Lawyer Ray Thomas, of the Portland-based Swanson, Thomas and Coon law firm has announced a new initiative. He plans to form a legal team to scrutinize the Bicycle Bill to make sure that a “fair share” of state highway construction funds are going toward bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure.
In my post last week about changing existing stop sign and yield laws for cyclists, I referred to City of Portland Transportation Planner Stuart Gwin. I’d heard that Stuart had some previous involvement with the Idaho statute that allows bicycles to roll stop signs. Stuart was formerly the chair of the Citizen Advisory Committe for … Read more
[Photo by quite peculiar.] For many years, the prevailing mantra from bicycle advocates has been, “Same roads, same rights, same rules.” Beyond a catchy slogan, the thought is that this puts bicycles on a level playing field with motorists in the court of law and public opinion. This seems to make sense. However, the problem … Read more
Lawyer Ray Thomas must be very proud. Back in January I posted about a new campaign he was promoting that would take advantage of existing statutes to empower cyclists to initiate a legal process to bring motorists to justice even if the motorist wasn’t cited at the scene of the crash.
The civil trial against Lindsey Llaneza came to an end today. After several interesting twists and turns, the judge decided to award Angela Leazenby’s family $500,000 (plus funeral expenses), the maximum amount allowable. But this trial wasn’t about money (and besides, Llaneza doesn’t have any). This was more about principles and symbolism…and in that respect … Read more
[Photo credit Chris Lydgate] On June 25, 2003 Lindsey Llaneza’s mini-van plowed into three cyclists in SE Portland. Orion Satushek and Angela Leazenby were killed instantly and Caroline Buchalter was critically injured. Llaneza was going nearly 70mph (twice the posted limit) and had a blood-alcohol level of .224 – three times the legal limit. Also, … Read more
Local bike lawyer Ray Thomas is working on a new campaign to empower injured cyclists to literally take the law in their own hands. His is distributing a new pamphlet titled, “Action Pamphlet #1; Do-it Yourself Guide to Citizen Initiation of Violation Proceedings.” You can find it at local bike shops, download the PDF here … Read more