The Peninsula has three of the four most dangerous intersections for bicyclists in the City, according to a recent study.
Personal injury attorney Michael Bomberger of Estey & Bomberger, LLP, himself a cyclist, hired a firm and did his own research for a study on bicycling traffic accidents.
Why?
“Because I’ve represented a lot of injured cyclists and had lots of friends injured — even killed — and I think information is power,” said Bomberger. “I want as many people as possible to get information about where it is most dangerous to ride.”
Turns out the Peninsula, with limited access into and out of the community, qualifies. From 2010 to 2016, Midway Drive and Rosecrans Street, with 15 crashes, topped Bomberger’s most-dangerous top-10 intersection list. Rosecrans Street and Sports Arena Boulevard made the middle of the top-10 list with nine crashes. Nimitz Boulevard and West Point Loma Boulevard was 10th on the list with eight crashes.
Escondido in North County had five of the top 10 most-dangerous intersections for cyclists, with one other dangerous intersection in Encinitas.
Of the purpose of his study, Bomberger, said, “If nothing else, I want to raise awareness [about safety], and this was one way to accomplish that.”
In researching his study, Bomberger mined data from the past seven years from all reported bicycling accidents citywide. His data included information on the location, severity and time of day of bicycling accidents.
“Not surprisingly, we learned that the time of day was important, with 3:30 to 6 p.m. being the most dangerous time,” he said. “There was also a window of time during the morning [commute] when it was really dangerous.”
Pointing out smart phones distracting drivers is adding to the safety problem, Bomberger said his ultimate goal is to: “make it safer for bicyclists by adding more protected and separated bike lanes where we know it’s dangerous, like Rosecrans and Sports Arena. Something needs to be done to make it safer for cyclists.”
Bicycling is a preferred method of travel for some Peninsulans to downtown San Diego. Other dangerous high-trafficked corridors in Bomberger’s study include Ocean Beach and Hillcrest.
“I would also like to see cyclists doing more to protect themselves, like wearing a helmet and having lights on their bikes,” Bomberger said. “Having those two things tremendously lowers your chances of being injured. It’s a small investment for what it provides you.”
For more information, visit ebcyclinglaw.com/san-diego-bicycle-crashes-study/.