Love them or hate them, e-bikes continue to rise in popularity. At the same time, lawmakers struggle to keep up with the developing technologies. Every week I get multiple inquiries from people trying to navigate North Carolina’s e-bike laws. If you’re confused, you’re not alone.  We could easily fill a book with all the latest information and law related to e-bikes, but for now, we focus on the various classifications and how they affect North Carolina e-bike riders. E-BIKES CLASSIFICATIONS Federal law and the majority of state laws (not including North Carolina’s) divide e-bikes into th ..read more

Recently, attorneys with the Bike Law network took a case to a trial against a titan of a defendant: the Texas Department of Transportation. TxDOT was represented by the Attorney General’s Office, one of Texas’ largest legal teams. We had a great client, but it was a tough case to prove. So tough, in fact, that TxDOT offered nothing to settle the case before trial.   The Crash that Altered Mike Bagg’s Life On a sunny Sunday in October, our client, Mike Bagg, a 56-year-old surgeon, was riding his bike in a bike lane in El Paso. It turns out the bike lane had a gap between two concrete pane ..read more

  2023 got off to a rough start for Charlotte, North Carolina, particularly in the context of road safety. Within about a week, we lost a young woman who was riding her bicycle, a pedestrian killed in the same area of town, and four people were killed in a car wreck on I-85 in the University Area.   MOORE: MORE ROOM FOR CARS Juxtaposed with these tragedies was the story of House Speaker Tim Moore and his reaction to Charlotte’s proposed transportation plan that attempts to reduce car usage and to improve and encourage alternate transportation methods like public transportation and bi ..read more

Unless you’re a very recent follower of ours, you’ve heard us talk before about “contributory negligence.” To recap: “pure contributory negligence” is the law in North Carolina and only 3 other states (Alabama, Virginia, Maryland). In pure contributory negligence states, if a person is injured by someone else’s fault and the injured person contributes even the tiniest percent (1% is enough) to their own injuries, they collect no damages. In “comparative fault” states, the injured person’s damaged are reduced by the amount of their fault.  North Carolina’s contributory negligence law appli ..read more

DRIVER ON METH KILLS 17 YEAR OLD BICYCLIST, BARROW COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY REFUSES TO CHARGE DRIVER WITH FELONY.   On August 23, 2020, at approximately 8:40pm, 17-year old Obianuju Osuegbu was on her way home from her summer job working at a grocery store. She had earned enough money that summer to buy herself a new ebike that she was very proud to have. “Uju”, as her mother Pauline and the rest of her family called her, was about a quarter mile from home when a vehicle driven by Chrissy Rawlins of Winder, Georgia, ran into her from behind and killed Miss Osuegbu.   Miss Osuegbu was ..read more

Bike Law is lucky to get the benefits of Lauri Boxer-Macomber (Bike Law Maine), another female bicycle crash attorney in our Network. And all cyclists, especially women bicyclists, are safer, stronger, more supported, understood, and respected, because of who she is, the work she does, and the way she does it. Lauri is the perfect example of how much methods matter in exacting desirable results. On any size scale, Lauri pays thoughtful attention to the details; the ones that are easily and too often overlooked or ignored. Women on Bikes: Lauri & Susan B. Anthony Growing up in rural Connect ..read more

Welcome to Day 2 of our Women on Bikes Bike Law takeover! For the 14 days leading up to Women’s Cycling Day 0n October 10th, we will be celebrating 15 of the most thoughtful, committed, smart, and compassionate women in the saddle, as our tribute to female cyclists everywhere. Women on Bikes: Bike Law Ann Pants, like bicycles, have long been a necessary ingredient in every historical (and contemporary) recipe for independence, autonomy, and mobility. Whether a metaphorical expression of power (who “wears” them?), or a literal necessity to prevent unwanted exposure or an entanglement with our b ..read more

It’s Tour de France time. I follow the racing daily through the footage on TV feed and still photos. But I hadn’t ever considered what’s happening on the other side of the camera lens. Like, what actually goes into snapping these pictures that we see documenting the Tour’s happenings? I started to care more about this – and only by chance – after meeting a client named Chris Graythen. During our first meeting, Chris tells me about riding his bike in New Orleans when he was hit. The driver’s insurance company blamed Chris for the crash, which is why he needed legal help. I ask Chris about his b ..read more

As a step toward increasing the safety of cycling and advocating for the rights of cyclists, we are pleased to announce a partnership between the Bike Law Network of Independent Bicycle Attorneys and USA Cycling. This partnership aims to provide USA Cycling’s members with not only a place to turn if cycling-related legal assistance is needed, but also with information, education, and increased awareness of cycling laws, legal reform, and bicycle advocacy. Bike Law is not a law firm, but a growing national network of independent lawyers who are cyclists, and cycling advocates. Since its foundin ..read more

Bike Law is thrilled to announce the successful recruitment of Arleigh Jenkins as our Director. Many of you already know Arleigh by her former alias, Bike Shop Girl.  She brings more than a decade of marketing and bicycle industry experience to our Network. She started out in a bicycle shop at the age of 15, founded Bike Shop Girl — an online community to empower women in cycling — and has diverse experience marketing within cycling brands and in advertising agencies. Throughout her career, she has advocated for better bicycling at the local, regional and national levels. Growing up ..read more