LEFT-TURNING CARS: "Famous last words with cyclists: 'I
made eye contact with the driver of the left-turning vehicle.' But they look
right through you. When I see a car getting ready to make a left-turn, I take
one hand off the handlebar and wave at them. Don't ever assume. They'll turn
directly into you."
As a group, motorists are hostile
towards cyclists, Brustin said. When investigating the causes of accidents, he
typically gets three answers.
"I didn't see the cyclist."
"Even if I saw the cyclist, I didn't
think he was going that fast."
"Even if I saw the cyclist and realized
that he was going that fast, they shouldn't be on the roads. They should be on
the sidewalks."
The last statement is, of course,
nonsense. Traffic laws give cyclists the right to ride on California's streets,
and sidewalks are for pedestrians.
"You have to assume we're a hot object
on the roadway and these vehicles are heat-seeking missiles," Brustin said.
There have been incidents of motorists attacking cyclists. In one case in
Southern California, a cyclist made an obscene gesture to a late-model sports
car after it nearly clipped him.
The car returned and the passenger
opened his door in an attempt to sweep the cyclist off the street. " I've had
had several cases where I encouraged people to go to the police and press
charges of assault with a deadly weapon," said Brustin, who added that drivers
are more hostile in the Deep South.
On the other hand, cyclists have been
guilty of crimes too. One man from a Midwestern state called Brustin for a
consultation. The man had a permit to carry a handgun, which he took with him
during rides. When a dog attacked him, the man fired at the dog, but missed. He
was arrested for illegally discharging a firearm.
"I advised the guy he clearly broke the
law and to find a criminal defense lawyer," Brustin said. "But the dog never
gave him a problem again."
Brustin recommends riding on
lightly-traveled roads where the speed difference between bicyclists and
automobiles doesn't exceed 20 miles an hour, and that cyclists wear
brightly-colored clothing and a helmet.
While helmet manufacturers insist
helmets made solely of expanded polystyrene are safe, Brustin recommends buying
a helmet of expanded polystyrene encased in a hard plastic shell.
"In a cycling accident, you can hit your
head from severe impact two or three times," said Brustin, who has offices in
several Northern California cities, including San Francisco. "You want to make
sure that foam stays on your head and doesn't crack off from first impact."
When Brustin takes a client, most often
he'll settle out of court with the defendant's insurance company, taking a
third of the settlements his fee. In cases that go to trial, he says there's an
increasing prejudice against cyclists.
"Juries are mainly motorists and I think
the insurance industry realizes this and is pushing harder," he said.
Mountain biking accidents rarely result
in a lawsuit, Brustin said. "It must be because when the cyclists gets injured,
it's his or her fault. But some cases involve products which aren't built for
what they're used for. Sometimes these bikes just can't take the beating that
people give them."
Although Brustin deals with cycling
injuries and accidents each day, he's convinced cycling is safe. Most of the
approximately 900 cyclists deaths are the result of drunk drivers, he said.
"Luckily, most bicyclists are not
severely injured anymore because of helmets," Brustin said. "Helmets are the
key to your cheapest way to avoid serious injury."
