by Ray Thomas
The 2007 Oregon Legislature passed HB 3314, creating an enhanced penalty for careless diving if it contributes to serious physical injury or death to a “vulnerable user of a public way,” and will go into effect January 1, 2008. The purpose of this article is to discuss the Vulnerable User legal concept and [...]
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Filed under: Bikes & The Law, Road Rules, Safety
by Ray Thomas
This article is a follow-up report to “Dangerous Neighborhood Cranks And What To Do About Them,” (August 2006) which described the background and initiation of prosecution of a motorist who heckled bicyclists for years on the road near his house in rural west Salem. He lived on a popular ride and repeatedly used [...]
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Filed under: Bikes & The Law, Safety
by Ray Thomas
While pedestrians and bicycles sometimes share a rather wary alliance, their unity comes from a shared vulnerability to the speed and mass associated with motorized travel. And bicycles become the lawful equivalent of the pedestrian relative to motor vehicles in the eyes of the law whenever a rider dismounts or rides on [...]
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Filed under: Bikes & The Law, Road Rules
Shoulders, multi-use paths, bike lanes & sidewalks
by Ray Thomas
Pedestrians, bicycles, and motor vehicles at various points all pass over roadways, sidewalks, multi-use paths, bicycle lanes, and roadway shoulders. The purpose of this article is to provide a basic primer on the rights of pedestrians in each area.
On sidewalks, pedestrians rule
The law of sidewalks [...]
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Filed under: Bikes & The Law, Road Rules
by Ray Thomas
A safety education effort, complete with posters containing bicycles with daisies for wheels, free bells and a series of upbeat Burma Shave-like posters (“don’t be a silent passer”), was staged recently on Portland’s Hawthorne Bridge by P-DOT, the Community Cycling Center, the BTA, Shift, and Green Empowerment. Swanson, Thomas & Coon’s Margaret Weddell [...]
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Filed under: Bikes & The Law, Road Rules
by Ray Thomas
Don’t Let It Get Stolen In The First Place
Of course, if you can prevent a thief from taking your bike in the first place you have succeeded in your efforts relating to stolen bikes. Locking your bike is a good step to prevent theft, and a good selection of various hardware and [...]
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Filed under: Advice, Bike Theft, Bikes & The Law
by Ray Thomas
Oregon bicyclists who are also car owners pay for insurance coverage on their automobiles that also covers their families while riding bicycles. A few bicyclists realize that automobile insurance also covers bicyclists and pedestrians and that, when an accident happens, all available resources must be used to pay for the consequences. Previous articles [...]
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Filed under: Bikes & The Law, Safety
by Ray Thomas
The 2007 Oregon Legislation is considering two bills that would have significant impact on the rights of non-motorized highway users: Senate Bill (SB) 299 and Legislative Counsel (LC) 1292.
The purpose of this article is to provide a brief introduction and overview of the two drafts. It is likely that amendments will change the [...]
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Filed under: Bikes & The Law, Safety
by Ray Thomas
We are tired of hearing about terrible accidents where a motorist kills or grievously injures a bicyclist by failing to give the rider a lawful share of the road and the only consequence for the motorist is a traffic ticket that doesn’t even require a court appearance and includes no drivers license suspension.
Bicycle [...]
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Filed under: Bikes & The Law, Road Rules, Safety
by Ray Thomas
All too often, serious accidents are caused by drivers without insurance coverage. Oregon law makes it illegal to drive without insurance. If you are injured by a driver without insurance, you may have coverage on your bicycle from your automobile insurance policy. There are two types of important insurance coverage contained in every [...]
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Filed under: Bikes & The Law, Road Rules
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