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Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Avoid Personal Injuries

Chicago Cyclists May Avoid Personal Injuries Thanks To State’s Decision to Track “Dooring”

Many Chicago residents use a bicycle as their main form of transportation. Unfortunately many drivers do not anticipate a cyclist as they are getting out of their car and hit the cyclist with the opening door. A Chicago personal injury lawyer can tell you this is referred to as a “dooring” accident.

A dooring crash can inflict serious injury upon the cyclist involved. These injuries can be severe enough that the cyclist victim needs help from a Chicago personal injury lawyer because of mounting medical bills and inability to work.

Until very recently the State of Illinois did not take dooring crashes into account when they evaluated roadways and outlined improvements to make them safer. According to the Chicago Sun Times, “Dooring” accidents do not involve a vehicle that is moving which is why they were not previously taken into consideration.

It was also reported that the anticipated changes to prevent dooring will involve increased signage communicating with motorists about cyclists and revisions to roadway design.

The Chicago Police are currently taking note of every dooring accident to help with this research. This information will be used to determine what changes will be made to the roadways.

Despite these efforts to make the roads of Chicago safer, Chicago personal injury lawyers know that dangers still exist for cyclists. The best way for a cyclist to avoid injury in the streets of Chicago is to, wear a helmet and pads at all times and use recognized cyclist signals.

If you’ve been involved in a bicycle accident in Chicago contact a personal injury lawyer right away. You need to protect yourself when threatened with missing work and high medical bills.

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