Articles & Resources

Bicycle helmets cut the odds of a fatal head injury by roughly two thirds and any brain injury by about half. Significant protection, not immunity. After a crash, a second number matters more. No state requires an adult cyclist to wear one, yet only a handful stop an insurer from using your bare head against you. We ride, and we represent cyclists hit while riding. This...

In most New York City car and cycling accidents the driver is usually at fault, but since May 26, 2026 your own share of the blame matters more than it used to. Under CPLR 1411(b), a share greater than the driver’s now bars your compensation completely instead of merely reducing it. That bar reaches motor vehicle matters only, so which rule applies depends on what...

Being hit while riding leaves you sorting through insurance while the first medical bills are already arriving. Several insurance policies can pay after a bicycle accident, but your compensation depends on the order they pay in and what each takes back. No single source explains how every policy, whether home, auto, or health, works together after a crash. That is the...

The 2026 complete bicycle accident statistics show that cycling remains a major part of how Americans get around. Americans logged about 2.2 billion bike trips in 2022, according to the National Household Travel Survey, with just over half for social or recreational purposes. Bike commuting is edging up too, from 0.4% of workers in 2021 to 0.5% in 2023 and 2024, according...

New York City helmet laws require certified headgear for children under 14, commercial cyclists, and all who ride Class 3 e-bikes. Adults on standard bikes face no state or city mandate. The NYC Department of Transportation recommends protective headgear for every cyclist, calling it a critical safety measure for anyone on city streets and busy roadways. This page covers...

There is no official average bicycle accident settlement for Arizona. Based on real case results from Arizona law firms, including Bicycle Accident Lawyers Group, most bike accident claims settle between $15,000 and $100,000. Minor injuries typically settle for $5,000–$25,000. Moderate injuries that need surgery or cause lasting problems settle for $25,000–$100,000....

Most bicycle accident settlements in Pennsylvania fall between $20,000 and $200,000 for car accident cases. Severe injuries push past $250,000, and catastrophic harm starts around $500,000. Philadelphia accounts for roughly a third of the state’s cycling crash reports. What you keep depends on the circumstances, the other motorist’s insurance coverage, your...

There is no verified average settlement for California bicycle accidents, but the published ranges overlap tightly. If you were hit while riding, the bills are arriving before anyone has told you what the case is worth. Minor injuries from bicycle crashes mostly resolve in the low five figures. The moderate-injury claims that make up most bicycle accident cases land between...

Most bicycle accident settlements in New York City land between $50,000 and $200,000 when injuries are moderate and driver fault is clear. Your number depends on the crash and injury severity. The national median bicycle accident settlement is around $45,000, but the average bicycle accident settlement in NYC runs higher because of medical expenses, insurance policy limits,...

If the police report from your bicycle accident says something not true, that one line can do real damage. You will not get the narrative rewritten, but you can often get a wrong coded field corrected and your own account added to the file, for an injured cyclist, those two moves are where the personal injury claim is won or lost. Almost every guide is written for drivers...

Yes, in most states you can face charges for riding a bike under the influence. Statutes covering “any vehicle” include bicycles; those saying “motor vehicle” usually do not. That can bring fines, potential jail time, a criminal record, and in some states the loss of your license. Many people assume biking home is the responsible choice, but DUI...

Sidewalk cycling is legal in most states and banned in a few. 2026 bicycle laws for all 50 states, $50 to $500 fines, and what a sidewalk crash does to your claim. You can ride a bicycle on a sidewalk in most of the United States. Only a handful of states ban it statewide. State vehicle codes, highway regulations, and safety regulations rarely prohibit riding a bicycle...

If an insurance adjuster has already put a percentage on you, that figure is an argument. Comparative negligence reduces your bicycle accident recovery by your share of fault for the collision, and in most jurisdictions it erases the claim once that share passes half. Comparative negligence is an affirmative defense, and the defendant has to plead it and then establish...

A bicycle accident claim is a coverage dispute long before it is ever a lawsuit. The first question is not how much you can get, but whose coverage pays. That depends on whether your state runs on no-fault or tort-based rules, which is why so much advice about bicycle accident claims online is confidently wrong for the person reading it. This guide covers every step of...

New York City allows three categories of e-bike on public streets, in bike lanes, on park drives and greenways, and across bridges in the cycling lane. All are capped at 15 mph on any NYC street, effective October 24, 2025. You must be at least 16 years of age, and every device and battery sold in NYC must carry an accredited safety certification. E-bikes are not motor...

Two years from the accident date is the deadline that decides your money. Arizona gives you that long to file a personal injury lawsuit under ARS § 12-542, and it runs whether or not police identify the driver. Four other time limits start the same day, two of them the prosecutor’s. Waiting on an investigation that goes nowhere is the most common reason a strong...

If you hit a cyclist with your car, you must stop, help, and report the accident. After that, five things can follow from one event: a traffic citation, a personal injury claim against your liability coverage, a higher premium, and personal exposure for anything above your policy limits. A criminal charge is the fifth, if you were impaired, reckless, or you drove away....

A pothole crash is a lonely one: no driver, no insurance card, just you, a bent rim, and a medical bill. You can still make a pothole claim against whoever owns that strip of pavement, usually a city, county, or state DOT, but the case is won or lost on proof of prior awareness. You must prove the pothole was a dangerous condition and that the entity knew about it, or...

Every cyclist should know three essential bike hand signals. To go left, extend your left arm straight out to the side. For a right turn, point your right arm straight out, or raise the left one upward at a 90-degree angle. To signal a stop, lower it downward with your palm open and facing behind you. These universal gestures are recognized across all 50 states and should...

Roughly one-third (30-35%) of non-fatal bicycle accidents involve head injuries that require emergency treatment. The numbers are far worse in fatal crashes: TBI and related trauma cause an estimated 60% to 75% of all cyclist deaths, most commonly in collisions with motor vehicles. A properly fitted helmet can significantly reduce head injury risk by 60% and traumatic...