DIY prosecution of dangerous vehicle operators: A guide from Ray Thomas
Take the law into your own hands.
Legal
Legal Section Archives
Click on headline for the full story.
Noted lawyer Ray Thomas opposes bill that would mandate rear bike lights
Rear lights are nice, but should they be legally mandated?
Lawsuit stemming from crash during mountain bike race is withdrawn
A lawsuit many feared might deal a crushing blow to MTB racing in Oregon has been dismissed.
Get Legal with Ray Thomas: What you need to know about hit and run
(Photo by J. Maus/BikePortland) Hit and runs are far too common in Oregon. Unfortunately, so is the feeling of helplessness about what to do about them. In the spirit that knowledge equals power, I’ve put together a primer on the laws surrounding hit and runs and what do to if you are ever involved in … Read more
Two local lawsuits put focus on riding conditions, responsibility – UPDATED
Two bike riders in separate cases have filed lawsuits after crashing on allegedly dangerous routes.
Get Legal: Being “nice” is dangerous and could make you at fault in a collision
Please stop being nice. It only makes the roads more dangerous.
Get Legal with Ray Thomas: Oregon’s ‘Safe Passing’ law explained
Bike lawyer Ray Thomas breaks down Oregon’s “safe passing law” in this final installment of our three-part series.
In Roseburg, popularity of bicycling thwarts punitive police power grab
“Public hearing” or not; not all bike lanes are “safe and reasonable” to ride on.(Photo © J. Maus/BikePortland) Earlier this month, police officers in the City of Roseburg tried to strengthen their authority to ticket people who do not ride in bike lanes. They thought they could sneak an agenda item through City Council and … Read more
In rare move, City of Roseburg looks to strengthen Oregon’s ‘mandatory sidepath’ law
Who says its “safe and reasonable” for bicycle use?(Photo © J. Maus/BikePortland) On August 13th, the City Council of Roseburg (about 170 miles south of Portland) will attempt to take a rare step toward strengthening the Oregon law mandating use of a bike lane (a.k.a. the mandatory sidepath law). That law, ORS 814.420, mandates that … Read more
When it comes to helmet laws, language matters
Mandatory helmet laws say the little guy should wear one.(Photos © J. Maus) After reading about the helmet survey launched by the Bicycle Transportation Alliance last week, I wanted to share a cautionary tale about helmet laws. I live in Vancouver, Washington where we’ve been living with a mandatory, all-ages helmet law since 2008. If … Read more
NYC video goes viral, highlights common bike lane problem
Famed filmmaker Casey Neistat’s latest video creatively tackles the issue of riding in bike lanes in NYC (and getting ticketed for it). It’s so well done that the video has exploded on the web. Watch it below…
Disappearing bike lane case settles out of court
Where the bike lane ends. Remember the disappearing bike lane case? I’m happy to report that it reached a positive conclusion — at least in the civil case of Carmen Piekarski. First, let’s go back to December 2009… Piekarski was riding her bike eastbound on SE Hawthorne approaching SE 10th Ave. While in the intersection, … Read more