Car-vs.-bicycle accidents increase
Helmets are helping to keep injuries down
By Leigh Ann Maze
Between May 10 and May 22, deputy Greg Taylor at the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office Westside Substation in Saratoga responded to four incidents in Saratoga in which a bicyclist has been hit by a car.
"I've definitely noticed an increase in the past few weeks of injury accidents between bicyclists and cars," Taylor said.
On May 10, a 12-year-old girl was hit by a car while riding her bicycle along Saratoga Avenue near the community library. On May 18, a 49-year-old man was struck by a vehicle while riding his bicycle on Sara Park Circle at Saratoga Avenue. On May 22, a 15-year-old girl was hit by a car while riding her bicycle on Saratoga Avenue at Scotland. In a fourth May incident, another juvenile was struck by a car while riding a bicycle along Saratoga-Sunnyvale Road near Seagull Way.
Luckily, Taylor said, no one was seriously injured. All of the juveniles were wearing helmets, but the adult was not. The adult required a few stitches and the juveniles, "received a free trip to the hospital with some minor scrapes and bruises," Taylor said. "They were very lucky."
According to statistics from the Westside Substation, between July 1997 and June 1998, there were seven accidents involving bicycles in the Westside Substation's jurisdiction, which includes Los Altos, Saratoga and Cupertino. Between July 1998 and June 1999, there were six accidents involving bicyclists, but between July 1999 and Dec. 1999 there were four accidents involving bicyclists.
In May 2000 in the city of Saratoga alone, there have been four accidents involving bicyclists.
While Taylor acknowledges drivers are not always as courteous to bicyclists as they should be, he feels that the bicyclist was at fault in each of the four recent Saratoga incidents.
In almost all of the recent Saratoga cases, Taylor said, the bicyclist was riding against the flow of traffic instead of with the flow of traffic. In several of the cases, the bicyclist violated a red light or stop sign.
"A bicycle is considered a vehicle on the roadway and has exactly the same rights as another vehicle. They don't have the same rights a pedestrian does," Taylor said.
"It's great everyone is out riding their bikes and getting their exercise," Taylor said. "but we don't want them to hurt themselves."
Taylor urges bicyclists to use a bike lane if available, or stay to the side of the road, but don't ride on the sidewalk. Taylor said bicyclists should always wear a helmet, ride with the flow of traffic and stop at all red lights and stop signs as a vehicle would.
Saratoga, California Since 1955
