Chicago Accident Lawyer Blog

The Chicago Bicycle Accident Attorneys of Zneimer & Zneimer P.C. stand behind the city’s efforts to improve cycling safety, by creating more bike routes that provide a safe and accessible means to destinations. both within the city and to neighboring communities. However, we are also drawn to the consideration that full realization of the safety benefits offered by increased infrastructure, requires a simultaneous adaptation by the persons that actually use our roadway-in particular, bicyclists and motorists. Although the implementation of bike routes throughout Chicago is still in its early stages, given that plan completion is at least a half-decade away, we wonder if the city has relied too heavily on the expectancy that bike planning will automatically increase safety, by shifting roadway use.

A key component of Chicago’s 2020 Bike Plan is the incorporation of more neighborhood bike routes, “to create slow, safe streets that will turn into less stress bikeways.” Modeled in part, upon approaches implemented in other large cities, such as Portland’s ‘neighborhood greenways,’ the intent behind such routes is to discourage cut through traffic and reduce motor vehicle speeds in residential areas. In contrast to neighborhood routes, crosstown and spoke routes serve the purpose of providing cyclists a safer means of sharing roadways with motorists in areas with higher volumes of motor vehicle traffic, by incorporating: (1) Barrier protected bike lanes; (2) Two-way barrier protected bike lanes; (3) Buffer protected bike lanes; (4) Bike lanes or marked shared lanes.

Aside from an attempt to improve safety, what do neighborhood bike routes share in common with crosstown and spoke routes? The answer-much of the city’s bike planning efforts seems to be premised upon the notion that bicyclists and motorists will alter the manner in which they previously used our roadways. Stated differently, bike routes, regardless of type, are essentially a means of redirecting traffic. For bicyclists, the expectation is that they will adjust their travel routes, in accordance with existing infrastructure or as new routes are constructed. For motorists, the expectation is that drivers will discontinue using residential neighborhoods as a means of cutting through, and perhaps even avoid roadways where the construction of designated bike lanes have decreased the number of traveling lanes for vehicles.

As Chicago continues to make strides in promoting cycling, there has been a notable rise in the use of bicycles throughout the city and neighboring suburbs. However, along with this, comes not only an increased presence of bicyclist that occupy our streets and roadways, but also more cyclists along trails and off-road pathways.

And while we have seen a multitude of improvements along bike routes that are shared with motorists-whether newly implemented, underway, or planned/proposed future projects-we must not forget the safety concerns that exist along multi-use paths. Stated differently, the city continues to make advancements in separating, or otherwise protecting bicyclists from motorists along roadways-but, what about protecting pedestrians from bicyclists along trails?

Chicago’s 18-mile Lakefront Trail is perhaps the city’s most heavily occupied multi-use path. According to city estimates, as many as 30,000 individuals use the trail on an average weekday, with weekend usage increasing to nearly five times this amount. As we previously discussed in ‘Bike Path Accidents,’ scenic routes, in particular, often vary both in quantity and type of user. One needs not travel far along the trail on a Saturday or Sunday to observe speeding bicyclists; runners or joggers; persons on rollerblades/skates, skateboard, or scooter; tourists casually walking and enjoying scenery; intoxicated beachgoers; and moms, with babies in strollers, or wandering toddlers, all sharing the same trail space.

In order to provide networking and ease of accessibility between communities, bike planning and infrastructure in Chicago, and surrounding suburbs is comprised of several key components-protected bike lanes along roadways; unprotected lanes which connect routes; and the off-road scenic and throughway paths, which are both protected and serve the purpose of linking communities. However, when considering all the cities that comprise Chicagoland, as a whole, and the current plans in place, we can’t help but wonder if the city’s bike planning efforts have failed to fully incorporate many of Chicago’s northern suburbs.

According the Department of Transportation’s, Chicago Streets for Cycling Plan 2020, “It was developed using three key principles:

The Bicycle Accident attorneys of Zneimer & Zneimer P.C. remind residents to use caution over the next week and half, as our roadways become inundated with the thousands of cyclists expected to take part in Chicago’s annual Bike Week. This year’s events, part of Bike Chicago 2014, are set to begin on June 13th and continue through until June 20th. Aimed at promoting the environmental and health benefits of biking, as well as safety awareness, this long standing tradition continues to gain popularity, as is shown by the substantial increase in attendance rates since the initiation of bike Chicago more than two decades ago. As stated by Mayor Emanuel in a Press Release:

“Every day more and more people are using bike share programs or their own bikes to get around City streets and the lakefront path, whether it’s to work, to shop, or for fitness. Bicycling is a reliable, fast, affordable, healthy and great alternative form of transportation that all residents and visitors can utilize and enjoy.”

One of the central focal points to Bike Chicago 2014, is Bike-to-Work week, in which residents are encouraged to forego the use of motorized vehicles, and bike to work for the entire week between the 13th and 20th of June. As a means of motivating participation in Bike-to-Work week, the Bike Commuter Challenge, [link to http://bikecommuterchallenge.org/ ] allows commuters to sign up to compete for prizes with other businesses and organizations, based upon ridership rates. In addition, participants may also challenge their colleagues, and team leaders can challenge other teams.

As a resident of Chicago, it would be hard not to notice efforts over the past couple of years aimed at making the city more bike-friendly. While Zneimer & Zneimer, P.C. supports the health, environmental, economic, and many other benefits that bicycling offers the city and its residents in general, at the same time, as bike injury attorneys, we are compelled to reflect upon whether the city’s intense efforts to promote bicycling has perhaps given riders a false sense of security. This is particularly concerning given that commuting by bike is gaining traction in Chicago, as recently reported by the Chicago Tribune.

Despite Chicago’s notable recognition for their infrastructure, planning, and safety efforts, the truth remains, that bicycling accidents continue to remain a huge issue in our city. Although the infrastructure is nowhere near full completion, the city continues to focus primarily on the positive aspects of bicycling, and in recent times, perhaps even downplaying the negative. Just last year, Mayor Emanuel commented on how bicycling safety is a genuine issue in our city, but now, a little more than eight months later, it seems there has been a shift in focus-from promoting bicycling safety-to simply promoting bicycling in general.

How might this actually be putting bicyclists at even greater risk? For residents, all the recent hype over bicycling in Chicago may be giving cyclists the general perception that it is safer to ride in the city. However, for visitors, the promotion of bike sharing programs, along with the multitude of visible indicators which relay a message that the city is highly ‘bike-friendly,’ seems most problematic of all. This is because visitors, especially those unfamiliar with the city, may not be aware of the risks that accompany bicycling in Chicago-namely, the potential for accident or injury. This concept-that the city is perhaps instilling a false sense of security-also extends to new residents, and in some cases, even parents that are attempting to educate and prepare children bicyclists to navigate along Chicago’s busy roadways.

As you travel in the city, you may have noticed more bicyclists with bike cameras strapped to their helmets, handlebars, and even their bodies. Referred to as ‘bike-cams’ for short, the use of such devices offers a number of benefits to cyclists. The Cycling Injury Lawyers of Zneimer & Zneimer, P.C. are pleased to see that bicyclists are taking the initiative to improve their own safety, as well as protect their interests by ensuring that evidence is preserved in the event an accident occurs. In addition, an individual’s awareness that they are being videotaped, has been shown to be a deterrent to negligent or reckless conduct. The following discusses the effect that bike-cams can have on three primary groups of individuals-Bicyclists, Motorists, and Attorneys.

While, for bicyclists, the purpose of using a bike-cam is less likely to be associated with monitoring their own bicycling habits, these devices can actually allow cyclists the ability to observe their own riding practices, which can aide in the prevention of serious injury or fatality. Perhaps more important to accident prevention, though, is the potential effect that bike cams can have on motorist conduct. When a driver knows that they are being recorded, that motorist might be far more inclined to: Ensure cautious overtaking and yield; Maintain the statutory 3 foot distance; and Demonstrate more vigilant driving in general. In accordance with the foregoing, it is easy to see the manners in which bike-cams can both contribute to the prevention of bike collisions, as well as to the prevention of other types of accidents.

Although bike cams can certainly aide in reduction of bike collisions, bike-cams play an entirely different role once an crash has occurred. As recently reported by the Chicago Sun, “Attorneys say the cameras could be useful in the event of an accident but that bicyclists should use the cameras with caution.” While partly in agreement with this statement from the media, the use of bike-cams-when considered from the legal perspective-is actually a bit more complicated. Stated simply, bike-cams can have both positive and negative attributes. In assessing the potential use and application of bike-cam footage following an accident, it is important to take into consideration two key factors: (1) Value / Effect of Liability Determination; (2) Legality; (3) Admissibility.

The Chicago injury lawyers of Zneimer & Zneimer, P.C. take note of the growing use of Divvy-Chicago’s first large scale bike sharing program. The program, which began in July of 2013 with just 750 bikes and 75 stations, has grown significantly over the past year, to its current status of 3000 bikes and 300 stations. Divvy, which represents the idea of “dividing and sharing” the use of bicycles, is a concept that appears to be catching on, as can be seen by increased presence of Divvy bikes throughout the city. As stated in an April 15, 2014 report by the Chicago Tribune:

“Following a brutal winter, Chicagoans have embraced the blue-colored bikes at the first signs of spring. Riders, for example, took more than 25,000 trips during the first week of April as temperatures rose above 40 degrees.”

According to a city estimate, the number of trips taken on Divvy bikes is approaching nearly a million since the program’s initiation nearly 10 months ago. The program’s success is good news for Chicagoans, many who were worried about whether the program would continue, following a report in January that the company had filed bankruptcy. Despite this, the bike share program appears to be thriving, and although it fell short of its original expansion goal of ‘4000 bicycles and 400 bikes by Spring of 2014,’ with the program’s continued success, Divvy may very well reach this goal in the near future.