» Bicycle Accidents

What is “Comparative Negligence”?

I recently settled a case that was in lawsuit and ready for trial. Like all good settlements, neither I nor my client were overjoyed by the settlement. It wasn’t exactly what we hoped the case was worth, but it was certainly far more than any previous offers. In short, we were able to push the def…
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Categories: Bicycle Accidents

Utah Stops and Illinois Vehicles

I apologize for being the “get off my lawn” type, but as a bike rider and dog walker in the city of Chicago I see a lot—and I mean A LOT—of people blowing through stop signs. Just this morning on the dog walk, I observed three separate drivers go through three separate stop sign intersection…
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Categories: Bicycle Accidents

What Belongs in a Bike Lane?

I am about to ask a simple question, but cannot promise you a simple answer. Well, I know what the answer should be. But I know from personal experience that is not always the case. Bike lanes are created for bikes. That much seems to be obvious and agreed upon by nearly everyone. How then, can we e…
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Categories: Bicycle Accidents

Wait For It…

The maxim of comedy to “wait for it,” meaning, wait for the punchline, is ingrained into my memory mostly by the fabulously written, outrageous comedy of the early aughts, Arrested Development. Much as I will never be able to hear an air horn again without jumping immediately to an image of Pete…
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Categories: Bicycle Accidents

Bike Path Etiquette

The pandemic has made owning a bike shop a lucrative business. Bikes were nearly impossible to get early in the COVID lockdown, as shut-in people with time on their hands decided there was only so much Tiger King they could watch without doing something outside. There is a sense of freedom when ridi…
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Unsafe at Any Speed

It has been 55 years since Ralph Nader’s seminal book about auto safety, Unsafe at Any Speed, was published. Yes, it was about the car industry. Writ large, it was more of an indictment of the entire auto industry and the government agencies that were supposed to regulate it. The facts were that c…
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For Your Protection

Protected bike lanes are all the rage. Cyclists push for them, cities build them, and they are quickly becoming a way of life in many major cities across the country, just as they have been in Europe for decades. What are they? How do they work? Most importantly, do they make it safer for bicyclists…
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Categories: Bicycle Accidents

Are You (Looking) Through Turning?

One thing being a regular bicycle rider demonstrates to me is that probably nine out of ten drivers either are unaware, or don’t care, that they must look through their turn prior to beginning it, which can cause accidents. Read more.
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Categories: Bicycle Accidents

How Right (Turns) Can Be Wrong

The Dreaded Left Turn Sadly Isn’t the Only Cause of Vehicle-Pedestrian Accidents. Right Turns Require Just as Much Care to be Done Safely. Read More.
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Left Is Not Right (Why Left Turns Cause A Lot of Accidents)

Many drivers do not make left turns in the way Illinois law requires. That causes a lot of accidents. Learn why making a left turn requires special attention.
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