Chicago Bicycling Flag Patches Updated for Bike to Work Week

In honor of "Bike to Work Week," Keating Law Offices and www.ILBicycleLaw.com have updated the Chicago Bicycle Flag patches to include gold trim so they look even more like the official patches worn by city personnel.

The Chicago Bicycle Flag was created to honor the City of Chicago and its strong bicycle culture. Keating Law Offices and www.ILBicycleLaw.com will be at the Bike to Work Rally on Friday at Daley Center handing out patches and stickers with the Chicago Bicycle Flag. 

If you can't make it to the Bike to Work Rally, please email Keating Law Offices the following information in this format and we'll mail you out a set of stickers and a patch:

Full Name
Street Address
City, State Zip

If you have any questions regarding this post or an issue involving Illinois personal injury law, please contact Illinois Bicycle Attorney Mike Keating at 312-208-7702 or MKeating@KeatingLegal.com . All initial consultations are confidential and free.

*The Chicago Bicycle Flag is a trademark and copyright of Keating Law Offices, a Professional Corporation.

This Week is Chicago's Bike To Work Week

This weeks is Chicago's Bike to Work Week. For information on the event, hit the link below. The week ends with the "Bike to Work Rally" on Friday morning that the City describes as follows:

"The week’s grand finale is the Bike to Work Rally on Friday, June 17 on Daley Plaza. The City of Chicago and Goose Island 312 present the rally to celebrate Chicago’s commitment to being the best big city for bicycling with more than 110 miles of bike lanes, 50 miles of bike paths and 12,000 bike racks. Join more than a thousand fellow cyclists on Daley Plaza for a free t-shirt, breakfast, bike valet and much more. To promote cycling camaraderie, there will be select locations around the city to join group rides to the rally that morning; locations will be identified closer to the date."

City of Chicago :: Bike To Work Week To Present More Events Than Ever!

If you have any questions regarding this post or an issue involving Illinois personal injury law, please contact Illinois Bicycle Attorney Mike Keating at 312-208-7702 or MKeating@KeatingLegal.com . All initial consultations are confidential and free.

NYC Bicyclist Creates Movie Short on the Perils of Urban Riding

Interesting take on the difficulties of riding a bicycle, legally, in an urban area. We all have an obligation to follow the Rules of Road whether in a motor vehicle or on a bicycle. But this video does a good job of showing how difficult it can be to follow the Rules of the Road when on a bicycle in an urban area.

If you have any questions regarding this post or an issue involving Illinois personal injury law, please contact Illinois Bicycle Attorney Mike Keating at 312-208-7702 or MKeating@KeatingLegal.com . All initial consultations are confidential and free.

Chicago Police Conduct Traffic Stops of Bicyclists

The Chicago Tribune is reporting on efforts by the City of Chicago to target bicyclists for moving violations. According to the report, these efforts were done to enforce the laws and to educate the public about the need for bicylists to follow all traffic laws. The article quotes many riders who argue that they are being singled out unfairly. However, it is a little known legal fact that in Chicago police need little reason to stop a bicyclist.

Section 11-1509 of the Illinois Motor Vehicle Code provides that a uniformed police officer may order an inspection of a bicycle. However, the catch is the police office must have reasonable cause to believe that your bike is unsafe or not equipped with the gear the law requires. Section 11-509 reads as follows:

625 ILCS 5/11‑1509
Sec. 11‑1509. Inspecting bicycles. A uniformed police officer may at any time upon reasonable cause to believe that a bicycle is unsafe or not equipped as required by law, or that its equipment is not in proper adjustment or repair, require the person riding the bicycle to stop and submit the bicycle to an inspection and such test with reference thereto as may be appropriate. (Source: Public Act 82‑132.)
 
For a police officer to have reasonable cause the law in Illinois provides that "there be enough particularized facts to lead a common sense person of reasonable caution to believe that there is a fair probability" to draw the conclusion. This is a fluid concept and one that ultimately comes down to the particularized facts of the situation. But because it is fluid, a police office could pretty much come up with anything to question the "safety" of a bicycle and use it as "reasonable cause" to inspect the bicycle - and inspect you.

This is not the purpose of the law nor is it fair. But that doesn't mean it doesn't happen. If you are stopped by a police officer your best bet is to stay calm, be reasonable, and show that your bike is safe. Once that is established, you should be on your way. If you have any questions regarding this post or an issue involving Illinois personal injury law, please contact Illinois Bicycle Attorney Mike Keating at 312-208-7702 or MKeating@KeatingLegal.com . All initial consultations are confidential and free.

Chicago to Install Protected Bike Lane on Kinzie

View Larger MapThe City of Chicago has plans to install a cycle track on Kinzie between Milwaukee Avenue and Wells Street. A "Cycle Track" is essentially a dedicated bike lane that is separated from the main roadway and motor vehicles by a curb, a sidewalk, planter boxes or other kinds of physical dividers. The purpose of a "Cycle Track" is to allow bicycles to safely travel and to allow for all kinds of traffic to travel more fluidly.

Example of a cycle track:

This stretch on Kinzie between Milwaukee and Wells is mostly north of the Chicago River and will create a conduit between Milwaukee Avenue and the Loop. Milwaukee Avenue has a dedicated bike lane that sees considerable bicycle traffic on a daily basis. This cycle track will allow for the bicycle traffic off of Milwaukee to flow towards Wells Street which, in turn, goes into the Loop.

Interestingly, this cycle track is being built with federal funds that were originally granted to the Chicago Department of Transportation to build a cycle track on South Stony Island. Apparently, the change in location was made because of concerns that the cycle track on the South Side would not see enough bicycle traffic to justify the funds used. I previously put a post on the Stony Island bike lane on www.IllinoisBicycleLaw.com that you can find by clicking here.

However, regardless of the location of the cycle track, I am very pleased to see the City of Chicago once again being progressive in encouraging bicycle use and developing the infrastructure to make bicycle commuting more conducive. I am also encourage that these kinds of protected bike lanes will make bicycling safer in Chicago. As I've written about extensively on this blog, the number of incidents of "doorings" in Chicago have reached almost epidemic numbers as the number of bicyclists increase in the congested Loop and nearby neighborhoods.

If you have any questions regarding this post or an issue involving Illinois personal injury law, please contact Illinois Bicycle Attorney Mike Keating at 312-208-7702 or MKeating@KeatingLegal.com . All initial consultations are confidential and free.

Bell Sports Recalls Helmets With Potentially Faulty Straps

The United States Consumer Product Safety Commission has announced a recall of Bell Sports "Exodus" full-face bike helmets. The recall was made because "the plastic buckle that connects the chin straps can fail, causing the helmet to come off the wearer's head. This poses a head injury hazard to riders in the event of a fall."

Any company that manufacturers a product that is "unreasonably dangerous when put to a foreseeable use" may be strictly liable under Illinois law for any injuries that stem from the use of the defective product. If you have been injured while riding and think it was due to a defective product, please contact Illinois Bicycle Lawyer Mike Keating at MKeating@KeatingLegal.com or 312-208-7702.