{"id":1084,"date":"2015-09-17T13:35:56","date_gmt":"2015-09-17T17:35:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new.greatflorida.com\/blog\/?p=1084"},"modified":"2026-04-16T21:24:58","modified_gmt":"2026-04-17T01:24:58","slug":"cyclists","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.greatflorida.com\/blog\/2015\/cyclists\/","title":{"rendered":"Motorist vs. Cyclists"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Florida-Cycling\"Riding a bicycle gives you a chance to enjoy fresh air, save money and get exercise. The U.S. Census Bureau <\/a>reports from 2000-2012, bikers commuting to work has increased by 60 percent. Unfortunately, Florida has a reputation as not being a safe place to enjoy this recreational activity.<\/p>\n

The subject of drivers vs. cyclists can also set off a heated debate. While we are not advocating a firestorm, the truth lies in the startling facts. Florida newspaper, New-Press<\/a>, reported on the subject reveling 120 people were killed on bikes in Florida last year. \u00a0Most of the victims were males over 20 years of age. \u00a0985 bike crashes happened in Miami-Dade County.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is beneficial for drivers and bicyclist to look at the road as being shared, said Dustyn Shroff<\/a>, Vice President of GreatFlorida Insurance<\/a>. \u201cMixed transportation can cause everyone on the road to slow down a bit, pay closer attention and create a safer environment.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Governor\u2019s Highway Safety Association<\/a> (GHSA) released a study citing an increase in bicyclist\u2019s deaths across the United States. \u00a0Between 2010 and 2012, biking fatalities have increased 16 percent, with Florida being among the top states.<\/p>\n

The lax laws could be partly to blame. If a driver accidentally kills a pedestrian or bike rider in Florida, they receive a fine as opposed to a criminal charge. The maximum fine a judge may impose for a moving violation is $1,000. Other penalties, such as court costs could be included.<\/p>\n

Jonathan Adkins, GHSA Executive Director believes better education for motorists and cyclist as well as promoting helmet use, stricter motor vehicle laws and implementing infrastructure changes, (such as designated bike lanes) could help prevent a greater number of fatalities.<\/p>\n

It does not take an engineer to figure out that a cyclist being struck by a 3,000 pound vehicle is going to be injured. A 2013 study from AAA\u2019s Foundation for Traffic Safety<\/a> reports that a person struck by a car traveling 25 mph has a 10 percent risk of dying. At 40 mph, that risk increases to 50 percent.<\/p>\n

The News-Press found the most common cause of a bike crash was a motorist failing to yield. \u00a0But, motorists are not always to blame. Visibility especially at night can be a real problem for drivers who cannot see cyclists. The law requires rear and front lights on a bike; you cannot just depend on reflectors or reflective clothing.<\/p>\n

Other tips that can keep bicyclists safe include, always wearing a helmet, keep your bike properly tuned-up and make sure you ride on the road, not the sidewalk and the correct side of the road.<\/p>\n

GreatFlorida Insurance<\/a> always promotes road safety so motorist, cyclists and pedestrians can share the road. Make sure you are protected in the unfortunate case of an accident. GreatFlorida Insurance<\/a> offers quality auto insurance <\/a>and health insurance <\/a>throughout the state. Contact us today to get a free quote<\/a> on auto insurance<\/a> or health insurance.<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Florida-Auto-Insurance\"<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Riding a bicycle gives you a chance to enjoy fresh air, save money and get exercise. The U.S. Census Bureau reports from 2000-2012, bikers commuting to work has increased by 60 percent. Unfortunately, Florida has a reputation as not being a safe place to enjoy this recreational activity. The subject of drivers vs. cyclists can […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1219,"featured_media":1103,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3,1,13],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-1084","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-auto-insurance","8":"category-floridainsurance","9":"category-healthcare-insurance"},"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.greatflorida.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1084","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.greatflorida.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.greatflorida.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greatflorida.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1219"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greatflorida.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1084"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.greatflorida.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1084\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13934,"href":"https:\/\/www.greatflorida.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1084\/revisions\/13934"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greatflorida.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1103"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.greatflorida.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1084"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greatflorida.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1084"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greatflorida.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1084"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}