Marin County is well known as the birthplace of mountain biking with Mt. Tamalpais in its center with more trails than you can count. Chances are that on any given morning, especially on weekends, you will usually find a group of road bikers zooming by, many before 8:00 a.m. Marin County is a cyclists paradise for both mountain bikers and road bikers.
However, as to roadway safety in Marin County, many roadways are not designed or maintained with cyclists in mind. Many have no shoulders on the side of the road for bikers. Moreover, many roads in this biker’s paradise have been poorly paved, or striped or poorly maintained, creating unsafe conditions that can and do contribute to causing bicycle accidents and bicycle injuries.
Overall, Marin has become more bike-friendly over the past decade, with the number of bike commuters — and bike lanes — skyrocketing, thanks in part to a $25 million federal investment in bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure.
Source: The Bay Citizen
Marin, according to the Bike Accident Tracker, has overall become more bike-friendly over the past decade, with the number of bike commuters — and bike lanes — skyrocketing, thanks in part to a $25 million federal investment in bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure.
While out there riding, especially over this busy holiday weekend, it is important though to be aware of the cyclists’ dangerous roads of Marin County. According to the Marin County Biking Coalition, the most dangerous roads are accident-prone because of a combination of high-speed traffic and narrow roads.
Whether these roadways are particularly dangerous because of the slow-paced tourists interspersed with fast-paced weekend riding clubs, or curvy mountain roads inhabited by lots of cars with no shoulders on the side of the road, cyclists need to be extra careful. For bicycle riders, the roadway is much more often a substantial factor in causing bicycle crashes. Keeping your eyes on the road has much more meaning for cyclists.
As a lifelong Marin bicyclist and a pro bicycling attorney, I always look at the condition of the roadway as a potential factor in causing bicycle accidents. If you or someone you care about has been injured in a bicycle accident, please feel free to call me and to discuss the potential factors which may have contributed to the crash. If you suspect that the roadway was a factor, then please take photographs of the condition of the roadway and measurements if you can do so safely. I have encountered many cases where the public entity in charge of a roadway has repaired the roadway right after a bicycle crash. Please preserve the evidence as best you can or retain an attorney who can hire an investigator to do so as soon as possible.
Please be safe out there!
If you or anyone you know has any questions about safe bicycling in Marin county, do not hesitate to contact me.
About the author: Claude Wyle is an aggressive advocate for Bay Area bicyclists. Claude has decades of experience representing those harmed by the wrongful conduct of others, and, as a Marin County bicyclist accident attorney, has fought to protect the rights of injured cyclists throughout his legal career. Claude is also an avid cyclist himself and a member of the Marin County Bicycle Coalition.
