Review of
Bicycling and the Law
Your Rights as a Cyclist
by Bob Mionske, JD
(first edition)
Foreword by Lance Armstrong
I write this review from my perspective as a bicyclist, a teacher of bicycling technique, and an expert witness in lawsuits concerning bicycle crashes.
I agree with the book’s premise: “the law permeates every aspect of bicycling…cyclists are hungry for information about their rights.” (p. ix) How true.
The book includes an excellent history of US bicycling law, a nuanced and thorough review of bicyclists’ rights and duties, and good practical advice for a bicyclist who is, for example, stopped by police, or deciding whether to retain an attorney. The author describes the potential legal consequences of bicyclists’ actions, and how these vary with state and local law. The writing is lively – even including a hilarious but also very serious section on potential legal consequences of urinating in a public place.
The book misses some topics of concern – for example, problems with patchwork local ordinances. While the author takes a strong stand in favor of cyclists’ rights, he does not in every case examine the consequences of discriminatory laws. His main weakness, though, is in his poor understanding of technical and scientific issues. He says, for example, that disk brakes do not lock up. This is true only if a brake is weak.
The information on nighttime conspicuity is riddled with error. Mionske says that a brighter light will appear closer – true only absent other cues as to its location. He pins fixed numbers onto situations that are subject to wide variation, for example, “with dark colors, nighttime perception distance is only 75 feet.” Which colors? Whose eyesight? What lighting conditions?
From time to time, I sense the rashness of Mionske’s earlier career as a bicycle racer punching up through the usual lawyer’s methodical approach. About crashes and crash prevention, he gives much good advice, but it is incomplete, and often anecdotal. Examples: he suggests controlling the lane at intersections to avoid right-hook collisions, and warns that this tactic may annoy motorists – but he does not mention that the bicyclist may often keep far enough left to allow the motorists to turn right, annoying them less. He suggests that a “bike box” – a pavement area which institutionalizes lane control – is the safest place to wait at an intersection, but without discussing the risk of swerving in front of motor vehicles when entering a “bike box”.
Mionske’s advice on what to do following a crash is generally good, except for a plug for expert witness James Green which is entirely in keeping with the book’s weakness on scientific topics.
The discussion of harassment of bicyclists generally rings true with me, but it spills over into pop psychology. The chapter on liability waivers is a real eye-opener, describing both the hazards for signers and the limitations. The chapters on insurance and on defective-product law, guest-written by attorney Steve Magas, are excellent.
All in all, I can recommend this book as a reference on laws of importance to bicyclists, but when technical issues arise, a bicyclist and the bicyclist’s lawyer may need the assistance of a technical expert – as does the author.
