Legal Program & Bike Laws

A critical element of the League’s mission is to protect and promote the rights of bicyclists. Our legal program can help you:

• Ensure justice is served if you or a friend or family member is involved in a crash…more
• Defend yourself against unfair traffic tickets, police harassment, or court decisions…more
• Change your state or local bicycling laws…more
• Speak up on behalf of bicyclists...more
• Find a lawyer or expert witness who can help you if you've been in an accident...more

Ensuring justice is served.

Bike crashes with motor vehicles are a terrible fact of life. We do all we can to help you avoid them through our education and advocacy programs, but the sad reality is that every year an average of 700 people are killed while riding their bikes. Around 45,000 riders are injured each year in collisions with motor vehicles. NHTSA 2005 statistics - PDF

Here is a great resource for you to use if you are ever in a crash: Mass Bike Crash Information

What’s worse is that many of these crashes involve motorists who are simply not paying attention, are speeding, are reckless with regard to the presence of cyclists, are drunk or drowsy, are distracted by their phone or CD player – a cyclist in Colorado was killed in 2005 by a driver who was text messaging – and are hitting cyclists who are in exactly the right place on the road and doing nothing wrong. A frightening number of the drivers are repeat offenders with suspended or revoked licenses and no insurance.

In response to the deaths of riders such as Bill Bliss, Jack Carney, and Todd Weaver, the League has established a network of lawyers and expert witnesses who have experience handling cases such as these. So if you, or a friend or family member, have been involved in serious crash with a motor vehicle and want to ensure justice is served, help is at hand.

Sometimes, poor roadway or trail design is the cause of a bicycle crash. Once again, our network of experts can help you determine whether you have a case or not. David Prokop was enjoying a bike ride on the L.A. River Trail when he was forced to squeeze through a narrow trail access point and he got caught on a chain link fence. The League is one of several groups supporting his case – which might result in better design standards for bike trails throughout the state of California.

You may also want to consider other actions in response to a cycling tragedy or near miss. Our Share the Road program has resources to help you memorialize fallen cyclists and highlight the need for drivers and cyclists to share the road safely.

 

Defend yourself.

Cyclists often find themselves on the receiving end of unfair or inappropriate police behavior – perhaps you’ve been ticketed for “taking the lane”, holding up traffic or for riding two abreast when it’s perfectly legal.

It is important to know what your state and local traffic laws and ordinances say about bicyclists.

In addition, you might want to encourage your local police chief to consider using the Law Officer's Guide to Bicycle Safety or having officers take a League Bike Education course.

Law Officer's Guide to Bicycle Safety (courtesy of MassBike)
League Bike Education Program

 

Change the law.

Bicyclists enjoy the same rights and responsibilities as motorists, or are considered vehicles in all 50 States and the District of Columbia.

However, there are still wide variations in how states treat bicyclists – and there are even occasional efforts to revoke a cyclist’s most basic right to the road, as happened in South Dakota in 2006. The Iowa legislature defeated a proposal to ban bicyclists from four lane roads in the state where such a path or trail ran nearby.

Your state may have a mandatory sidepath law requiring you to use a path running parallel to the roadway that is designated for cyclists to use regardless of its condition, safety, or usefulness. Other discriminatory or nonsensical laws may affect how you can signal your turns, or where you can ride in the road.

We can help you ensure your state or locality has the best set of laws and policies on the books for your safety, comfort and convenience. Not only can we provide access to traffic law experts and roadway design specialists, but we can also help connect you to local advocacy leaders and organizations that can help you get the job done. We also have model laws and ordinances to follow.

League position statements
State and Local Traffic Laws and Ordinances Listing
Maryland 2006 case study (pdf)

 

Network of lawyers and expert witnesses

Our network of lawyers and expert witnesses are passionate cyclists, well versed in the legal issues we face and guided by our Legal Committee.

Lawyers advise you on your course of action, represent you in court, file the necessary paperwork, collect evidence, and argue in front of the judge or jury.

Expert witnesses provide testimony – such as where cyclists should be positioned on the roadway, or how access points to trails are typically designed. Many League Cycling Instructors are qualified to serve as expert witnesses.

The League does not provide legal advice nor do we endorse the lawyers or firms in the directory. It is the sole privilege of directory members to offer any particular service, discount, etc. All lawyers have paid a small administrative fee to be included in this directory.

Directory of Lawyers
Directory of Expert Witnesses (League Cycling Instructors)
Read two of our Success Stories

 

Speak Up on Behalf of Bicyclists

It has happened to almost every cyclist -- listening to a program on the radio, watching the nightly news, or reading a local newspaper, and you hear an insult about bicyclists, how they should "get on the sidewalk" or "get out of the road" or worse.

We have developed several bicycling public service announcements cyclists can use to spread the word about our rights to the road.

Usually, all it takes to help change public attitudes about cycling is to speak up. When Boston cycling advocate, Jack Johnson, of Landry's Bicycles heard a shock-jock making anti-cyclists remarks he took action. He asked Entercom, one of the largest radio companies in the U.S., to rectify the matter. Because of his efforts a new company policy signed by Entercom President David Field, outlines how Entercom will respond to any anti-cyclist remarks in the future. If you would like our help combating anti-cyclist media contact the League at 202-822-1333.

Bicyling Public Service Announcements
Entercom Policy on Cyclist Harassment