Like the bride & groom (who share a bicycle built for 2) that adorned Herndon bike injury lawyer Doug Landau's wedding cake, Trucks, Cars & Motorcycles must learn to share the road

Truck vs. Bike – Guess who loses ?  The YouTube from the DC biker’s helmetcam (Caution: Profanity) resonates with many of us who have ridden on DC metro area roads, commuted by bicycle and seen inexplicable road rage, distracted driving and other dangerous maneuvers by motorists.  The troubling incident was discussed on the Landau Injury Law site.

I do not believe I have ever posted a comment to YouTube, but this video should be “Exhibit A” to those who contend bikers are not endangered by truck drivers or ridden off the road.  After reviewing the film with my own bride (and bicycling partner for life) I wrote:

“With cars parked in the left lane, traffic relatively light in the other 2 lanes, I would have ridden a safe, straight line in the same situation.  I have seen how devastating the injuries are from being “doored” & many motorists do not pay attention to bicycles riding inches from the curb.  So when the biker is forced to go left to get around parked cars, they can get “clipped” by motorists paying more attention to cars on their left and straight ahead.  If we want to curb unsafe conduct by people driving trucks, cars & motorcycles, then responsibility must be taken when they unnecessarily endanger others.”

P.S. If this had been a child riding to school & permanently injured, what would we make of the trucker’s cowardice then ?”

• 9/7/2011 Manassas, VA: Virginia Workers Compensation hearing, slip and fall at a federal facility job accident case.
• 9/8/2011 Washington, DC: Trial Lawyers Association of DC “Meeting with the Judges” (CLE), at The University Club, 16th Street, NW, preceded by a program introducing the OsiriX software for Macintosh computers
• 9/09/2011 Alexandria, VA; U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Virginia, Alexandria Division, Motion in Limine (to exclude irrelevant evidence) in union construction plumber’s shopping mall on the job slip and fall case
• 9/10/2011 Reston, VA: South Lakes High School, bicycle helmet safety inspection and athlete registration volunteer for the Reston Triathlon
• 9/11/2011 Reston, VA: Lake Audubon, compete in Reston Triathlon,
• 9/15/2011 Washington, DC: Social Security Administration, Disability claim before an Administrative Law Judge
• 9/18/2011 Winchester, VA: Warrenton Aquatic & Recreation Facility, compete in Virginia Triathlon Series (VTS)
• Sprint Triathlon, currently in 4th place in the Age Group, Landau hopes to again win the Series by accumulating enough points in addition to Masters and Age Group awards. ABRAMS LANDAU, Ltd. is a sponsor of the series.
• 9/20/2011 Fairfax, VA: Fairfax County Circuit Courthouse, Ethics and Social Networking CLE program sponsored by the Fairfax County Bar Association.
• 9/22/2011 Williamsburg, VA: Virginia Workers Compensation hearing, job vehicle accident case, late payment penalties
• 9/22-25/2011 Atlanta, GA: American Association for Justice (AAJ) College, Sheraton Atlanta Hotel, (CLE)
• 10/02/2011 Spotsylvania, VA: Acorn Sprint Triathlon, Lake Anna Beach marina, final competition in the Virginia Triathlon Series, Bumpass, VA
• 10/03/2011 Washington, DC: Social Security Administration, Disability claim before an Administrative Law Judge
• 10/5-6/2011 Monroe, LA: Social Security Administration, Disability claim before an Administrative Law Judge on a case remanded from an unfavorable decision for a client for whom ABRAMS LANDAU was successful in his car crash and related workers comp claims.
• 10/6-9/2011 Bergen County, NJ: Client visit, returning to volunteer at High School Parents Weekend, McLean, VA
• 10/10/2011 Richmond, VA: Mediation in a Virginia Workers Compensation claim for a disabled nurse with a Tidewater area insurance defense firm, even though the office is closed for the Columbus Day holiday.
• 10/12/2011 Fairfax, VA: Virginia Workers Compensation hearing, health care provider’s slip and fall brain injury case; the original claim was won, but when additional brain surgery was needed, the insurance company disputed that it was related to the original, on the job fall on the ice and refused to pay the medical bills.
• 10/13/2011 Fairfax, VA: District Court of Fairfax County, monitoring the Traffic Court prosecution of the defendant whose unsafe driving caused permanent injury and death.
• 10/15-16 Williamsburg, VA: Old Dominion University Department of Accounting, compete in annual 5km.
• 10/17/2011 Fairfax, VA: Virginia Workers Compensation hearing, nurse’s car crash back and head injury case. The original claim was won (covering her spinal surgery) and her car crash liability case settled for policy limits, but when additional traumatic brain injury case was sought, the insurance company disputed that it was related to the original, on the job crash and refused to pay the medical bills.
• 10/19/2011 Manassas, VA: Virginia Workers Compensation hearing for a Michigan client with a back injury
• 11/3/2011 Fairfax, VA: Virginia Workers Compensation hearing, after winning permanent and total disability hearing against the Department of Disability Services, seeking van modifications and other additional benefits
• 11/4-6/2011 Lakeville, CT: Volunteer Leadership Weekend, The Hotchkiss School
  nurse’s car crash back and head injury case.
• 11/11-13/2011 Richmond, VA: Virginia Trial Lawyers Advanced Workers Compensation retreat, (CLE) Courtyard by Marriott West
• 11/12/2011 Richmond, VA: Arthur Ashe Athletic Center Health Expo and Richmond Sportsbackers Marathon Festival, compete in 8km. road race.
• 11/18/2011 Herndon, VA: Herndon Community Center Annual Turkey Trot 5km cross country race (in the afternoon, just blocks from the Landau Law Shop !)
• 11/23/2011 Glen Ridge, NJ: United States Track & Field-NJ Championship Road Race, Ashenfelter 8K Classic, benefiting the Glen Ridge Educational Foundation (Landau Law Shop closed for the Thanksgiving holiday)
• 11/30/2011 Colorado Springs, CO: Triathlon World Championship Age Group Sprint Distance qualifiers, like All American Doug Landau, international paperwork for competition in Auckland, New Zealand, October 14-22, 2012

If you want to see Triathlon Trial Lawyer Landau “in action” at these or other events, please e-mail or call the Landau Law Shop (703-796-9555) beforehand, as insurance companies settle on the eve of trial, judges postpone trials and races get canceled due to weather or other unforeseen events, and your time is valuable.  Several races and court cases (including a complex Interpleader for insurance policy limits in Chesterfield Circuit Court as the result of a single car crash injuring several international exchange students) have already been cancelled and postponed due to Hurricane Irene.  Herndon Reston area injury lawyer hopes to see you soon !

Reston bike riders assemble in the Herndon Town lot prior to a fun weekday ride from Fairfax County to Loudoun County

“Defensive Driving” is not just for motorists.  Even bikers need to ride “defensively” and anticipate unsafe actions by others on the roads, paths and trails.  A group of cyclists from Reston were enjoying the W&OD Trail, just past Leesburg in Loudoun County, when calamity struck.  A little boy about 6 or 7 years old was riding with at least one or two siblings and his father was walking with them.  The child was looking back and rode directly into the bikers’ lane.   While the cyclists yelled warning, and some were able to avoid crashing, but others were not so fortunate.  One witness noted, “the little guy rode right into us.”  This child was unhurt, and the neighbors were a great help.

The victim of this crash noted, “There was no one else on the trail with us. It was totally unexpected. After I was on the ground, people came out of the woodwork.  Then there were people on the path.”  Luckily, the cyclist sustained no broken bones.  However, the bicycle rider will no doubt be sore for several days, and her bike will undergo repairs.  The resident of an adjoining neighborhood’s helpful actions renewed the bikers’ confidence in their fellow human beings as he went the extra mile to help out. Everyone at the Landau Law Shop wishes the injured cyclists speedy recoveries and hopes that the child involved (and his parents) will be more careful in the future.

Th Tri Performance Team swept the top 3 places at the Infinitive Triathlon Championship Series race in Boradlands, Virginia. Winner Doug Steele (far left) was closely followed by the McAllister father & son team.

While managing to chase down racers through the transition areas, bike course and running paths, Herndon injury lawyer Doug Landau was not able to catch three Team Tri Performance members at the Infinitive Sprint Triathlon at Broadlands today.  Race Director Brian Crow once again put on a quality event, which included the Broadlands 50 meter competition pool and plenty of friendly volunteers and a chalked running course.  Eventual race winner (and former training partner) Doug “Man-o” Steele had the best pool start and kept the pressure on during the 2-loop bike section of the triathlon.  Following Steele was the father and son combination of McAllister.

Broadlands injury lawyer Landau was close behind, but his 4th place finish across the line held up as the top 4 stayed in that order for the awards.  “I dug myself into a hole behind Doug by not swimming more aggressively.  Passing people once I got on dry land, I thought I could make up the deficit.  Next time, I’ll try not to give the fast swimmers such a big head start !”  Landau easily won his age group, and continues to rack up “top 10″ finishes, primarily by dint of hard work on the bike.  Despite averaging 22.4 miles per hour over the hilly cycling route, the Loudoun County injury and accident lawyer still had enough legs to run 6:44/mile over the curvy running course.

Landau has finished between 4th & 8th his last 6 races, and he hopes to be in top condition by the time of the USAT National Age Group Championships in August.  The Triathlon Trial Lawyer has a race “double header” next weekend, taking on the “Lawyers Have Heart” 10 km in Georgetown, Washington, D.C. on Saturday and then the DC Splash and Dash (a swim-run duathlon) at the Martin Luther King Aquatic Center in Maryland on Sunday.  For additional information as to the Herndon Law Firm trial lawyer’s schedule of races, cases, seminars and travels, please call 703-796-9555 or e-mail us.

Doug Landau, of the Herndon law firm ABRAMS LANDAU, Ltd., at the start of the Newton crosss country run during the Multisport World conference in Bethesda, Maryland

DC, Maryland and Virginia Triathletes, Duathletes, Runners, Bikers, Swimmers and Rowers were treated to some outstanding lectures, demonstrations, clinics and competition at this past weekend’s Multisport World in North Bethesda.  There were individual and team competitions in swimming relay, cross country running and indoor computrainer cycling events.  Triathlon Trial Lawyer Doug Landau competed in the running and cycling events.  The 5km race was sponsored by Newton running shoe company, and Landau wore his custom-cut Newtons around the Georgetown Prep Track, golf course and roads. Top finishers and teams got free shoes !

For the 10km. time trial inside the Expo hall, Landau brought his bike and shoes, and a change of clothes, as he was soaked afterwards !  The school’s locker room and facilities were excellent, and this event is sure to get bigger each year.  Cheered on by friends from the DC Triathlon Club, RATS (Reston Area TriathleteS), Team FeXY, Team Z, TriCats, SetUp Inc., Rehab 2 Racing and others, the Herndon injury lawyer was able to average over 22 miles per hour on the hilly course and over 230 watts !

Herndon injury lawyer Doug Landau, SPOKES publisher Neil Sandler, Virginia Triathlon Series race director Greg Hawkins, and Rehab 2 Racing Triathlon Coach Rob Colburn survey the scene at the 2011 Multisport World Expo in Bethesda, MD

Multisport World came to the Mid Atlantic region today.   Developed in partnership with USAT Mid-Atlantic Region and held at the state-of-the-art Hanley Center for Athletic Excellence at Georgetown Prep in North Bethesda, Maryland, triathletes, duathletes, bikers, runners and swimmers were treated to a full day of activities.   The local high school’s indoor track, pool and conference rooms were devoted to multisport seminars, training clinics, workshops, competitive events and more.  The first 500 registered attendees received  swag bags with product samples, money-saving coupons and more.  Plus all registered attendees were eligible to win valuable prizes and receive discounts to selected Multisport World clinics.

The campus golf course and outdoor track were the venues for the Newton running shoes demonstration and challenging 5km and the pristine pool, held Total Immersion swim clinics.  Georgetown Prep was the site of the Bethesda Cure Autism Now Sprint Triathlon (yes, that’s my photo on the far right, exiting the pool en route to winning the race 2 years ago !).  All of the big names, and clubs from Virginia, Maryland and DC triathlon were there.  There were also a number of newcomers and there was something for everyone, from “newbie” to veteran.  In the following posts, the competitions and other news will be published.

Whether you are cycling just for recreation and want to ride alongside your fellow bikers, or you are training for competition and need a pace lane, you should know your rights and obligations as cyclist.  You should also ride defensively so as to avoid a car accident, crashing or injuring others.  As far as how many riders can ride across a Loudoun Country Virginia road, there seems to be differences of opinion inside and outside of the Northern Virginia cycling community.  Specifically, can a Loudoun County cyclist ride 2 abreast (or more) on the public roadways ?

While there is no perfectly clear answer to this question, bicycling information that is provided by the Virginia Department of Transportation (“VDOT”), provides some guidance.  VDOT indicates that in general, bicyclists are obligated “to ride as close as safely practicable to the right curb or edge of the roadway”. This indicates that there is a preference for all cyclists to ride in a single-file line. However, exceptions to this preference are allowed when the bicyclist is passing another vehicle proceeding in the same direction.

In addition, that same information states that, “bicyclists cannot ride more than two or more abreast on highways”, and that when riding two abreast, they cannot impede the flow of traffic. This information seems to indicate that it is generally okay to ride two abreast, even when not passing. However, cyclists should move into single file when another vehicle is approaching from behind. This rule does not apply when the bicyclists are riding on a bike path or a lane specifically set aside for bikers. These general guidelines are based on Virginia state laws on bicycling.  Other sources, such as Sharing the Road in Virginia, back up these general guidelines, also telling cyclists to:

• stay as far right as possible,
• to not ride more than 2-abreast, and
• to ride single file when moving slower than motor vehicle traffic.

All of this taken together seems to indicate that there is a preference for single-file riding and an out-right ban on riding more than two people side-by-side.  Riding two-abreast is definitely permitted when passing, and may be allowed in other circumstances.

Having prosecuted many ticketed motorists, I understand that from the police officers’ point of view, once a violation of the law has occurred, or the officer has a reasonable suspicion that there has been a violation, they can ask for identification.  Some states require more than your name and address, and several states mandate government issued form of identification, much as you would use to fly.  And what if you do not have such government-issued identification on your person when stopped on your bicycle for blowing through a stop sign or making an illegal and unsafe turn ?  The trooper or sheriff can take you into custody !  That would really ruin your ride.

As suggested in prior posts, always carry an emergency first aid kit, money, cell phone, and a form of official identification.  I have an expired drivers license in my little bag, as I do not want to lose my current operators permit, but I want something official, with the same number on it so that an investigating officer, could type my information into the computer, if necessary.  Because state laws vary, it is probably a good idea to carry a form of official identification so as to avoid misunderstandings and compounding a ticket with incarceration.  Bikers use the public roads.  Those who use the public roads, whether trucks, mopeds, busses, motorcycles or bicycles, are subject to the traffic laws, just like cars.  If you violate the law, you can be ticketed, questioned, fined, given points and even lose your driving privileges.  So the smart move is to carry appropriate ID on you when riding for fun, training, touring and commuting.  Your identification can be an asset if there is an accident, an infraction and if it is required to make a purchase.

Bikers stopped to traffic violations may find their ride (or race !) over prematurely if they do not have proper identification

Would the cops really frisk a cyclist in spandex ?  This is not as off-the-wall question as it may seem.  After representing several bikers picked up by local police for violations of state law, I was asked could they have gotten tickets (and potentially points on their Division of Motor Vehicles record) if they did not  have their drivers license on their person.  One irate cyclist noted that the foreign riders, who have no U.S drivers license, could not get points, nor could the young bike riders who did not yet have their permits.  It did not seem fair that drivers license carrying American citizens could be penalized this way.  Plus, it seemed unjust that a cyclist could lose his/her driving privileges for an infraction committed while biking, but a car driver cannot lose his/her bicycling privileges if they get too many speeding, reckless driving or DUI convictions !

Having prosecuted many ticketed motorists, I understand that from the police officers’ point of view, once a violation of the law has occurred, or the officer has a reasonable suspicion that there has been a violation, they can ask for identification.  Some states require more than your name and address, and several states mandate government issued form of identification, much as you would use to fly.  And what if you do not have such government-issued identification on your person when stopped on your bicycle for blowing through a stop sign or making an illegal and unsafe turn ?  The trooper or sheriff can take you into custody !  That would really ruin your ride.

As suggested in prior posts, always carry an emergency first aid kit, money, cell phone, and a form of official identification.  I have an expired drivers license in my little bag, as I do not want to lose my current operators permit, but I want something official, with the same number on it so that an investigating officer, could type my information into the computer, if necessary.  Because state laws vary, it is probably a good idea to carry a form of official identification so as to avoid misunderstandings and compounding a ticket with incarceration.  Bikers use the public roads.  Those who use the public roads, whether trucks, mopeds, busses, motorcycles or bicycles, are subject to the traffic laws, just like cars.  If you violate the law, you can be ticketed, questioned, fined, given points and even lose your driving privileges.  So the smart move is to carry appropriate ID on you when riding for fun, training, touring and commuting.  Your identification can be an asset if there is an accident, an infraction and if it is required to make a purchase.

• Take your foot of the gas immediately.  Do not fixate on the biker, deer or motorcycle – you will just drive straight at it if you do.  Instead, look at the rear wheel or animal’s hindquarters, since cyclists, deer, elk, etc. are not likely to go into reverse !  Turn the steering wheel 90 degree to your right.
• Now your vehicle is headed toward the shoulder, ditch, guardrail, etc.  Do not panic.  You should look at where you want the car to go.  Fix your eyes on the center of the road and turn left twice as far, about 180 degrees.
• Once you have cleared the obstacle, animal, human or other, counter steer 45 degrees to your right and hit the gas to straighten out.

Hopefully, these tips will enable you to “live and let live.”  A car crash with a deer, cyclist or object in the road can be catastrophic.  The damage we have seen caused by impacts with deer are truly astounding.  The losses caused by car crashes with animals and cyclists are some of the most severe we see at the Landau Law Shop.  you might even want to practice, and take the newer drivers in your household out to an empty, safe parking lot, to practice winter driving techniques in order to prevent injury, property loss and death.