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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A Car is a Castle?
So a driver just cut you off, flipped you off, or otherwise harassed you. It’s happened to all of us. I have had a blaring horn scare me and nearly cause me to crash. I would have loved to pull the minivan driver from his seat and give him a piece of my mind or…
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Georgia Bicycle Summit
Bike Law Georgia has entered a strategic partnership with Georgia Bikes to be a Presenting Sponsor for the 6th Annual Georgia Bike Summit in November 2015. The Bike Summit will be in Milledgeville and starts with a First Friday Street party, followed by a day of workshops, discussion and speakers all revolving about ways to make Georgia a more bicycle…
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Drivers May Be Liable When A “Near Miss” Causes Injury
To horseshoes and hand grenades I would add bicycling in traffic to the list of activities in which close may be enough to do damage. While riding a bike, coming close to physical contact with a vehicle, i.e. a car door, may be enough to cause a crash and serious injury. In a video making…
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Ontario Bicycling Laws FAQs
After riding for years and practicing bike law in Ontario, I felt it important to put together a brief overview of the laws that apply when riding in Ontario. I hope it helps and if you have any questions or need help, please feel free to contact me through the Ontario Bike Law page. What happens…
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Kansas Jury Refuses to Punish Driver Who Intentionally Hit Cyclist
This week, a Kansas Jury rendered a verdict in a criminal case that should give cyclists great reason for concern. The Johnson County District attorney charged and prosecuted Paul Hanley of Olathe, Kansas with Aggravated Battery, a felony, following a car bicycle collision last fall near Heritage Park. The cyclist (my client) was riding alone and lawfully using…
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California Cyclists Buzzed — By Police Officers!
When the Beatles were in the studio recording what has gone down in music history as “the most important rock & roll album ever made,” Paul McCartney, working on one of his songs, sang “it’s getting better all the time”… to which John Lennon replied “it couldn’t get no worse.” Bicycling advocacy is like that.…
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The Court Of Public Opinion v. Bicycle Fatality
There is an old saying in journalism, “If your mother says she loves you, check it out.” The legal profession is no stranger to this standard of diligence. You very well might get every lawyer to admit his or her favorite word is “allegedly.” Take the first policy I learned when clerking for Freeman Kevenides…
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Illinois Hit and Run Death, but Driver Leaves Plate
CBS is reporting that a bicyclist was killed in Des Plaines last night by a hit-and-run driver. Apparently, the driver was a United Airlines employee driving a company SUV. At approximately 9:40pm the SUV, allegedly driven by United Airlines worker Daniel Wehr struck a bicyclist, 25 year old Jose Gomez of Des Plaines. The collision occurred on Algonquin…
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Inspired by the Bike Nomad, Bryan takes a tour!
The idea for a journey from Madison, Wisconsin to Michigan started in Washington, D.C. at the League of American Bicyclists’ National Bike Summit. One of the benefits of attending the Bike Summit was the opportunity to meet bicycle advocates from around the country. At this year’s Summit, I was fortunate to meet Erick Cedeño, better known as…
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Legal Reform Needed to Protect Cyclists
Friday afternoon I first saw a video of a driver viciously attacking a cyclist during the morning commute that day. The driver can be seen in a video running and punching a cyclist. As with many cell phone videos, this one doesn’t tell the whole story. The incident began at approximately 7:50 am Friday morning…
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How to Enforce the 3 Foot Law?
Like a lot of states, Georgia has a 3 foot law that requires cars and trucks to leave a distance of at least 3 feet when passing a bicyclist. The advent of the 3 foot law should have been a tremendous benefit to the safety of the many riders on the roads in Georgia, particularly…
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One Meter Law Passes in Ontario
Over forty years ago, in the United States, Wisconsin led the way in introducing the three-foot law. Recently, Bike Law reported that Wyoming joined the 25 other States that have similar legislation. I am pleased to say that on June 2nd, Ontario finally passed the “One Meter Passing Law” (or for our southern, metrically challenged friends, the “three-foot…
