Eight years ago today, Rachael Maney became the Director of Bike Law and helped co‑found the Bike Law Foundation, our non-profit arm. Today, we celebrate her success in transforming Bike Law from a national network of bicycle crash lawyers into a leading voice in bicycle advocacy and safety. When Rachael joined, Bike Law’s focus was…
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Rachael: 8 Years At Bike Law!
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Paul, My Brother, Rest in Peace.
If there’s one thing we know at Bike Law, it’s that behind every cycling fatality there’s grief and a longing for justice. And sometimes justice is just understanding what happened. Paul Rucker’s story reminds us of the importance of putting aside assumptions and finding the truth. Paul wasn’t perfect. None of us are. But his family…
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Bad “bike accident” reporting in Canada
Victim blaming persists. As a bike crash lawyer, I have seen far too many crashes that get unfairly reported when a vulnerable road user such as a cyclist or pedestrian is involved. There is a tendency to turn the initial focus on the conduct of the victim. This sets up a situation of victim blaming and…
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Mercedes the Menace Could Have Killed Someone.
Road rage in NC is not an isolated incident. Anti-bike rage kills. Well, road rage has again reared its ugly head near Charlotte, North Carolina. This time no one was hurt, but the behavior was life threatening, photos were taken, and the social media story went viral. As a bike crash attorney in Charlotte, and as…
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Jury: Bicyclist not an “Obstruction”
Cyclist hit, cyclist injured, cyclist ticketed. Police wrong. Jury right! He had just been launched skyward by the front end of a pickup truck. Now the police were giving him a ticket. Jason was riding his road bike in the travel lane of North River Road in Libertyville, Illinois with his father-in-law and two friends when an…
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GoPro: A Trial Lawyers Best Friend
If a picture is worth a thousand words then a video is worth a million. As every lawyer knows, a crash will have multiple versions of the event; your client’s story, the defendant’s story, and the truth. A video always gets us to the truth. Rarely are we as lucky to have a client with…
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Bike Law at RAGBRAI
Since I have returned home from riding across Iowa, a lot of people have asked, “What’s RAGBRAI like?” Well, it’s a lot like riding your bike for the fun of it with your friends and meeting lots of like-minded folks along the route—kind of like when you were a kid. It’s also like a choose-your-adventure book with…
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Will new North Carolina laws make cycling safer?
On July 12, House Bill 959 was signed into law and it changes a few things for bicyclists. What effect, if any, will these changes have on bicycle safety? A little background, if you haven’t been following along. Last summer, the Legislature passed HB 232 and set up a working group to study North Carolina…
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More Tragedy in Michigan: Please Help.
Post-Kalamazoo, things looked up for Michigan cyclists, but this week saw the death of one cycling leader and serious injuries to another. On June 7, 2016, Charles Pickett, Jr., while under the influence of an unidentified controlled substance, drove his pickup truck into a group of cyclists in Kalamazoo, Michigan. In doing so, he killed 5…
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Bike Damaged in Crash? Make a Claim.
You survived that , but your ride was trashed. Now you ? You can’t believe that just happened. You were cut off. Left hooked. Doored. However your crash occurred, it happened, and thankfully you are walking away, shaken and pissed off. Sadly, you can’t say the same for your bike. Your frame is cracked or…
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Washington, D.C. takes a big step for cyclists!
Today, D.C. Council passes first reading of the Motor Vehicle Collision Act of 2016. July 12, 2016 @ 1 p.m: Washington, D.C. just took a very big step forward in protecting the rights of vulnerable road users. Bike Law’s Timmy Finch was there. Today, Council approved the first reading of the Motor Vehicle Collision Recovery Act…
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The Nation’s First Bike Share Fatality
The last few weeks of my job as a bike crash lawyer have been a mixture of both exhausting tragedy and a feeling of true purpose. It’s been a brutal start to the summer for cyclists. From New York to Michigan to San Fransisco and everywhere in between we’ve seen a level of carnage unmatched…
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DC to End “Contributory Negligence” for Cyclists?
Today, DC votes on whether to end “contributory negligence” for cyclists and pedestrians. 11:30 am UPDATE: Act pulled from today’s Agenda in last minute move. This means it HAS to come up at the July 12th meeting. We will be there! Today, the DC Council will vote on the “Motor Vehicle Collision Recovery Act of…
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Hey Canada, it’s time for us to step up!
Although we negatively judge our American neighbours repeatedly over their gun laws, when the weapon is a car (and it is used to seriously hurt or kill a cyclist or pedestrian) they are way ahead of us and find our system appalling. A large number of States have already passed Vulnerable Road User Laws and more are…
