Crawford County Bike Ban

From the Iowa Bicycle Coalition:

Facts

- During the 2004 RAGBRAI Ride, a bicyclist tragically died in Crawford County after crashing his bicycle. There had been other crashes at the same location on the same day. The 2004 RAGBRAI accident was the first fatal crash of an isolated cyclist in RAGBRAI history.

- The widow of the bicyclist sued Crawford County <read the claim>. The case was settled out of court this fall with no precedence or fault being admitted.

- In October, Crawford County passed a resolution <read the resolution> banning RAGBRAI and similar natured events from its’ roads, despite RAGBRAI improving the waiver to cover counties <read the changed waiver>.

- On November 2, the Iowa State Association of Counties (ISAC) began the process of asking the legislature to
change Iowa Code <read the resolution> and exempt counties and cities from legal action by a person injured while operating a nonmotorized vehicle on roads by proposing a change to the Iowa Code:

Iowa Code section 670.4 would add a new exemption for: "Any claim based upon an act or omission of a municipality in the design, construction or maintenance of a public road by a person injured while operating a non-motorized vehicle, if the road was designed, constructed and maintained as required for motor vehicle traffic."

- The Crawford County lawsuit was the first in memory (and perhaps the first ever) of a deadly bicycle accident resulting in a lawsuit in Iowa. However, each year the state of Iowa is sued about 80 times and cities and counties about three times by motorists regarding road design and maintenance.

- In 2007, seven Iowa cyclists were killed by collisions from motor vehicles. Not a single cyclist was killed due to road design or poor maintenance since 2004.

- Under current Iowa law (Iowa Code 321.234), bicyclists are authorized users on all roadways except restricted roadways (i.e. interstate highways).

Comments

The Crawford County situation was not isolated to a road defect. The claim included a failure to warn following several crashes on the same day. The settlement does not provide a precedent for future cases. This single lawsuit is not enough reason for government to deny bicyclists the right to use roadways for organized rides such as RAGBRAI, TOMRV, the Amish Harvest Cancer Ride, or even the weekly bike club ride to a local restaurant. With Crawford County already banning organized rides and several others considering similar bans, the question of Constitutional rights to free assembly begin to come into question.

Roads should be designed and maintained to generally accepted standards. Meeting generally accepted standards will reduce risk and liability for counties and cities. Bicyclists need the same thing as motorized traffic: well designed and maintained roads. While the Iowa State Association of Counties (ISCA) seems to claim that municipalities cannot maintain roadways to generally accepted standards, not maintaining roads creates more hazards for all users and is more costly in the long run. ( i.e. fixing a crack is less costly than fixing a heaved road) We believe this current section of Iowa Code adequately protects municipalities from frivolous lawsuits

670.4.7. Any claim based upon or arising out of a claim of negligent
design or specification, negligent adoption of design or
      specification, or negligent construction or reconstruction of a
      highway, secondary road, or street as defined in section 321.1,
      subsection 78, that was constructed or reconstructed in accordance
      with a generally recognized engineering or safety standard, criteria,
      or design theory in existence at the time of the construction or
      reconstruction. A claim under this chapter shall not be allowed for
      failure to upgrade, improve, or alter any aspect of an existing
      highway, secondary road, or street, to new, changed, or altered
      design standards. In respect to highways and roads, sealcoating,
      asphalting, patching, resurfacing, ditching, draining, repairing,
      graveling, rocking, blading, or maintaining an existing highway or
      road does not constitute reconstruction. This subsection shall not
      apply to claims based upon gross negligence.

The proposal by ISAC to deny cyclists access to the courts will not save lives or spare cyclists from injury. However, a blanket immunity will deny cyclists the right to seek redress from the courts even in the most egregious and indefensible instances.

Bicycling is good for Iowa, good for the environment, and good for individuals. Bicycling allows Iowans to be closer to nature, to save natural resources, and to get recreation and exercise. Bicycling also has the potential to be a large boost to the rural economy as safe, beautiful cycling routes could attract thousands of residents and visitors to our less populous areas. Singling out cyclists for fewer protections and less access may create a more adversarial relationship for bicyclists on the roadways at a time when we should encourage more cycling for our health, environment, and economy.

Where do we go from here?

Organized bicycle rides should not be denied access to Iowa’s roadways by local government. Current Iowa law on restricted roadways is enough and should not be changed.
Cyclists are entitled to equal protection and their access to the judicial system should not be uniformly denied.
Cyclists, vehicle operators, transportation engineers, and elected officials should work together to make roadways safe, reliable, and maintained for all users.
The State and local governments should address the real killer of bicyclists: irresponsible, distracted drivers.

On behalf of cyclists across Iowa, thank you for your consideration.

For additional information, please contact Mark Wyatt at 319-936-4948.

Iowa Bicycle Coalition
PO Box 572
North Liberty, IA 52317
515-309-2867
bikeinfo@iowabicyclecoalition.org | www.iowabicyclecoalition.org