Common Hazards Cyclists Face in Urban Areas

Florida has led the nation in bicyclist deaths for most of the last decade, and Broward County is one of the places where that number gets made. Flat terrain, year-round riding weather and wide, fast arterial roads like US-1, University Drive, Oakland Park Boulevard and State Road 7 put cyclists next to 45-mph traffic every day, often on bike lanes that start and stop without warning. This guide covers the hazards that cause the most serious bicycle crashes in South Florida, what Florida law says about your rights on the road, and who pays when a driver hits you.

The hazards that cause the most serious crashes

Right hooks and left crosses at intersections. The classic urban bike crash is a driver who passes a cyclist and then turns right across the bike lane, or a driver turning left who never registers the oncoming cyclist. Intersections and driveways account for the majority of car-versus-bike collisions in Florida, and the strip-mall driveways along Federal Highway and Commercial Boulevard are a constant source of them.

Dooring. A driver or passenger opens a door into the path of a cyclist riding next to parked cars. On Las Olas, in downtown Hollywood and along Hollywood Beach, parking sits right beside the bike lane. Florida Statute 316.2005 prohibits opening a vehicle door unless it is reasonably safe to do so and it will not interfere with other traffic, so the person who opened the door is normally the one at fault.

Close passes. Florida’s three-foot law, section 316.083, requires a driver overtaking a bicycle to leave at least three feet of clearance. On narrow roads without a bike lane, drivers routinely pass with inches to spare. Mirror strikes and the wind blast from a passing truck are enough to put a rider on the pavement.

Distracted drivers. Texting while driving is a primary offense in Florida under section 316.305, and handheld phone use is banned entirely in school and work zones. A driver looking at a phone for five seconds at 40 mph covers nearly 300 feet without seeing the road. Distraction is the single most common explanation we hear from drivers who hit cyclists: “I never saw him.”

Road surface. Potholes, sunken utility cuts, parallel-slot sewer grates, construction plates, sand washed across the lane after an afternoon storm, and debris swept into the bike lane by passing traffic all cause single-bike crashes and swerves into traffic. When the defect is on a public road, the city, county or state may be responsible, but claims against a government agency carry special notice requirements and short deadlines.

Darkness and visibility. Most Florida cyclist deaths happen at night. Section 316.2065 requires a white front lamp visible from 500 feet and a red rear lamp and reflector visible from 600 feet between sunset and sunrise. A rider without lights is still owed a duty of care by drivers, but expect the insurance company to argue comparative fault.

Bike lanes that disappear. Broward’s bike network is improving but fragmented. A protected lane that ends at a six-lane intersection, or a painted lane that turns into a right-turn lane, forces riders to merge into traffic exactly where drivers least expect them.

Your rights on the road under Florida law

• A bicycle is a vehicle under Florida law. A cyclist has the same rights to the roadway as a driver and the same duties to obey signals and signs.
• You may ride in the travel lane. Where a bike lane is provided you are generally required to use it, but you may leave it to pass, to turn left, to avoid a hazard, or when the lane is too narrow to share safely with a car.
• You may ride on the sidewalk unless a local ordinance says otherwise, and on the sidewalk you have the rights and duties of a pedestrian, including the right to have drivers yield to you at crosswalks and driveways.
• Helmets are required only for riders under 16. Not wearing one is not a violation for an adult, although insurers will still raise it in a head injury case.
• Drivers must give you three feet when passing, must yield when turning across your path, and must not open a door into you.

Who pays when a driver hits a cyclist

This surprises most riders: your own car insurance is usually the first source of payment. Florida’s no-fault law extends your Personal Injury Protection (PIP) coverage to you when you are injured as a bicyclist or pedestrian by a motor vehicle. PIP pays 80 percent of medical bills and 60 percent of lost wages up to $10,000, but only if you get initial treatment within 14 days of the crash. If you do not own a car and no one in your household does, you can usually claim PIP under the policy on the vehicle that hit you.

Beyond PIP, your claim for the rest of your medical bills, lost income and pain and suffering is against the at-fault driver and their bodily injury liability coverage. Florida does not require drivers to carry bodily injury coverage at all, so many of them have little or none. In those cases the uninsured motorist coverage on your own auto policy may be the only meaningful source of recovery, and it is worth checking your declarations page now rather than after a crash.

Florida uses modified comparative negligence. If a jury finds you more than 50 percent at fault, you recover nothing; at 50 percent or less, your award is reduced by your share. That is why the insurer will push hard on lights, helmets, lane position and whether you were in a crosswalk. Do not accept their version. Most of those arguments fall apart against the physical evidence.

What to do after a bicycle crash

• Call 911 and insist on a police report, even if the driver wants to “handle it” without one. Get the driver’s license, tag and insurance information yourself.
• Photograph the car, your bike, the lane markings, the driveway or intersection, and your injuries before anything is moved.
• Get names and numbers of witnesses. Look for businesses with cameras facing the road; most footage is overwritten within days.
• See a doctor within 14 days, and sooner if you hit your head. Concussion symptoms often appear a day or two later.
• Keep the bike, the helmet and your clothing exactly as they are. They are evidence.
• Do not give a recorded statement to the driver’s insurer before you speak with a lawyer. Florida now gives you two years, not four, to file a negligence lawsuit.

Talk to a bicycle accident lawyer in Broward County

The Injury Advocates is a Plantation-based personal injury firm serving Fort Lauderdale, Broward County and South Florida. If a driver hit you while you were riding, call (754) 812-8444 or 833-DARFOOR, or send us a message. The consultation is free and you owe no fees or costs unless we recover for you. Learn more about our pedestrian and bicycle accident practice, or read about how liability is decided in pedestrian accidents.