[The crux of the problem.] The current Oregon statutes governing the operation of a motor vehicle in a bike lane are confusing and unclear. The Portland Police Bureau found this out the hard way and they want to find a solution and have the laws fixed for good at the upcoming legislative session in Salem.
My Perceptions of enforcement post last week spurred some interesting discussion. Curious about how the perception of my readers differed from the reality of statistics, I asked for people to guess how many tickets were written to bicyclists last month. Of the 74 comments the average guess was around 60. As promised, here are the … Read more
Dabby, (a veteran Portland messenger and regular commenter) just sent me an interesting bit of news. The Washington Area Bicyclists Association, an advocacy group in DC, has worked with the Washington DC Department of Transportation to amend their law to explicitly allow fixed gear bicycles to be used without separate hand brakes.
“Oregon needs a new law making it illegal to cause serious bodily injury or death to a bicyclist due to ordinary negligence.”-Lawyer Ray Thomas Lawyer Ray Thomas is working to add language to existing driver negligence laws to make it easier to charge motorists with serious crimes when they cause major injury or death to … Read more
[Partly Randy’s fault.] Gregory Zeuthen, the arbitrator brought in to decide the case between Randy Albright and TriMet has come to a decision. He finds both parties negligent in the infamous events that transpired on January 22, 2004. Here are key excerpts from the official memo Zeuthen just faxed to the attorneys in the case … Read more
[Editor’s note: Please read this follow-up comment made by the author.] By Elly Blue Like any emerging issue, bicycling occupies an uncertain and even an unknown territory. In the courtroom yesterday it was clear that the judge, the DA, and most of the police officers present have not been on a bicycle in their adult … Read more
[City of Portland’s Chief of Bicycles, Roger Geller] One of the more interesting and dramatic cases in yesterday’s “Bike Day at Court” was the case involving Jeff Smith. Smith is a PDOT employee who, ironically, has worked in the city’s bike program for many years. Smith was issued a citation for failure to use a … Read more
The following notes on yesterday’s court proceedings are from local transportation activist and regular Shift volunteer, Carl Larson (photo). “These trials really drove the larger point of all of this home to me. These officers hide behind the shield of “safety,” but in many cases, their real goal is to protect the interests of motor … Read more
As I write this, bike lawyer Mark Ginsberg is doing battle in the Multnomah County Courthouse in downtown Portland. He is fighting the questionable tickets of ten cyclists. BikePortland.org correspondent Elly Blue was there this morning and said that unfortunately the judge of the day is Gregg Lowe, the same guy who upheld the fixed-gear … Read more
[Randy Albright] The case between TriMet and Randy Albright took a step closer to resolution today. Albright, a reporter from the Oregonian, and lawyers from both sides met this morning in downtown Portland for an arbitration session. I was subpoenaed by TriMet’s lawyers for my reporting on the case but I could not attend today’s … Read more
Lawyer Mark Ginsberg has his work cut out for him on Monday. His office will finally get trials on all the remaining fixed-gear cases they’ve been handling (except for one which is scheduled for the next day). Here’s the word from Mark:
[Mark Ginsberg inhis other suit.] Mark Ginsberg is a Portland-based lawyer who specializes in bicycle-related cases. He’s also the guy who represented messenger Ayla Holland in the infamous fixed gear brake trial. Since that case, the Portland Police have continued to scrutinize bicyclists. They’re citing not only brakeless fixed-gear bicycle riders without handbrakes, but several … Read more