Louisiana Bicycle Crash Deaths Ranked Third Worst in the Country

A recent report by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention found that Louisiana has the third-highest rate of bicycle deaths in the country.  Louisiana has averaged 3.3 annual deaths per million residents between 1975 and 2012.  The only states with higher rates were Delaware with 3.8 and Florida with 5.7 deaths per million residents.  These numbers are backed up by another study performed by the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration showing that Louisiana averaged 3.8 deaths per million residents from 2010 to 2012, with 11, 18, and 23 deaths per year, respectively.  These numbers only confirm what Baton Rouge and other Louisiana residents already know: Louisiana has a serious bicycle safety problem.

Anyone who watches the news in Baton Rouge will know that there have been a number of tragic deaths in the area this year alone.  In June, an LSU professor was truck and killed while walking her broken bicycle. On August 3^rd, a 64-year-old cyclist was killed while trying to cross the road on Goodwood Blvd. near Lobdell Avenue . To make matters worse, a memorial bike ride was conducted in his honor the next night, and another bicyclist was hit and seriously injured on his way home from the memorial.

One of the major problems with bicycle safety in Louisiana is the attitude and lack of education of drivers throughout the region.  Another issue is the lack of safe areas for bikers to ride throughout the state, forcing them to ride on streets with little or no shoulder.  For example, in Baton Rouge Parish, there are only 13 streets with bike lanes.  In Lafayette, there are only about 10 streets with bike lanes.  These numbers are far from adequate and only exacerbate the problem.

These problems are why Fisher Injury Lawyers have led the charge for bicycle safety in Louisiana. Attorney Bryan Fisher worked with legislators in making it a state law that motorists must give at least three feet of clearance when passing a bicycle.  Additionally, Fisher Injury Lawyers have represented numerous victims of bicycle crashes and helped them recover the damages owed to them by those that injured them.  These experiences give the attorneys a unique perspective on bicycle accidents that are rare among attorneys in the area. Give Fisher Injury Lawyers a call today if you or someone you know has been involved in a bicycle accident.

Chris J. Day

Personal Injury Attorney

Baton Rouge Accident Attorney