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Legally Speaking BY BOB MIONSKE
The information provided on this site is not legal advice. The information provided on this public web site is provided solely for the general interest of the visitors to this web site. The information contained in the column applies to general principles of American jurisprudence and may not reflect current legal developments or statutory changes in the various jurisdictions and therefore should not be relied upon or interpreted as legal advice. Understand that reading the information contained here does not mean you have established an attorney-client relationship with attorney Bob Mionske. Readers of this information should not act upon any information contained in the web site without first seeking the advice of legal counsel. Legally Speaking- Good night and good luckThursday, February 05, 2009’The first time I saw a copy of VeloNews, it was still a newspaper. It was the early 80’s and I had just ’discovered’ the sport. A friend had an extensive collection of VeloNe...Legally Speaking- Stop As YieldThursday, January 22, 2009Ask any motorist what irritates them most about cyclists, and you’re likely to get an earful about cyclists who behave as if stop signs and red lights don’t apply to them. It’s a so...Legally Speaking- Turning with a blind eyeThursday, January 08, 2009Ghost bike: A memorial in honor of Tracey Sparling. Tracey Sparling, a 19-year old student at the Pacific Northwest College of Art, was returning to campus after a lunch-break trip to her apartme...Legally Speaking- The 1-Mile SolutionWednesday, December 31, 2008What if there was something you could do to improve your health and fitness, save money, reduce our dependence on foreign oil, improve air quality, and reduce your carbon footprint, all at the same...Legally Speaking-- A cyclists' Bill of RightsWednesday, December 24, 2008“Gaining the right to the road was the cycling cause of the late nineteenth century; securing that right will be the cycling cause of the early twenty-first century.” Those were my closin...Legally Speaking-- Death, taxes and...free riders?Friday, December 19, 2008Benjamin Franklin once observed that there is nothing certain in this world but death and taxes. In our own time, we’ve observed that when it comes to the subject of cyclists, it’s all but...Legally Speaking - Can't we all just get along?Thursday, December 11, 2008If you’re one of those readers who reads a book from cover to cover, you may have noticed that in the acknowledgements for Bicycling & the Law, I thanked Cronometro, the Madison, Wisconsin s...Legally Speaking - The real daily distractionFriday, December 05, 2008A few weeks ago (see Can’t we do better?), I posed the question “What do you think can be done about cyclist safety?” in response to a question from C.S., who asked We as a club a...Legally Speaking - A time for thanksThursday, November 27, 2008As Americans pause to give thanks at the beginning of this holiday season, it’s a good time for us to look past some of the outrages we’ve experienced this past year and reflect on what we...Legally Speaking - Can't we do better?Thursday, November 20, 2008Two weeks ago, I wrote about the collision that hospitalized Dr. Ed Farrar (see Yet another collision). Since then, I’ve received a letter I’d like to share. First, C.S. wrote in to say: ...Legally Speaking - Yet another collisionThursday, November 06, 2008Dr. Ed Farrar Last week, I wrote “we all feel the pain when one of our own is injured.” As I wrote those words, one of our own, Dr. Ed Farrar, lay in critical condition at Central Washing...Legally Speaking - The aftermathThursday, October 30, 2008I had just arrived in New York to visit Diana and we were finishing up a beautiful ride. I remember asking Diana how much further because the hunger pains were beginning to set in. It was only going t...Legally Speaking - The brutality of the buzzThursday, October 23, 2008I’ve often written in this column with my perspective on the aftermath of bike-on-car collisions. This week, I’ve got a different perspective to share - the perspective of a cyclist who wa...Legally Speaking - Choice of lawThursday, October 16, 2008One of the important skills lawyers-in-training (a.k.a. "law students") learn in law school is the ability to argue either side of a case. That can be tough for the average non-lawyer to wra...Legally Speaking - A Tale of two cities ... andFriday, October 03, 2008Linda Willsey distinctly remembers the moment: She was on her bike, riding home from work, when the car door was flung open directly into her path. There was barely time to yell “No!” befo...Legally Speaking - Readers thoughts on road rageFriday, September 19, 2008Dear Readers, This week, I’ll be sharing some reader responses to my recent columns on road rage (See Bikes vs. cars, Summer of rage and More rage). But first, as noted last wee...Legally Speaking- More RageFriday, September 12, 2008Dear Readers, I’m going to take the unusual step of starting with the subject with which I usually close my columns. I would like to invite those of you can attend to visit with me at my n...Legally Speaking - Summer of RageFriday, August 29, 2008In my last Legally Speaking column, Bikes vs. Cars, I recounted some of this summer’s more egregious road rage incidents between motorists and cyclists, all of which happened in rapid-fire succe...Legally Speaking - Bikes v. CarsFriday, August 15, 2008To the casual observer, it may seem as though tempers have been rising along with the temperatures this summer, but as we’ll see, we know that the summer heat has nothing to do with it. Ne...Legally Speaking - Where's The Justice?Friday, August 08, 2008Bob, It is difficult to express my outrage after verifying the facts of the Autumn Growhowski story. I find the collision (it should never be called an "accident") terrifying, and the resul...Legally Speaking - When justice failsFriday, July 25, 2008Nineteen-year-old Autumn Grohowski was on her cell phone with her dad, just letting him know she would be home soon. It was June, a summer night in Lebanon, Pennsylvania, and Autumn was approaching th...Legally Speaking - A question of liabilityThursday, July 10, 2008Bob, We have a little ride in Iowa called RAGBRAI (Register’s Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa). A few years ago a cyclist hit a centerline crack and died. The widow sued the county, and a se...Legally Speaking - Two-by-twoFriday, June 27, 2008Dear Bob, In Eau Claire, Wisconsin, during a ride on the last Friday of last month, 17 cyclists were ticketed for violating the two abreast statue by claims that they were impeding traffic. The ticket...Legally Speaking - Your papers, pleaseThursday, June 19, 2008Dear Readers, ( Two weeks ago, in From Dodge to Tombstone, we had a letter from a reader in Fort Collins, Colorado, who wrote to ask about the interpretation of Colorado’s two abreast law being...Legally Speaking - Talking in DodgeThursday, June 12, 2008Dear Readers,( The response to From Tombstone to Dodge has been tremendous, some favorable, some not-so-favorable. So although I intended to discuss two more issues this week that were raised by Lari...Legally Speaking - From Tombstone to DodgeTuesday, June 03, 2008Dear Readers, This past week, I received several emails from cyclists in Colorado regarding enforcement of the two-abreast law by the sheriff of Larimer County. This is the first time in recent memor...Legally Speaking - Nations within nationsThursday, May 22, 2008Bob, My question about the Shootout is that while the Tohono O’Odham deputy loves to enforce some tribal statute that I have never been able to find that requires single file riding, shouldn&rs...Legally Speaking - Rights and responsibilitiesThursday, May 08, 2008Bob, I just got done reading your April 24th column on the Arizona Shootout Bike Ride . Let me say right off, that the Pima County Sheriff’s deputy’s actions were completely wrong. It&rsq...Legally Speaking - Shootout at the UA CorralThursday, April 24, 2008Dear Readers,( Wyatt Earp tried his hand at many things in his long and colorful life; at various times he worked as a farmer, teamster, buffalo hunter, saloon-keeper, gambler, and miner, among his m...Legally Speaking - Mo' Birdman Fo' Y'allThursday, March 27, 2008Bob, I was talking to a cycling friend today and telling him how my riding had been going and happened to mention an accident I was in while riding a couple of weeks ago. He laughed and said he was j...Legally Speaking - Red light, green lightSaturday, January 12, 2008Dear Readers, The subject of group rides and traffic signals just keeps rolling along. Several weeks ago, we had a letter concerning a group ride that always seems to get caught in the inters...Legally Speaking - Riders' responsibilitiesFriday, January 04, 2008Dear Readers, A few weeks back, we had a letter from E.W. concerning a group ride that consistently gets caught in the intersection on a short-cycle traffic light (See "One single (group...Legally Speaking - A fatal bias?Thursday, November 08, 2007Dear Bob, Thank you for penning the column. I read with interest your notes on cycling deaths. You raise an interesting point: many cycling deaths result in no criminal legal accountability. I think ...Legally Speaking - The lawful (?) orderThursday, October 25, 2007Dear Readers; It’s been a beautiful autumn here lately; blue skies, sunny days, the leaves turning beautiful hues of yellow, orange, and red before falling. The leaves haven’t been alone ...Legally Speaking- Deliverance of the bird manThursday, September 13, 2007Dear Bob, I thought you might like to address this in your column. We were on a group ride in deepest darkest West Virginia and a car passed with oncoming traffic, mere inches from our handlebars.Thi... |
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