Safe and Legal Riding In Snowy Urban Conditions

I found myself riding home last night in some pretty crappy weather.  I hadn't set out to ride in snowy, slippery conditions, but it happened.  My ride home from Andersonville to Logan Square was, thankfully, uneventful.  This being the first real snow of the season, I was reminded of some basic but important winter riding techniques to keep the rubber side down.

I was riding a Surly Long Haul Trucker with 26" x 1.75" Schwalbe Marathon tires.  Usually I keep them inflated to around 80 psi, but during my ride I found myself slipping on the fresh snow.  I pulled to the side of the road and let some air out of them.  I don't know how much air pressure I released, but it was enough to allow the tires to compress more against the road but not so much so as to run the risk of getting a pinch flat or having the tires come off of the rims.  This roadside fix provided a lot more grip.  I was also riding, as I always do, with a bright white light on the front of my bike (as is required by Illinois law) and a good deal of red reflective tape on the rear of my bike (also required by law).  Additionally, I had a bright red blinking tail light on the rear.  This is not required by law but is a damn good idea.  My tires also had reflective sidewalls which increased my visibility from the side.  Remember, the key to safe riding in dark and inclement weather is to increase your visibility.  A driver that can see you will avoid you.

The other thing that helped me make it home safely last night was lane positioning.  I rode further left than I usually do in order to avoid the deeper, slicker snow and ice along the curb side of the lane.  I generally tried to ride in the right tire tracks left by motor vehicles.  This gave me more contact with the pavement and helped me see and avoid dangerous road defects like potholes.  Here is a short video of how I positioned myself in the lane:

This is very easy to do on side streets with little or no traffic.  Admittedly, on streets with greater traffic flow it takes some getting used to.  There is a natural inclination to want to move to the right, to just get out of the way of the motor vehicles, but this is an urge to which the cyclist should not give in.  Moving right in slippery conditions will increase your chances of wiping out as you move from shallow to deeper snow.  If your rear is well illuminated (the importance of which cannot be overstated), drivers will afford you a wide berth while passing to your left.  Check it out:

Taking more of the lane, moving farther to the left in snowy conditions, is permitted by law.  While both Illinois law and Chicago ordinance generally require cyclists to ride to the right, they are only required to ride as far to the right as is safe and practicable.  Cyclists may move as far into the lane as is necessary to avoid unsafe conditions, including snow and ice.  As more drivers pass you your confidence and comfort riding in the motor vehicle lane will increase.  I also find that I generally get more comfortable riding in snow as the winter progresses.  Riding in the first snow of the year always feels a bit scary to me.  But I know from experience that it gets better.

Of course there are assholes out there who will buzz you, pass a bit too closely. . .

. . . But, you know, he or she missed me.  It is important not to freak out if this happens and swerve right. Doing so increases your chances of slipping and crashing.  Even if the driver of the SUV in the video had sideswiped me or nailed me with their mirror I likely would have been thrown to the right where there was plenty of landing space.  That of course would have been less than ideal, but still better than slipping and landing in the main traffic lane and in front of a motor vehicle.

It should be said that had I paid attention to the weather forecast I might have avoided riding last night.  But when caught by the weather it is important to remember safe techniques and practices for an uneventful ride.

Illinois Municipalities May Be Held Responsible Where Snow Removal Forces Cyclists and Pedestrians Into The Street

Courtesy TheWashCycle

Illinois municipalities may be held liable for injuries to pedestrians and bicyclists forced into the street by snow piled onto sidewalks and bike lanes by city plows, according to the Illinois Appellate Court.  The ruling in Pattullo-Banks v. The City of Park Ridge, 2104 Ill App (1st) 132852 was issued on September 4th and overturned an order entered by Cook County Judge Lynn Egan dismissing the plaintiff's lawsuit against the city.

In her lawsuit, Lorraine Pattullo-Banks alleged that as she walked on a sidewalk along Touhy Avenue in Park Ridge, Illinois she encountered a pile  of snow and ice that obstructed her path.  Her claim alleged that city snow plows created the pile when they moved snow which had accumulated on the street onto the sidewalk.  In order to reach her destination she had to walk into the street, at a place where there was no crosswalk, and was struck by a car.  Her lawsuit against the city of Park Ridge alleged that in creating the sidewalk obstruction the municipality violated the duty it owed to her and others to maintain its property in a reasonably safe condition.  The municipality sought dismissal of the lawsuit under section 3-102(a) of the Local Governmental and Governmental Employees Tort Immunity Act which provides that local municipalities only owe a duty to intended and permitted users to keep its property reasonably safe.  Ms. Pattullo-Banks was struck and injured in the street, outside of a crosswalk, a place that is not intended for use by pedestrians.  It is well established in Illinois that pedestrians are not intended users of the street outside of a crosswalk.  But, Ms. Pattullo-Banks argued, the dangerous condition of which she complained was not in the street but on the sidewalk, certainly a place intended for use by pedestrians.  Given that context Park Ridge should not be able to avail itself of the protections of the Tort Immunity Act.  The appellate court agree with her and reinstated her case.  In so doing the Court stated:

[Ms.] Pattullo-Banks' status as an intended or permitted user -- and whether immunity applies -- must be determined based on the property where [the] alleged breach of duty occurred (the sidewalk), not the property where the injury occurred (the street), and not the mechanism of injury (i.e., whether she was struck by an automobile or tripped on a defect).

It is important to note that the Court did not rule on whether the city of Park Ridge acted negligently in creating the obstruction. It merely held that the plaintiff, Ms. Pattullo-Banks, had a right to have a jury consider that issue.  Park Ridge was not entitled to have the case dismissed before a jury could consider the facts.

The implications of this ruling are significant.  Where a municipality in Illinois clears snow in the street at the expense of sidewalk users, forcing them to face danger by entering the roadway instead, it may be held liable where injury results.  Also, while the Pattullo-Banks case involved a pedestrian, there is no reason to believe that the Court's reasoning would not also apply to a bicyclist. For example, a municipality may be held liable where a cyclist is injured after being forced to exit a bike lane and enter the street due to the piling of snow by city plows clearing way for motor vehicle traffic.  Last winter, a particularly snowy one, the City of Chicago frequently moved snow from Kinzie Street into the bike lane near the Merchandise Mart often forcing cyclists out of the lane and into the street.

Municipalities in Illinois are now on notice that snow removal is not for motor vehicles, but for all people.  If they favor cars and trucks at the expense of pedestrians and cyclists they may be held responsible where harm results.