Government Liability When Cyclists Hit the Road: Same Roads, Same Rights, Different Rules

Authors

• Emily Hammond, University of Georgia School of Law

Publication Date

2001

Abstract

Most jurisdictions recognize that negligent construction and maintenance of streets exposes government entities to liability. Thus, motorists, pedestrians, and motorcyclists who are injured due to road defects are usually not barred from bringing suit. Yet when the courts grapple with similar injuries to bicyclists, the results are best described as a tangled wreck. Modern cycling jurisprudence sends unwary riders careening through inconsistent judicial opinions, questionable statutory interpretations, and unsettled policies. This Note examines the legal treatment of cases in which cyclists are injured by road hazards, covering sovereign immunity, the public duty doctrine, nuisance, tort immunity acts, vehicle codes, and other statutes. Courts appear to apply some of these doctrines disparately, and some incorrectly, with the usual result being that a bicyclist is barred from recovery even where a motorist would not be barred. Concluding that a legislative cure is the most practical means of addressing this problem, this Note proposes a statute that would work within states'existing statutory frameworks to ensure that road defect cases are examined according to general principles of negligence for all users of the road.

Recommended Citation

Hammond, Emily (2001) "Government Liability When Cyclists Hit the Road: Same Roads, Same Rights, Different Rules," Georgia Law Review: Vol. 35: No. 3, Article 9.
Available at: https://digitalcommons.law.uga.edu/glr/vol35/iss3/9