Articles & Resources

If you hit a cyclist with your car, you may face a police report, traffic citations, an insurance claim, and possible criminal prosecution. If you are found at fault, you also owe the cyclist’s medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, and bike damage. One at-fault accident raises full-coverage premiums by roughly 43% on average. How serious it gets depends...

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...

A cycling accident caused by a pothole and poor road maintenance can leave you facing serious injuries and mounting costs, but many of these accidents go unreported. Over 13% of bicycle accidents caused by potholes, debris and other road hazards result from riding into a surface defect. States, counties, and cities owe a duty of care to maintain public roads in reasonably...

In 2025, Georgia recorded 31 bicycle fatalities, up from 23 cyclist deaths in 2023, according to the state’s live crash dashboard. In the most recent full statewide fact sheet, Georgia reported 921 bicycle crashes, 23 cyclist fatalities, and 140 serious or fatal injury crashes in 2023. These numbers show more than crash volume. They show where cyclist risk is concentrated,...

You can catch a DUI charge, or a BUI (Biking Under the Influence), if your state’s law treats a bicycle as a “vehicle.” Ride drunk on a public road and you risk arrest, jail time, and a criminal record. Everything depends on one word in your state’s statute: “any vehicle” or “motor vehicle.” We reviewed the DUI statutes in...

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...

Wearing a helmet reduces the odds of a serious or fatal head injury by 60 to 70%, and brain injuries remain a leading cause of death in bicycle crashes. In 2024, 68% of US cyclists killed were not wearing a helmet, 14% were, and helmet use was unknown for the rest. But the raw fatality share is widely misread, and bicycle helmets do not prevent every death. We’re...

The most common cause of serious bicycle accidents is a broadside crash at an intersection, where an automobile and a rider cross paths, accounting for about 35% of fatal and serious crashes. The top factors are unsafe velocity (16.5%), failing to yield (16.3%), and improper turning (15%). In 82% of fatal crashes, the front of the automobile struck the cyclist, meaning...

Two years from the collision date is your civil filing deadline (ARS § 12-542). That provision governs your personal injury claim as a cyclist whether police identify the driver or not. Criminal prosecution and insurance notification rules run on separate timelines, and a missed deadline can end your recovery. Drivers fled the scene of 16,136 crashes in Arizona in 2024,...

According to the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, 1 in 5 cyclists injured in a US traffic accident in 2023 was struck by someone who left the scene, and more than 70% of everyone killed in a hit-and-run that year was on foot or biking (AAA Foundation, 2026). The National Safety Council estimates that bicyclist fatalities from hit-and-run accidents are among the fastest-growing...

If a collision left you injured while riding, you have the right to file a cycling accident claim in New York City and recover compensation for your medical bills, lost income, bike damage, and suffering. When a motorist’s negligence caused the incident, that driver and their insurer can be held liable. New York’s PIP system covers your initial medical expenses...

A bike ticket in NYC costs between $50 and $190. It adds no points to your driver license and carries no extra fees. On March 27, 2026, the NYPD stopped writing criminal summonses for minor cycling offenses. Police now issue civil citations instead, which means an OATH hearing, not Criminal Court. There is no arrest and no criminal record. Cyclists follow the same traffic...

As of 2026, New York City permits electric bikes in three categories on city highways, bike lanes, and bridges. All e-bikes operating in NYC are subject to a 15 mph limit effective October 24, 2025, and must also be UL-certified for fire safety. Users must be at least 16 years old, and a helmet is mandatory for those aged 16 to 17 and all operators in the fastest category. E-bikes...

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,...

In New York City NY certified headgear is legally required for minors under 14 years old, commercial cyclists, and all who ride Class 3 e-bikes. Adults on standard bikes are not required to wear approved bicycle helmets by state or city law, though headgear is strongly recommended by the NYC Department of Transportation for all bicyclists. As of 2026, bicycle safety statistics...

Bike accidents cause harm ranging from minor skin scrapes to life-changing head injuries. The most common include soft-tissue damage, broken bones (especially the collarbone), and head wounds. Head injuries alone cause more than 60% of fatal cycling outcomes. In 2023, US hospitals treated 341,774 nonfatal cases. Of those, roughly 50,000 involved motor vehicles, and 1,166...

Bruckner Boulevard and Longwood Avenue in the Bronx tops our safety ranking of New York City intersections: 93 individuals injured at a single corner from 2023 through 2025, according to NYC Crash Mapper records. Brooklyn fills 8 of the remaining 11 rows. In December 2025, Transportation Alternatives identified 116 particularly dangerous locations citywide where 5 or more...

After you’ve been injured and are wondering if you can afford legal assistance, one question hits fast: How much does a personal injury lawyer cost in Phoenix, Arizona, and can I afford one? As medical bills continue to pile up and going back to work seems uncertain, additional expenses aren’t something you need. Here’s what most people don’t realize...

No. You cannot be charged with DWI (Driving While Intoxicated) for riding a traditional, human-powered bike. DWI laws apply exclusively to motorized vehicles, and a bicycle is not a motorized vehicle. However, drunk biking carries serious legal consequences, and e-bikes have their own dedicated DUI statute with different rules. If you are a person riding a bike while impaired...

In New York City, bicycles and e-bikes are legally treated as vehicles and must follow the same traffic regulations as a motor vehicle driver on the road (VTL 1231). That includes obeying signals, making proper turns, riding with traffic, yielding to pedestrians, and using usable bike lanes unless blocked or unsafe. These provisions apply in the same manner to all who...