Bicycle Accidents in Broward County: Cyclist Rights Under Florida Law
Cycling is woven into the fabric of Broward County life. From the dedicated bike lanes along Wiles Road and Atlantic Boulevard to the multi-use trails in Quiet Waters Park, cyclists share the roads with drivers throughout Coral Springs, Parkland, Coconut Creek, and the broader county. Many ride for fitness, others to commute, and some for recreation with family. Whatever the reason, cyclists have every legal right to be on Florida roads.
That right means little, though, when a distracted, careless, or reckless driver fails to respect it. Cyclists struck by vehicles suffer injuries far more severe than most car accident victims — because nothing stands between the rider and the force of impact. The result is often a traumatic brain injury (TBI), multiple fractures, severe road rash, or worse.
If you have been injured in a bicycle accident in Broward County, HLM Injury Lawyers is here to help. Attorney Eric A. Hernandez has more than 25 years of trial experience and is committed to protecting the rights of injured cyclists throughout South Florida.
Florida Bicycle Laws — Your Rights on the Road
Under Florida law, a bicycle is a vehicle, and cyclists on the roadway have the same rights and responsibilities as motor vehicle operators. The principle is foundational: drivers must treat cyclists with the same respect they give other vehicles on the road.
- Right to use the road: Cyclists may ride on any public road in Florida. When a lane is too narrow for a vehicle to pass safely, cyclists may take the full lane. Drivers must wait for a safe opportunity to pass — they cannot demand that a cyclist move out of the way.
- Passing distance: Florida requires drivers to keep a safe distance when passing a cyclist. This rule exists because cyclists have no protection if a vehicle passes too closely and clips them or forces them off the road.
- Right-of-way at intersections: Cyclists have the same right-of-way as any vehicle at intersections. A driver turning across a cyclist’s path — just as when turning across a motorcyclist’s path — must yield.
- Bike lanes: Where designated bike lanes exist, cyclists may use them. Drivers must respect bike lanes and may not block, park in, or cut across them without yielding to cyclists.
These are not suggestions — they are legal standards. When a driver violates them and injures a cyclist, the driver’s negligence forms the basis of a personal injury claim.
Common Causes of Bicycle Accidents
Most bicycle-vehicle collisions result from driver behavior, not cyclist error. The most common causes include:
- Dooring: A driver or passenger in a parked car opens the door into an oncoming cyclist’s path without checking for traffic. The cyclist — often unable to stop in time — crashes directly into the door. Dooring injuries are frequently serious, including collarbone fractures, head injuries, and road rash from the fall.
- Failure to yield: Drivers turning right or left frequently fail to yield to cyclists in bike lanes or at crossings. The driver is focused on gaps in vehicle traffic and simply does not see the approaching cyclist.
- Distracted driving: A driver distracted by a phone, GPS, or conversation can drift into a bike lane or miss a cyclist riding legally at the edge of the travel lane.
- Failure to check blind spots: When a driver changes lanes or merges without a full mirror and shoulder check, a cyclist in the adjacent lane can be struck without the driver ever knowing they were there.
- Running red lights and stop signs: A driver who runs a light or rolls through a stop sign where a cyclist has the right of way creates an immediate, high-severity collision risk.
- Unsafe passing: Passing too closely — on a narrow road or while the cyclist controls a full lane — can clip the rider or force them off the road.
Common Injuries in Bicycle-Vehicle Accidents
The injuries cyclists sustain when hit by a vehicle are frequently severe. Because the bicycle offers no crash protection, the rider absorbs the full force of the impact.
- Traumatic brain injury (TBI): Head injuries are among the most serious and most common in bicycle accidents, ranging from concussion-level symptoms to severe cognitive impairment. Helmet use substantially reduces the risk but does not eliminate it.
- Fractures: Clavicle (collarbone) fractures are extremely common when cyclists fall from their bikes. Wrist, arm, elbow, hip, and leg fractures are also frequent.
- Spinal injuries: The forces involved in a bicycle-vehicle collision can cause herniated discs, vertebral fractures, or spinal cord damage.
- Road rash: Sliding across pavement strips away skin and can cause deep tissue damage, permanent scarring, and serious infection risk.
- Internal injuries: Blunt force trauma to the torso from the vehicle or road surface can damage organs with little external evidence of injury.
- Soft tissue injuries: Ligament tears, muscle damage, and joint injuries can cause long-term pain and functional limitations.
Helmet Use and Comparative Negligence
In Florida, no statewide law requires adults to wear bicycle helmets. Whether an adult cyclist wore a helmet does not, by itself, determine liability for the crash — that turns on what the driver did or failed to do.
However, under Florida’s comparative negligence system, a defense attorney or insurer may argue that a cyclist who was not wearing a helmet contributed to their own injuries. This argument — when raised — is contested, and its impact on any claim depends on the facts. An attorney experienced in bicycle accident cases can meet it head-on and keep the driver’s negligence at the center of your claim.
Florida’s modified comparative negligence rule applies: if you are found 51% or more at fault for the incident, you cannot recover. If you are less than 51% at fault, your recovery is reduced in proportion to your share. In a bicycle accident caused by a driver’s failure to yield or distracted driving, the cyclist’s fault allocation is typically minimal — and should be challenged vigorously if an insurer tries to inflate it.
How Fault Is Determined When a Cyclist Is Hit
Establishing fault in a bicycle accident case involves gathering and analyzing multiple forms of evidence:
- The police report: Officers at the scene assess what happened and often cite the at-fault party. A police report’s fault attribution is not legally binding, but it carries significant weight.
- Witness statements: Bystanders, nearby drivers, or pedestrians who saw the crash provide independent accounts that can corroborate your version of events.
- Traffic and surveillance camera footage: Many intersections and businesses have cameras that may have captured the collision. Request this footage quickly — it is often overwritten within days.
- Physical evidence: Skid marks, debris, damage patterns on the vehicle and bicycle, and the cyclist’s final position can be analyzed to reconstruct what happened.
- Cell phone records: If distracted driving is suspected, a subpoena for the driver’s cell phone records can confirm whether they were using a phone at the time of the crash.
The Statute of Limitations
Florida’s statute of limitations for bicycle accident injury claims is two years from the date of the crash, under HB 837 (Florida’s 2023 tort reform law), which reduced the prior four-year period. Do not delay in consulting an attorney — evidence deteriorates, witnesses become harder to locate, and delay only benefits the other side.
HLM Injury Lawyers — Protecting Broward County Cyclists
Attorney Eric A. Hernandez is a former Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida who clerked for Chief Justice Charles T. Wells of the Florida Supreme Court. With over 25 years of trial experience and fluency in English and Spanish, he serves injured cyclists throughout Coral Springs, Parkland, Coconut Creek, Margate, Tamarac, Pompano Beach, and all of Broward County.
HLM Injury Lawyers handles bicycle accident cases on a contingency basis. You pay nothing unless we win.
Contact HLM Injury Lawyers — Free Consultation
If you have been injured in a bicycle accident, call HLM Injury Lawyers at (305) 842-2100 for a free consultation.