As a Car accident lawyer in New York City, I have handled numerous car accident cases in which someone riding a bicycle was hit by a car or truck. In New York City, especially Manhattan, bicyclists are very common on the roadway. The streets congested with fast moving traffic and cars which are often switching lanes and stopping suddenly create a hazardous situation for bicyclists on New York City Streets.
The issue of fault is almost always a he said, she said situation with bicycle accidents. Nevertheless, New York law provides a powerful weapon for New York accident lawyers who represent bicycle injury victims in New York. New York Vehicle and Traffic Law 1146 states that every driver of a car or truck shall exercise due care to avoid colliding with any bicyclist, or pedestrian upon any roadway and shall give warning by sounding the horn when necessary. Therefore in any accident in which a car or truck driver sees a bicyclist before the accident, they have some degree in fault for not avoiding hitting the bicyclist.
