Tag Archive for legal liability

New York proposes speed limiters for habitual speeders, and LA won’t fix dangerous bump on LA River bike path

They get it.

Sort of.

State legislators in New York have proposed a bill that would require habitual speeders to install a speed limitation device on their cars, similar to an interlock device for drunk drivers.

“We are going to literally force you to slow down by requiring you to install a speed limiter on your car,” bill sponsor state Sen. Andrew Gounardes warned reckless drivers on Tuesday during a press conference at the Atlantic Avenue intersection where a speeding driver killed Katherine Harris, 31, in April.

The proposal comes amid an historically deadly year for city streets, in which 132 people have died in crashes so far, including 49 pedestrians. Speed limiters have been shown to reduce traffic deaths by 37 percent, supporters said, citing a report from the European Transport Safety Council.

So far, so good.

But the devil, as they say, is in the details.

Like a particularly devilish requirement that the law doesn’t kick in until a driver receives at least six speeding tickets in a single year.

As if you can’t kill anyone by driving too fast until the seventh time you get caught. Never mind that virtually no one only speeds once or twice.

Or that most drivers routinely exceed the speed limit, at least here in Los Angeles.

The other devilish detail is that even with the device installed, drivers could still speed by 5 mph over the post speed limit. Because evidently, requiring drivers to actually observe the speed limit is cruel and unusual punishment.

But it’s a good start.

And something like that would make a great companion piece to the proposed speed cam pilot project here in California.

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KCAL News led off last night’s broadcast with a report on a dangerous bump caused by a tree root on the LA River bike path. which has already injured a number of bicyclists.

And yet, the city has done nothing to fix it, despite repeated requests going back a couple years.

Which means that every injury caused by the raised, cracked pavement could cost exponentially more to settle, because lawyers can easy show that officials were aware of the problem, and let it continue to cause injuries, anyway.

Meanwhile, the LA city council is considering a $60 million contract with Metro to build a 13-mile segment of the Los Angeles River bike path in the San Fernando Valley.

The project would plug existing gaps in the bikeway between Vanalden Ave to the west and Forest Lawn Drive/Zoo Drive to the east.

Maybe they can use a little of that money to fix a bump, too.

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Once again, we’re likely to hear howls of protest from local business leaders, somehow convinced their businesses will fail unless people can park their cars directly in front of them.

Because people who walk and bike apparently live off the grid, don’t eat or drink and buy nothing.

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The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.

Four Virginia bike riders have been injured riding into a gate used to close a popular roadway at night, after the city failed to open it on time. Although you’d think it wouldn’t be that hard to see a gate blocking a roadway.

But sometimes, it’s the people on two-wheels behaving badly.

A small New Jersey town has amended the city’s bike rules after blaming teens on bikes for ruining the “Downtown experience.”

After a couple of South Carolina kids killed someone’s schnauzer while riding an ebike on the sidewalk, an op-ed writer says blame the careless bike riders, because it’s not the ebike’s fault.

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Local 

Streets Are For Everyone, aka SAFE, offers a quick lesson in the importance of language in framing perceptions — like saying crash instead of accident.

Metro wants your input for first mile/last mile improvements around the Culver City Metro Station. You know, like restoring the Move Culver City protected bike lanes recently ripped out by the city’s new conservative city council.

The Pasadena Star-News considers whether it’s legal for drivers to cross into a bike lane to make a right turn, correctly answering yes, while calling out careless drivers. Unlike most other states, California requires drivers to enter a bike lane prior to an intersection to make a right, rather than turning across the lane.

 

State

A Bay Area writer complains that San Mateo County was an early Vision Zero adopter, but the concept was never taken seriously. Sort of like the chronically underfunded Vision Zero program in Los Angeles.

Sad news from Rohnert Park, where police were surprised to learn the bike-riding man killed in a collision was actually a homeless woman.

 

National

CNN suggests the best gear for beginning mountain bikers, while Road Bike Rider offers advice on how to keep your bike clean.

Cycling News considers your best options for ebike conversion kits.

CleanTechnica questions why the website doesn’t cover more bikes without plugs.

Anthropocene suggests your next EV should have two wheels instead of four, saying ebikes now prevent a lot more emissions than all the world’s Teslas.

Idaho authorities recommend that a 14-year old driver face a misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter charge for the hit-and-run death of a woman riding her bike last 4th of July; Idaho allows residents to get a learner’s permit at 14 and a half, but they aren’t allowed to drive unsupervised.

Boulder, Colorado bike riders say a new door zone bike lane fails the comfort and safety test.

Review a safety brochure, sign an injury waiver form, and you’ll get a free lift pass to ride the mountain bike trails at Colorado’s Arapahoe Basin — and a free beer.

Minnesota bike riders now have a green light to roll stop signs, becoming the latest state to adopt the Idaho Stop Law, or Stop As Yield. And once again, California won’t be joining them, even though the law has been repeatedly shown to improve safety, after Encinitas State Assemblymember Tasha Boerner pulled her bill legalizing Stop As Yield in the wake of two previous vetoes from the governor.

Chicago residents are on the lookout for an 82-year old man with limited English skills who went missing after going for a bike ride.

Yesterday we mentioned a bike rider who was critically injured when he was struck by an Indianapolis cop, who swerved onto the wrong side of the road to avoid another car; tragically, the 34-year old father of two kids died of his injuries.

A Boston TV station examines how the city’s bike mayor is working to make the roads safer and more inclusive. Which is a reminder that Los Angeles still doesn’t have one.

A New York bike rider says the recent crash of mo-ped and electric motor scooter riders on the Manhattan Bridge calls for “difficult conversations about the purpose of the city’s precious bike lane real estate, food delivery worker equity and the role NYPD should play in enforcing existing rules.”

Planetizen complains that ebikes from New York’s Citi Bike are too popular for their own good, as bikeshare operator Lyft struggles with maintenance and charging.

 

International

Road.cc examines the world’s lightest, cost-be-damned road bike frames and components to create the ultimate featherweight bike. For weight weenies with more dollars than sense, apparently. 

Toronto Blue Jays centerfielder Kevin Kiermaier will have to find another way to get to work, after the bike he used to ride four and a half miles to the ballpark was stolen from his garage.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission warns against wearing bike helmets from SQM and Xinerter, which don’t meet mandatory safety requirements and may pose a serious risk of injury or death, as the Chinese manufacturer refuses to issue a recall.

Officials at South Korea’s Camp Humphries US Army base urged soldies to register their bicycles, after a pair of sergeants discovered a trove of over 100 missing bikes when one of them went to recover her own stolen bike.

 

Finally…

That feeling when your new bike garage looks like an Apple Store, but without all the computers and iPhones and stuff. If you’re going to bury the victim of a drunken hit-and-run, don’t leave your Red Bull can behind.

And it might be worth a pilgrimage to Pittsburgh to see Pee-Wee Herman’s iconic bike.

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Be safe, and stay healthy. And get vaccinated, already.

Oh, and fuck Putin

No protection for bike riders in bike lanes, more on horrific Las Vegas bike crash, and New York driver injures 6 protesters

It’s the last full week of the 6th Annual BikinginLA Holiday Fund Drive!

Thanks to Dan G, Sketch Productions and Kenneth R for their generous donations to help keep SoCal’s best bike news and advocacy coming your way every day!

While we accept donations year round, this is the only time of year we ask —okay, beg —  for your help to keep this site going. 

So don’t wait. Give to the BikinginLA Holiday Fund Drive today!

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Bike scribe Peter Flax is back with a piece in Outside, warning about the lack of legal protections for riders in bike lanes.

Experienced cyclists already know that a conventional bike lane—where government officials paint stripes on the road to demarcate a dedicated space for riders—offers few real physical protections from motor vehicles. But the case in Bend offers a window into how the legal protections they offer are extremely limited, too.

The problem extends outside of Oregon. After the October ruling, I spoke with two attorneys who specialize in cycling-related law—one based in Colorado and the other in Ohio—and both said that existing laws in their states do almost nothing to define cyclists’ right of way in bike lanes or protect them in a crash…

Both attorneys expressed considerable frustration that cyclists don’t yet have more rational, legal protections. “If we are going to spend the time and money building bike lanes for cyclists, they must come with some level of protection,” says Hottman. “If bike lanes are where city planners want us riding, and if we agree that collisions and tensions tend to decrease when cyclists get dedicated places to ride, then we have to be granted some level of protection when we ride in them. My perfect world would be a state statute that says motorists turning across a bike lane must yield to bikes in bike lane.”

It seems like a no brainer. Bike riders should have the right-of-way in the only piece of pavement dedicated to our use.

But we don’t.

Anyone who has ridden most SoCal bike lanes can tell you that we’re still subject to swinging car doors, drivers using bike lanes to pull in or out of parking spaces or cruise of a parking spot, or cutting across the bike lane to make a turn — which is illegal in California, where drivers are required to merge into a bike lane before turning right.

And for which we too often get the blame, despite being exactly where we’re supposed to be.

The simple solution is to make drivers fully liable for any collision with someone on a bicycle who is riding legally in the bike lane.

Period.

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More on the horrific crash that killed five Las Vegas bicyclists last week and injured four others, one critically.

The Las Vegas coroner identified the five victims Friday afternoon.

According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, the victims were described as key fixtures in the local bicycling scene, and in the top 10% of area bicyclists. Note: if the paper’s paywall blocks you, trying opening the link with another browser or a private window.

One of the victims was a member of the national triathlon team, while another was described as someone who lived on on his bike and would help anyone — including cyclists on a competing team.

A third victim was called a kind, caring man of faith who loved bike racing.

Hundreds of community members gathered around a ghost bike sculpture in front of a local bike shop to remember the victims and call for safer streets.

NBC News somehow gets the crash sequence backwards, saying the truck driver hit the car that was chaperoning the ride before crashing into the bicyclists. The five riders killed were actually trailing the car, and were pinned between the two vehicles, although some of the injured may have been riding in front of the car.

Seriously? Las Vegas police are reminding drivers to obey Nevada’s three-foot passing law in the wake of the crash.

As if that would have kept the driver from plowing into nine people on bicycles, as well as a car leading them.

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The Nevada crash wasn’t the only bloodbath involving bike riders last week.

After a 52-year old New York woman found her car surrounded by people protesting ICE, she floored it and crashed into the protesters in front of her, injuring six people, including bike riders attempting to protect the protest.

For a change, though, the NYPD appears to have taken the crash seriously, charging her with reckless endangerment.

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This is the future we could have in Los Angeles.

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The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.

You’ve got to be kidding. Bike riders in a Philippines town will now be required to wear a helmet and reflectorized vest, keep both hands on the handlebars except to signal, and only carry minimal loads “because bicycles are not designed to carry much cargo.” The new rules were put in place to “support our bike enthusiasts.” Sure, let’s go with that.

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Local

The two LA County sheriff’s deputies accused of shooting 18-year old Andres Guardado were relieved of duty after crashing their patrol car while chasing a man on a bicycle, even though they had a suspect in custody in the back of their cruiser.

Streets for All has set up a new Twitter account to raise awareness of traffic violence in and around the City of Angels, sending out an alert when a bike rider or pedestrian is involved in a crash. Which is pretty damned often, unfortunately.

Former pro wrestler and actor Tommy “Tiny” Lister was found dead in his Marina Del Rey home on Thursday; he was best known for playing bike-thieving neighborhood bully Deebo in the Friday movie franchise. Series star Ice Cube called him a born entertainer with a big heart, who could pop into character at the drop of a hat.

 

State

A Bakersfield collector donated the sign from the sporting goods store where he bought his first bicycle to a local neon museum.

San Francisco bike advocates have long called for a fix to a dangerous chokepoint on the popular crosstown Wiggle bike route, which forces bike riders to cross traffic turning into a gas station; after the latest crash involving someone on a bike, a city supervisor has joined the call.

 

National

Writing for Outside, bike scribe Joe Lindsey says the new Tesla ebike concept makes no sense. Which is being kind.

This is what an adaptive e-mountain bike looks like, allowing paraplegic riders to hit the trails.

Heartbreaking story from Arizona, where doctors discovered a malignant brain tumor in a three-year old boy after he fell down the stairs while learning to ride a bike; a crowdfunding page has raised a little over ten grand to help his single mom pay for his surgery.

A bighearted Boston-area man bought a new bike and a lock for an 11-year old neighbor boy after his was stolen.

South Carolina officials have filed hit-and-run charges against a 30-year old woman who killed a four-year old boy — and his dog — as the boy was riding with his uncle.

Life is cheap in Louisiana, where a hit-and-run driver who ran down two kids as they were riding bikes in their own neighborhood will serve just two years home vacation arrest, followed by a lousy three years probation. Even though a year later, his seven-year old victim still has no sense of taste or smell, and struggles with schoolwork, while his 13-year old sister faces another round of plastic surgery to repair damage from the crash.

 

International

No bias here. London’s Daily Mail says British prime minister Boris Johnson has lost the support of nearly 25% of his Conservative Party over Johnson’s support for popup bike lanes during the pandemic. Which means that nearly three quarters of the party are just fine with it, thank you.

Police in an English town confiscated the bicycle belonging to a 15-year old boy, accusing him of riding in a “dangerous manner.” Want to bet they’ve never confiscated a car from a driver for the same offense?

A UK bike advocacy group is considering legal action to prevent local governments from ripping out bike lanes, calling the removals “unreasonable.”

A driving website examines the new Italian-made Ducati ebike.

A climate website says Germany needs to look beyond cars and de-emphasize driving, while boosting trains, bicycling and walking.

The once and future Bicycle Kingdom is back, as bicycling booms in China while the pandemic is restricting movement.

When the trains stopped running in Manila due to the coronavirus pandemic, commuters jumped on their bikes, fighting for space on some of the world’s most congested streets.

 

Competitive Cycling

A new Irish film looks at the role of the domestique in pro cycling, set in the the start of 1998 Tour de France in Ireland.

Cycling Weekly considers why so many elite cyclists have a background in rowing.

 

Finally…

Who knew? Evidently, bike riders and horse people can actually get along.

And let’s hope they at least gave him free coffee and donuts.

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Be safe, and stay healthy. And wear a mask, already. 

Why Attorneys Tell You To Never Admit Guilt

Bikes Have Rights™
By James L. Pocrass, Esq.
Pocrass & De Los Reyes LLP 

Pocrass Photo 6-15

Immediately after any type of motor vehicle “accident” (bicycle, pedestrian, motorcycle, car), most people have two reactions: 1.) to blame the other person or 2.) to say “I’m sorry; it was my fault.” As a personal injury lawyer, I counsel people to NEVER admit guilt after a crash of any type. Whether you are or are not liable, I guarantee such a statement will come back to bite you in ways you never expected.

The most important reason for not admitting guilt, which is, in legal terms, admitting liability, is because you probably don’t really know the cause of the collision.

Example: We recently had a client who was in a Santa Monica bicycle collision. He came up to a four-way stop and rolled slowly through it, getting halfway through intersection. Meanwhile, an 80-something-year-old woman drove up to the intersection, stopped, and went, hitting our client in the intersection.

During the deposition, the woman insisted that she never saw anyone or anything in the intersection. (I admit, I laughed inside at the insurance company lawyer’s expression.) The insurance company settled for a five-figure settlement.

This was an unusual situation, but the point is, you really don’t know exactly what the complete cause of your bike collision is, and, therefore, who is liable. Yes, you might be partially liable if you do not follow the rules of the road, but there may be extenuating circumstances that contributed to the collision. These could be:

  • Road Design: the road or signage was not designed well, maintained, in disrepair, or missing.
  • Product Liability: your bike or the other vehicle could have defective parts or been repaired, maintained, or manufactured incorrectly.
  • Other Driver: also might not be following the rules of the road.

If any of these conditions exist, your case — even if you are partially liable for the collision — could allow me as your bike lawyer to argue for comparative liability.

California recognizes comparative liability, which states that each party might hold some responsibility for the collision. If your case were to go to trial, the judge or jury decides IF each party is liable for the collision and, if so, what percentage of liability each party is responsible for.

Consider this hypothetical situation: You are riding your bike at night. You have no lights on your bike. As you ride past a parked car, the driver opens his door and you are “doored.” You suffer serious personal injuries and your bike is trashed. The case goes to a jury trial.

The jury decides that because you were riding at night without lights — clearly against the law — you are partially liable for the collision. They may determine that you are 10% responsible and the driver is 90% liable. In that situation, if they awarded you a $100,000 verdict, you would receive $90,000 from the driver’s insurance company rather than the full $100,000.

Once you have admitted guilt at the scene (or in follow up conversations with the other driver’s insurance company), it becomes more difficult for your attorney to argue comparative negligence. It also means that it is more likely that the insurance company will either refuse to settle or low-ball its offer.

Trials are always more expensive in cost and in time than settlements, so if a fair settlement is possible, that is the more desirable route. (Of course you wouldn’t say THAT to an insurance company either because if it thinks you’re not prepared to go to trial you’re back to them either refusing to settle or low-balling their offer. It’s all a chess game with serious consequences for you.)

I have a friend who is a criminal attorney. He once told me the most difficult part of his job is trying to undo what his clients have told the police. As a civil attorney, I understand. It is very difficult to “unring a bell.” So, please, don’t admit liability or guilt. Let us sort that out later.

 

Jim Pocrass TrimmedFor more than 30 years, Jim Pocrass has represented people who were seriously injured, or families who lost a loved one in a wrongful death, due to the carelessness or negligence of another. Jim is repeatedly named to Best Lawyers of America and to Southern California Super Lawyers for the outstanding results he consistently achieves for his clients. Having represented hundreds of cyclists during his career, and Jim’s own interest in cycling, have resulted in him becoming a bicycle advocate. He is a board member of the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition. For a free, no-obligation consultation, contact Jim Pocrass at 310.550.9050 or at info@pocrass.com, or visit www.pocrass.com.

 

 

Bike paths: Ride at your own risk.

Most experienced cyclists know that we risk our safety every time we venture into the traffic lane.

But maybe you didn’t know that you’re also at risk when you ride in a designated off-road bikeway (Class I). Except the risk there isn’t from careless or aggressive drivers.

It’s from a bottom-line obsessed bureaucracy that has little or no incentive to protect your safety, or even your life. Because they have no liability whatsoever for the condition of that bike path.

Trip on a misaligned manhole cover on the sidewalk — as my wife did a few years ago — and the company or government agency responsible for maintaining it is legally responsible. Get into an accident on the street because of a missing traffic sign or a dangerous road condition, and the city, county or state agency responsible can be held liable.

But suffer an injury because of a massive pothole or botched patch job in a bike lane, or a huge crack — or even criminal activity — on an off-road trail, and you’re on your own.

Swerving around the frequent bumps and cracks in the bike path around the Marina, I always assumed that someone would be injured there sooner or later — if they haven’t already. And that the county, which is responsible for most of the Marina del Rey area, would be sued as a result.

But I never knew that such a suit would be summarily dismissed.

It wasn’t until I read the statement from Council District 5 candidate David Vahedi that I had the slightest clue that no city, county or state government, nor any private enterprise, bears any legal responsibility for maintaining safe riding conditions on a Class I or Class II bikeway. (I’m assuming they’re still responsible for conditions on a Class III bike route, since those usually require riding in the traffic lane. But I could be wrong.)

When I asked Vahedi if her had any more information, he was kind enough to pass along the law that removed liability on off-road paths and trails, as well as the California appellate court ruling that greatly expanded it.

It’s clear that the original intent of the law was to encourage property owners to grant access to the public by removing liability for conditions they didn’t intentionally cause, and may not be aware of. For instance, DWP might not be willing to provide a trail leading to one of their reservoirs if they had to worry about being sued any time someone slipped and fell on a wet rock.

The problem came when the courts began to interpret any off-road path, trail or sidewalk — including heavily traveled Class I bikeways, such as the Marvin Broad Bikeway along the beach from Santa Monica to Palos Verdes — as being covered under the law. Or on-road bike lanes for that matter, such as the bike lane through the Sepulveda Pass, as Vehedi notes in his comments.

And even, as in his example from the Venice bike path, if they are fully aware of the problem and have done nothing to correct it.

So if you’ve wondered why things never seem to get fixed along our bikeways, that’s why. Problems get corrected when the agencies responsible face liability. If there’s no risk to them, it usually falls to the bottom of a long list of things they intend to get around to eventually, when and if their budget allows — even if that poses a greater risk for everyone else.

Yet while government and corporate lawyers have been quick to capitalize on their new-found freedom from liability, one section of the law has been universally ignored — the one that says warning signs have to be posted if there are any known health or safety hazards along a paved pathway.

So if authorities know that the lights are out along the L.A. River bikeway, they are required to post signs warning riders about it. If L.A. is aware — and they are — that the Ballona Creek trail runs through known gang territory and that riders have been subject to assaults, they have to provide a warning to anyone who might consider riding there.

And if Los Angeles and Santa Monica refuse to enforce the No Pedestrian signs on the beachfront bike path through their respective cities, they have to warn riders about the presence of pedestrians.

Otherwise, they can — and should — be held liable for any injuries that may result.

C.I.C.L.E. reposts an article tracing the early history of the bicycle. Bike craftsmen exhibit their work at the North American Handmade Bike Show. Once they clear the snow, Yellowstone opens its roads to cyclists and other non-motorized traffic for several weeks of car-free riding, starting in mid-March. A woman and her children are hit head-on by a car while riding on a popular bike path on Hawaii’s North Shore. And finally, Bike Date reposts a list of great bike safety tips from the Onion.