Intersections pose a serious safety challenge for bicycles, and many accidents every year occur near California intersections. A study studies indicates that many senior drivers find it difficult to navigate safely around an intersection.
Studies by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety recently found that many older motorists struggle with driving safely around an intersection. It is not as if senior drivers are not looking out for accident risks, when they are at an intersection. The problem is that they do not always see accident risks, and that increases the risks of an accident involving another vehicle.
Earlier studies have also indicated that senior drivers have a much higher risk of accidents involving angle, overtaking, merging and intersection accidents. They are especially more likely to be involved in accidents involving left turns. The new study focused on a national database of accidents, and examined factors involved in accidents involving drivers above the age of 70.
The researchers found in their study that senior drivers are at risk of making errors that are very different from the errors made by middle-aged drivers. Among older drivers, must driving safety challenges seem to involve inadequate surveillance, which constituted approximately 33% of the errors. Seniors are also much less likely to inaccurately judge the gap between vehicles, or to accurately judge another vehicle’s speed. They also often fail to obey traffic controls, and are also at a higher risk for medical events or daydreaming. In as many as 70 percent of the accidents, drivers were looking out for another vehicle, but did not see the vehicle. Middle-age drivers, on the other hand, were not likely to look for another vehicle at all.
If you were involved in a bicycle accident, speak to a California bicycle accident attorney for help filing a claim for compensation.
