To some, there is no greater pleasure than riding their bike. To others, there is no greater pleasure than driving their car. Some bikers love to drive and some drivers love to bike. Nevertheless, these bikers and drivers cannot seem to get along.

Why do these two great pleasures seem to generate so much animosity towards each other? Bikers and drivers are growing to hate each other and the reasons are readily apparent.

Society Must:

• Build more bike trails and bike lanes
• Educate the public about the rights of cyclists
• Educate cyclists about responsible riding
• Practice safety first driving and biking to prevent injuries

Bikers Must

• Follow the Rules of the Road, traffic laws apply to bikes
• Realize you are not the only biker on the road
• lose the attitude that because you are self propelled you are entitled to special treatment
• Be kind and courteous to drivers
• wear a helmet
• wear a light at night

Drivers Must

• Treat cyclists as equals
• Understand that cyclists have a right to roadway even though they are slow
• Appreciate that cyclists are unprotected and easily intimidated
• Understand that mistakes can be fatal to the cyclist
• Realize that bikers are more exposed to weather and road conditions
• Be kind and courteous

As a cyclist for many years, I have found that the majority of bikers and drivers adhere to the bullet points above. However, there is a hard core element of each group that refuses to recognize the other’s point of view.

From the bikers perspective, cars should be willing to slow down, share the lane, give a wide birth and be accomodating at intersections and merger points. If a driver loses 1 or 2 seconds of time in having to slow down for a cyclist or group of cyclists that should not cause that driver any consternation. Drivers act as though they own the road and it is maddening to be brushed back or honked at while riding your bike.

From the drivers perspective, bikers are privileged sissies riding over priced bikes for no real reason. Drivers have things to do and places to be and bikers are a nusance in their way. Just because you are on a bike does not mean you have special privileges. Bikers don’t follow the rules of the road. They blow through stop signs, they cross intersections prior to light changes, they block lanes unnecessarily and there are lots and lots of them.

Unfortunately, if there is a mistake on the road, the cyclist suffers the most. I know I respresent cyclists injured in accidents. Sometimes those injuries are fatal or life altering. When a serious accident occurs many lives are changed forever. The injured victim, his/her family and friends are all dramatically effected by the accident. Medical bills, work loss, school, relationships, activities, any and every part of one’s life changes.

We know cycling accidents because we are cyclists. If you have any questions, call Stuart Mann 303-991-2233

THE COLORADO UNINSURED MOTORIST STATUTE C.R.S. 10-4-609 REMOVES ANTI- STACKING PROVISIONS

For policies of automobile insurance issued or renewed after January 1, 2008, there are some new changes that may effect the amount of insurance coverage that is available to an individual injured in an automobile accident.

Among the changes set forth in the statute are the following:

1) Stacking of policies, i.e. adding together two or more policies, is only allowed where the Uninsured motorist poicies share the same policy number and premium charge.

2)Bodily injury policies and UM policies may be added without off set.

3) The insured’s UM coverage must be as high as her/his Bodily Injury coverage.

The effect of these changes are primarily that someone who is injured in an accident has the the potential to trecover greater sums of money from existing insurance policies than before.

In the past, if there was $50,000 policy covering the at fault party and $50,000 of UM coverage on the not at fault party. The not at fault injured party would only be entitled to $50,000 from the at fault party.  Under the new law, the not at fault injured party could conceivably recover $50,000 from the at fault party and $50,000 from his/her own UM for a possible total recovery of $100,000.

The term “stacking” is used to describe the process of adding one or more insurance policies on top of one another.  Under the new law, the attorney must identify all policies that can be potentially stacked for any given case.  Of course, it is important to keep in mind that even though a policy may stack the injuries and damages in the case must be serious enough to justify the increased amounts of coverage available.

This new law simplifies the law of stacking by disallowing anti-stacking language contained in insurance policies.  This new law also provides greater coverage for those who are seriously injured in accidents.

Any questions, please contact Stuart Mann 303-991-2233