Bob Mionske's Blog on Bicycle Law and Advocacy

BicycleLaw.com Updates for September 03, 2010

Fri, 03 Sep 2010 07:01:05 -0400

News:

Gaining momentum
The Denton Record-Chronicle: Gaining momentum More than 2,000 people sign petition against Bartonville ordinan...
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Joyride: Bicycling Our Way to Safe and Splendid Communities
The Huffngton Post: Joyride: Bicycling Our Way to Safe and Splendid Communities My friend Mia Birk bicycled to m...
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BicycleLaw.com Updates for September 01, 2010

Wed, 01 Sep 2010 07:01:04 -0400

News:

The Biking Boom Breeds Discontent
The New York Times: The Biking Boom Breeds Discontent By JOHN COLLINS RUDOLF Biking is booming in New ...
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Bicycling Trend Wheels Downtown
The Nevada Sagebrush: Bicycling Trend Wheels Downtown New bike lanes show emerging partnership between cyclists a...
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Porter: Confessions of an ex-warrior cyclist
The Toronto Star: Porter: Confessions of an ex-warrior cyclist Published On Tue Aug 31 2010 You probab...
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BicycleLaw.com Updates for August 31, 2010

Tue, 31 Aug 2010 07:01:04 -0400

News:

City: Cyclists continue to improve Asheville's bike access
Asheville Citizen-Times: City: Cyclists continue to improve Asheville's bike access STAFF REPORTS • A...
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St. Petersburg police ticket 16 bicyclists as safety campaign be
The St. Petersburg Times: St. Petersburg police ticket 16 bicyclists as safety campaign begins By Andy Boyle, Ti...
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Cycling: Help needed to spur bicycle service on trains
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Cycling: Help needed to spur bicycle service on trains Saturday, August 28, 2010 B...
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One year later, cyclist killed in confrontation remembered
The Toronto Star: One year later, cyclist killed in confrontation remembered Published On Sun Aug 29 2010 Je...
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Road Rights:

Road Rights- Keep Your Cool
How to handle an encounter when you’re unjustly pulled over By Bob Mionske Most people don’t fol...
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Road Rights- The Messages We Send
If you ride near pedestrians, you may be doing the rest of us a disservice. By Bob Mionske I was returning ...
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Road Rights- Listen Up
Can you legally wear headphones while riding? The answer might surprise you. By Bob Mionske One of the more ...
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BicycleLaw.com Updates for August 26, 2010

Thu, 26 Aug 2010 07:00:59 -0400

Road Rights:

Road Rights- Buzz Kill
Three foot passing laws aim to give cyclists space on the road- but do they work? By Bob Mionske One of the ...
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Spokes | Tipsy On Two Wheels

Sat, 07 Aug 2010 18:55:00 -0400

This news article featuring Bob Mionske has been reproduced here for our media archives. To access the original article, follow the link.

Spokes | Tipsy On Two Wheels

By J. David Goodman, The New York Times

ON the matter of bicycling under the influence, Michael Dolan has known both pleasure and pain.

Mr. Dolan, a 33-year-old public relations strategist, reported some happy two-wheeled encounters while drunk involving the singers David Byrne and Björk — whom he witnessed “being pedaled around and screeching like a child” — as well as a “surreal” collision with a rider on a Penny Farthing.

But he also acknowledged the danger in trying to ride after downing enough alcohol to make a single speed look like a tandem. “I know one person who was killed drunk-biking, one who broke some bones crossing the Manhattan Bridge,” Mr. Dolan said. “Everyone I ride with has at least one story of hurting themselves booze-rolling.” (Mr. Byrne, for one, wrote on his blog about having broken his ribs in a drink-fueled 2008 fall.)

Still, many cyclists have dedicated “bar bikes” — cheap beaters that can be left overnight if a return trip by taxi becomes necessary — and sometimes there are so many bikes locked up near certain watering holes that it can be hard to find a place to park. [More]

Signs of Traffic

Tue, 22 Jun 2010 19:37:00 -0400

Spotted today on a Portland street....

Start of Tour de Nez bike race used to remind people of ongoing problem

Mon, 21 Jun 2010 14:52:00 -0400

This news article featuring Bob Mionske has been reproduced here for our media archives. To access the original article, follow the link.

KRNV Reno: Start of Tour de Nez bike race used to remind people of ongoing problem

Thursday June 17, 2010

Thursday was day one of the Tour de Nez bike race. Bicycle enthusiasts used it to highlight what they call an ongoing, dangerous problem. That is, that motorists and cyclists don't always share the road,

A forum at the Nugget in Sparks Thursday came after two recent bicycle accidents in town. One of those accidents was last week. A three year old girl was riding her bike on Lewis Street when she was hit by a truck. Last month, a Tour de Nez rider was in the bike lane on McCarran Boulevard when he was hit by a car from behind. Luckily, both survived.

A bike law expert said that with more people than ever before now riding bikes, there's now more conflicts than ever. Bob Mionske is a former Olympian and now lawyer and columnist for Bicycle Magazine. He says cyclists have every right to use the road, but often don't get justice on the roadways when they're blamed for accidents even if a motorist is equally to blame.

With the Tour de Nez in town, he says it's a good time to remind motorists and cyclists a simple lesson that can save lives -- slow down and pay attention.

"It's a societal thing, we're all in a hurry, we make too many apointments, we rush to get there, when you do that you make mistakes,” said Bob Mionske. “When you make a mistake against a car, maybe it's only a fender bender but when you do it against a bicyclist or pedestrian, you take their life; we need to put more importance on how we drive," he said.

A Reno PD Sargeant also spoke. Police have received a grant to target and ticket cyclists and pedestrians who disobey traffic laws, as well as cite motorists who do not share the road.

Road warrior

Thu, 17 Jun 2010 14:41:00 -0400

This news article featuring Bob Mionske has been reproduced here for our media archives. To access the original article, follow the link.

Reno news & Review: Road warrior

Bike law expert and former Olympian Bob Mionske calls for more justice for cyclists

Bike law expert and former Olympian Bob Mionske rides with Lance Armstrong.

By Kat Kerlin
katk@newsreview.com

This article was published on 06.17.10.

On June 8, a 3-year-old girl was riding her bike on Lewis Street in Reno when she was hit by a Ford pickup. Though she was dragged for about 10 feet, she survived. Earlier, on May 12, a helmeted, former Tour de Nez racer was riding in the bike lane along South McCarran Boulevard and Caughlin Parkway when he was hit from behind by a vehicle and injured.

Inevitably, these sorts of stories spur comments from both motorists and cyclists about the lack of courtesy and often unsafe behavior each group demonstrates to the other. Comments on a Reno Gazette-Journal article about the May 12 accident ranged from complaints about distracted drivers to cyclists hogging lanes.

“Things have changed in the world in the last four years in terms of the number of people using bikes,” says bike law expert and former Olympic cyclist Bob Mionske. “It’s gotten better in that more people are riding, but it’s also put more pressure on conflict.” [More]

Executive Summary of the withdrawal of charges in the Michael Bryant case

Tue, 01 Jun 2010 22:48:00 -0400

Executive Summary

On Tuesday, May 25, Richard Peck, the special prosecutor appointed to try former Ontario Attorney General Michael Bryant on charges involving the death of Toronto messenger Darcy Allan Sheppard, withdrew the charges against Bryant, noting that "there is no reasonable prospect of conviction in relation to either of the charges before the Court. Accordingly, the charges must be withdrawn.” [More]

Frederick, Maryland Hit and Run

Thu, 20 May 2010 04:11:00 -0400

Recently, BicycleLaw.com was contacted by a woman who lives near Frederick, Maryland. She was seeking advice about how to track down a hit and run driver who had seriously injured her husband, Keith Krombel, a long-distance cyclist and Race Across America veteran. The police had downplayed the extent of Krombel's injuries to the press, and a year later, seem to be uninterested in finding the driver, so Mary and Keith have created their own website, Yellow Springs Hit and Run, to publicize the incident, and hopefully generate some tips. They believe that the original news report may have led people who might know something about the hit and run to believe that the incident was not serious, and that if friends or acquaintances of the driver knew how seriously Keith had been injured, somebody might come forward with a tip. [More]

Remembering Cindie Davis Holub

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 04:27:00 -0400

Earlier this week, we reported the unfortunate news that the cyclist who had been hit by a Waste Management truck in Scottsdale Arizona had lost her battle for life. Following that report, we received an email from a reader that told us a little bit more about the cyclist.

As we reported previously, her name was Cindie Holub. However, she was not a Scottsdale cyclist; rather, she was a resident of Westford, Massachusetts. Based on another report we have received, Ms. Holub was in Scottsdale training for a triathlon when she was hit. According to the most recent email we received, Ms. Holub was “Not a novice bike rider.” This reader, who included a copy of Ms. Holub’s obituary (which we are sharing below) concluded “Hope this helps make this very sad and unnecessary occurrence more real and all the more reason for better enforcement of motor vehicle law in Arizona.”

Cindie Davis Holub

Cindie Davis Holub
Westford, beloved wife and mother; 52

WESTFORD -- Cindie Davis Holub, 52, of Westford passed away Sunday February 28th, 2010.

She was born to James Howard Davis and the late Karen Swanson Davis in Oceanside CA. Cindie graduated from New Albany High School in Ohio and received a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from The Ohio State University. She was married to Dr. Brian Holub for 28 years. Brian and Cindie own Countryside Veterinary Hospital in Chelmsford.

Cindie was a loving mother of four boys. She was an avid reader with a burning passion for animals, especially her dog Penelope and her horse Orion. In addition to her love of reading and animals, Cindie enjoyed traveling with her family. She recently traveled to China with her sister Kim on a Global Volunteers teaching trip. Kim and Cindie taught English on the Hainan Islands.

In the last few years Cindie began training to compete in an Ironman triathlon. Spending her days training twice a day, she completed three triathlons in 2009. She had previously run the Boston Marathon.

She is survived by four sons: Bradley Jake (25), Andrew Karl (23), Kevin James (21), and Adam Scott Holub (18), one sister: Kimberly Davis Holmberg, her father, James Howard Davis, and her stepmother Francine Hitchcock Davis.

HOLUB -- In lieu of flowers the family is requesting donations made in her name to the Human Society of Greater Akron, 4904 Quick Road, Peninsula, OH 44264. A memorial service will be held Sunday March 7, 2:30 PM at the Fellowship Hall in Westford Center.

Published in Lowell Sun on March 3, 2010

We would like to extend our condolences to the family and friends of Cindie Davis Holub.

Saudi Police, British Embassy: Foul Play Ruled Out In Death Of Murdered British Cyclist

Tue, 02 Mar 2010 23:57:00 -0400

In a follow-up article on the death of a British cyclist who was reportedly “deliberately run down” by Saudi youths outside Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Arab News is reporting that “Police have confirmed the [cyclist’s] death … was nothing more than a tragic accident.” [More]

British Cyclist Murdered, Media Blackout, Government Silence-- Cover-Up?

Tue, 02 Mar 2010 20:43:00 -0400

Yesterday, we reported that John Currie, a British cyclist, had been “deliberately run down” in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia by local youths. This murder was first reported by the Telegraph on Saturday. On Sunday, Arab News reported that the “UK Embassy Rules Out Foul Play In Cyclist’s Death.” Instead, the embassy was referring to the cyclist’s death as “nothing more than a ‘tragic accident.’” [More]

Scottsdale Cyclist's Fight For Her Life Ends

Tue, 02 Mar 2010 19:23:00 -0400

Last week, we reported that a cyclist in Scottsdale, Arizona was fighting for her life after being hit by a passing garbage truck. We are sorry to report that her fight for life ended yesterday, when she died at a Scottsdale hospital. [More]

British cyclist "deliberately run down" in Saudi Arabia, British Embassy calls it a tragic accident

Mon, 01 Mar 2010 05:39:00 -0400

What happens when national interest conflicts with cyclist justice?

This week, British nationals may have learned that that their lives are considered expendable. [More]