I Was Hit While On A Bicycle -Do I Have A Personal Injury Case?
Of course the rules of the road, including the duty to use due care, apply to the operators of bicycles. Attorney Eric T. Kirk will tell you.
It has come as a surprise to some of my clients that a bicyclist has all the rights of a motorist.
There are some exceptions: bicyclists cannot operate on a highway with a speed limit of greater than 50 mph, and, if there is a separate bike lane, the bicyclist must use it. There are additional qualifications to that general rule. A bicyclist traveling at less than the speed of traffic must stay as far to the right as possible unless passing or making a left turn, the street is one-way, the right lane is a turn only lane or too narrow for two vehicles, or the lane is otherwise blocked. It should come as no surprise bicyclists have the same obligations as a motorist as well. At least one case has determined that a bicyclist failing to stay to the right, who is injured by a motorist, has no claim based on contributory negligence principles. Longie v. Exline, 659 F.Supp. 177 (D. Md., 1987).
