Motorists don’t always see cyclists on the road. When drivers of motor vehicles pay attention to the road, most times they’re only looking out for other vehicles and fail to keep an eye out for motorcyclists, bicyclists, and pedestrians. Since bicycles share the road with regular-sized vehicles and often don’t have their own bike lane, it can be dangerous for cyclists if motorists perform certain maneuvers.

With over 280 miles of bike lanes, marked-shared lanes, and signed bike routes installed throughout Chicago, motorists should be aware of the best practices for sharing the road with bicycles. Reducing accident rates and improving road safety involves understanding the bike lane laws and knowing how to prevent and avoid collisions in everyday situations.

In cities like Chicago, bicycle commuters have increased by 150 percent between 2000 and 2012. In that same timespan, there were over 9,000 bicycle crashes that resulted in injuries in Chicago, alone. With more people riding bicycles to exercise, save money or be environmentally friendly, bicycle safety is more important than ever.

Plenty of people choose to bike to their destinations. In a bustling city like Chicago, biking is a smart economical choice, and it’s environmentally friendly.  It’s also a great form of exercise. Cyclists can ride in the street.  Unfortunately too many, motorists may not know that or choose to not share the road with people on bikes. Motorists can either be aggressive and not give cyclists enough space or misjudge the distance between them and the cyclist and cause an accident.

When negligence leads to a bicycle accident, you can seek compensation for your injuries. An experienced Chicago bicycle accident lawyer from Krzak Rundio Gorman, Injury Attorneys will stand up for your rights and expend the resources to get you a just result.  Founding partner, Michael S. Krzak is an avid cyclist and has logged tens of thousands of miles on the road and has participated organized (and not so organized) century rides and charity rides.

One of the more common types of bicycle accidents in Chicago may surprise you. These accidents, often referred to as “Doorings”, occur when a cyclist crashes into or is struck by a car/vehicle door as the door is opening. Doorings result in a range of injuries from minor/non-incapacitating to major, broken clavicle, neck or herniated disk-type injuries.  These injuries usually result in lost time from work and considerable medical bills.

According to the Illinois Department of Transportation, 302 cyclist doorings were reported in Chicago during 2015. This is a 50% jump from data from the previous year—when only 203 cases were reported. The three years before 2014—2011, 2012, and 2013—all reported higher numbers than in 2014, however. Those numbers were 336, 334, and 270 doorings respectively.