Bicyclist Hit By Car and Killed in Jacksonville, Florida
A person riding a bicycle on Cedar Point Road near Gate Road in Jacksonville, Florida was struck by a vehicle and killed, according to an article on News4Jax.com. Police were still investigating who was at fault in the accident at the time the article was posted.
Jacksonville, Florida is a city with a lot of bicyclists year round because of the good weather. However, many of the streets are not conducive to safe bike riding. Additionally, a lot of vehicle drivers do not seem to understand that they need to share the road with bikers. Driving around in Jacksonville, Florida, we see a lot of bicyclists on the roads. We also see a lot of cars who do not slow down or move over to accommodate the bicyclists. Some drivers seem to think that bicyclists do not belong on the roads and should be relegated to the sidewalks. But that is not the law in Florida. Bicyclists are permitted to ride on the roads just like vehicles. When vehicles are in the vicinity of bicyclists, those drivers need to slow down, move aside or make any other adjustments to safely share the road with bicyclists.
As more and more drivers distract themselves with cell phones and text messaging devices, the roads become more dangerous for bicyclists who are often in close proximity to motor vehicles. If a vehicle driver hits a bicyclist, whether because he/she was distracted or just failed to take the necessary steps to make way for the bicycle, serious injuries often result and the vehicle driver is often at fault for negligent driving.
