Lakewood bicyclist recovering from crash

LAKEWOOD RANCH — Lakewood Ranch resident Debra Dunbar doesn’t remember anything that happened the morning of Sept. 10.

Except waking up in the emergency room.

The 20-year veteran cyclist was riding southward along Arnold Palmer Green when the driver of a 2008 Nissan came up behind her and accidentally struck the rear wheel of the bicycle. The impact sent Dunbar flying into the vehicle’s windshield, splitting her helmet upon impact, before sending her over the car and onto the pavement.

Nearly three weeks later, Dunbar is still nursing more than nine broken bones and fractures, scrapes and bruises with plenty of physical therapy and other doctor appointments.

“It’s going to be a while before she’s riding again — or walking again, really,” her husband James said. “The trauma doctor said the helmet probably saved her life.”

Manatee County Emergency Services Lt. Scott Kemp, a member of the Bicycle Response Team, said accidents like Dunbar’s — where bicycles are struck while being passed on the roadway — are fairly rare, but accidents involving bicycles overall are more common than one would think. Manatee County EMS personnel respond to up to 10 per week, he said.

“There are many more accidents than are what reported,” agreed paramedic Jason Winget, a certified bike instructor through the International Police Mountain Biking Association. “We’re not seeing it unless somebody’s injured.”

Bicycle accidents may not be as common in areas such as Lakewood Ranch, where bicycle lanes are more prevalent, but that does not mean drivers and bikers should not exercise caution when sharing the road, Kemp and Winget said.

Bicycles, when on the roadway, are acting as vehicles and should move with the flow of traffic, not against it. Florida law requires motorists to exercise “due care” to avoid colliding with any pedestrian or human-powered vehicle and to pass on the left, keeping a horizontal distance of at least three feet.

Winget said, as a bicyclist, it is critical to be familiar with safety rules and laws and to learn proper riding techniques. Bright clothing, although helpful, is not the only key to safety. Riders also must learn how to place themselves in the roadway — particularly when approaching intersections — so that they are visible.

For more information on bicycling safety or on sharing the road, visit the Florida Bicycle Association’s website, www.floridabicycle.org.

Contact Pam Eubanks at [email protected].

TIPS FOR BICYCLISTS
• Wear your helmet and wear it correctly
• See and be seen. Make yourself visible.
• Use proper lighting at night. Bicyclists should be visible at 500 feet from the front and at 600 feet from the back.
• Use a well-fitted and well-maintained bicycle.
• Know the state bicycle laws.

TIPS FOR DRIVERS
• Don’t pass a cyclist before making a right turn.
• Bicycles move faster than you think.
• When driving on a road with a bike lane, look, signal and merge into the bike lane before turning right.
• Yield to bicycles with the right-of-way just as any other vehicle.
Source: Florida Bicycle Association