidents are common for children and inexperienced cyclists. Be wary of these common situations, and warn your children about the dangers of making the following mis-takes:

 Driveway ride-outs: In this scenario, a cyclist rides out of a driveway without stopping to check for traffic and is hit by a motor vehi-cle.

This is perhaps one of the most dangerous mistakes any rider can make when riding a bicycle, but one that can easily be avoided. There are several steps you can take to avoid this type of horrific accident. First, make sure your driveway does not contain view tions such as bushes and trees. These obstruc-tions hinder a rider’s ability to see oncoming vehicles and will prevent motorists from seeing the cyclist in the driveway.

Make sure that every cyclist in your house knows to stop at the end of the driveway be-fore entering the street.

 Failing to stop at stop signs: Many cy-clists choose to ignore stop signs because the constant starting and stopping makes their ride more difficult. Also, children are often less aware of traffic laws and signals.

The importance of stopping at every stop sign cannot be overstated. Drivers expect cyclists to obey the rules of the road, and unexpected behavior can often lead to collisions.

If a driver sees a bicycle coming to a stop sign, he/she is not going to slow down to let the cyclist across. It is the cyclist’s responsibility to stop.

Left hand turns: A large number of all bicycle accidents occur when a cyclist makes a left turn without looking back to check for traffic.

Since cyclists usually stay to the far right side of the road as they ride with the flow of traffic, a sudden left hand turn can result in a vehicle hitting a cyclist from behind. Children and inexperienced riders are more likely to fall victim to this, as they are not used to crossing in front of cars.

When making a left turn, it is important to check the traffic behind you, use proper signal-ing technique, yield to traffic comsignal-ing from be-hind or from the front, and proceed with cau-tion.

Do not ever make sudden left turns on busy streets. If needed, take the time to walk your bike across the street at a proper crosswalk.

 Driver overtaking: As any cyclist knows, many drivers are impatient with bicycles on the road and so they attempt to pass when it is unsafe to do so.

Collisions can occur when a driver tries to pass a cyclist on a narrow or twisting road, when either a driver or cyclist swerves sud-denly, or if the driver misjudges how much room there is on the road. There is also the danger of feeling ―run off the road‖ by a pass-ing driver, causpass-ing an accident at the curb. To avoid this type of accident, make sure that you are visible to drivers. If you feel threat-ened or unsafe, cycle in the middle of the lane to prevent a driver from trying to overtake you. Although the law states that you should ride your bicycle as near to the right curb as possible, it is acceptable to come away from the curb in dangerous situations.

 Driver right on red: It is very common for driver’s turning right on red to accidentally collide with a cyclist travelling on a cross-street.

This type of collision is particularly dangerous if the cyclist is travelling against the flow of traffic on the side street and is hit by the turn-ing car head-on.

Safety Tips: How to Avoid a Bicycle Accident

With an understanding of the common situa-tions in which bicycle accidents occur, you can reduce your chances of severe injury by follow-ing these basic rules:

 Follow the rules of the road: The most important thing to understand is that bicycles are considered vehicles in Newfoundland and Labrador. As such, bicyclists are required to obey all traffic signs and lane markers. When riding, be sure to follow all traffic laws and ride in a designated bicycle lane where available.

 Always ride with traffic: Never ride against the flow of traffic, as motorists don’t expect to see you coming towards them. Instead, cycle on the right-hand side of the road, as near to the curb as is safe.

 Don’t pass on the right: Passing on the right-hand side of a motor vehicle puts you in

serious danger. You will likely be in the driver’s blind spot, and he/she will not expect you to be there.

Any time a 4000 lb. car can’t see you on your 20 lb. bicycle, you are in a dangerous situation.

 Don’t use headphones while cycling: As nice as it is to listen to your music while cycling, it is very important that you are able to hear what is going on around you.

Avoid listening to your iPod or MP3 player as it can compromise your safety, especially if you are cycling in an urban area with heavy traffic. With earphones in your ears, you can easily miss the sound of a car horn, or the voice of a driver.

 Dress to be seen: When you’re riding your bicycle, wear bright-coloured clothing so motorists can easily see you.

It is especially important to never wear dark colours if you’re riding at night.

You can purchase reflective clothing and acces-sories from most outdoor recreation stores.

 Use lights at night: When biking during the night, make sure your bicycle is equipped with a headlight in the front and a rear red reflector on the back.

Motorists have a difficult time spotting bicy-clists at night, and using lights and reflectors will increase your visibility.

 Use your hand signals: Hand signals are your way of communicating your intentions to motorists. If a driver knows where you are planning to go, he/she will be able to prepare better.

Protect yourself by using appropriate and timely signals.

What people are saying about our helmet giveaway

This is an awesome initiative! Thanks.

- Shandelle Meeker, Mount Pearl

My family thanks you for being so thoughtful on the safety of all kids out there!!

- Darren Brenton, Roddickton

Thanks so much for your response as well as the hel-met! My daughter is thrilled.

- Heather Greene, Pasadena

Thank you so much for this opportunity, it is such a great feeling to know there are such great people out there :)

- Rochelle Hancock, Botwood

Hi There! First of all I want to say “Happy Birthday Ches”. This is simply amazing, my kids came home from school so excited because of this Helmet and Bike Giveway…. Hope this is your best birthday ever and that you feel totally awesome about keeping chil-dren safe.

- Connie Gill, Gander

Just wanted to tell you I feel this is a very important and amazing gesture your company is doing! I wish there were more companies and organizations around willing to help out this way! To most, $40 for a helmet seems like a very cheap & necessary accessory, but for some, no matter how important or necessary, funds don‟t allow for this kind of expense and it is put off… And thanks to all of you, a child‟s life may be saved!!! So THANK YOU! I am a single mom of 3 beautiful children, and I have been through many hard times, and I know how sincerely appreciated a

“giveaway” like this is… your generosity is being no-ticed!!!

- Nicole

Thank you and this is a great program!

- Mike and Jodie Mercer, Port aux Basques

Thanks so much, this is a really wonderful thing and you should be so proud for what you and your com-pany are doing!!! There should be more people like you in the world.

- Tammy Elliott, Gambo

What a great program.

- Jaime Hutchinson, Paradise

Thanks for this great program.

- Tracey Pardy, Goose Bay

Hi, I wanted to say thank you for new helmets for my children that you will be sending to us. You are blessed by god.

- Nadine Peddle, Corner Brook

I think it is awesome that you are doing this to keep our kids safe. Too many children in my town and oth-ers I have lived in go without helmets. Some because they choose to, others because their parents choose not to buy them. Personally, I think the helmets are needed.

- Norma Lush, Glovertown South

This is awesome…:)

- Sherry O’Brien, Mount Pearl

First off let me just say thank you to Mr. Crosbie for such a wonderful gesture for the kids of NL. Also Happy Birthday, may you be blessed with many more.

- Gloria Ings, Durrell

I was to glad to hear about this program…. I thank you very much for this wonderful thing you are doing.

- Corie Lee Normore, L’Anse Au Loop

Thank you very much, I think this is a great thing to help out families.

- Jackie Cross, St. John’s

Thank you very much for your mission to ensure bike safety for all children!

- Renee Reardon, St. John’s

I‟m quite impressed with your firm‟s commitment to child safety with this free helmet offer. Children‟s hel-mets require frequent replacement, not only because kids grow, and because helmets have a limited shelf life for effectiveness, but also because it is recom-mended that the helmet be replaced if the child ex-periences a crash where the helmet takes an impact (to ensure that the head is optimally protected during the next incident). Thank you for your generosity.

- Kim Blanchard, St. John’s

Thank you for offering this wonderful program for safety this summer!

Thanks for the helmet and such a nice gesture, with the bikes!!!!! What a great community partner you guys are for the community!! More companies should follow your lead!!!!!

- Darren Pelley, Kilbride

As a volunteer who does many bike rodeos for kids every summer, I wanted to pass along this pat-on-the -back for this initiative. At every bike rodeo I do, there is at least one child (usually many) who have improperly sized, or no helmet, due to familial finan-cial issues. This will be a great help. I'll mention the program to parents and co-ordinators throughout the summer, starting at tomorrow's rodeo! Thanks for the great initiative.

- Rod Taylor, Bishops Falls

From the bottom of my heart THANK YOU!

- Nancy Raymond, St. John’s

I was so glad to hear about this program…. Thank you very much for this wonderful thing you are doing.

- Corie Lee Normore, L’anse au Loop

I believe this program is an excellent one, and will give many children a great summer and add to many wonderful memories.

- Donna Stacey, Marystown

Thank you so very much, this is a great opportunity for families who struggle financially.

- Santana Dawson, St. John’s

Thank you, this is a great initiative.

- Sharon B. Canning, Gander

Submitting my daughter‟s name for the free bike hel-met. She just turned 2 years old, and I feel it‟s very important to instill safety practices at a young age. If she learns to wear a helmet from the beginning, she will grow up knowing the importance of wearing a helmet while biking.

- Tanya Smith, Paradise

I would like to start off by saying that I personally feel this particular cause should be commended and I thank you for giving children an opportunity to play safe.

I am a grade five teacher with the Eastern District. Every June I focus my teaching lessons around the topic of safety awareness. Each year that I begin this

lesson, it is often made apparent to me that „safety‟ is not a top priority when asked how this topic relates to their bike riding.

I am also enlightened/shocked by the number of stu-dents that attend this school that either have a „broken‟ bike or are wishing they had one at all to ride. I am a strong believer that a child „should‟ have experiences playing on their bike, especially over their summer holidays.

I realize you are looking for name(s) of students, along with a letter of recommendation to support who should be eligible for a draw and given this op-portunity to win a bike…

Again, I have to say, it is wonderful that your prov-ince wide

Give Away of Helmets

- a Grade 5 Teacher, St. John’s

This is a wonderful cause—-thanks so much!

- Melissa Troke, Gander

What an awesome campaign!!! Thank you for taking this on!

- Jana Fenske, Pasadena

Thank you again, you are a great person!... I can‟t express how grateful I am!!

- Jennifer Jacque-Poole, Postville

Thank you again for the helmets, much appreciated and I think what you're doing given helmets to fami-lies for free is an amazing thing to do.

- Gary Peddle, Grand Falls-Windsor

Your company is very supportive of people less fortu-nate. Very wonderful role model for others. Thank you!

- Michelle Cheeseman, St. John’s

I just wanted to say thank-you for the helmet for my son Kyle. The helmet fits perfectly and he loves the design. These types of helmets with the adjustable knob provide an excellent fit but are very difficult to find in stores. Thank-you so much

- Trina Clarke

The first personal injury case I ever worked on, back when I was at the start of my legal career, involved an 11-year-old girl who was struck by a car while pedaling her bike up Kenna’s Hill in St. John’s. She was thrown high in the air, and taken unconscious to hospital. She recovered, but with a serious brain injury.

I was able to obtain a good settlement for my child client, involving a ―structure‖ which would pay her a monthly amount for the rest of her life.

Of course, money is no substitute for health, and far better that this acci-dental injury had never happened.

But I do owe my young client a debt of gratitude for one enduring thing— representing her taught me that a good, skilled and determined lawyer could make a difference for a client that would affect her quality of life on a permanent basis.

It was this rewarding experience that caused me to devote my career to working for accident victims, whether they are injured in road accidents, on premises, through medical malprac-tice or in other ways.

It is my hope that the helmet give-away program and this Special Report will help to prevent serious injuries and even death in other kids.

Why I wrote this Special Report

How Helmets Work

Helmets work by absorbing the force of any impact and spreading it over the whole helmet. This reduces the impact transmitted to your brain. A helmet cannot guarantee protection against injury, but it does lessen the likelihood of brain bleeds, concussions, bruising to the brain, and many other types of head injury.

Published studies show that wearing a helmet can reduce your risk of head injury by up to 85 percent.

Bicycles have same rights and

duties as other vehicles

Stop and think about this head-line! What it means is that, in a legal sense, a bicyclist has equal rights to any other vehicle, and a bicycle should be driven like a vehicle.

This means no riding on side-walks!

What section 129(1) of the High-way Traffic Act actually says is:

129(1) Except as provided in this section, a person riding a bicycle upon a highway has the same rights and duties as a driver.

Highway is an inclusive term which means all travelled road-ways.

(2) A person who is riding on a bicycle,

(a) shall not ride on a side-walk;

(b) subject to paragraph (a), shall ride as near as practi-cable to the right-hand curb or edge of a roadway; There are other requirements placed on bicycle drivers, but those are the most important. Perhaps soon the government of the province of Newfoundland and Labrador will summon the political will to include a provision in the law that requires all bicy-clists to wear helmets. Helmet wearing is required by law in On-tario. Helmet wearing is also required by bylaw in the City of St. John’s, although this is not well enforced.

It is time for government to get serious about all forms of bicycle safety, including helmet use!

WE GET QUESTIONS

A: There is some confusion about when a motor vehicle can pass a bicyclist. Generally, a cyclist must drive to the right side of the road under most conditions. Or as the Highway Traffic Act says, ―as near as practicable to the right-hand curb or edge of a roadway‖. A distance of about 2 feet from the curb or edge of the roadway would normally be reasonable. It is probably reasonable for an overtaking motor vehicle to maintain a dis-tance of at least 3 feet from the cyclist. Since cars are usually 8 feet wide, there is not enough room to pass entirely within the same lane on many streets, which may be only 12 feet wide. Q: If it is not safe to pass a bicycle entirely within the same lane, can a motor vehicle cross the solid centreline to pass a cyclist in a no-passing area?

A: Yes. If the bicycle is travelling slower than other traffic, and maybe considered to be an obstruction, it may be reason-able to cross the centreline to pass the bicycle in a no-passing area, if the way is clear to do so. But in all matters respecting bicycles, cars pose an extreme danger, so always use great cau-tion to avoid a tragedy.

Ches and his first injury client Kimberly Goulding, run over on a bicycle 29 years ago.

169 Water Street, 4th Floor St. John's, NL A1C 1B1

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