The warm weather, sunshine and beaches cause many people to flock to Florida during the summer months. Floridians and vacationers alike enjoy bicycle rides during this time of the year. Bicycle riding is a great activity for people on vacation as well as for children, high schoolers and college students who are out of school for the summer.
Although bicycle riding is a wonderful activity, it can also be very dangerous due the severity of bicycle accident injuries involving motor vehicles. The majority of Sarasota bicycle accidents occur because drivers of motor vehicles fail to see cyclists or yield to them. However, there are many bicyclists who have made bad decisions and have put their own lives in danger due to their poor choices.
Because people often ride their bicycles for leisure, many cyclists have been known to drink and ride. This occurs frequently in beach communities—when people know they are going to a bar or a house party, they ride their bikes so they don’t have to deal with parking and driving after they have had too much to drink. What they don’t understand is that riding a bicycle while impaired is just as dangerous as driving drunk.
Dangers of Drunk Bicycling
Sadly, many cyclists are killed each year in the beach areas during the summer months starting with Memorial Day, followed by Independence Day and ending at Labor Day. The summer holiday season is full of celebratory reasons to drink. Sadly, when someone drinks too much and hops on a bike, he or she may lose out to a larger vehicle.
Because a bicycle is considered a legal vehicle in Florida, cyclists need to follow the same road rules as other motorists, which includes not driving drunk. Although this is the law, there are many cyclists who fail to obey this rule and put their own lives in danger.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, alcohol was a factor in 37% of fatal cycling crashes in 2008, and 23% of the cyclists killed had a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.08 or higher. Additionally, 28% of deadly cycling accidents involved cyclists with a BAC of at least 0.01.
When people drink alcohol before riding a bike, it can be a deadly mixture that results in their death, along with injuries of other innocent motorists sharing the streets with them.
When there is alcohol involved prior to riding a bike, injuries and fatalities often occur. When a Florida bicycle accident leave you with injuries or kills your loved one due to no fault of your own, or if a drunk cyclist was the cause of your accident and injuries, call a skilled bicycle accident attorney in Sarasota at Mallard Perez at (888) 409-3805 today to receive a free discussion of your case.
