Posted on 10/15/2007 8:58:36 AM PDT by MissEdie
CHARLOTTE, NC (AP) - The family of a 15-year-old Charlotte girl killed in a charity bike ride is suing the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.
The lawsuit alleges that the MS Society promised traffic control and police protection it didn't deliver, and routed the 2006 Breakaway to the Beach from Charlotte to North Myrtle Beach, SC, along a stretch of narrow and busy highway unsafe for bicyclists.
The lawsuit does not say how much money the family is seeking.
Rachel Giblin was killed on Sept. 16, 2006, after a pickup truck hauling a trailer hit the tandem bike she and her older brother were riding along U.S. 15/401 near Society Hill, S.C. It was Rachel's third MS ride, which raises money for research, local programs and helps increase awareness of the disease.
The MS Society wouldn't comment on the lawsuit, but released a statement saying it does everything it can to ensure rides are as safe as possible.
As Presidential candidate John Edwards will tell you - do not focus on who was at fault: focus on who has the deepest pockets!
That would be funny if it wasn’t true!! Wonder if he’s the family’s lawyer?
Sad, I have done 12 MS bike rides and there are usually great traffic controls along the 190 mile route. However, there are always accidents, the vast majority being because someone on a bikes makes a dumb mistake.
Sad, I have done 12 MS bike rides and there are usually great traffic controls along the 190 mile route. However, there are always accidents, the vast majority being because someone on a bikes makes a dumb mistake.
Ensuring that these type of charity events will be eventually stopped.
I don’t know, it sounds to me like they have a case. If the MS Society promised a safe channel for bikers on a road not meant for biking it wasn’t provided, they could be negligent.
Not sure why because it’s the MS Society that that should make any difference? Does being a charitable organization absolve them of responsibility for the events they hold?
Sounds like they may have to hold bike rides to pay for the liability from their previous bike rides.
What is sad is the states that have given bicycles the same ROW privileges as cars. Ludicrous. Bikes need to stay off the roads since in the last decade you have seen vehicle traffic skyrocket and infrastructure improvements lag behind, not to mention the idiots that are given driver’s licenses.
If bike are going to ride on roads then the operators need to pass the same driving test and be licensed just as automobile operators.
I expect flames from the spandex crew.
Unless I missed it, the article didn’t mention who was at fault here - the bike rider or the pickup driver.
“Typically the local law enforcement agencies do traffic controls along the route.”
Obviously, we don’t know the full breadth of the case. The article stated that the parents claimed the MS Society promised a safe route, which I assumes means traffic control. If she was hit along that route, particularly if it was an area that was supposed to be patrolled per the MS Society’s promise, her family may have a case.
This is one of those stories were a couple of sentences just doesn’t cut it in terms to garnering the exact details.
I HATE LAWYERS! (I think I’m going to go outside and scream for a little while...)
Bike riders are getting a free ride (sorry for the pun)
Ad from bicycle magazine
“Knowing what is in your immediate past can ensure your future...”
The product? A rear view mirror.
More here.....
http://www.charlotte.com/109/story/317136.html
I can’t figure out why the driver wasn’t charged with something. This is a little strange. Something is missing!
Plaintiff lawyers truly are some of the worst people in the world.
And people that plan fund raising events by having children ride bicycles on highways are not much better.
I have done a couple 2-day MS bike-a-thons like this. And I can tell you that most of them had very good traffic controls, but one had VERY poor traffic control/route planning. I even made a comment that I hoped there was an alternate route for the kids because there were cars going past us at 65+ MPH no more than 3 feet to our left.
The MS Rides are typically between 150 to 200 miles on state highways and through state parks. Most of the highways do not have much traffic and the route is well marked for both cars and bikes.
My guess is that either the bike or the truck drifted into the others lane or the bike or the truck failed to obey a LEO’s instructions at an intersection.
I would bet that it was the driver of the truck who is at fault for not obeying traffic controls.
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