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Union Bank Named Medium Business of the Year
At SCV Leadership Awards
On August 15, the Santa Clarita Chamber of Commerce held the 2013 SCV Leadership Awards. This event, in its second year, is designed to recognize top-performing businesses and individuals from the Santa Clarita Valley.

The leadership awards represent a new opportunity for sponsors to partner with successful companies, support our local economy and help recognize some of the best and brightest leaders in our valley.

Several categories of awards are presented and Union Bank was honored to receive the Medium Business of the Year award.
This award is presented to a business with 51 to 200 employees which exhibits sound financial, staffing and customer service principles.

Consistently known for its outstanding customer service, Union Bank is also committed to giving back to the communities it serves through philanthropic endeavors including charitable contributions and employee volunteerism. In 2012, Union Bank employees contributed more than 75,000 volunteer hours and the bank's charitable investment in local communities totaled more than $12.6 million, which included grants, contributions and sponsorships to help finance the efforts of nonprofit organizations within the bank's geography. Locally, Union Bank supports a variety of organizations including the Senior Center, Boys and Girls Club, The Arts Council and College of the Canyons.
Union Bank Newhall 287-6378; Valencia 260-2724;
Canyon Country 299-2651

Bike Safe
Santa Clarita is a wonderful place for locals to ride their bikes. Because of the mild temperatures and the many bike trails, there are dozens of bikers in Santa Clarita on a daily basis. Yet this can sometimes become a hazard, as it is common for bikers to be hit by distracted drivers or to fall in a horrible wreck when there is an item or a barrier in the bike path.

According to the California Highway Patrol (CHP) accident statistics from 2010, there were a total of 111 fatal bicycle accidents and more than 12,000 accidents that resulted in bicyclist injury. Statistics over the past five years seem to indicate a growing number of bicycle-related injuries annually; more people now use a bicycle as their primary mode of transportation and many others bicycle for leisure.

According to the California Vehicle Code 21200-21212, a person riding a bicycle or operating a pedicab upon a highway has all the rights and is subject to all the provisions applicable to the driver of a vehicle by this division.

Basically what this means is that bicyclists are bound to certain traffic codes listed in the California Vehicle Code (CVC). If a bicyclist was injured in an accident, but the accident was caused by the cyclist's failure to adhere to one of these regulations, then they may not be entitled to recover financial compensation because they could be considered the liable party in the incident.

People can be injured in a bike accident if they are hit by a moving vehicle. This can typically result in severe road rash, broken bones, spinal injuries or even a traumatic brain injury (TBI). Bikers can also get into accidents when they hit a large bump in the road or are unable to control their bike any longer.

According to data released by Harvard University, nearly half of all bicycle accidents are caused by motorists making left turns in front of approaching bicyclists. Another 23 percent of accidents are caused by motorists failing to make an accurate judgment of how much space there was between their vehicle and the cyclist. A majority of accidents involving bicycles and vehicles are caused by negligence on behalf of the driver of the vehicle.

Contact our firm if your accident was caused by a driver who failed to yield the right of way, failed to see you before changing lanes or turned or collided with you while they were driving drunk.
The Law Offices of Gerald L. Marcus 661-296-2992