Safety Information
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| Installing bike lights. |
IC 9-21-11-2
Roadways; rights and duties
Sec. 2. A person riding a bicycle upon a roadway has all the rights and duties...that are applicable to a person who drives a vehicle.
Bicyclists should:
- Obey traffic signals and signs, and all the "rules of the road".
- Ride with traffic, not against it. That means don't ride the wrong way one way streets and ride in the same direction as the other vehicles.
- Use lights when riding at night. While the law states that bicycles must have a white light on the front and a red reflector or light from the rear, this is the bare minimum and we suggest you get a quality high output light for both the front and rear of your bike.
- Wearing a bicycle helmet is strongly recommended. It can't hurt, except maybe giving you helmet hair, which is way better than a closed head injury.
Drivers should:
- Pass cyclists no closer than 3 feet.
- Only enter a bike lane if making a turn or entering or exiting an alley, private road, or driveway.
- No parking or impeding (bicycle) traffic on bicycle paths or lanes.
- Yield the right-of-way to bicycles using a designated bike lane.
Bicycle Accidents
If after all of the advice above is heeded and you are still involved in accident, there are a number of things that you need to do:
Promptly:
1. Tell the motorist that you are calling the police and that they need to wait. If the motorist refuses to wait or will not provide their ID, get the vehicle's license plate number and a description of the driver & vehicle.
2. Call or have a witness/bystander call 911.
3. Get name & contact information for any witnesses.
4. Get name, phone number, address, insurance information & date of birth of motorist.
When the authorities arrive:
1. Ask the police to complete an incident report. This is extremely important when and if a settlement is expected. Many times if a report is not filed, it is hard to assign blame weeks, months or years later and you may be out of luck in receiving any compensation.
2. Be sure to get the reporting officers name and badge number. It will be on the report but you may need that information to find the report or contest the information at a later date.
3. If you've been doored (i.e. hit by a car door which is opened in your path), ask the officer to ticket the driver for 1) impeding bicycle traffic on a bicycle lane or 2) for the motorists failure to look behind them before opening their car door when exiting their vehicle from an on-street parking space.
After the crash:
1. Contact witnesses and ask them to send you their written version of the incident. Ask them to be as detailed as possible.
2. Take photos of the accident site (this should be done immediately after the accident, if possible), your injuries and any damage to your bicycle.
3. Get estimates from at least two or possibly three bike shops before repairing your bike. Most insurance companies require estimates and the estimates could be used as evidence in a trial, if your case ever goes that far.
4. Request a copy of the Incident/Accident report and make sure you review it to ensure that it tells the complete story and possibly assigns fault.
