Midwest News
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Iowa Counties Urge Lawmakers to Address Liability Issues for Bikers
Midwest News • January 30, 2008
The route for this year's bicycle race, RAGBRAI, is set and counties along its path want lawmakers to address the issue of their liability.
The issue arose after Crawford County settled a lawsuit ...
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| Subject | Posted By | Posted On |
|---|---|---|
| RE: RE: RE: No Liability to Biker Riders | Amanda | Jan 30, 2008, 7:30 pm |
| RE: RE: No Liability to Biker Riders | AviationMetalSmith | Jan 30, 2008, 6:30 pm |
| RE: No Liability to Biker Riders | Calif Ex Pat | Jan 30, 2008, 3:57 pm |
| RE: No Liability to Biker Riders | Iowan | Jan 30, 2008, 2:36 pm |
| RE: A few details.. | Claims Guy | Jan 30, 2008, 2:29 pm |
| A few details.. | Han Valen | Jan 30, 2008, 2:07 pm |
| RE: No Liability to Biker Riders | aarrgghh | Jan 30, 2008, 1:21 pm |
| No Liability to Biker Riders | Dread | Jan 30, 2008, 1:18 pm |
| Back to article | ||
Subject: RE: RE: No Liability to Biker Riders
Crawford County got sued when a cyclist died in the 2004 Ragbrai event, and had to pay $350,000. The road was closed to auto traffic, so no motorist was at fault. He didn't get hit by a car. His skinny wheel got stuck in the expansion joint between east and westbound lanes, and he flipped over the handlebars and broke his neck. What a calamity. But no motorist was involved.
What if this fatal bicycle accident was like 90% of fatal bicycle accidents, and an automobile was involved? Would the Courts order the motorist to pay $350,000? Three Hundred and Fifty grand isn't a lot of money in a lawsuit involving a death. But it would give motorists a good reason to be more careful when passing a bicycle.
I am saying that the Court's judgement may be misleading, since most fatal bicycle accidents are the fault of bad drivers, not road conditions. Maybe in the next lawsuit, an individual motorist will be forced to pay $ after being found at fault.