THIS WEEK IN PRO CYCLING
Legally Speaking - with Bob Mionske: The risk of the road
Dear Readers;
When I wrote Bicycling& the Law, one of my main goals was to tackle the problem of anti-cyclistbias. As I discussed in "Bicycling & the Law," there is an institutionalizedsocial bias against cyclists, which is manifested in a road infrastructurethat discriminates against cyclists, law enforcement bias against cyclists,and even a media bias against cyclists. In my previous Legally Speakingcolumn (see A Fatal Bias?), I discussed some recent car-on-bike crashes,and the textbook examples of police and media bias in response to thosecrashes.In Portland, the cycling community, outraged by that police bias, haschanneled its outrage into action. Joe “MetalCowboy” Kurmaskie called for a cyclist’s civil rights movement, andwith the assistance of Portland bicycle activist EllyBlue, the community coalesced in an amazing show of strength, talent,and spirit to organize a rally planned for this weekend. The theme of therally? “WeAre All traffic.” In "Bicycling & the Law," I wrote that “gainingthe right to the road was the cycling cause of the late nineteenth century;securing that right will be the cause of the early twenty-first century.”To that end, I argued that “the time has come for a second civil rightsmovement for cyclists.” It’s heartening to see that second civil rightsmovement now sprouting from a groundswell of grassroots cyclists in Portland.Following last week’s column, I received a number of emails from readersdetailing their own experiences with a biased police and media responseto car-on-bike crashes, which I am sharing in this column with all of myreaders. Next week, I will be back with a report on the “We Are All Traffic”rally, and more reader responses to these columns on police and media bias.Bob,
I love your column on VeloNews.com. As you pointed out in describingthe Egertson case, that institutional bias you mention pervades the mediaas well. A recent news report about a cyclist who died in an crash witha car at four in the morning on Long Island that included the statement"Police said it was unclear what Cambrelen was doing riding her bicycleon the road at that time" without a similar question or statement aboutwhat the motorist was doing, as if cyclists need to explain riding on theroad. In correspondence with the writer, it became clear that he felt cyclingon roads is a sort of anomaly, while driving is fine. He also dismissedmy concern that all the reporting was relying on statements of the driver,as the only other witness (the cyclist) was dead. I don't expect him orthe police to commune with the deceased to find out what really happened,but the way in which the driver's side was reproduced as fact by both policeand the newspaper was depressing. The newspaper in question printed a letterI wrote about this, though they edited out my critique of their reportingand left only criticism of the police.
Sincerely,
J. F. T.
New York City
Bob,
I had a similar incident on September 16th, 2007, in Crown Point, Indiana.I was traveling north bound in the far right hand lane on a 5 lane roadwhen an SUV on the west side of the street made a left turn and causedme to crash. I'm not sure if the car actually hit me or not, because eventhough my Bell helmet saved my life, I'm sure I had a mild concussion,because the helmet sustained severe damage. My "minor injuries," as politelystated in the local newspaper, included multiple fractures to my left femurand a broken left clavicle. The interesting twist to the story and titleto the September 17 Post-Tribune article: “Man clutching water balloonfalls off bike:
A 36-year old Hobart bicyclist trying to throw a water balloonat a passing car lost his balance and ended up in the hospital, said CrownPoint Deputy Police Chief Eldon Strong. Police arrived at the 1300 blockof North Main Street at 10:50a.m. The man, whose name is being withheld,was sent to Saint Anthony Medical Center for minor injuries, Strong said.
I'm not sure about you but I usually do not make habit of carrying waterballoons so I can throw them at 2000lbs vehicles while I'm on my 20lb bicycle.I'm not sure if it was a typo by the newspaper or the ignorance of PoliceChief Eldon Strong, but it really paints a bad picture that cyclist arerenegades causing anarchy on the roads with innocent 2,000lb vehicles.As for bias toward the driver of the vehicle, your article is dead on.The responding officer took a statement from the driver. The driver statedthat he made a left turn onto N. Main St. from Elm St. and was travelingNorthbound on N. Main St. in the East lane and heard a male subject yell"Hey". The driver then said he looked in his review mirror and saw thecyclist throw a water bottle at him. The driver also stated that he neversaw the cyclist when he pulled on to N. Main St. The officer asked twoother witnesses and they said they heard the man scream and saw him fallbut didn't see the actual accident or incident that transpired. The officeralso noted in his report that he didn't see any paint transfer from bicycleto car, supporting the drivers statement that I threw a water bottle athim, causing me to lose balance. The officer tried taking a statement fromme, but with my injuries I could only say I didn't know what happened.According to the Indianadrivers manual, “If the road from which you will be turning has morethan one lane, the first rule for a safe and legal turn is to move intothe lane nearest the direction you will be turning well in advance of theturn. Follow the rules for changing lanes to safely move into the properlane prior to making a turn.” The police officer never cited the driverof the vehicle for making an improper turn on a multi-lane road.
J.B.
Indiana
Bob,
I wanted to add one more case of a cyclist being clearly right, anda driver still not cited. On July 27th of this year while cyclingin Dallas TX, I was hit from behind by an elderly driver who admitted tothe police that he was on medications and had had a few drinks. Iwas wearing a florescent green/yellow safety vest and had a large lighton the rear of my bike. I was in the right hand lane of a three-lane road,with light traffic at 3:30 in the afternoon. An ambulance crew witnessedthe entire accident from just behind the driver, and confirmed the drivernever hit his breaks until he hit me, and that I was clearly visible froma long distance before they approached, and that I had the right of way.The driver was not cited. His license was later revoked, but thatwas due to four accidents inside of one month.
P. H.
Texas
Dear Bob,
Your recent column “A Fatal Bias?” was excellent, dealing with motoristsharassing and/or hitting cyclists. We've recently had a couple of incidentsin the area: Womancould see license suspension for harassing bicyclists with truck Thispsycho driver was terrorizing cyclists along the same stretch of road formonths. One of my bike-commuting co-workers, a long-distance enthusiastwho rides from work to visit his grandkids, was harassed a half-dozen times.Our club discussion board documentsseveral incidents. Yet the police declined to prosecute because therewas no bodily injury and no officers witnessed anything. So if I wiggedout at a softball game and started shouting and swinging a bat near people'sheads, would the police let me go if they didn't actually see me do itand my swings never connected? And this weekend my boss, an ironman triathleteand experienced road rider, was picked off the right shoulder by a drivercoming the other way. The driver also hit the following cyclist. A dualhead-on, and both cyclists were lucky to escape with minor injuries. TheHadley police did cite the driver, however. Years ago a good friend (theNew England TT champ) was hit in a similar head-on situation in Southwick.The vehicle was an SUV, not a car, so the injuries were severe and permanent.And even though the evidence was obvious the police never ticketed thatdriver. His first reactions were to peel the broken windshield back, drive100 ft down the road, walk back and throw the bike onto the shoulder, andthen ask a witness (an off-duty nurse attending my barely-conscious friend)if she saw anything.This is important work and I thank you for doing it. One of my frustrationswith fellow racer types (I'm unofficially retired) is that they don't payenough attention to advocacy issues. Car-on-bike violence is a seriousthreat to our sport and it's time we respond to that threat with the fullfury and force it deserves.
T. H. Amherst
Massachusetts
Dear Bob,
So many of the cases cited in your recent column on VeloNews.com echomy own experiences, it is creepy. As a bike commuter while attending graduateschool at the University of Florida, I went through a span of ten dayswhere I was involved in three auto-bike collisions - I refer to this asmy "Dark Days" in cycling. There are some common themes in all of these"accidents". There was no incident report in any of these cases, even thoughone had a University Police officer as a witness and the other involveda city-run mass transit vehicle. In each case, I suffered only scrapesand bruises, albeit some very painful bruises, but nothing more seriousthan that. Lastly, I saw each of these "accidents" as the fault of themotor vehicle operators. Even so, many of my friends wanted to place atleast some of the "blame" on me, stating that I must have been "ridingtoo aggressively" when the collisions occurred.During my time as a graduate student at the University of Florida, therewere other cases of bike "accidents" that had more tragic consequences,none ending in legal charges filed. In one case, a female student witha bike on the sidewalk at a signaled intersection was run over and killedby a semi-truck making a right turn. The semi jumped the curb and crushedthe girl, ina scenario similar to your story of Tracey Sparling. She wasn't evenmoving - she was stopped on the sidewalk, waiting for the light to change.In another incident, a member of the University cycle team was killedwhen he was struck, from behind, by a motorist that fell asleep at thewheel. He missed the usual training ride with the rest of the team, andwent out for a solo ride. He was returning on US 441, heading north, whenan elderly vehicle operator drifted out of his lane and hit the cyclistat nearly 70 mph. He was killed instantly, when he was thrown into thewindshield of the minivan. The "accident" occurred on a flat stretch ofroad with a wide shoulder. It was about 4:00 p.m. on a bright, sunny day.As far as I recall, there were no charges filed against the driver, who"lost concentration" and drifted off the road.I agree with your assertions in your column. All too often the cyclistis seen as being, at least partly, at fault for even being on the road,in the first place. How can we change this auto-centric attitude? I amnot certain, but I do think that ALL cyclists should follow the rules ofthe road and become "friendly" users of the roadways with which we haveto share with automobiles. Often, motorists take an unfriendly, aggressiveattitude when they see a cyclist. This can only lead to trouble for thecyclist. My bike and I weigh a total of 165 pounds. Certainly no matchfor the two-ton pickups and four-wheeled SUVs that are so popular on ourstreets and roads. I ride defensively, but not to the point of being "pushedaround" by cars. I hold my line, on the road, and always signal my intentions.That's all I can do. But until attitudes and the laws change, I am afraidthat we will continue to see "no fault" car-bike accidents as the rule,rather than the exception.
J. M.
Pennsylvania
On a final note, I'd like to thank all of my readers who have contactedme to request my appearance at their event on my upcoming speaking tour.I will be speaking extensively in 2008, and will make plans to appear beforeany club, bike shop, or other engagement that is interested in hostingme. If you would like me to appear to speak at your event or shop, or toyour club or group, please drop me a line at bookbob2speak@gmail.com.I'm looking forward to meeting as many of my readers as possible.
Bob
(Research and drafting provided by Rick Bernardi, J.D.)
On a final note, I'd like to thank all of my readers who have contactedme to request my appearance at their event on my upcoming speaking tour.I will be speaking extensively in 2008, and will make plans to appear beforeany club, bike shop, or other engagement that is interested in hostingme. If you would like me to appear to speak at your event or shop, or toyour club or group, please drop me a line at bookbob2speak@gmail.com.I'm looking forward to meeting as many of my readers as possible.
Bob
(Research and drafting provided by Rick Bernardi, J.D.)
Bob Mionske is a former competitive cyclist who representedthe U.S. at the 1988 Olympic games (where he finished fourth in the roadrace), the 1992 Olympics, as well as winning the 1990 national championshiproad race.
After retiring from racing in 1993, he coached the Saturn Professional Cycling team for one year before heading off to law school. Mionske's practice is now split between personal-injury work, representing professional athletes as an agent and other legal issues facing endurance athletes (traffic violations, contract, criminal charges, intellectual property, etc).Mionske is also the author of Bicyclingand the Law, designed to be the primary resource for cycliststo consult when faced with a legal question. It provides readers with theknowledge to avoid many legal problems in the first place, and informsthem of their rights, their responsibilities, and what steps they can takeif they do encounter a legal problem.If you have a cycling-related legal question, please send it to mionskelaw@hotmail.comBob will answer as many of these questions privately as he can. He willalso select a few questions each week to answer in this column. Generalbicycle-accident advice can be found at www.bicyclelaw.com.Important notice:The information provided in the "Legally speaking"column is not legal advice. The information provided on this publicweb site is provided solely for the general interest of the visitors tothis web site. The information contained in the column applies to generalprinciples of American jurisprudence and may not reflect current legaldevelopments or statutory changes in the various jurisdictions and thereforeshould not be relied upon or interpreted as legal advice. Understand thatreading the information contained in this column does not mean youhave established an attorney-client relationship with attorney Bob Mionske.Readers of this column should not act upon any information contained inthe web site without first seeking the advice of legal counsel.
