Tag: law

Advice from 911

Richard MasonerNovember 11, 20103 Comments on Advice from 911

Last January, computer programmer Ed Magos was riding his bike to work at Los Angeles City Hall when fashion designer Angelina Everett hit him with her Porsche Carrera SUV. Everett stopped, looked at Magos, saw that he was seriously injured, got back in her car and drove away.

An hour and a half later, she finally called 911 and asked the dispatcher, “Am I going to jail?”

The operator’s chilling response: People don’t go to jail for hit-and-runs involving cyclists.

(more…)

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Boycott Vail

Richard MasonerNovember 6, 201029 Comments on Boycott Vail

Money talks in Eagle County, Colorado, where the district attorney has declined to press felony hit-and-run charges against suspect Martin Erzinger because it could jeopardize his job as a fund manager to millionaires.

Erzinger allegedly hit cyclist Dr. Steven Milo from behind last July, then sped away. The New York physician, who was vacationing in Colorado, was left on the side of the road with severe injuries to his spin, head, shoulders, and legs.

Stage 3 of the 2011 Quizno’s Pro Challenge on August 25 will be a time trial in Vail, Colorado. I’m making my travel plans for a visit to Colorado next August, and I will absolutely avoid the Vail stage. I encourage you to do the same, and to let the Eagle County Attorney’s office, Vail Valley Tourism and the Vail Chamber of Commerce know why you plan to skip a visit to Vail next August. (This is rush job, so if you have links to other appropriate contacts in Eagle County please post in the comments.)

It would be fantastic if the bike race organizers even dropped Vail from the Pro Challenge completely.

I first heard the news from James Huang. Stevil Kinevil rants on the topic. Change.org has a petition.

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Judge: 4 year old sidewalk cyclist can be sued

Richard MasonerOctober 29, 201012 Comments on Judge: 4 year old sidewalk cyclist can be sued

In 2009, Juliet Breitman and Jacob Kohn — who were both four years old at the time — were racing their training wheel equipped bikes down a sidewalk when they ran into 87 year old Claire Menagh. Ms Menagh was seriously injured and died three weeks months later. [correction]

Ms Menagh’s estate sued the childrens’ parents and they named the four year old children in the suit!

The New York State Supreme Court recently ruled that the lawsuit can go forward and that small children can be found liable, though it did not judge on the case itself.

More at the NY Times: 4-Year-Old Can Be Sued, Judge Rules in Bike Case.

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Florida mandatory bike lane law

Richard MasonerMay 5, 20109 Comments on Florida mandatory bike lane law

Florida cyclists are asking you to call the office of Governor Charlie Crist now to veto the Highway Safety & Motor Vehicles bill, which adds a mandatory bike lane provision to Florida law. If this law is enacted, Florida will join six other states with discriminatory bike lane laws that require bike lane use by cyclists (with the standard exemptions).

Read the details here, and good luck Florida.

The Highway Safety & Motor Vehicles bill is an omnibus 81 page bill that rewrites big sections of Florida statute related to motor vehicle regulations. Just the introduction that provides an overview of the changes runs to nearly nine pages. The Florida legislature acted with blinding speed on this one — it first went to committee on March 17, and the house and senate both passed this bill with unanimous votes at the end of April.

There is no bike caucus in the Florida legislature, and this stuff can be hard to catch with the typically small volunteer staffs used by almost all local bike advocacy groups.

Learn how to take action here.

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Robert Paul Schiro arrested for cyclist hit and run

Richard MasonerApril 23, 20101 Comment on Robert Paul Schiro arrested for cyclist hit and run

Do you remember Ashley Jackson? She was the cyclist who was run over in the bike lane and left with serious head injuries on the side of the road. The driver of a silver BMW fled the scene. Ashley has nerve damage that keeps her from riding a bicycle on her own.

The Santa Clara Sheriff got their man two weeks ago and arrested Robert Paul Schiro and charged him with felony hit and run, one year to the month after Schiro’s alleged crime. Schiro was arrested at his property management office in Santa Clara.

Schiro was apparently a suspect fairly early on and his silver BMW impounded, but friends and acquaintances of Schiro failed to implicate him when Sheriff deputies interviewed them.

Schiro’s arraigment was Thursday morning. Jackson is also pursuing civil litigation against Schiro.

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