Leesburg bike crash lawyer Doug Landau shows the steps taken to protect bikers from crashes at the W&OD Trail intersection with Belmont Ridge Road near Ashburn in Loudoun County, Virginia
Anyone who rides the W&OD Trail West past Route 28 and Dulles Airport, knows the intersection at Belmont Ridge Road (Route 659, near Ashburn, as pointed out by alert reader Alan Muchnik), with trucks barreling down in both directions, is the place where you would expect to see a serious bike injury. My own wife, who is herself an experienced bike racer, bike tour participant and international cyclist, had an injury near this spot that has left her with permanent scarring and disability. In braking well before the roadway, at the quarry heading East, my bride fractured her elbow and required surgery and post operative care by the skilled doctors at Town Center Orthopedics.
Having helped more injured cyclists and seen more wrecked bicycles than I can care to count, I am always glad to see the state, local and Federal Government take steps to protect bikers and encourage cycling safety. So I was impressed to see the following at this dangerous intersection:
Rough pavement, so you could FEEL the warning, like “rumble strips” before the toll booth;
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Swiggly lines on the roadway for the cars and trucks and perpendicular lines on the bike trail, so you could SEE that something was coming up; and
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TWO (2) Stop signs that you could read, warning you to come to a complete stop.
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I commend the Parks Authority and VDOT for taking steps to warn of the dangers of this place where the recreational bike path and park intersects with a heavily trafficed roadway. These warnings are especially important in an area where trucks, with long braking distances, and bikes, heading downhill, cold crash and cause traumatic, permanent and even fatal injuries.
I agree with you, Doug. These swigging lines in the road, the bumbs for the bikers, and the TWO stop signs are all efforts to make the ride safer. Hey, I thought that was what Tort lawyers were for, to make the world safer?!!!
I agree with above also but would like to add to it. I travel this road a couple of times a day along with many neighbors and we believe one of most dangerous
events that take place is when drivers come to a stop to let the bike riders cross the road sometimes waving them across. Many times this causes screeching tires and sometimes cars who are not expecting to have to come to a dead stop to run off the road. The cars coming in the other direction do not know what is going on either slam on their brakes or just drive through. I have seen the driver who has decided to stop insisting the bike rider cross and refusing to move until they do. The bike riders sometimes breeze through others are hesitant or refuse realizing this is a dangerous practice. This all has caused confusion with some, I assume inexperianced riders, who just slow and continue across.
Yeah I agree. Good points really!