BIKE LAW 101 - Protecting Your Right to Ride When Tragedy Strikes
BIKE LAW 101 – PROTECTING YOUR RIGHT TO RIDE WHEN TRAGEDY STRIKES
By Steven M. Magas, Attorney At Law[1]
Anthony Gerike was the operator of a motor vehicle which, on
The following week brought television and radio news coverage, Memorial Rides, interviews with the Club President and friends, and heated discussions on the club’s Forum. What can “WE” do to protect our right to ride when tragedy strikes? What can YOU do? What can YOUR CLUB do?
What “we” can do is continue to ride and ride “visibly.” We need to continue to use the roads, continue to treat motorists with same level of respect we demand from motorists in return. I was forced to ride one of the C.C.C. Memorial Rides for Amy and Terry on my motorcycle due to meetings I had to attend before and after the ride. I was very grateful at the respectful way I was treated by the mourning cyclists. Riders would signal me as I slowed to pass, to let me know it was OK ahead. Riders smiled and waved. The hand signals I received were all of the friendly variety with none of the single digit gestures that sometimes crop up.
This behavior reinforced a common theme I’ve written about for many years. When “we” ride, and by “we” I mean each and every person who rides a bike on the roadway, “we” become Ambassadors for Cycling. The motoring public’s perception of cycling and cyclists is shaped by each encounter a motorist has with cyclists. Watching cyclists blow through red lights or stop signs, ride 3 or more abreast or cut dangerously through traffic causes that perception to tick in a negative direction ever so slightly. Behavior in the nature of what I experienced generates a very positive response – these cyclists don’t want to hold me up, they want me to get by and will help me do so safely. Watching cyclists behave in a predictable, “vehicle-like” manner on the roadway only enhances our reputation in the eyes of motorists and causes the meter to be calibrated in positive direction. EACH encounter is important and EACH of us has to remember we are an “Ambassador for Cycling” at all times!
What can YOU do when someone is hurt or killed in a tragic crash caused by an errant motorist? Provide support for the families of the victims. Get involved. Talk about the issues raised. Use the crash to advise your non-cycling colleagues about the rules of the road. Use the crash to emphasize the overall SAFETY of road cycling – deaths and crashes are NOT commonplace, but an aberration. Use the crash to tell the world that we’re on the roads and we’re here to stay. Don’t let print or radio voices start a “Let’s Put Bikes On Bikepaths” campaign. Write letters to the editor. Call into radio shows.
In my experience, such tragedies frequently result in knee-jerk responses by local or state legislators to “take action” in order to “protect” cyclists. This “action” usually results in cyclists being banned from a particular roadway or being ordered to wear helmets or some such thing. Your swift and visible [letters] or audible [call in and talk!] action declaring, not defending, our right to the roadway and supporting strong police and prosecutorial action against those who maim or kill cyclist will assist in protecting our right to the roadway.
What can your CLUB do in response to tragedy? One of the first things a club needs to do is to prepare media statements. Frequently, in a high profile cycling death the print, TV and radio media look to the President of the local club for comments. These need to be crafted carefully to express condolences for the families, outrage at the misbehavior leading to the deaths and support for roadway cycling. This is an “education” moment and the words and image of the club need to be chosen and presented with care. Further, the club needs to have someone obtain the police report and other “facts” available to avoid making embarrassing misstatements over the airwaves or in the paper!
I’ve advised many groups that one of the most important things a club can do is track the criminal or civil cases that arise out of such incidents. By monitoring these cases closely, a club can insure that the case is being vigorously pursued by the prosecutor and police and not just swept quietly away. Cyclists can be encouraged to attend pre-trial hearings or other events to keep up the media coverage.
If a case is NOT being vigorously pursued, the club can contact the police or prosecutor to find out WHY. Sometimes there are evidence questions that make a prosecution difficult. For example, did you know that year after year statistics show us that 20-25% of ALL cyclists killed each year have a blood alcohol level exceeding 0.08%? In such a case, a prosecutor may decide that it would be difficult to convince a jury that the actions of a motorist, not the cyclist, “caused” the cyclist’s death.
In this digital age, a club should also publish information about important cases on its website. When I handled the State v. Selz case, defending Steve Selz against charges that he “impeded traffic” by “only” going 17 mph uphill from a standing start, I allowed the Ohio Bike Federation to publish ALL of the arguments I filed with the court on its website. When the judge ruled against Steve at trial, we published the trial transcript [it was short] and my brief in the court of appeals. When the court of appeals ruled in Steve’s favor, we published that ruling as well. The OBF encouraged cyclists to send emails to the police department and city in question, expressing their views of the way Steve was treated and I understand that MANY cyclists did so - the city received emails from all over the WORLD on this case.
To keep track of these cases, you may need to track down a bike-friendly lawyer who is familiar with the local court system. Many, but not all,
In the State v. Gerike case, Mr. Gerike was ultimately charged with eight counts, including six counts of Aggravated Vehicular Homicide – a second degree felony. When those charges were announced, I, for one, breathed a sigh of relief. These charges told me that the Prosecutor had the guts to go after the most aggressive charges available. Mr. Gerike’s case came up for trial in early April, 2007. After a week of heart-wrenching testimony about his actions and the crash, the jury came back with guilty verdicts on the six most important counts, Aggravated Vehicular Homicide, and finding him not guilty only of leaving the scene.
The Cincinnati Cycle Club monitored Mr. Gerike’s case through several postings on the Forum by me and other members. I also communicated several times the Assistant Prosecutor handling the case due to some information that came to me about Mr. Gerike’s activities, and I was able to pass along those comments to the Club. Several CCC members attended parts of the trial and the verdict hit the website hours after the jury came back.
This story is not over. The judge has taken note of the cycling community’s involvement in this case. The sentencing hearing is
Deaths of cyclists are fairly rare in
GOOD LUCK AND GOOD RIDING…
[1] Steve Magas is an avid cyclist and
