‘Bike attorney’ shares insights in new book
Kenneth J. Knabe is a “bike attorney” in both senses of the phrase: He often commutes by cycling from his Cleveland-area home to his nearby law office where he operates a practice dominated by bike cases.
Having been hit by a car and represented other cyclists who suffered similar misfortune, he knows all about what he calls the “giant knowledge gap” that exists between riders and motorists.
To fill it, he has written, with assistance from Parker Mulholland, a book called “Cycling Rights: Bicycles, E-bikes & Micro-mobility Devices.”
I’m a longtime rider but learned a few things from reading the book, such as: While cyclists can be ticketed for the
same traffic offenses that motorists can, only cycling while intoxicated will earn bikers points against their driver’s licenses.
The book comes with a laminated card, citing relevant sections of Ohio law, for cyclists to carry with them for run-ins with motorists and the police.
The chapter in which Knabe, 66, reviews court decisions involving cyclists effectively illustrates Knabe’s contention that cyclists, motorists and, in some cases, the authorities all could stand more education. Examples from that chapter: h A police officer attempted to stop a pair of cyclists for impeding traffic by riding two abreast on a road in Lawrence County. They ignored his halt order and were charged with several offenses. A judge found them not guilty because cyclists are allowed on roads (except for limited access highways) and therefore the police order to stop was unlawful.
By the way, it’s legal for cyclists to ride two abreast as well.
h A cyclist riding in the center of a lane with neither hand on the handlebars on a busy Ravenna street was found guilty of reckless operation. The judge rejected his argument that he had control of the bike and was riding in the center of a lane to avoid being “doored” by inattentive drivers exiting the vehicles parked to his right.
h A cyclist dodging potholes on a poorly maintained Columbus street was hit from behind by a speeding motorist and left a quadriplegic. He sued the city but a judge dismissed the case.
An appeals court reversed the decision, ruling that potholes are obstructions — not just nuisances — for cyclists.
Knabe has lost a friend to a fatal bike crash and was himself once injured by a hit-and-run driver while riding his bike in a crosswalk in downtown Cleveland.
Those experiences are partly why he became a bike attorney.
“About 75% of my practice is now bike law, serving on bike boards and representing people in bike crashes,” Knabe said. “There’s that much going on out there on the road.”
Yes, and we all could stand to learn more about how to share it.