Thursday, August 27, 2009

How Not To Get Hit By Cars

Thanks to UrbanVelo and Bike-PGH for this information...

The home page of BicycleSafe.com is dedicated to a list of the top 10 situations in which car-bicycle collisions occur, and how to avoid them.

What to do if you've been hit by a car:
  1. If you are in pain, stay put. Don’t try to move. You could end up injuring yourself even more.
  2. Call 9-1-1 or tell someone else to do it for you.
  3. Make sure to get the driver’s name, license plate, insurance info, and contact info. If there are any witnesses, get their names and contact info as well. Although you may be injured and incapacitated at the accident scene, that is your only chance to identify the motorist who hit you and the witness(es). After the ambulance takes you away, you will never get another chance to obtain this. It is not uncommon for the police officers to fail to get this information after the victim has left the scene. Ask someone to write down the tag number and their own information and give it to you, or put it in your pocket.
  4. Get a police report. Sometimes you may not feel pain until the next day and may need to see a doctor. Even if you don’t call 9-1-1, it’s important to get a police report. A police report can be filed at any time, even after the fact, and will be necessary if you need compensation for medical bills.
  5. Contact a lawyer.
  6. Contact your city councilperson and tell them your story and that you want safer cycling conditions in the city.

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