To bicyclist Dave Salovesh, you don’t need to be a legal scholar to understand what’s wrong with “contributory negligence.”
"There is no chance of recovery. I have to be very defensive. I am more defensive than any driver I know. Because I know the consequences are so much worse on me. The chances of me recovering are so diminished by the current laws," he says.
The current law is set up so that if a bike rider is found to be even the slightest bit at fault in a traffic crash, he or she has little chance of being compensated for injuries. Insurance claims in such cases are routinely denied by the driver's auto insurance company.
"As long as the law is wrong like this those people are denied access to compensation and justice, and we are hoping to get this law changed," says Shane Farthing of the Washington Area Bicyclist Association.
Changing the law has proven difficult. On Friday, the latest effort — legislation drafted by D.C. Council member Tommy Wells (D-Ward 6) — is up for a key vote in committee. But it doesn't look like it will be successful.
"I don’t see the votes there," says Wells. "But I am going to give the committee a chance to speak to it, and see what they will do. But I expect what they will do is table is a procedural tactic which is to table it or postpone it, and then it dies at the end of the session."
The bill has been opposed by the city's insurance lobby. Wayne McOwen with the District of Columbia Insurance Federation explains insurers do not want to create another class of protected victims. "Well, we just don’t think this legislation is the right way to go, creating a separate class — this vulnerable class — for liability," he says.
Council member Mary Cheh (D-Ward 3) opposes the bill in its current form, telling WAMU 88.5 the legislation in its current form compromises crash victims’ ability to be fully compensated if they are injured by more than one person. Wells’ proposal could be shelved and re-introduced with changes in January.
But if it doesn't make it out of committee today, Farthing says there will be consequences — his group is planning on scoring members on how they vote, a means to put pressure on them.
UPDATE: Saying there were not enough votes to save his bill in committee, Council member Tommy Wells agreed to postpone his proposal to end a law that prevents bikers and pedestrians from receiving any injury compensation if they are found to be even the slightest bit responsible for the crash. If agreement can’t be reached by the Council's next meeting, the measure would have to be re-introduced in January.
