Dear Readers,
The past week has seen cycling in the news again: The Senate stripped the bicycle commuter tax benefit from the Energy bill, while reinstating the Hummer tax benefit, which the House had removed from the energy bill; meanwhile, in Portland, yet another cyclist was killed in a collision with a motor vehicle. Finally, the State of Iowa may be poised to limit the rights of cyclists. I will be exploring these and many other issues in upcoming columns in the new year.

But today, in the spirit of the holiday season, we’re going to take a break from the serious issues for something a little more light-hearted. Reader D.T. emailed me with an interesting article from the Palo Alto Daily News, which I would like to share with you today. You’ll have to follow the link to the full story, but give it a read and then come back for a discussion of what the paper calls

An Eight Foot Tall Loophole

It looks, rides and steers like a bike, but it isn't one: High wheeler rides through law's gray area
By Kristina Peterson / Daily News Staff Writer
When he rides on his 71-year-old high-wheel bicycle, Martin Krieg's head hovers eight feet above the ground. Perched above a wheel 52 inches in diameter, Krieg, 54, cannot touch his feet to the ground. "No one's legs are long enough," the Palo Alto resident said. - The Full Story

So what do you, my readers think? Is Mr. Krieg’s ordinary (that’s “high-wheeler” or “penny farthing” to the average Joe) really exempt from the law? Not in California, nor is it likely to be exempt in the rest of the United States, either.

Let’s look at California law to see why. In California, his ordinary is, as he claims, not a bicycle, because it isn’t driven through “a system of belts, gears, or chains.” In fact, his ordinary isn’t even a “vehicle” under California law. So what is his ordinary? Is it really an “it?”

Not really; under California law his ordinary is classified as a “conveyance.” And as the operator of a human-powered conveyance, Mr. Krieg is classified as a “pedestrian.” Crazy, I know, but that’s how he’s treated under California law.

It gets crazier. As a pedestrian, Mr. Krieg is required to use the sidewalk rather than the bicycle lane, when an adequate sidewalk is adjacent to the bicycle lane. And worse, when Mr. Krieg is allowed to use the roadway, he is required to ride close to the left curb.

That’s right, the left curb! As a “pedestrian,” Mr. Krieg is required to ride against the direction of oncoming traffic.

Now what about that legal status equivalent to a “paper bag floating through the intersection”? At least he doesn’t have to obey traffic signals, right? Wrong. As a pedestrian, Mr. Krieg is still required to obey traffic signs and signals.

As I said, it’s a crazy legal status for what should be deemed a “bicycle.” And that’s just in one state. As the article explains, Mr. Krieg plans to ride his ordinary cross country in 2009, and he will be contending with a different vehicle code in every state he rides through. As just one example, in Pennsylvania his ordinary is a bicycle and he is subject to the traffic rules and regulations of the vehicle code.

For those who want to know more about this intrepid adventurer, I invite my readers to check out Martin Krieg’s personal website, and to read about his advocacy for a National Bicycle Greenway. Best of luck to you, Martin, on your next cross-country adventure perched atop your…er, whatever-it-is.

On a final note, I'd like to thank all of my readers who have contacted me to request my appearance at their event on my upcoming speaking tour. I will be speaking extensively in 2008, and will make plans to appear before any club, bike shop, or other engagement that is interested in hosting me. If you would like me to appear to speak at your event or shop, or to your club or group, please drop me a line at bookbob2speak@gmail.com. I'm looking forward to meeting as many of my readers as possible. Look for announcements of my first 2008 speaking engagements in this column early next year.

My best wishes to all my readers for a happy and safe holiday season.

Bob

(Research and drafting provided by Rick Bernardi, J.D.)

After retiring from racing in 1993, he coached the Saturn Professional Cycling team for one year before heading off to law school. Mionske's practice is now split between personal-injury work, representing professional athletes as an agent and other legal issues facing endurance athletes (traffic violations, contract, criminal charges, intellectual property, etc).

Mionske is also the author of Bicycling
and the Law, designed to be the primary resource for cyclists
to consult when faced with a legal question. It provides readers with the
knowledge to avoid many legal problems in the first place, and informs
them of their rights, their responsibilities, and what steps they can take
if they do encounter a legal problem.

If you have a cycling-related legal question, please send it to mionskelaw@hotmail.com
Bob will answer as many of these questions privately as he can. He will
also select a few questions each week to answer in this column. General
bicycle-accident advice can be found at www.bicyclelaw.com.

Important notice:
The information provided in the "Legally speaking"
column 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 in this column does not mean you
have established an attorney-client relationship with attorney Bob Mionske.
Readers of this column should not act upon any information contained in
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