The Indianapolis Cultural Trail is a $63 million, eight-mile biking and walking trail that was named “the biggest and boldest step by any American city” by Project for Public Spaces in New York City. The Cultural Trail connects all six of the cultural districts in Indianapolis—The Canal and White River State Park, Fountain Square, Indiana Avenue, Massachusetts Avenue (Mass Ave.), Market East, and the Wholesale District—and tours are offered every Saturday between April and October.
The Indianapolis Cultural Trail, Inc. is the not-for-profit organization that manages and maintains the trail. The organization also operates the Indiana Pacers Bikeshare program that many residents and visitors use to ride bikes on the Indianapolis Cultural Trail.
The Indiana Pacers Bikeshare program is a public bicycle sharing system that allows people to rent bikes from a network of 29 bike stations on or near the Indianapolis Cultural Trail for a fee. The program’s name stems from the Herbert Simon Family Foundation, owner of the Indiana Pacers, having made a generous contribution and being the title sponsors of the program.
In May 2018, the Indy Star reported that Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett held a news conference Tuesday celebrating a $1 million Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality grant from the Federal Highway Administration that would allow the city to add 25 more stations and 250 more bikes throughout the city in 2019. The Indiana Pacers Bikeshare program currently has about 275 bikes.
If you suffered serious injuries or your loved one was killed in a rental bike accident in Indianapolis, you have a limited amount of time to take legal action. Rental bike accidents can be incredibly complicated for many victims to handle on their own.
Hankey Marks & Crider represents residents of and visitors to Indianapolis as well as many other surrounding areas of Indiana. You can have our attorneys review your case and discuss all of your legal options when you call (317) 634-8565 or complete an online contact form to schedule a free consultation.
How Indiana Pacers Bikeshare Works
People can purchase Indiana Pacers Bikeshare program passes online, at kiosks, or through the BCycle app. The passes cost $8 for 24 hours, $15 monthly, or $80 annually, and people are allowed to take unlimited 30-minute rides during the duration of their applicable passes.
All trips that are 30 minutes or less are included with the day pass, monthly pass, or annual pass. When a trip exceeds 30 minutes, the rider can incur additional usage fees at rates of $2 for an additional 30 to 60 minutes and $4 for each additional 30 minutes.
Annual members of the Indiana Pacers Bikeshare program who use the BCycle app can also use their membership to check out bikes in many other BCycle cities. BCycle is owned by Trek Bicycle and operates local systems operating in 47 cities, although many systems involve a name other than BCycle (such as Indiana Pacers Bikeshare).
The Indiana Pacers Bikeshare is intended for riders over 18 years of age, and helmets are not required, although they are recommended by the Indianapolis Cultural Trail. The Indiana Pacers Bikeshare is open daily from 5 a.m. until 3 a.m., but bikes can be returned at any time, even when the system is technically closed. The Indiana Pacers Bikeshare program operates 365 days a year.
People should use the BCycle app or website to review current bike and dock availability when they are ready to return a rental bike. If a rider goes to return a bike and there are not any available docks at the nearest station, a credit of 15 minutes can be added to allow a return to the closest available stations without financial penalties.
Rental Bike Accident Claims We Handle
Bicycles allow people to travel to destinations in a manner that is quicker than traveling on foot, but biking also involves certain dangers. Even with the Indianapolis Cultural Trail, bicyclists must always be conscious of risks that can arise during their journeys.
In many cases, bicyclists end up being injured in accidents that are caused by the negligence of other parties. One of the most frequent types of collisions that bicyclists are involved in are “dooring” accidents.
A dooring crash occurs when drivers or passengers open vehicle doors in the path of an oncoming bicyclist. When a door is suddenly opened on a busy city street, the bicyclist is often left with no way to avoid the collision and usually strikes the door at full speed, possibly being thrown several feet from their bike.
In addition to dooring accidents, other common causes of rental bike accidents in Indianapolis include, but are not limited to:
- Left-Turn Accidents — One of the most common kinds of bike crashes involves a driver turning left in front of an oncoming bicyclist. Many of these types of accidents involve motorists misjudging the speeds of bicycles, but drivers may simply fail to see the bicyclist in some cases. Like dooring accidents, bicyclists are powerless to avoid collisions with vehicles that turn left in front of them.
- Right-Turn Accidents — A right-turn accident also involves a vehicle turning in front of a bicyclist, but the motor vehicle is usually traveling in the same direction as the bicyclist and crosses into the rider’s path while performing the turn. Bikes are often crushed and bicyclists sustain catastrophic injuries in these cases.
- Distracted Driving Accidents — Many drivers do not spot bicyclists because they are busy talking, text messaging, or performing some other activity on their cell phones. Other common kinds of distractions may include a motorist adjusting their stereo or climate controls, talking to another passenger, or even eating, drinking, or smoking.
- Failure to Yield Accidents — Drivers must obey all traffic signs and signals, and failure to do so often leads to serious bicycle accidents.
- Drunk Driving Accidents — The crime known as driving under the influence (DUI) or driving while intoxicated (DWI) in other jurisdictions is officially referred to as operating while intoxicated in Indiana. A person can be arrested for drunk driving in Indiana when they have a blood or breath alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.08 or more. The BAC limit is only 0.02 for drivers under 21 years of age and 0.04 for commercial drivers. A person who is under the influence of a controlled substance can also be charged with OWI in Indiana. It is important to understand that a person who is acquitted or otherwise avoids a conviction for OWI can still be held civilly liable for the damages they caused because the criminal case is completely separate from the civil action.
- Head-On Collisions — In certain situations, such as when automobiles suddenly swerve into bicycle lanes, bicycles and motor vehicles may have head-to-head collisions. Depending on the speeds involved, head-on crashes are much more likely to result in fatal injuries.
- Sideswipe Accidents — Bicyclists traveling in the same direction as motor vehicles may be bumped or struck by automobiles that move out of their lanes while traveling. Again, the speeds at which the vehicles are traveling often impact the severity of the injuries.
All of these kinds of bicycle accidents can occur to people on bikes that they have rented or bikes they own. With rental bikes, some crashes can also be the result of dangerous or defective bicycles.
Indiana Pacers Bikeshare program users who believe their bikes are damaged are instructed not to ride damages bikes and contact customer service. In many cases, bike damage or a bike defect is not always immediately apparent.
Rental companies can be liable for injuries that are caused by improperly maintained bikes. Similarly, accidents that are caused by defective bike parts could make the part manufacturer liable for a defectively designed or defectively manufactured part.
Rental Bike Accident Injuries
Even when they wear helmets, bicyclists simply do not have much protection when they are involved in accidents. As a result, many bicycle crashes can result in severe injuries that lead to several weeks, months, or even years of hospitalization and rehabilitation as well as an inability to return to work.
Some of the most common kinds of injuries bicyclists can suffer include, but are not limited to:
- Road rash
- Fractures
- Sprains
- Muscle strains
- Nerve damage
- Internal organ injuries
- Neck injuries
- Spinal cord injuries
- Paralysis
- Traumatic brain injuries
The lack of protection for bicyclists also increases the likelihood that some injuries can be fatal. The family members of bicyclists killed by the negligence of other parties can usually file wrongful death lawsuits in such cases.
Contact an Indianapolis Rental Bike Accident Attorney Today
Did you sustain severe injuries or was your loved one killed in a rental bike accident in Indianapolis? Do not wait to contact an experienced bikeshare accident attorney of Hankey Marks & Crider. We have the experience and the resources to help you get the compensation you are owed. Call us at (317) 634-8565 or contact us online to have our attorneys provide a complete evaluation of your case during a free consultation.