Washington Injury Law Blog

Winter is out of here! The deadline in Washintoin state for taking studded snow tires off your car is today, March 31st. If you’re caught by the police with studded tires on your vehicle after today you may receive a $124.00 traffic ticket. Of course the ticket would likely be classified as a non-moving violation, which means your insurance rates are unlikely to go up. But who needs the hassle or the fine!

Now bring on the SUN!!

As the first signs of Spring start to appear in Washington, like whole days of actual sunshine, people dust off the bicycle and hit the road. Now’s the time to tune up the bike and get it ready for riding. Here are some tips to keep in mind as you start the bicycling season.

1. Always wear a helmet! It can save your life, period.

2. Do routine maintenance so your bike is safe to ride. Inflate tires to proper air pressure, lubricate the chain, make sure brakes are working correctly. I like to change the handlebar tape each year so I have a fresh soft spot for my hands at the beginning of each year, not generally needed but it make me happy.

3. When approaching parked cars make sure to give yourself a good three feet or more clearance from the car, just in case a car door opens suddenly.

4. Make eye contact with other drivers at intersections. Stop at red lights and stop signs. Use hand signals when making turns. You must follow the rules of the road just like cars. This is pet peeve #1 for car drivers, so do your part to set a good example and improve your bicyclist relationship with other vehicle drivers.

5. When riding at night you must have a front light and taillight. Lights that blink are great because they make you stand out more, thus decreasing your chance of getting hit by a car.

6. Wear brightly colored clothing. This also increases your chance of being seen by cars.

7. Ride predictably when in traffic. Making sudden and unforeseeable lane movements or changes can result in a car hitting you.

8. Urban trail riding is different from the road. Pedestrians have the right of way and bicycles must yield to pedestrians. In Seattle a good urban trial is the Burke-Gilman trial. Use a bell or your voice when passing pedestrian on the trial. A friendly “on your left” can go a long way towards avoiding bike v. pedestrian collisions.

9. Ride on right side of road as much as practical. I know if you’re riding a road bike the road shoulder can have all kinds of broken glass, nails, and other flat tire causing dangers. But it’s a safer place for you to be, assuming there’s a shoulder, and it’s less liking to frustrate cars that approach from behind you.

10. Remember: Bicyclists have the same rights and responsibilities as motor vehicles. Be courteous and share the road.

Have fun and Safe riding!

Max Meyers, Esq.

Max Meyers specializes in bicycle injury claims and litigation. If you have been hit by a car while riding your bike, and it was the car’s fault you have a bicycle injury claim. Contact Max via email or call 425-822-5700 for your FREE injury claim consultation.

Over the weekend Matt Lauer, the Host of the Today Show, hit a deer while riding his bicycle on Long Island, New York. He flipped over the handle bars and suffered a seperated shoulder injury. The deer reportedly jumped into the path that Mr. Lauer was riding. No word on the condition of the deer, but Lauer is scheduled for surgery today.

Lance Armstrong suffered a broken collar bone in a crash today during a race in Europe, the Vuelta a Castillo y Leon. The injury may threaten his return to race the Tour de France in July and certainly he is out of the Giro D’Italia.

Serious injuries to the shoulder, collar bone, and wrist are common in bicycle crashes. This especially true when a bicyclist is hit by a car or other moving vehicle. If you or anyone you know is hit by a car while riding a bicycle it’s important to contact an experience Washington Bicycle Accident Attorney as soon after the crash as possible. There is a very real bias against Washington bicycle riders and it’s important to conduct a proper investigation of the crash before witnesses disappear and memories fade.

Safe riding!

Max Meyers, Esq.

As Kirkland Personal Injury Attorney serving the entire Seattle and Puget Sound area I often see confidentiality clauses  being required by defendant corporations and their insurance companies before they will agree to a settlement. When this happens my client’s left with the hard choice of going to trial, where you never know what really will happen, or take the sure thing even if you cannot warn others about the danger or conduct of the defendant.

I see this most often in the employment law area of my law practice, which includes failure to pay wages, wrongful termination, discrimination and sexual harassment.  This is also very common in cases involving defect products, think Vioxx or any of the other drugs that have killed people for years but confidential settlements kept it all secret.

Washington state Sen. Adam Kline has proposed Senate Bill 5886, which would ban confidentiality requirements as a condition to settle a lawsuit. Sen. Kline wants to make sure the courts aren’t protecting dangerous products that could hurt other people. I think that’s a great idea. Most of my clients want to warn others so they won’t get hurt like they did, but defendants fight tooth and nail against it. Why? Because they would have more exposure to lawsuits and would actually have to spend the money to fix their dangerous product. Can you smell the greed?

More power to Sen. Kline, his bill has my vote!

Max Meyers, Esq.

Source:   Seattle Times, 2.24.09 – Courts Should Protect public from bad products