Are you a motorcyclist or do you use a pushbike on the public road system? If so, you are in greater danger statistically than any other vehicle user. Prepare yourself for the likelihood of a bike accident in Northern Ireland and the UK by reading this article.
In the UK, bikers and cyclists use the roads in similar ways to cars. The difference between the UK and other European countries lies in the lack of cycling lanes in Britain by comparison. We put cyclists on the same roads as lorries and expect everyone to stay safe. Unfortunately, whether you are on a pushbike or a motorbike, your odds of becoming involved in a road traffic accident are vastly increased over your average road user.
Bikers and Cyclists are at Greater Risk of a Road Traffic Accident
According to the road safety charity Brake over 100 UK residents are killed on pushbikes on the public road system in the UK per year. Cycling might be both good for your health and good for the environment, but it also leaves you more vulnerable to accidents than any other type of travel, with the exception of motorcyclists.
Bikers have a similarly hard time on UK and NI roads. According to the government’s website, over 350 motorcyclists were killed in accidents within Great Britain in 2022. A further 5,618 were seriously injured, with 10,000+ suffering somewhat minor injuries.
Either type of bike is dangerous on the public roads. Learning what to do if you have an accident might just save your life.
What to do After a Bike Accident
If you are involved in an accident on your bike or pushbike, consider the following steps as good practice towards protecting your finances, legal interests, and mental health.
1 – Make Yourself Safe
It should go without saying that you should not do anything which puts yourself in harms way. Make yourself safe first and foremost. You should not attempt first aid unless you are safely able to do so. Unfortunately if you are the biker in the situation, you are more likely to be the one incapacitated.
2 – Contact Emergency Services
After you have secured yourself or others, you must call the emergency services. You must call an ambulance if anyone is seriously injured. You must call the police for a serious accident or if you suspect wrongdoing. Report the accident with the police so you have a clear pattern of events.
3 – Seek Medical Help
If you are injured then seek medical help. You should get checked out even if you think you are ok. You may be unconscious through these stages in a serious motorbike accident.
4 – Find the Right Aid
You need doctors and nurses to help you recover but you also ought to protect yourself in a legal sense. Consulting a specialist personal injury solicitor from Northern Ireland or the UK should help you make the right decisions for reclaiming loss of income, damage to your person or property, or other costs.
5 – Recover Compensation
When you are safe and recovering you should consider claiming personal injury compensation from the at-fault party’s insurance provider. This is what insurance is for.
Accidents Happen: but you Shouldn’t Be Out of Pocket
There is no need for you to be left out of pocket after a road traffic accident involving your bike. Make yourself safe, make a recovery, and try to earn back what was lost. It just makes good common sense.
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